P a g e 6 G h o s t T o w n s a n d H i s t o r y o f M o n t a n a N e w s l e t t e r Historic Mining on the Helena National Forest In the 1860’s, miners combed the mountains of southwestern Montana for gold, silver and other precious metals. Their simple pick, shovel and pan technology soon gave way to more aggressive hydraulic mining involving water, ditches, flumes and hoses. Gold mixed in stream (placer) deposits was washed free of gravel and sand, and collected in rocker and sluice boxes. Entire streambeds became fields of waste rock. The economic trade-off was millions of dollars worth of gold and precious metal. Colorful but short-lived mining camps sprang up in mountain gulches surrounding the diggings. Abandoned mining camps were washed away by subsequent placer and dredge mining or became ghost towns. When the rich placers played out in the 1870’s, the search for the “mother lode” began. This hailed the advent of hardrock lode mining and laid the economic foundation of many Montana communities. Lode mining involves excavating and processing of an ore body in order to free the gold and other precious metals embedded in its matrix. Once hauled from underground tunnels, the ore was crushed in stamp and ball mills. The crushed ore concentrate was transported to smelters in Anaconda, East Helena and far away Wales for final processing. Lode mines were dirty, noisy and dangerous places to work. By the turn of the 20th century, lode mines of varying scale and fortune operated throughout southwestern Montana. Especially productive mines produced millions of dollars worth of precious metals. Flotation cell technology became the economic salvation of mining in Montana and the West in the late 1920’s. It allowed the mining of low-grade ore bodies after the richer deposits were exhausted. During the Great Depression, some mines remained solvent while others were operated at a subsistence level or went belly-up. World War II gave the mining industry a much-needed economic boost. The machinery of modern warfare depended on metal. In 1943, the Government passed an order that closed all mines not engaged in the production of strategic metals such as lead, copper, and zinc. This wartime order and ensuing economic speculation led to a period of unparalleled productivity at many southwestern Montana mines. In the 1950’s, mining in the West changed. Open-pit mining was more cost efficient and safer. Ore concentrating and processing technology evolved. Corporate capital was needed to keep operations afloat. Most small corporate and family mining operations could not compete. Many are now historic mining ruins.
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