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

Sites Table
AIM Id Name Alternate Name District County
LC007309 CAVE GULCH MISSOURI RIVER LEWIS AND CLARK
MRDS AMLI MILS Latitude Longitude Datum
300490235 46.6803 -111.6822
Township Range Section QSection UTM Northing UTM Easting UTM Zone UTM Datum
11N 01W 26 5169643 447823 12
Average Elevation Elev Units Land Owner 250K Quad 100K Quad 24K Quad
F WHITE SULPHUR CANYON FERRY DM CANYON FERRY
Property Type Update Date Who Updated
PLACER
Commodities Table
Commodities Identified
GOLD
Agency Info Table
Information
Agency: NF
Region District: R1
Ranger District: HELENA
Forest Service Tract:
Watershed Code: 10030101
Forest or Resource Area: HELENA
Owner: M
Impact:
Report: Unknown ownership because of unconfirmed location; mostly NF. Placer piles on USFS-land. Cave Gulch was investigated via Road 4156 but most, if not all, of the placer mining is on USFS-administered land. A small piece of BLM-land is near the lake, south of Highway 284, but it has been developed with residences. The topography in the BLM-land north of the Highway 284 appears to have resulted from outwash either from natural events or from placer boom-damming. Lyden (1948) described this alluvial flat (~1,000 feet wide and 2 miles long) as worthy of testing but it appears as if it has never been actually mined.
Screening Criteria Table
Information
Mill Tailings: N
Adit Discharge: N
Metal Leaching: N
Water Erosion: N
Residence: Y
Hazardous Materials: N
Open Adit: N
Visit: Y
Comments: VISITED 09/26/2011; DRY, NO WATER IN DRAINAGE.
Mining Methods Table
Years Dredge dry land Dredge float Ground sluicing Boom dam Drifting Hydraulic Pan rocker Long Tom Mercury
1932 Y Y
UNK Y Y
Placer Table
Information
Gold: Y
Silver:
Titanium:
Rare Earth Elements:
Sapphire:
Garnet:
Tungsten:
Platinum:
Magnetite:
Hematite:
Pyrite:
Commodity Ref: Lyden, C.J., 1948, The Gold Placers of Montana, MBMG Memoir 26, 152 p.
Geologic Source: Veins in diorite dikes
Geologic Source Ref: Lyden, C.J., 1948, The Gold Placers of Montana, MBMG Memoir 26, 152 p.
Lag:
Transported: Y
Type Comments: Gold-bearing veins in diorite dikes, same that were source of gold in Trout Creek to Confederate Gulch.
Type Ref: Lyden, C.J., 1948, The Gold Placers of Montana, MBMG Memoir 26, 152 p.
Unknown:
Fine:
Coarse:
Comments:
Size Ref:
Finess:
Fineref:
Spoil pile:
Wash pile:
Wash over:
Wash under:
Waste Ref:
Year Discovered: 1866

End of report. Retrieved 5/3/2024 2:12:21 PM.

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.