- Camping
- Gold
- Copper
- Parking
- Creek
- Garnets
- Silver
The Bureau of Mines has estimated that demonstrated U.S. reserves of gold are 85 million ounces. Approximately one-half of the total resources are estimated to be by-product gold, while 40% of the remaining one-half (56 million ounces) could be mined for gold alone … Most U.S. gold resources are in the nation’s western states. About 80% of the U.S. gold resources are estimated to be in Alaska, California, Idaho, Montana and Washington. (Earthsearch, Inc. 1983)
Overview of The Mines
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One mine is included in this claim. The mines are on the Upper No. 2 Lode. The Shaft on top of the mountain is currently caved and can be dug out and inspected, but the surveyors have documented only the part of the mine that is open. The portal on the open adit was partially caved and the opening was small. A person could get inside but it was difficult so while the surveyor's were on site they have dug out a few more feet so the opening is more easily accessible. The new owners will want to continue to dig out more so it is easy to just walk in to the portal. Opening the portal more will also help to dry out the mine. A dry mine is safer than a wet one. We estimate it would take about a day for 1 or 2 guys to dig out the portal. Currently, the adits' portal is small due to a portion that has caved in, this opening is large enough for people to get inside and wouldn't take but a few hours to dig open completely. Once this is opened a locked gate would be required by law to prevent people from going inside and getting injured. Inside the mine it is about 5' wide and 5' - 6' tall. The drift is directly on the rich ore body that runs the length of the main drift. There is still a lot of ore visible even though a lot of ore has been previously mined. The Main drift of the mine extends more than 250' and has two drifts off of it which makes the total over 500' of workings. |
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The fact that such rich samples are so easily found right from the start make this mine an easy one to begin making a profit from right away. The workings are impressive, the entrance on the main drift is small currently but could quickly be made larger. Surveyors did see the pure gold and collected several samples which we currently have in the office. The surveyors did see a lot of good rich gold ore with some native gold and as mentioned the gold bearing vein material is visible and can be removed and processed. |
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The Upper No. 2 Lode Mine is located in the southwest quarter of section 16. It is short drive from Helena to the mine. Upper No. 2 Lode claim is about 4800 feet in altitude. |
Upper No. 2 Lode Main Drift Diagram |
While it is sometimes said old mines have been ‘worked out’ as the saying means there is no gold left, the truth is “it is better to say they are worked over; it is also true that the primitive methods used and the wasteful haste to get rich indulged in, left much of the gold in the ground, so that improved methods … will give even better results than those first obtained.” (MBMG Open Report 466)
Details about the Mine:
| Access to the Mine | A pickup truck can get to the entrance of the main mine drift. There is plenty of areas to park for staging below the mine. |
| Tailing Present | Surveyors estimate well over 6,000 tons. |
| Depth / Length | 500+ feet. |
| Minerals in the Mine | Historically mined for gold and copper. Minerals of quartz, pyrite, galena, gold, silver, black sands with rare earth minerals would be expected. There isn't any history specifically for the Upper No. 2 Lode mine. Gold will be the mineral to mine from the Upper No. 2 Lode and there is a lot of very rich ore at the mine. The dump of the mine and the veins in the walls show a lot of fine native gold. |
| Foot traffic at the mine | Plenty of vehicles driving by on the road. |
| Last Worked | Unknown. |
| Number of Mines | 1 Lode |
| Nearest city with amenities | Helena |
| Access to the Claim | A dirt road breaks off from the highway and leads all the way to the mine. |
| Parking and Staging on the Claim | There is a large flat area south of the claim that could be used for parking and staging. |
| Resources | Year round water in the creek at the road, grasses, sage and trees. |
| Structures on claim | 1 cabin |
| Elevation | Aprox. 4800 feet |
| Total Workings | Over 500 feet of workings documented which are cut along a gold rich ore body. Two drifts going in opposite directions come off the main leg. The air quality is good throughout the mine as far as we were able to go. The mine is solid rock so minimal timbering is needed. At the present there is no timbering inside the mine and very little material has fallen inside. |
Montana is ranked 7th by the USGS for total gold production in the US and has 31 mining districts. Gold production for the 1800’s to 1968 is 17.8 million ounces and large amounts of gold have been mined from 1968 to present. Geologists have predicted that based on the past and the geology of Montana that several large gold and silver deposits will be found and developed in the future (Bergendahl and Koshmann, 1968).
Climate/Weather:
USGS Information
Economic information about the deposit and operations |
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| Operation Type | Lode |
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| Commodity type | Metallic |
| Commodities | Gold- Primary Copper - Primary Silver - Tertiary Lead - Tertiary Zinc - Tertiary |
| Geologic Structures | FOLDED AND FAULTED PRECAMBRIAN AND PALEOZOIC SEDIMENTARY ROCKS. CRETACEOUS OR TERTIARY IGNEOUS INTRUSIONS. |
| Nearby Scientific Data | Grayson Shale, Newland limestone, Empire shale |
| References | USGS Database - 10148954, 10269253, 10148620, 10400178, 60001035, 10221185 |
Mining District Information
Confederate District |
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| The Confederate mining district, containing some of the richest placer ground in Montana, lies on the western slope of the Big Belt Mountains between Helena and Townsend east of the Missouri River (now Canyon Ferry Reservoir). The Confederate district continued to produce gold, through both lode mining and dredging, at least into the late 1940s (Malone et al. 1991; Wolle 1963; Lyden 1948). | |
| The principal rocks underlying the Confederate district are sedimentary, including shales of the Spokane and Greyson formations, as well as limestones of the Newland formation. These are cut by diorite and quartz diorite dikes, stocks, and sills. Narrow quartz veins, found along fractures in the diorite and along bedding planes in the shale, contain most of the high grade gold ore. Ore values decrease with depth, and few mines have been developed deeper than 150 feet. In addition to the quartz veins in the shales, the diorite contains "low grade mineralized shear zones" (Sahinen 1935; Pardee and Schrader 1933; Reed 1951). | |
| The rich placer gravels of the drainages were deposited during the interglacial stages of the Pleistocene period. Their distribution suggests that the common source of most of the placer gold in Confederate and White Creek is a series of quartz lodes on Miller Mountain on the divide between the two drainages (Pardee and Schrader 1933; Reed 1951). | |
| White Creek is a subdistrict of Confederate, located in a parallel canyon to the north and west. Following the initial discovery in 1865, the camp was active for close to 20 years ... (Lyden 1948). | |
| Total production for White Creek is estimated at $1 million to $1.5 million. One of the richer terraces averaged $10/square yard, or $500,000 in all (Pardee and Schrader 1933; Lyden 1948). | |
