Stillwater igneous complex

Stillwater igneous complex around Mouat chromite mine
Chromitite with bronzite phenocrysts from Stillwater Igneous Complex
Sulfidic serpentintite, platinum-palladium ore from the Stillwater Mine. This is an altered pegmatitic dunite very richly infused with intercumulate Pt/Pd-rich chalcopyrite & pyrrhotite (golden metallic minerals). In this sample, the blackish areas are serpentine masses (formerly large olivine crystals). Some magnetite is also mixed in with the serpentine. Ore grade is about 2.5 ounces of Pd-Pt per ton of rock, with a Pd-Pt ratio of about 3:1.

The Stillwater igneous complex is a large layered mafic intrusion (LMI) located in southern Montana in Stillwater, Sweet Grass and Park Counties. The complex is exposed across 30 miles (48 km) of the north flank of the Beartooth Mountain Range. The complex has extensive reserves of chromium ore and has a history of being mined for chromium. More recent mining activity has produced palladium and other platinum group elements.[1]

  1. ^ The Stillwater Complex: A review of the geology by I. S. McCallum http://serc.carleton.edu/files/NAGTWorkshops/petrology03/McCallum.Stillwater.doc