RockWoofSketch map
Woof’s favorite find
Stillwater Mine
We picked it because its USGS record mentions 2 gem or collectible minerals (Gold, Silver) and 6 of our card minerals overall. No other named site here scores as high on both counts. USGS lists it as producer for Platinum, Palladium, PGE. Minerals mentioned: Gold, Magnetite, Pyrite, Galena, Copper, Silver. Approx. location 45.388, -109.880. USGS record.
Ask first: a USGS record doesn’t mean you can visit. Find out who owns the land and get permission before collecting.
Field cards: what kind of sites?
The mineral was noted here, without development.
Explored or test-dug, with no recorded production.
Produced ore or material at some point in the past.
A processing plant site.
Was producing when the record was made.
Status terms come from USGS MRDS records.
Mineral cards
Copper
Mohs 2.5–3. Native copper is soft and turns green as it weathers. Mindat
19 sites
Gold
Mohs 2.5–3. Soft, heavy and bright yellow; it doesn’t tarnish. Mindat
13 sites
Silver
Mohs 2.5–3. Native silver tarnishes black. Mindat
13 sites
Pyrite
Mohs 6–6.5. Brassy “fool’s gold,” often cubic. Mindat
10 sites
Magnetite
Mohs 5.5–6.5. Black and strongly magnetic. Mindat
8 sites
Galena
Mohs 2.5–2.75. Heavy, silvery lead ore that breaks into cubes. Mindat
1 site
Counts are sites whose USGS record mentions the mineral or commodity. Hardness from Mindat.
Minerals recorded here
Chalcopyrite 9Pentlandite 9Pyrrhotite 9Chromite 5Bronzite 1Gold 1Palladium 1Platinum 1Mackinawite 1Pyrite 1Commodities
Nickel 17Copper 16Chromium 15Platinum 12Cobalt 9Palladium 7Gold 5Rhodium 4PGE 3Silver 2Sites
| Site | Commodity | Minerals recorded | Status | Approx. location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mountain View Mine | Chromium | Bronzite, Chromite | Past Producer | 45.387, -109.907 |
| Little Rocky Creek Ni-Cu | Copper, Nickel | Chalcopyrite, Pentlandite, Pyrrhotite | Occurrence | 45.357, -109.806 |
| Mouat Ni-Cu Verdegris Creek | Nickel, Copper | Chalcopyrite, Pentlandite, Pyrrhotite | Prospect | 45.380, -109.896 |
| Nye Basin Ni-Cu East | Cobalt, Copper, Nickel | Chalcopyrite, Pentlandite, Pyrrhotite | Occurrence | 45.374, -109.836 |
| Fishtail Creek Ni-Cu | Copper, Nickel | Chalcopyrite, Pentlandite, Pyrrhotite | Occurrence | 45.340, -109.758 |
| Mouat Ni-Cu South | Copper, Nickel | Chalcopyrite, Pentlandite, Pyrrhotite | Occurrence | 45.377, -109.900 |
| Benbow Ni-Cu | Nickel, Copper | Chalcopyrite, Pentlandite, Pyrrhotite | Occurrence | 45.360, -109.814 |
| Chrome Lake Ni-Cu | Nickel, Copper | Chalcopyrite, Pentlandite, Pyrrhotite | Occurrence | 45.352, -109.797 |
| Nye Basin Ni-Cu Lip | Nickel, Copper | Chalcopyrite, Pentlandite, Pyrrhotite | Occurrence | 45.379, -109.853 |
| Nye Basin Lip | Platinum, Palladium, Rhodium, Chromium | Chromite | Occurrence | 45.381, -109.858 |
| Nye Basin Alice Cr-Pt | Platinum, Chromium | Chromite | Occurrence | 45.382, -109.848 |
| Nye Basin Big Seven | Chromium, Platinum | Chromite | Occurrence | 45.373, -109.820 |
| Benbow Mine | Chromium | Chromite | Past Producer | 45.364, -109.807 |
| Stillwater Mine | Platinum, Palladium, PGE | Gold, Palladium, Platinum, Chalcopyrite, Pentlandite, Pyrrhotite, Mackinawite, Pyrite | Producer | 45.388, -109.880 |
| Blitz | Platinum, Palladium, Rhodium | — | Occurrence | 45.370, -109.791 |
| Mountain View Cr-Pt | Platinum, Chromium | — | Occurrence | 45.382, -109.900 |
| Nye Basin Cr-Pt | Chromium, PGE | — | Occurrence | 45.370, -109.823 |
| Chrome Lake Cr-Pt | Platinum, Chromium | — | Occurrence | 45.352, -109.796 |
| Benbow Cr-Pt | Platinum, Chromium, Nickel, Copper | — | Occurrence | 45.363, -109.817 |
| (Facility) Stillwater Pgm Smelter | PGE | — | Plant | 45.634, -109.245 |
| Nye Basin, Big Seven Fault | Chromium | — | Prospect | 45.373, -109.820 |
| Fishtail Creek Mine | Copper | — | Past Producer | 45.371, -109.690 |
| Stillwater Complex Chromite Deposit | — | — | Past Producer | 45.386, -109.904 |
| Hawkes Lode | Gold | — | Prospect | 45.341, -109.929 |
| Jim Hawkes | Silver | — | Prospect | 45.283, -109.947 |
| Benbow Ni/Cu | Nickel | — | Prospect | 45.361, -109.815 |
| Stillwater Calcite Deposits | Calcium | — | Occurrence | 45.544, -109.614 |
| Benbow Mine | Chromium | — | Past Producer | 45.364, -109.806 |
| Rocky Claims | Nickel | — | Prospect | 45.350, -109.797 |
| Mouat Nickel-Copper | Nickel | — | Prospect | 45.380, -109.897 |
| (Facility) Columbus Smelter | Chromium | — | Plant | 45.634, -109.245 |
| Pyramid Mountain Group | Gold | — | Occurrence | 45.267, -109.766 |
| Nye Basin, Lip | Chromium | — | Prospect | 45.380, -109.858 |
| Rosebud | Molybdenum | — | Occurrence | 45.268, -109.638 |
| Mouat Iron-Titanium Group | Iron | — | Occurrence | 45.377, -109.846 |
| Nye Basin, Alice | Chromium | — | Prospect | 45.381, -109.839 |
| Stillwater Complex | Palladium, Copper, Chromium, Platinum, Nickel | — | Producer | 45.417, -110.001 |
Fossil collections
The Paleobiology Database lists 2 fossil collection records in Stillwater County. These are research records, not public dig sites.
Nearby counties
Sweet Grass County · Park County · Carbon County · Gallatin County · Yellowstone County
Montana mineral guides
- Tourmaline in Montana
- Quartz in Montana
- Garnet in Montana
- Gold in Montana
- Mica in Montana
- Feldspar in Montana
Back to all Montana counties.
How we built this page: we counted named sites in the USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) for this area, left out sand, gravel, crushed stone, clay pits and unnamed sites, grouped them by Census county, and linked every site to its USGS record. We did not visit these sites, and MRDS does not tell you who owns the land or whether collecting is allowed.
Source: USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS). USGS ceased systematic updates to MRDS around 2011, so status and details may be out of date. Each site links to its USGS record.
Updated