Why Montana

Gold Production In Mineral County, Montana

The US Geological Survey ranks Montana as number 7 in gold production in the US and reports the state contains 31 gold mining districts, including the Cedar Creek Mining District, located in Mineral County. Total state gold production from the 19th century to 1968 was 17.8 million ounces, but considerable amounts of gold have been mined since (Bergendahl and Koshmann, 1968).

Situated in the western section of Montana, Mineral County is bounded by Missoula and Sanders counties and the state of Idaho. It has a total area of 1223 square miles and the Clark Fork and St. Regis rivers constitute almost all of the water surface area in the county. Most of the county topography is quite rugged with elevations ranging from 2500 to 8000 feet above sea level.

Located along the Idaho border, Mineral County was formed in 1914 by partition of Missoula County. The county derives its name from the diverse array of minerals including lead, copper, zinc, silver and gold located in its mountainous terrain. 

The county has a rich historical heritage of mineral discoveries in the late 1800s. Gold and silver were commercially produced from mines located in Mineral County. All gold mined before 1914 from the area now included in Mineral County is credited to Missoula County.

Almost all of the entire gold output in Mineral County came from placer deposits along the creeks that drain the east side of the Bitterroot Mountains and that flow into Clark Fork River between Tarkio and Superior. 

The most productive placers, and the only ones that produced more than 10,000 ounces of gold, were those along Cedar and Trout Creeks and their tributaries.

Estimates by Lyden (1948, p. 98-103) suggest that placer production before 1904 may have exceeded 120,000 ounces. From 1904 through 1956 the county produced placer gold valued at about $665,000 (32,175 ounces), most of which was produced before 1942.

Mineral County continues to be a site of active gold exploration. Based on geology, it is predictable that several large undeveloped and undiscovered gold deposits will be found, identified and developed in the future.