The Goldfield news and weekly tribune. [volume] (Goldfield, Nev.) 1911-1947, 1914-07-11

About thirty mining districts in
southwestern Montana are described
in a report just issued by the United
States geological survey as Bulletin
574, THE Mining Districts of the
Dillon Quadrangle, Montant, and Ad-
jacent Areas" by A. n. Winchell.
p%ortance in the early development
of Montana, for it was the discovery
of gold in the streams of this region
that led to the influx of population
and the eventual settlement of the
state. The Dillon quadrangle COM
prises about 5000 square miles;
the great Butte copper mining dis
trict is Immediately north of it. and
indeed two of the Butte smelters are
within it.
The first important discovery of
precious metal in Montana was made
at Bannock lin 1862, and the placers
of Bannock are reported to have
yielded that year 5000, 900 in gold.
A far greater strike was male in
June of the next year at Alder Gulch.
This discovery caused al extraordi-
nary thrush of gold seekers and led
to the founding of a number of
towns on Alder creek, the largest of
which, Virginia City, had within a
year or so 10000 inhabitants. 1t
became at once the great center of
population and the capital of the ter
ritory, but the inevitable decline
soon set in, following the exhaustion
of the placers, and in 1874 the CAPT
tai was transferred to Helena. Alder
Gulch is the largest and richest
g~old-bearing gulch ever found in
Montana, and within the first 20
years it's gravels yielded more than
100000, 900; in fact, some authors
place the output as high as 100000
900.
Placer mining has been carried on
more or less continuously ever since
the early days, and in late years
modern methods of attacking the
g~old-bearing gravels have begun to
be introduced. Dredges now handle
the graveis of Alder creek at an av-
erage cost of about s cents a cubic
yard, and it is expected that with
still larger dredges this can be re-
duced to about Az cents a cubic
yard. The proved dredging ground
will probably keep all the dredges
in constant operation for about 10
years. The gold output of this fleet
80 I~NI-oa &C. ~@ hn~ &h4 x0%,1
from all the mines in the region.
Though the first mining in the
state was done on the gold placers,
attention was 10 turned to lodes.
Even during the sixties some little
progress was made in opening deep
mines OF quartz mines. but only the
richest ore could be mined on &C.
count of the extremely high cost of
labor and supplies, which were
brought in by wagon train, at first
from Pixies Peak, Colo, and later
from Utah. In 1882 the advent of
what is now the Oregon Short Line
exerted a strong stimulus on the
mining industry, and the succeeding
decades saw the rapid development
and successful operation of many
mines in the region. From 1890 to
1900 the mines in Beaverhead coun-
ty reached the acme of their produc-
tiveness. In recent years a decline
has set in, due partly to the present
low prices of silver, lead and copper.
For a portion of the region, however,
it seems due in part to the lack of
transportation facilities. The pro-
jected Butte, Wisdom & Pacific rail
road, upon which construction is to
be commenced this month, according
to recent announcements in engi-
~neering journals, will tap certain of
the districts described in Mr.. Win
chell's report, notably the Elkhorn
and Vipond districts in Beaverhead
county.
The metalliferous mineral resOurc-
es of the Dillon quadrangle and ada
cent areas include gold, silver, cop
per and lead, and smaller quantities
of zinc, iron, manganese and tung-
stem, and their distribution, mode of
occurrence, geological features and
OTlSlH are ulSCuSScu III VI Il WIN"
chell's report. The metallic ore de-
posts of the region occur in about
thirty more or less well-defined dis
%tricts, and these are described indi-
vidually.
The report forecasts the future of
the mining industry In the region,
suggesting the probability that plac-
err deposits were formed by Alder
creek before the basaltic lavas of
the Tertiary period covered the re-
gion, and that thees old placers were
not destroyed but simply buried by
the flows of basalt. II they are not
too deeply covered by volcanic ash
and lava flows it is possible that
they may in the future supply the
material for extensive mining oper-