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Basin Montana Tunnel Company Records, 1933-1942

Overview of the Collection

Subject
Basin Montana Tunnel Company
Title
Basin Montana Tunnel Company Records
Dates
1933-1942 (inclusive)
Quantity
15.5 linear feet, (18 legal and oversize archival boxes and 6 oversize volumes)
Collection Number
Mss 053
Summary
This collection contains correspondence, financial, operational reports, maps, and blueprints generated by the Basin Montana Tunnel Company, which operated silver, gold, lead, and zinc ore mining operations between Butte and Helena, Montana.
Repository
University of Montana, Mansfield Library, Archives and Special Collections
Archives and Special Collections
Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library
University of Montana
32 Campus Dr. #9936
59812-9936
Missoula, MT
Telephone: 406-243-2053
library.archives@umontana.edu
Access Restrictions

Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of Archives and Special Collections, the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, and The University of Montana-Missoula.

Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for creating this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Historic Publications and Records Commission. Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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Historical Note

The Basin Montana Tunnel Company was incorporated in 1927 by William H. Hax, New York City, and Carl J. Trauerman of Butte.

The company had the Gray (Grey Eagle) and Comet patented claims and more than 100 additional patented and unpatented claims, about 21,000 acres, on the west side of High Ore Gulch in the Cataract District, extending about three miles south of the Comet Mill to the Great Northern Railroad station at Fuller, Montana, and about 6 miles northeast of Basin, Montana. The claim contained silver, gold, lead, and zinc ore. The company had the only custom milling plant in Montana outside of Anaconda, and the company was the largest producer of base metals in Montana outside of Butte. The company employed 100 men.

The mine was considered played out by 1941, and the company was inactive by 1949.

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Content Description

This collection contains correspondence, financial, operational reports, maps, and blueprints generated by the Basin Montana Tunnel Company, operations located between Butte and Helena Montana. Collection materials are predominantly financial records and operational reports. Included are nearly complete sequences of operational time reports, mineral content assay reports, and ore shipment tonnages from the mid 1930s through 1941. This collection also contains an extensive collection of cross-section maps from the Comet mine near Basin, Montana. Materials in this collection provide insights into Depression Era mining operations in southwestern Montana.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Researchers are responsible for using in accordance with 17 U.S.C. and any other applicable statutes. Copyright not transferred to The University of Montana.

Preferred Citation

[Name of document], Basin Montana Tunnel Company Records, Archives and Special Collections, Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, The University of Montana-Missoula.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The collection is arranged in four series:

Series I: Correspondence, 1 folder, 1936-1937

Series II: Financial Records, 4.0 linear feet and 6 oversize volumes, 1933-1941

Series III: Reports, 4.5 linear feet, 1934-1942

Series IV: Maps and Blueprints, 3.0 linear feet and 2 oversize blueprint rolls, 1935-1937

Acquisition Information

Gift of William Fenton, 1970.

Processing Note

The actions of the original processors are unknown. In 2004, the collection was re-described.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Mines and mineral resources --Montana--Jefferson County
  • Mining corporations -- Montana--Basin

Geographical Names

  • Comet Mine (Jefferson County, Mont.)

Form or Genre Terms

  • Blueprints
  • Business records -- Montana--Basin
  • Maps

Finding aid prepared by Jodi Allison-Bunnell and Jack Rowan
2004

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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