Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1945-09-14
Enlarge Scope
Ground Water
Possibilities

Montana Bureau Mines and
Geology Has Engineers and
Biologists in Field Engaged
in Two-Year Program Look.
ing for More Ground Water,
New Ore Bodies, Potential.
ties of Montan. Oil.
Butte.-With engineers and geolo-
gists in the field, work is well under
way on the new two-year program Of
the Montana Bureau of Mines and
Geology. This will bring aid to small
mining enterprises, enlarge the scope
Of aid to farmers in developing Mon
tana's ground water resources, and,
1t is hoped, to complete big geolog-
ical program, bearing on the search
for new ore deposits in sedimentary
rocks. This program is the result Of
the $4,000 appropriation granted for
the work by the last legislature and
will be continued for two years.
During the last fifteen years geo.
logical reports have been published on
various mining districts of the state.
Each was devoted to a separate dis
trict. Now reports will be made on
the Marysville, Bryant (Hecla), up
per Blachoot river, Independence and
counties and to complete the report
Of the Butte Highlands district.
In addition the Bureau is making
surface and sub-surface studies Of
Mississippian and Devonian strata in
northwestern, central and north-cen-
trail Montana. This is being done in
cooperation with the United States
Geological Survey. This will make
possible an analysis of the oil and
gas possibilities of these areas. Work
was started on this project last year.
DR.. Eugene S. Perry, Chief geolo-
gist, assisted by Thor Karlstrom, is
making a progressive study of nom
metallic mineral deposits. DR.. Perry
is also in charge of the ground water
survey of the state and has been Of
direct assistance to many farmers in
northern and eastern Montana in To-
eating wells for domestic, stock, and,
in some instances, for irrigation pur-
poses. Letters from agricultural
areas attest to his success in telling
farmers where to sink wells, the
depth necessary and the flow avail
able. This is the result of his years
Of work in ground water resources,
which is being continued.
Five memoirs and five miscellan-
eous papers on ground water in Mon
tana have been published by the Bur-
eau. The ground water work has
been of much value to the people Of
the state, providing information from
which hundreds of producing water
wells have been drilled. These wells
provide drinking water for towns and
cities and water for all purposes on
ranches and farms. Anyone drilling
water we'll in central or eastern
Montana may receive advice by writ
ing to the Bureau on the probable
depth to water at the spot chosen,
and the volume and quality of water
to be expected. Since the last ground
water memoir was published many
new wells have been drilled and much
additional information is now avail
able.
To meet the demand for Informal
ton on Montana placers which is an
ticipated with the end of the war, it
is planned to produce a map showing
the lode gold districts and the drain
age from those districts which may
yield placer gold; another map show
ing the distribution and extent of pos
sible gold bearing gravels; classified
ton of all known Montana placers as
to type of operation; general descrip-
ton of each placer district; investiga-
ton of possible buried placers in AL
der gulch; description of the placer
gold deposits in Yellowstone and Big
Horn rivers and in the Gravelly range.
DR.. L. L. Sloss is continuing the
surface and sub-surface studies OF
Mississippian and Devonian strata in
Montana, Analysing the oil and gas
production possibilities of these
strata. Working with DR.. Sloss is DR..
Wilson M. Laird, on leave from North
Dakota Geological survey, to repre-
sent the United States Geological
Survey on this work.
Professor o. A. Dingman will con-
duct the Aid to Prospectors' pro-
gram. He will travel about the state
giving aid and advice on placer and
lode mining problems, without cost,
to those prospectors and small mine
operators who are not yet in po-
sition to employ technical aid
DR.. S. R. B. Cooke is in charge of
the Bureaus mineral dressing re-
search. He will work on methods Of
beneficiating certain meallic and
non-metallic ores of Montana, which
will parallel the geologic work on the
deposits. In addition he will work
with Professor Dingman on the "Aid
to Prospectors," offering assistance
to small operators in the solution Of
their milling problems.
DR.. John M. Conrow, assisted by
Charles Higgins, is in the field, max
ing a study of certain ore deposits in
WorL m tho rro