The data below represent everything available in the MBMG Abandoned and Inactive Mines (AIM) database.

Sites Table
AIM Id Name Alternate Name District County
GR000152 BEAR CREEK PLACERS (2) GARNET MTNS GRANITE
MRDS AMLI MILS Latitude Longitude Datum
W014689 300390317 46.7189 -113.3303
Township Range Section QSection UTM Northing UTM Easting UTM Zone UTM Datum
11N 14W 11 CCAD
Average Elevation Elev Units Land Owner 250K Quad 100K Quad 24K Quad
F BUTTE MISSOULA EAST BEARMOUTH
Property Type Update Date Who Updated
PLACER 4/7/1995 JEW
Commodities Table
Commodities Identified
GOLD
Agency Info Table
Information
Agency: BLM
Region District: BUTTE
Ranger District:
Forest Service Tract:
Watershed Code: 17010201
Forest or Resource Area: MISSOULA
Owner: P
Impact: U
Report: Bear Creek Placer-Ten Mile Placer (GR000152/GR000278) Bear Creek was the site of extensive placer operations in the past. Placers were mined from the junction with the Clark's Fork River to the drainage divide west of Garnet. The lower 2 miles of the drainage were mined by dredging; evidence of this mining is apparent east of the principal access road. Host rock is Quaternary gravels derived from the lode deposits at Garnet, Top O' Deep, and adjacent areas (Pardee, 1918). The placers here were very rich. In some places the gravel yielded as much as $1000.00 per cubic yard; a general average, based on the meager data available, is $30.00 per cubic yard (Pardee, 1918). The bulk of the gold taken from Bear Creek was the size of wheat kernels, 0.90 fineness or purity (remainder chiefly alloy-silver), and deep yellow in color (Pardee, 1918). Placer gold was first discovered in 1865. Deposits were worked heavily in the 19th century; some placer work continues to this day (Pardee, 1918). Production to 1963 was estimated at no less than $10,000,000.00 for the placers in this general area (Kauffman, 1963). The placer workings on Bear Creek do not appear to pose environmental hazards. Other references are Krohn and Weist (1977) who estimated production from 1865 to 1960 at 430,000 ounces of gold at a grade of 1.5 ounce per cubic yard and Earll (1963) in MBMG Memoir 39. The last operator listed in Krohn and Weist (1977) was Valley Mining Company. They list it on Elevation Mountain 7.5-min. quadrangle.
Screening Criteria Table
Information
Mill Tailings: N
Adit Discharge: N
Metal Leaching: N
Water Erosion: N
Residence: N
Hazardous Materials: N
Open Adit: N
Visit: Y
Comments: MBMG GEOLOGIST: JACK WATSON; PHOTOS 12-10 AND 12-11
Placer Table
Information
Gold: Y
Silver: Y
Titanium:
Rare Earth Elements:
Sapphire:
Garnet:
Tungsten:
Platinum:
Magnetite:
Hematite:
Pyrite:
Commodity Ref: Krohn, D.H., and Weist, M.M., 1977, Principal Information on Montana mines, MBMG Special Publication 75, 150 p.
Geologic Source:
Geologic Source Ref:
Lag:
Transported: Y
Type Comments: Quaternary gravel
Type Ref: Krohn, D.H., and Weist, M.M., 1977, Principal Information on Montana mines, MBMG Special Publication 75, 150 p.
Unknown:
Fine:
Coarse:
Comments:
Size Ref:
Finess:
Fineref:
Spoil pile:
Wash pile:
Wash over:
Wash under:
Waste Ref:
Year Discovered: 1865

End of report. Retrieved 5/1/2024 8:34:57 AM.

The preceding materials represent the contents of the databases at the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology at the time and date of the retrieval. The information is considered unpublished and is subject to correction and review on a daily basis. The Bureau warrants the accurate transmission of the data to the original end user at the time and date of the retrieval. Retransmission of the data to other users is discouraged and the Bureau claims no responsibility if the material is retransmitted. There may be data in the request area that are not recorded at the Bureau.