WorldWide Drilling Resource

53 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® MAY 2013 Mining in the USA Part 12 Montana Revisited Compiled by Bonnie Love, Editor WorldWide Drilling Resource ® We are always happy to hear from our subscribers; and recently, we received the following e-mail regarding our Mining in the USA series: Just received the [March] issue and while reading through the article on Montana [Mining in the USA Part 10] by Bonnie, [she] left out 1 very important mine and products that are mined in Montana and are an important source for our Environmental Programs. Stillwater Mining at their Nye Opns. and East Boulder Opns. Producing platinum and palladium - for the automobile industry. Just thought I would let you know before the Governor of Montana gets on your case. Regards Jim Cullinane DSI Mining Canada Thanks Jim! I did a little more re- search and discovered the Stillwater and East Boulder mines are actually the only producing platinum and palladium mines in the U.S. Located in south-central Montana, the J-M platinum-palladium Reef is also one of the world’s richest known deposits of platinum group metals (PGMs). Mining in the Stillwater Complex actu- ally began with copper, nickel, and chromi- ummining in the late 1800s. Jack Nye and brothers Jimmy and Jonas Hedges found sulfide-rich rocks in the Mountain View, Benbow, and Initial Creek areas. Nye trav- eled to Minneapolis and submitted his findings; based on those findings, the original Stillwater Mining Company was formed in the summer of 1884. Mining began in 1885 and Nye sold his quartz claims to the company that year. The area witnessed sporadic min- ing activity over the years, and in 1973, geologists from Johns-Manville Corp. discovered the major PGM zone now known as the J-MReef. Themain PGMs in the reef are palladium, platinum, and rhodi- um, but it also contains iron, copper, nickel, and even trace amounts of gold and silver. Construction of the Stillwater Mine to access the eastern portion of the reef was completed in 1986, with production start- ing the same year. The mine has been de- veloped and expanded to approximately six miles in length, and over a mile deep. To access the western portion of the Reef, theEast Boulder Minewas construct- ed in 1999, and production began in 2002. The Stillwater Mining Company utilizes various mining methods at both of its mines, including ramp and fill, sublevel stoping, and captive cut and fill. Photo courtesy of stillwatermining.com The Stillwater Mining Company contin- ues to explore the reef with two additional projects, the Blitz and Graham Creek, in their initial stages of development. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the automobile industry is the largest consumer of the PGMs from the Stillwater and East Boulder mines. It’s amazing what information you can find when someone points you in the right direction. Thanks again Jim, hopeful- ly this information will keep the Governor at bay. Next month we will check out the great state of Nevada!