Exploring the Northern Rocky Mountains
The northern Rocky Mountains encompass an array of tectonic provinces representing tectonic and magmatic events spanning more than three billion years of Earth history. This field guide presents a diverse collection of trips highlighting the rich geology of the region, from the Precambrian, through the Sevier/Laramide orogeny, to the Quaternary history of Yellowstone. This volume is an essential update to the classic field-oriented literature of the northern Rocky Mountain Region of Montana and Idaho, and will be an invaluable addition to the libraries of researchers, educators, and students interested in the dynamic geology of the northern Rockies.
Regional setting and deposit geology of the Golden Sunlight Mine: An example of responsible resource extraction
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Published:January 01, 2014
Abstract
The Barrick Golden Sunlight Mine (GSM) in Whitehall, Montana, is an industry leader in safe, responsible resource extraction. With more than 3 million ounces of gold poured since 1983, and current proven and probable reserves of 318,000 ounces of gold, GSM is the largest gold producer in Montana. The gold-silver deposit is localized in a hydrothermal breccia pipe related to Late Cretaceous latite porphyry magmatism hosted by the Mesoproterozoic Belt Supergroup, and is influenced by younger cross-cutting faults and fracture systems. The deposit has been mined by both underground and open pit methods, and the current open pit operation was recently permitted for expansion. The mill and tailings operations practice efficient and environmentally responsible resource recovery by processing ore from historical tailings and dumps from around the state in addition to ore from the Golden Sunlight property. This trip will explore the complex geologic and tectonic controls on mineralization and review how GSM has addressed the technical challenges of mining, milling, and reclamation.
- alteration
- Belt Supergroup
- breccia pipes
- Cretaceous
- faults
- field trips
- fractures
- gold ores
- guidebook
- intrusions
- Jefferson County Montana
- magmatism
- Mesoproterozoic
- Mesozoic
- metal ores
- mine waste
- mineralization
- mining
- mining geology
- Montana
- open-pit mining
- ore grade
- pipes
- Precambrian
- production
- Proterozoic
- reclamation
- reserves
- road log
- silver ores
- structural controls
- surface mining
- tailings
- two-dimensional models
- United States
- Upper Cretaceous
- upper Precambrian
- southwestern Montana
- Whitehall Montana
- Golden Sunlight Mine