Join professional and amateur mineralogists, geologists, and miners as they share their knowledge of mineral deposits and stimulate interest in pursuing new studies and discoveries. The Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology is pleased to host the 2023 Montana Mining and Mineral Symposium September 27–30 at Montana Tech University located in Butte, Montana.
Submit an abstract, extended abstract, or short paper
to: Steven Quane
squane@mtech.edu
Speaker registration deadline August 25, 2023.
Symposium registration:
Registration: $150
Student Registration: $50 (Free for registered graduate student giving a presentation/poster; free for registered undergraduates)
Wednesday, September 27th, 2023
Short Course: “Portable Analytical Field Methods”
Enrollment Limit: 20
Fee: $100 professionals/$10 Students
Thursday, September 28th, 2023
Oral Presentations (including lunch) followed by an evening Poster Session at Montana Tech, with appetizers and a no-host bar.
Friday, September 29th, 2023
Oral Presentations (including lunch) followed by an evening Map Chat at the Butte Brewing & Pizza Company.
Saturday, September 30th, 2023
Field Trip. Morning and afternoon tours of the Montana Resources Continental Pit in Butte, MT. Fee $20. Space will be limited.
Short course: “Portable Analytical Field Methods” | Short course: This workshop will cover the applications of common portable instrumentation in mineral exploration, with an emphasis on exploration for critical minerals. The morning session will introduce the fundamentals of portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF), shortwave infrared (SWIR) spectroscopy, ultraviolet fluorescence, and gamma-ray spectrometry with opportunities to gain hands-on experience with these tools. Attendees are encouraged to bring samples they wish to analyze with these instruments. An optional afternoon session will cover the processing and interpretation of some data collected with these instruments using ioGAS and The Spectral Geologist. |
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9:00 a.m.–Noon | Interactive working session |
Noon–1 p.m. | Lunch (included) |
1:00 p.m.–4:00 p.m. | Interactive working session |
9:00 a.m.– Noon | Talk session |
9:00 a.m.– 9:50 a.m. (approximately) | Opening remarks–Garrett Smith: Overview of Current Mining Operations in Montana |
1:00 p.m.– 4:00 p.m. | Talk session |
4:00 p.m.– 6:30 p.m. | Poster session & No host bar |
Uuno Sahinen Award Presentation |
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9:00 a.m.– Noon | Talk session |
9:00 a.m.– 9:40 a.m. (approximately) | KEYNOTE–Allen Andersen (USGS) EarthMRI Program with Overview with Example from our NW Region |
9:40 a.m.– 10:20 a.m. (approximately) | KEYNOTE–Eric Anderson (USGS) EarthMRI-a Montana perspective |
1:00 p.m.– 4:00 p.m. | Talk session |
5:00 p.m.– 8:00 p.m. | Map Chat, beer & pizza at Butte Brewing & Pizza Company |
Field Trip: Morning and Afternoon tours, Fee $20 | Montana Resources Continental Pit in Butte. Space will be limited. |
Garrett Smith is a geochemist, currently working for the Montana DEQ’s Hard Rock Mining Section in Helena. Originally from New Mexico, he returned to his ancestral roots in Montana to complete his undergraduate and graduate degrees at Montana Tech. With an early emphasis on stable isotope geochemistry, his project experience includes the hydrogeology of abandoned and active mines, characterization of geothermal systems, hard rock mine permitting, and public outreach. Prior to his current position, Garrett was an assistant research professor with the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology in Butte.
Overview of Current Mining Operations in Montana.
Allen is a Research Geologist in the USGS Spokane, WA field office for Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center. Allen works on projects related to economic geology.
Allen's broader interests include the genesis of magmatic-hydrothermal ore deposits, geochemistry applied to the assessment of critical mineral resources, fluid-rock interaction, and ore-forming processes of critical mineral deposits. More specifically, his wok focuses on the geology of rare earth element (REE) deposits, the behavior of REE in fluids and carbonatite magmas, and mineral resources associated with Paleogene magmatism across western North America. Allen also maintains interest in the formation of magmatic ore deposits enriched in platinum-group elements, chromium, nickel, copper, cobalt, titanium, and vanadium. Prior to joining the USGS, he spent more than six summers as a consulting geologist in the mineral exploration industry.
Eric Anderson is a research geophysicist at the U.S. Geological Survey in Golden, CO. His research is focused on solving mineral resource problems through the theory and application of geophysical methods, primarily magnetic, radiometric, gravimetric, and electromagnetic. He integrates geophysical data with geology and mineral deposit models to understand the three-dimensional framework of ore deposit formation, and he also applies geophysical methods for geologic mapping purposes. He works mostly in the western U.S. on mineral deposits that form in convergent margin settings.
9:00 a.m.– 9:20 a.m. | INTRO | INTRODUCTION TO 2023 MINING & MINERAL SYMPOSIUM |
9:20 a.m.– 10:20 a.m. | Garrett Smith | Overview of Mining Operations in Montana |
10:20 a.m.– 10:40 a.m. | BREAK | BREAK |
10:40 a.m.– 11:00 a.m. | George Brimhall | Evidence for Hydrogen Diffusion in Porphyry Copper Deposit Ore Genesis and Alteration Mineral Zoning |
11:00 a.m.– 11:20 a.m. | Mario Guzman | Evidence for High-Level Porphyritic Intrusion Below the Sunnyside Epithermal Vein Deposit, Colorado |
11:20 a.m.– 11:40 a.m. | Jarred Zimmerman | Controlling Hydrothermal Fluid Flow and Changing Porosity in the Tuff of Sulphur Creek, Yellowstone National Park, Wyomin |
11:40 a.m.– 12:00 p.m. | BREAK | BREAK |
12:00 p.m.– 12:20 p.m. | Katharina Pfaff | Mineralogy Across Scales: An Example from the Idaho Copper Belt |
12:20 p.m.– 12:40 p.m. | Gregory Bell | Ruby Graphite Project - Early Exploration Results |
12:40 p.m.– 1:00 p.m. | Amanda Griffith | Update on Montana Resources |
1:00 p.m.– 2:00 p.m. | LUNCH | LUNCH |
2:00 p.m.– 2:20 p.m. | Adrian Van Rythoven | Critical Mineral Potential of the Phosphoria Formation in Southwestern Montana |
2:20 p.m.– 2:40 p.m. | Virginia Gillerman | Nd-enriched Lehmi Pass REE-Th-Fe District, Idaho-Montana: Mid-Paleozoic Mineralization from Crustal-scale Hydrothermal Circulation |
2:40 p.m.– 3:00 p.m. | Reed Lewis | Critical Minerals Research Efforts by the Idaho Geological Society |
3:00 p.m.– 3:20 p.m. | BREAK | BREAK |
3:20 p.m.– 3:40 p.m. | Michael Gary | Using Indicator Minerals Taken from Stream Sediment Samples to Detect Rare Earth Element Deposits |
3:40 p.m.– 4:00 p.m. | Marisa Redgrave | Geophysical Survey in the Bearpaw Mountains on the Rocky Boy Reservation in Northeastern Montana |
4:00 p.m.– 4:20 p.m. | Sarah Risedorf | New Investigations of the Carbonate-related, REE-Nb Deposits in Southern Ravalli County, Montana |
4:20 p.m.– 4:40 p.m. | Alexei Rukhlov | Episodic Carbonatite Emplacement in the Canadian Cordillera from 810 to 330 Ma: From Supercontinent Breakup to Orogenic Convergence |
4:40 p.m.– 5:00 p.m. | John Metesh | Uno Sahinen Award Presentations |
5:00 p.m.– 7:00 p.m. | Posters/Reception | Poster presentations and reception in Mineral Museum @ Montana Tech |
9:00 a.m.– 10:00 a.m. | Allen Andersen | Keynote: Earth MRI Program Overview and USGS Critical Mineral Research in the Northwestern United States |
10:00 a.m.– 11:00 a.m. | Eric Anderson | Keynote: Earth Mapping Resources Initiative - a Montana Perspective |
11:00 a.m.– 11:20 a.m. | BREAK | BREAK |
11:20 a.m.– 11:40 a.m. | Danie Grobler | Ni+Cu+PGE Mineralization within the Lower Ultramafic Series of the Stillwater Complex, Montana, USA |
11:40 a.m.– 12:00 p.m. | Chris Gammons | New Investigations of the Winston Gold Mining District, Montana |
12:00 p.m.– 12:20 p.m. | Celine Beaucamp-Stout | Trace Elements in Fluorescent Sphalerite of the Philipsburg Mining District, Granite County, Montana |
12:20 p.m.– 12:40 p.m. | Karen Lund | Structural Evolution of Gold-Bearing Cobalt-Copper Deposits of the Blackbird Mining District, East-Central Idaho |
12:40 p.m.– 1:00 p.m. | Kyle Nacey | Structural Evolution of Gold-Bearing Cobalt-Copper Deposits of the Blackbird Mining District, East-Central Idaho |
1:00 p.m.– 2:00 p.m. | LUNCH | LUNCH |
2:00 p.m.– 2:20 p.m. | Kyle Eastman | Geology, Mineralization, and Critical Minerals Potential of the Radersburg and Giant Hill 7.5’ Quadrangles, Broadwater County, Montana |
2:20 p.m.– 2:40 p.m. | Kaleb Scarberry | Geologic Mapping and Mineralization of the Elkhorn 7.5’ Quadrangle and Historic Mining District, Jefferson County, Montana |
2:40 p.m.– 3:00 p.m. | Amanda Rossi | Upcoming MBMG Economic Geology Projects |
3:00 p.m.– 3:20 p.m. | BREAK | BREAK |
3:20 p.m.– 3:40 p.m. | John Sanford | Modern Data Delivery |
3:40 p.m.– 4:00 p.m. | Denise Herman & Connie Thomson | Standing on the Shoulders of Giants: Preserving Rock Collections for Future Study |
4:00 p.m.– 4:20 p.m. | Colleen Elliot | A New View of the Chief Joseph Plutonic-Metamorphic Complex, SW Montana |
5:00 p.m.– 7:00 p.m. | MAP CHAT | MAP CHAT and PIZZA at Butte Brewing Company 465 E. Galena St. Butte, MT |
Butte has a wide range of lodging options available. Potential accommodations can be found here:
https://southwestmt.com/listings/butte-silver-bow-chamber-of-commerce/
and here: https://butteelevated.com/stay/
The Comfort Inn Butte has offered a special rate for the dates of the 2023 Montana Mining and Mineral Symposium.
Reservations can be made by calling the hotel directly 406.494.8850 and asking for the group name: 2023 Mining & Mineral Symposium or by clicking booking link: 2023 Mining and Mineral Symposium Booking Link.
There are a limited number of rooms and the special rate is valid until midnight of Sept. 19, 2023.
Coming early September!
This level sponsorship includes the following:
This level sponsorship includes the following:
This level sponsorship includes the following:
Note: Any of the above can be co-sponsored (i.e., Two Pyrite level efforts can co-sponsor the Beer and Pizza “MapChat”).
This level sponsorship includes the following:
Gneiss Lake Tobacco Roots
Sluice Boxes State Park