P a g e 3 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 Many miners remained in the area however. In fact, the copper mines of Butte came to be known as perhaps the richest in the world. It came to be known as the “Richest Hill on Earth” and employed thousands of men. Even today, there is lots of mining activity in Butte and Anaconda. Mining in Basin Now Nowadays, Basin is mostly just a stop on the road between Helena and Butte. While it was a booming town during the peak of mining, there isn’t much today aside from a few hundred residents, most of whom are artists rather than miners. There are a few small mine operations here now, but the heyday of gold mining is definitely over. In fact, the area was designated as a Superfund Site in 1999 due to the large amount of contaminants and pollutants from the early mines. Although the heyday of mining in Basin is long over, it is worth noting that prospectors can still find some good gold around the town. In fact, Basin and many other old mining camps in Western Montana will still produces some decent gold using traditional placer mining techniques. –Courtesy of our friend Matt Grover at RareGoldNuggets.Com A beautiful piece of high-grade ore from the Jib Mine in the Basin Mining District. This piece is on display at the Mineral Museum in Butte. Photo courtesy of James St. John Matt Grover shares his vast knowledge of ghost towns, metal detecting, gold prospecting, rockhounding, maps, treasures and much more at RareGoldNuggets.Com Be sure to check out his website! MINES AND MINING IN PARK COUNTY-continued From The Livingston Enterprise, January 1, 1900: THE KEETS is an extension of the Sowash on its dip and situated higher up. It contains both the veins exposed in the Sowash. The stoping operations from the Sowash will be continued through the Keets. The No. 1 vein is encountered close to the portal of the tunnel, and the No. 2 a couple hundred feet further, along the crosscut. The mining operations have only just commenced on this property, there being less than 100 feet of drifting along the No. 2 vein—the first slope being just commenced. In width, as far as known, these veins are similar to those of the Sowash, carrying the same degree of richness of ore. Next in order is the LEGAL TENDER which is supposed to be a continuation of the No. 1 vein above described; but on this property it is ex posed some 1,000 to 1,500 feet northerly from the former. On this property all previous mining operations on quartz was confined, it producing some $58,000 prior to the present company's operations. The vein at this point is from ten to twenty feet wide. Beyond this property comes the
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