Western news and the Libby times. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1920-1933, 1931-06-18
Report Tells
Of Mining
Resources
DR.. Russell Gibson Writes
Interestingly of Mineral
Deposits in This Area.
GIVES EARLY HISTORY
OF DEVELOPMENT

departure from the East, the depart
-anent released DR. Gibsnn's report coy
ering the work already done. This is
very brief report and is gotten out
merely as a memorandum for the press
and as preliminary statement. The
more detailed report in bulletin form,
will be published upon the completion
of the work here. People interested in
mining development in this area will
find much to hold their attention in
this preliminary report 1t follows, IN
full:
Metalliferous Deposits Near Libby and
Troy, Montana.
BY Russell Gibson
Placer gold has been won from the
streams in the vicinity OF Libby and
Troy. in Lincoln County, Montana, for
over SO years, and lode mines have
been worked for almost as long. Two
mines, the SnoWstorm and the Snow
shoe. have each produced more than
ST 900, 900, and the total production of
the district in gold, silver, lead, zinc,
and copper amounts to at least S6,OOO,-
900. Yet very little is known about
these ore deposits, and not much has
been published concerning the geology
of northwestern Montana. Brief exam
nations by member of the United
States Geological Survey indicated that
the metalliferous deposits were suftl-
GENTLY promising of still further pro-
duction to warrant the mapping and
detailed study of the geology IN the
Libby and Troy areas. Accordingly
Russell Gibson was sent into the dis
trict in the summers of 1929 and 1880
to make geologic survey, with special
emphasis on the ore deposits. The work
will continue for another season, but
results as can now be disclosed are
presented here.
History and Production
Placer gold is reported to have been
discovered in this region as early as
1867. but owing to the hostility of the
Indians BY whom several prospectors
were killed, little work was done on the
deposits for some time The first pros
pectinp in the Occur d'Alene district
Of Idaho was done in 1878, and It IS
thought that prospectors from that re-
pion drifted into the Libby country IN
the early eighties to renew the search
for placer gold Among the first to To-
cate placer ground near Libby were
Tom Shearer and B. F. c'Doc') How
ard They were followed by John Leigh,
George Reider, Lawyer Burton, Mart
Corners. James Powers, and others,
and by 1887 a small town had grown
up on Libby Creek near Ramsey Greek
where the first placer mining was car
ried on.
One OF the earliest enterprises was
the Howard placer, operated by the
Howards and William Williams on Lib
by Creek where some OF the coarses'
gold ever found on this creek was Y
mined. A group of mining men, chiefly
from Butte, later bought out the How
ards and Williams, acquired more
ground, and formed the Libby Placer
Mining Co This company installed
hydraulic outfit, and the project was
sufficiently successful to pay small
dividends. Other placer deposits were
soon found, notably on Little Cherry
Cherry. and Howard Greeks and tht
West Fisher River.
About 1890 several claims were
staked on Little Cherry Creek, which
were bought by the Comet Mining Co
IN 1908 and worked until 1915, wher
mining ceased because the high cost
of material and labor made operation
Improbable ri I,
The Montana placer, on Cherry Creel
which was opened about 1909 wa
taken over from the Howards<in l9l
by J. E. Leary, M Neary, Sam MI
Ter. and associates, who spent Sou,uV
developing the property.
The first placer workings are sal
Ia have been in the stream gravel alon
the present stream beds, and all tn
deposits that have been worked WIT
profit are confined to the valleys an
low places. A large area of deposit
on higher ground, examined in l9l
hv F G. Schrader, Of the United State
Geological Survey, was found TO pe
too low a grade to be workable. 10
early miners used rockers and groun
sluices, the crudest of facilities, an
worked out only the shallow groun
Later the gold was mined from anciel
stream channels near the presel
streams.
Small amounts of placer gold hay
been mined in the Libby district neal
" every year since 1902. The Vaughan
Greenwell mine, visited by Schrader,
said to have produced gold for 20 yea
prior to 1910. According to the be
statistics available total Of about $95
600 in placer gold has been reports
from this district since 1902, but It
reasonably certain that this does n
include all the placer gold which Z
district has produced since that da
No figures are available for the pr
ducton prior to 1902 !.
The only deposits that were bel
worked in the summer of 1880 we
some along the present streams. r
ports OF prospecting by several jrt
viduals along Libby, Howard,
Continued on page 81