Iron Mountain Mine

Past Producer in Mineral county in Montana, United States with commodities Zinc, Lead, Silver, Gold, Copper, Antimony
Sections on this page
  1. Identification information
  2. Geographic coordinates
  3. Site location context
  4. Geographic areas
  5. Public Land Survey System information
  6. Commodities
  7. Materials information
  8. Nearby scientific data
  9. Geologic structures
  10. Ore body information
  11. Controls for ore emplacement
  12. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  13. Mining district
  14. Land status
  15. Ownership information
  16. Workings at the site
  17. Links to other databases
  18. Bibliographic references
  19. General comments
  20. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10078293
MRDS ID W026558
Record type Site
Current site name Iron Mountain Mine
Related records 10245706

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -114.85598, 47.24071 (WGS84)
Elevation 1073
Relative position APPROXIMATELY 3.5 MILES NORTHEAST OF SUPERIOR, MONTANA

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Mineral(county)

Montana(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Idaho Gulch(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Plains(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Wallace(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Middle Clark Fork(hydrologic unit)

Pend Oreille(hydrologic accounting unit)

Kootenai-Pend Oreille-Spokane(hydrologic subregion)

Pacific Northwest(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Lolo National Forest(National Forest)

National Forest FS(Type of land area)

FS(Federal land areas administered by FS)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Montana Mineral

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
Montana Principal 017N 026W 12 SE OF SW OF SW Montana

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Zinc Critical Primary
Lead Primary
Silver Primary
Gold Primary
Copper Primary
Antimony Critical Tertiary

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Boulangerite Ore
Chalcopyrite Ore
Galena Ore
Sphalerite Ore
Marcasite Gangue
Pyrite Gangue
Quartz Gangue
Siderite Gangue

Nearby scientific data

(1) -114.85598, 47.24071

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description The Montana Lineament Is North Of The Mine
Type of structure Local
Structure description On Southwest Limb Of Keystone Syncline

Ore body information

  • General form LINEAR TO IRREGULAR
    Strike N 60 DEG W
    Dip 80 DEG NE
    Width 4.57M
    Depth to top 0M
    Depth to bottom 670.56M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Shears And Fissures, Possibly Superimposed Upon The Predominant Cleavage.

Comments on the geologic information

  • WALLACE FMT IN THE MINE AREA VARIES FROM PHYLLITE TO A PHYLLITE DESCRIBED AS CALCAREOUS ON THE 700 LEVEL TO SLIGHTLY DOLOMITIC ON THE 1600 LEVEL. GALENA AND BOULANGERITE INTIMATELY INTERLOCKED. SPHALERITE IN SMALL ROUNDED GRAINS THROUGHOUT GALENA AND BOULANGERITE.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Past Producer
Commodity type Metallic
Deposit size Small
Significant No
Discovery year 1889

Mining district

District name Iron Mountain District (Keystone)

Land status

Ownership category National Forest

Ownership information

  • Type Owner
    Owner Asarco (American Smelting And Refining Co.)
    First year 1960

Comments on the production information

  • NO PRODUCTION REPORTED 1919, 1931-33, AND 1936-46. NO COPPER REPORTED PRIOR TO 1928 AND FOR 1935. NO GOLD REPORTED, 1909-1911, 1914-1921, 1923-1926, 1935-1948, 1951, 1953. NO ZINC REPORTED 1920-1924, 1935.

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Underground
    Length 1524M
    Overall depth 670.56M

Comments on the workings information

  • LENGTH OF UNDERGROUND WORKINGS APPROXIMATED AND DOES NOT INCLUDE 5000 FT OF ADIT LENGTH ASSOCIATED WITH THE 1600 FT LEVEL. THE IRON MOUNTAIN MINE CONTAINS SEVERAL ADITS AND WORKINGS ON THE 400, 500, 600, 700, 900, 1000, 1300, 1400, 1500, 1600, 1750, 1850, 2000, AND 2200 LEVELS. SHAFTS AND RAISES INTERCONNECT MANY OF THE WORKINGS ON SEVERAL LEVELS. MUCH OF MINE IS CURRENTLY UNSAFE AND THEREFORE INACCESSIBLE DUE TO CAVING AND LACK OF OXYGEN.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    YOUNG, F. M., CROWLEY, F. A., AND SAHINEN, U. M., 1962 , MARKETING PROBLEMS OF SMALL BUSINESS ENTERPRISES ENGAGED IN LEAD AND ZINC MINING, MONT. BUREAU OF MINES AND GEOL BULLETIN 30 P. 31

  • Deposit

    CAMPBELL, A. B., 1960 , GEOLOGY AND MINERAL DEPOSITS OF THE ST. REGIS - SUPERIOR AREA MINERAL COUNTY, MONTANA; U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 1082 - I P. 589 - 590 (INCLUDES MINE MAPS)

  • Production

    CAMPBELL, A.B., 1960 , GEOL. AND MIN. DEP. ST. REGIS-SUPERIOR AREA, MIN. CO., MONT.

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit 2 MAIN ORE SHOOTS CONTAINING 2 VEINS STRIKING FROM N50W TO N70W AND DIPPING 75 TO 85 NE AND NEARLY PARALLEL TO PREDOMINANT CLEAVAGE. VEINS REPORTED 2 TO 15 FT WIDE, BUT AVERAGE 3 TO 5 FEET.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-APR-1977 Mc Kenzie, Craig L.; R. B. Berg U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

Supplemental information added by qvyshift.com. Not part of the original USGS MRDS record.

Operator history (post-MRDS)

MRDS records operators as of each record's last update (≤ 2019). Some of the operators listed here have since changed hands or dissolved:

Curated by qvyshift.com from publicly-reported M&A activity (SEC filings, press releases, USGS Mineral Yearbooks). Not authoritative — verify against primary sources before relying on it. The MSHA panel above is the current authoritative source for actively-permitted mines.

External references