⛏ Mining in Western Montana ⛏

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Chronological list of mining and prospecting related sites that I have visited, along with information pertaining to them.


Jack Pot Mine: Visited 6/7/26

Site Features: Winch, multiple pits/depressions, collapsed stone brick workings, metal scraps

Prospected Commodity: Gold, Silver

Year Constructed: Late 1910s

Notes: It is possible this isn't the main mining area of the Jack Pot Mine, although it is within the 250 meter margin of error given by USGS for the site.

Image: The winch, as viewed from a depression (stone remains can be seen in the lower left of the image)


Juniper Prospect: Failed to locate (attemped: 5/15/26, 5/23/26)

Site Features: 1 18 foot adit (not located)

Prospected Commodity: Copper

Notes: Situated in a very steep gulch; each attempt to locate ended in failure, the first due to a flat bike tire, and the second due to a sprained ankle. Overall, I spent ~6 hours in the gulch but could not locate the adit, which was not in the areas of the three sets of coordinates I had.

Image: The view from near where the site would have been


Frenchman's Prospect: Visited 4/25/26

Site Features: 1 ~35 foot shaft, tailings, 1 collapsed adit (not located), several pits & trenches, numerous rusted metal scraps

Prospected Commodity: Gold, Silver

Images: Hillside tailings, vertical shaft, and LiDAR imaging of site (via USGS)


Swede Prospect: Visited 4/21/26

Site Features: 2 adits (1 intact but foam-filled, 1 entirely caved)

Prospected Commodity: Gold

Notes: Disapointing

Image: The lower of the two adits, which was filled with foam (likely to keep people out of the 70 foot tunnel) presumably since the last survey of the site, which was undertaken in 2001.


Bi-Metallic Mill, Phillipsburg: Visited 12/28/25

Site Features: 100-Stamp mill, multiple out-buildings, disused ore processing equipment (e.g. steel drums and boilers), & 2 standing smokestacks

Primary Ore Processed: Silver

Year Constructed: 1888 (Image of the mill c. 1894-96)

Image: The remains of the main stamp mill, now mostly demolished.


Granite Mine, Granite Ghost Town: Visited 7/10/20

Site Features: Countless mining ruins strewn across the hillside above Granite Ghost Town, including a 20-stamp mill, an 80-stamp mill (later merged into 1 mill), and a rasied trestle for minecarts, along with the Ruby Mineshaft (fenced off and collasped into a pit above these structures)

Primary Commodity Extracted: Silver

Year Constructed: 1880s-1890s

Notes: Needs a revist for better images, but this is area helped start my interest in finding further mine-related locations.

Images: Housing and trestle for ore to be carried via minecart to the stamp mills and a deteriorating structure that I believe may have been part of the orginal 20-stamp mill


Mill, Comet Ghost Town (Not Fully Visited: On Private Land)

Site Features: Well-preserved tin-sided mill and boarding house (foreground)

Primary Ore Processed: Silver

Year Constructed: 1926

Image: The Comet Mill