THE MINERAL INDUSTRY OF MONTANA 49~5 
 
a small stockpile of manganese dioxide nodules, from which occasional shipments
were made, remained at the smelter. 
 Taylor-Knapp Co. continued mining and processing manganese ores at Philipsburg
to be used primarily for batteries. Ore from the True Fissure mine on Camp
Creek was trucked to Philipsburg for concentration. 
 
 Molybdenum.—Copper Ridge Mines, Ltd., engaged in exploratory drilling
for molybdenum along the Montana-Idaho border in the Horse Creek Pass area
of Ravalli County. 
 
 Silver.—Silver production declined 61 percent from the 1966 level
because of the copper strike. Byproduct silver from the Butte mines accounted
for 1,856,486 ounces, or 90 percent of the total silver produced. 
 The large increase in silver prices, caused partly by increasing industrial
demand, prompted considerable activity at silver-bearing properties and exploration
throughout the State. Exploration activity was reported in Beaverhead, Madison,
Jefferson, Cascade, and Lewis and Clark Counties. 
 Production of silver concentrates was resumed at the N.ancy Lee mill in
Mineral County, which had been idle since last spring. Ore comes from the
Keystone vein on the 640 level of the Nancy Lee mine. The mill building was
expanded to house a second larger capacity ball mill and larger flotation
cell banks. Mill concentrates were temporarily stockpiled because of the
copper strike which closed the East Helena smelter where the ore was normally
taken. 
 Silver Ledge, Inc., extended an adit on the Hidden Treasure mine, northeast
of Clinton in Missoula County, to intersect a projection of the Cape Nome
mine oreshoot. The shaft at the Jo Dandy mine in Broadwater County was dewatered
and the mine reopened to produce silver and lead from the 700 level. Mascot
SilverLead Mines, Inc., exposed two oreshoots while drifting on the vein
from the 200 level. 
 The Sierra Silver Mining Co., of 
Phoenix, Ariz., began exploration of the 
Cadgie Taylor property 2 miles east of 
Philipsburg. A small amount of silver was 
shipped from the Montego mine in Fergus 
County. 
 Milling-grade silver-lead-copper ore was produced from the New Departure
mine in Beaverhead County by Spokane National Mines, Inc., and shipped to
the firm's mill at Bannack. Mining in the Quien Sabe shaft of the New Departure
mine, which had been discontinued in 1962, was resumed with development of
12 stopes and a screening plant to separate limestone waste from the ore;
3,500 tons of ore from the New Departure mine was stockpiled at the Bannack
mill. 
 
 Thorium.—Union Pacific Railroad Co. conducted surface geological mapping,
a sampling program, and diamond drilling to determine thorium and rare-earth
reserves in the Lemhi Pass area of Beaverhead County under an agreement with
Sawyer Petroleum Co. of Los Angeles. 
 Thorium deposits in the Montana portion of the Lemhi Pass district on the
Montana-Idaho border were described in in a report of the Montana Bureau
of Mines and Geology,5 done in cooperation with the State Planning Board.
Quartz veins are said to contain significant amounts of thorium; rare earth
elements are also present with yttrium dominant. 
 
 Tungsten.—Minerals Engineering Co., Grand Junction, Cob., through
an agreement with General Electric Co., reopened and beg3n reactivation of
the Caivert Creek tungsten mine near Wise River in Beaverhead County. The
tungsten concentrator at Glen was renovated and enlarged to 250-ton-per-day
capacity, and construction was begun ~on a chemical treatment plant. Plans
called for expansion of the present open pit and the driving af a 1,350-foot
adit. 
 Tri-City Concrete Products, Inc.., of Deer Lodge, shipped tungsten from
the old Bonanza or McCabe property to Union Carbide at Bishop, Calif. During
the year, two stopes were started, 200 feet of drift was completed, power
was installed, and a new ore bin was built on the property. 
 New Park Mining Co. engaged in geochemical exploration for tungsten in the
northern end of the Pioneer Mountains. 
 
 Uranium.—A total of 150 uranium lease applications was made to the
State Land Board, mostly in west-central Montana. 
 
~ Geach, Robert D. Thorium Deposits of the Lemhi Pass District, Beaverhead
County, Montana. Montana BuMines and Geol., Spec. Pub. 41, November 1966,
22 pp.