Geology and Mineral Deposits of the St. Regis-Superior Area Mineral County, Montana
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Geology and Mineral Deposits of the St. Regis-Superior Area Mineral County, Montana By ARTHUR B. CAMPBELL CONTRIBUTIONS TO ECONOMIC GEOLOGY GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULLETIN 1082-1 A reconnaissance study of the geology and mineral deposits of a part of northwestern Montana UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1960 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR FRED A. SEATON, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Thomas B. Nolan, Director For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington 25, D.C. CONTENTS Page Abstract__ --_---_-_-______-__-_-_______-___-_____-----_-___----_ 545 Introduction. _____________________________________________________ 546 Present work__._____________________________________________ 546 Acknowledgments _____________________________________________ 547 Previous work.___._______________._--__-___._._._-_-_____---__ 547 Geography__ _ ___________________________________________________ 547 Location and accessibility. _-_.______-______..__-__-_-_-___-____ 547 Topography, climate, and vegetation_------_-_-___--_----_-_----- 549 General geology._-___-___----________-----_-_-_-_-_--___-__-_----- 550 Precambrian rocks____-_______-_____-_-___-____-_----_-_----- 551 Lower part of the Belt series_____-_-_______-__--_-_-___--__- 551 Prichard formation-___-______-_____-_-_-----_-_-___--_ 552 Burke and Revett formations. __________________________ 553 St. Regis formation.________-___-_____-___-_____-_-_--- 555 Wallace formation._..______________...._--_-..________ 557 Upper part of the Belt series (Missoula group)________________ 560 Spruce formation._____________________________________ 560 Lupine quartzite.__-___-___-_____._____---_-_--___---- 563 Sloway formation....._______--_--_________-_----_____-- 565 Bouchard formation____________________---_-_-_-____-_ 567 Feldspathic quartzite of Rock Rabbit Ridge_-__--_-__-_-_ 568 Paleozoic rocks_________________________________:_______-____ 569 Precambrian-Cambrian unconformity_______________ _____________ 571 Tertiary and Quaternary deposits._____________________________ 573 Terrace gravels___--_-__________-___-_____---_----__-_--- 573 Conglomerate and related deposits__----__-__---------__---_- 574 Glacial Lake Missoula deposits__-____-_-_--_--_- ---------- 575 Valley alluvium._________________-_________-__-----__-_-_- 576 Landside deposits__--_________-_-_______-_-_------__----- 576 Igneous rocks______________-___________________._:_-_____-_-_- 576 Structural features______-___________-_______-_____---___-_--_ 577 Faults.______-_---_--_------------_-_-_--------------- 577 Osburnfault_-----_-_-_-_-_------.___----------------- 578 Boyd Mountain fault._____________________j.__________ 579 Siegel fault.___________________________________________ 581 Gladue fault-__--___---__-----_-_____--__-_----------- 581 Verde Creek fault-__-__--__--____-____-__-_-_-._------ 582 Campground fault.____________________________________ 583 Dry Creek fault__-___._.__._.._..._.._......_._._.__.- 583 Other faults------------.-----.---.------------------- 584 Folds._-_-_--__...-_____-_-....-........._-_-_---_-_----- 585 Cleavage ______________________________________' -__________ 586 Mineral deposits__________________________________________ ______ 588 Lead and zinc deposits_________________________________________ 588 Iron Mountain mine_--_-____--_---_-_-____--_-------_----- 589 Nancy Lee mine_________________________________________ 590 Little Anaconda group (Velvet adit)_________________________ 593 HI IV CONTRIBUTIONS TO ECONOMIC GEOLOGY Mineral deposits Continued Page Upper Keesey prospect.__ _______ ___________________________ 595 Deadwood Gulch prospect._________________________________ 597 Silver and lead deposits________________________________________ 599 Little Pittsburg mine ______________________________________ 599 Copper deposits_______________________________________________ 600 Amador mine_____________________________________________ 600 Fluorspar deposits.____________________________________________ 602 Bear Creek prospect.______________________________________ 603 Wilson Gulch prospect _____________________________________ 604 Lime Gulch prospect_______________________________________ 606 Other deposits_________________________________________________ 607 References cited.__________________________________________________ 607 Index._-_-_----_-------__-_--__-_-__-__-__-____-__-____--____-___ 611 ILLUSTRATIONS [Plates are in pocket] PLATE 28. Reconnaissance geologic map of the St. Regis-Superior area, Mineral County, Mont. 29. Geologic maps and sections of the Iron Mountain mine, Iron Mountain mining district. 30. Maps of the Nancy Lee mine, Keystone mining district. 31. Composite geologic map of the Little Pittsburg mine work ings, Keystone mining district. 32. Geologic map of workings at the Amador mine, Cedar Creek mining district. 33. Geologic maps of Bear Creek fluorspar prospect, Mineral County, Mont. FIGURE 51. Index map of northern Idaho and northwestern Montana. __ 548 52. Diagrammatic section showing Precambrian-Cambrian un conformity in northwestern Montana and northern Idaho. 572 53. Geologic map of the Velvet adit of the Little Anaconda group. 594 54. Geologic map of the Upper Keesey prospect_______________ 596 55. Composite and geologic maps of workings at the Deadwood Gulch prospect-__--_-__----_------_----_----_----__._ 598 56. Geologic map of the Wilson Gulch fluorspar prospect_____.. 605 57. Geologic map of the Lime Gulch fluorspar prospect____.__._ 606 TABLES TABLE 1. Records of temperature and precipitation at Superior, Mont., 1949-53...______-__________-_--_-__-__--_-------_-_--- 549 2. Monthly and annual mean maximum and minimum tempera tures at Superior, Mont., 1949-53__-__--_----_-_-__------ 549 3. Production record for the Iron Mountain mine-.-..---------. 591 4. Production record for the Nancy Lee mine._-_--_---------_- 593 5. Production record for the Little Anaconda group..-_-_-_---_- 595 6. Production record for the Little Pittsburg mine ______________ 600 7. Production record for the Amador mine.__-______-__-____-__ 602 CONTRIBUTIONS TO ECONOMIC GEOLOGY GEOLOGY AND MINERAL DEPOSITS OF THE ST. REGIS-SUPERIOR AREA, MINERAL COUNTY, MONTANA By ARTHUR B. CAMPBELL, ABSTRACT The St. Regis-Superior area occupies about 300 square miles in northwestern Montana and includes parts of the Squaw Peak Range and Coeur d'Alerie Mountains of the northern Rocky Mountains physiographic province. Nearly 50,000 feet of metasedimentary rocks of the Precambrian Belt series, chiefly varieties of quartzite and argillite, underlies most of the area. The Belt series is informally subdivided with reference to the top of the Wallace formation into lower and upper parts. In this area, the lower part of the Belt series is divided into the Prichard, Burke and Revett, St. Regis, and Wallace forma tions, in order of decreasing age, and the upper part of the Belt series or the Missoula group is divided »into the Spruce, Lupine, Sloway, and Bouchard formations, and an unnamed feldspathic quartzite at Rock Rabbit Ridge, also from oldest to youngest. Formations in the lower part of the Belt series are correlated with formations of the same names in the Coeur d'Alene district, and formations in the upper part of the Belt series are tentatively correlated in part with formations of the Missoula group in the vicinity of Missoula, Mont. Paleozoic quartzite, shale, limestone, and dolomite crop out in several localities in the southeastern part of the area. The limestone unit contains fragments of a single species of Glossopleura of early Middle Cambrian age which, together with lithologic similarities, has been used to correlate at least the quartzite, shale, and limestone part of this Paleozoic sequence with the Flathead sandstone, Gordon shale, and Damnation limestone sequence known elsewhere in northwestern Montana. Several small diabasic dikes and sills are present in the area, generally associated with northwestward-trending faults. The major faults generally trend northwestward and are considered to be part of the Lewis and Clark structural line. The Osburn fault, the major element of the Lewis and Clark line through the Coeur d'Alene district and western Mineral County, has been traced to the east edge of the St. Regis- Superior area, thus extending the mapped length of the fault to about 100 miles. Evidence indicates that this major fault has diminished in intensity in this area and that most of the stress has been relieved along the Boyd Moun tain fault that apparently splits from the Osburn fault a few miles west of St. Regis. Stratigraphic and structural evidence indicates a strike-slip right- lateral movement of about 3 miles along the Osburn fault. Horizontal strati- graphic separation along the Boyd Mountain fault indicates a right-lateral movement of about 13 miles. 545 546 CONTRIBUTIONS TO ECONOMIC GEOLOGY Low-grade regional metamorphism of the sedimentary rocks in the area has caused the recrystallization of quartz grains and the formation of sericite. Argillite and quartzite have been converted to phyllite and foliated quartzite by dynamic metamorphism in a large area north of the central part of the Osburn fault. Some of the shear zones contain a large amount of introduced carbonate minerals. From 1901 through 1953 this area has produced 8,086,827 pounds of zinc, 7,932,958 pounds of lead, 2,053,715 pounds of copper, 584,168 fine ounces of silver, and 588 fine ounces of gold. The lead, sine, and silver have come chiefly from