Geological Report of Summer Field Trip 1928

The object of this trip and report was to familiarize the students of the Montana State School of Mines with methods of taking and mapping surface and undergound geology. All surface geology was mapped by means of plane table and alidade, and undergound work by means of Brunton compass and taps. The senior class of the Montana State School of MInes under the supervision of Dr. E.S. Perry performed the work, which covered an area in Madison County including South Boulder Creek, near Jefferson Island, the Silver Star Mining District, and the Alameda Mine, near Virginia City.

The Rate of Precipitation of Copper Aluminide in the Silver Rich Silver-Copper-Aluminum Alloys

In order to determine the best annealing temperature at which to age-harden the alloys, hardness tests on speci­men annealed for different lengths of time at different temperatures were made.

Leaching Copper Minerals in the Butte District

The history of mining in Butte is woven about three of our principal metals. The gold placers first attracted the attention of miners in 1863, and reached their peak production in 1867. Silver was the second metal mined, and this operation required the erection of large mills with a consequent increase in mining activity that made the district a prominent producer. Although the presence of copper in the silver ore had been known, the credit for the first development of the copper veins is due Senator W. A. Clark. The original Colusa, Mining Chief, and Gambetta claims were developed to 1872. The ore was freighted by wagon trains 400 miles to Corrine, Utah, thence by rail eastward, some of it going to Swansea, Wales. The cooper production of the "richest hill on earth" has mounted to ten billion pounds.

Precipitation of Gold, Silver, and Copper from Cyanide Solutions on Activated Charcoal.

Charcoal has been known for a considerable length of time to have the property of recovering gold, silver, and copper from cyanide solutions of these metals. Quantita­tive data that may shed light on the mechanism of the re­moval of these metals is very limited except that char­coal in a form known as activated has the power to abstract gold and silver in considerable quantities from the above solutions.

Supergene Enrichment of Silver Ores with Special Reference to those from Neihart, Montana.

In the development of a technique it was necessary to learn the fundamentals of ore microscopy as applied to the various minerals of silver, which included the use of reflected polarized light, etch reactions, micro­chemical analysis, and sight recognition of mineral. In addition it was necessary to become familiar with the accepted criteria of sequence, replacement, and other textural phenomena.

Occurrence and Origin of Placer Gold in Montana

From time immemorial man has used gold as a medium of exchange, a mea­sure of value, as jewelry and for ornamentation. Placer gold has led dir­ectly or indirectly to the settlement of lands, California and Alaska being the two best known examples. It has led the way to the discovery of other important mineral wealth, the discovery of the copper and silver deposits at Butte, Montana and the discovery of the silver deposits at Cripple Creek, Colorado being two good examples.

Microscopic Study of Montana Silver Ores.

A microscopic investigation of the Montana silver minerals was conducted. This study consisted mainly of identifying the silver and silver-bearing minerals and of determining their paragenetic rela­tionships. The increasing amount of research in which the reflecting microscope is employed is evidence of the great value of this method of approach in the solution of problems of paragenesis of the opaque minerals.

The Geology of Lost Creek Canyon with Special Reference to Igneous Activity

This investigation was undertaken primarily as a problem in geologic mapping, coupled with a study of stratigraphy, glaciation, igneous phenomena, and structure. The area is admirably suited to a study of geology and geologic events. Because it is small in extent, the area was studied in some detail during the time which was devoted to field work. The record of igneous activity of past geological ages is re­markably well exposed, since Lost Creek Canyon was carved through the roof of a stock or batholith by the glaciers of the Pleistocene epoch.

A Study and Application of the Process of Supergene Enrichment of Silver Ores.

In many deposits of silver ores the grade of the ore de­creases considerably a few hundred feet below the surface. It is believed that in many cases the better ores owe their richness in part to the process of sulphide enrichment. It is recognized, however, that many rich silver ores are hypogene deposits that have been affected very little, if any, by processes of enrichment.

Archeological Investigations at the Big Creek Lake Site (24RA34)

In August 1977 excavation was conducted at the Big Creek Lake site -24RA34- at the outlet of the 91g Creek Lakes, Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness Area, Ravalli County, Montana. The site contained shallow, disturbed deposits and lacks any statisgraphic separation. One of these occupations was identified by a projectile point type not previously reported from the area. This was termed Big Creek Corner Notched and its temporal affiliation is not precisely known. Comparative material from Colorado and Alberta suggest either Early Archaic or Late Archaic affiliation. The occupations exemplified by Big Creek Corner Notched points and by Pelican Lake-Elko points (Late Archaic 1000 B.B – A.D. 200) were the most prevalent at the site. Less intensive occupations are by ·Middle Plains Archaic McKean points and Late Prehistoric small side notche arrow points. Microscopic analysis of tool working edges shows several of the projectile point forms were used as multi-functional implements. especially as butchering tools. Many of the types of chipped stone recovered from the site are from known sources in western Montana; indicating group movements within the eastern portion of the Intermountain region. Based on the numerous projectile points and cutting tools, the site is interpreted as a seasonally occupied base camp for hunters.

Secondary Enrichment of Copper at the Madison Gold Skarn Deposit, Silver Star District, Montana

Secondary Enrichment of Copper at the Madison Gold Skarn Deposit, Silver Star District, Montana. This paper focuses on the chemical reactions responsible for secondary enrichment of copper...we argue that most of the secondary Cu enrichment occurred during a late hydrothermal event that replaced the high temperature skarn mineral assemblage with hematitic jasperoid. Evidence favoring this "hypogene" Cu enrichment hypothesis is presented.

Age Hardening of Silver-Platinum Alloys

The alloy system selected for study was the binary alloy of platinum and silver. An examination of the various silver alloy diagrams revealed that of several possible alloys, the silver platinum was the most suit­able with regard to solubility.

The Age Hardening of Silver with Copper-Silicide

The successful application of the phenomenon of pre­cipitation hardening to aluminum and copper has indicated the possibility of hardening all metals in the same way. The phenomenon of age hardening was discoveredin 1911, and since that time much research has been car­ried on in all parts of the world on various alloy sys­tems.

The Investigation of Different Variables in the Assaying of Silver Cyanide Solution

The assaying of gold and silver cyanide solutions is by no means new. The first method of analysis which is given in the literature is an evaporation method by S. B. Christy in 1896. However, the fire assaying of gold and silver dates further back than this. There is a method of fire assaying for gold and silver given in literature as early as 1556 in Georgius, Agricola’s De Re Metallica book.

The Investigation of Different Variables in the Assaying of Silver Cyanide Solutions

The cyanide method of extraction of gold and silver from their ores is extensively used in the United States and elsewhere. It is becoming increasingly more important in its use as the mining of lower grade deposits continues.