Other shafts and tunnels led into the bed rock, following veins of minerals which contain some gold. In the 1860s this kind of mining was done with hand steel and blasting. The miner would hammer a star shaped drill into the solid rock until the holes were deep enough to place some black powder. The rock was thrown on the dump outside the mine, while the pieces of the mineral vein that contained gold was hauled to a mill so that the gold could be separated out. Come and See and Do Today you can see the various methods being used around Virginia City, Montana.
Some mines still operate from time to time.
You can go to the mining museum and pan gold for yourself. This is an outstanding way for children to learn history in an educational vacation. You may be able to use a rocker. Notice and explore the gold dredge which is located at the museum. It would be interesting to watch it at work.