Mines and Mining in Montana photograph collection, 1867-1971

The first gold discovered in Montana was mined in small quantities at Gold Creek in Deer Lodge County in the 1850’s. More notable claims were staked elsewhere in the following decade, largely concentrated in a geographic area extending from Marysville in the north, south to Virginia City, and west to Philipsburg. In May of 1863, a group of prospectors came upon significant quantities of placer gold in Alder Gulch, located just west of Virginia City, and by the end of 1864, the entire gulch was claimed and organized into districts. Considerable strikes also took place at Last Chance Gulch in Helena, and profitable quartz and placer claims were developed in the area extending from Rimini north to Marysville. In addition, quartz mines thrived in the Philipsburg area in the late 1860’s. Placer mining in the Butte Mining District was initially unproductive, but once rich veins were discovered below the surface, a hard rock mining boom began, this time for silver. In the 1880’s, Butte mines profited from an escalating demand for copper and by 1892, copper production overtook silver and gold production in the district.

Placer mining involved the recovery of natural accumulations of gold or other precious metals deposited in and around waterways. Miners used pans, rockers, or sluices to sift out metal deposits. Later, they employed hydraulic mining, creating ditches and flumes to redirect water into monitors, which delivered high-pressure jets of water to loose sediment from hillsides. Quartz mining followed, and involved the recovery of precious metals from quartz ore found in the bedrock. This method required larger-scale underground mining operations. At mills, this ore was crushed and the minerals recovered. Later, other mineral-bearing ores were retrieved through hard rock mining. These ores were concentrated and smelted at reduction works to obtain refined metals.

The United States General Mining Act of 1872 permitted private individuals and businesses to establish mining claims for metallic minerals on federal land. Locally, miners established government in the form of mining districts, quasi-municipal organizations that governed in areas not covered by federal or territorial law. Each district agreed upon its own customs and laws concerning such things as the location, size, and amount of work necessary to establish a mining claim. In Montana, miners established over two hundred mining districts, concentrated mostly in the southwest portion of the state.

Coal mines were established in the eastern two-thirds of Montana. The earliest mines were opened in the vicinity of Chestnut in 1867, and some of the most significant mines arose in the coal fields of Carbon County (Red Lodge and Bearcreek) and Cascade County.

Charcoal kilns were built to produce charcoal to fuel the smelting process. The Canyon Creek Charcoal Kilns in the Beaverhead National Forest were associated with the Hecla Consolidate Mining Company’s silver and lead smelters, located at Glendale.