Thin section images of drill core and hand samples from the Stillwater Mine area, Stillwater Complex, Montana

This dataset includes photographic images of thin sections created from hand samples and drill core from the Stillwater Complex, Montana, along with a shapefile representing the locations of the underground samples and drill hole collars. The samples were collected and core was drilled in order to define platinum-group element resources associated with the J-M Reef at the Stillwater Mine in the Stillwater Complex. The images of the entire thin section, both in plane- and cross-polarized light, were taken using a high-resolution digital camera on a macro stand. The data in each zip file is organized into a folder containing the 'RAW' unprocessed .CR2 images (when available) and associated .xmp metadata files, and a folder containing processed .jpg images. Folders with a "p1" or "p2" designation (representing parts 1 and 2) were organized into two parts in response to file size restrictions. Folders with "DH" in the folder name contain images taken from drill core samples. The SWTR_Mine_Underground_Samples" folder contains images taken from hand samples from underground mine workings. The file name of each photograph correlates to the sample ID or name and depth (in feet) of the drill hole from which the thin section was sourced, and whether the photograph represents a plane-polarized (ppl) or cross-polarized (xpl) light image. For example, the "11795-1.8_ppl.JPG" file is a plane-polarized image of the thin section sourced from drill hole 11795 at a depth of 1.8 feet. Multiple images from the same drill hole and depth are identified with "(2)", "(3)", etc. in the file name. The .jpg and .CR2 images have Section 508 compliant metadata as per USGS section 508 compliancy officer guidelines. The .xmp files are included with the 'RAW' .CR2 files because the original .CR2 metadata cannot be altered. In order to add descriptive information to the metadata, the .xmp files must be included. The edited image metadata for the .jpg files can be viewed using software such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Elements, or windows file explorer. The raw .CR2 images edited metadata can be viewed in Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Elements, but not using windows file explorer. Adobe Elements and Adobe Photoshop recognize the link of the .xmp file with it's corresponding .CR2 file, and windows file explorer does not. For the .CR2 images, only the original metadata, created when the photograph was taken, can be be viewed using windows file explorer.