The Pilgrim is a very old claim, even by GRE standards. The Pilgrim Lode was noted for extremely high native gold values. The Pilgrim Mine was cut directly onto this lode and work was done on this claim. Today it appears to be undisturbed since the 1970’s when it was likely last worked. A small Canadian company came in and core sampled a lot of existing mines in the area. They referred to this mine as the “Jolly Roger”, although there is no historical significance to this name. The old headframe has recently fallen over, but the mine and workings are still relatively intact with a stable, collared shaft.

There are two buildings on the claim. Both in relatively good condition. They are significant as they speak to good wealth with lots of built in cabinets and shelves. One of the buildings is obviously housing for 1-2 miners and the other is a workshop that housed the winch for the headframe and shaft. The workshop is laden with hundreds of core samples. Many of these samples show visible, native gold veins. This is indicative of what was found in the mine and is very impressive. With the price of gold, even 2-3 ounces per week is a few thousand dollars of untaxed income!

This claim is remote, nearly untouched, and surrounded by dense forest. It sits in a high mountain valley. There is good access but it requires 4WD and some slow driving. There is no visible water on the claim, but the shaft is nearly full of water only 20-25 feet down.
This claim is on a documented rich producing gold lode that will not disappoint; highly recommended.

Location and Access:

Located near Helena, Montana, USA.

Description:

The Claim is a small mine operation. There was apparently good gold production to warrant the buildings, headframe and fully timbered shaft. The tailings are large overall and stretch into the trees and down past a few open cuts. The real key here is the core samples. There are hundreds of them and 90% of them show native, free gold. It’s unknown from where in the mine these came from, but the suggestion has been that there are likely multiple levels below this shaft and the samples were pulled from deep on these levels to determine values. It’s actually feasible to crush the samples and get a few ounces on those alone.

The road up to mine is good for 90% of the journey, the spur road that cuts over to the mine is slow going due to large ruts and big tree falls. The survey team moved a good amount of the tree fall from the road but there were still a few rough spots. Once up at the claim there is evidence of many small prospect diggings, but the main workings are at the shaft.

It would be possible to park quite a few vehicles and equipment up here, the roads would allow for trailers and 5th wheels but caution should be exercised. The roofs are intact on the cabins and they could both be easily utilized with an approved notice of operation.

A small pump could be utilized for less than $100 to clear the mine. It may take a few days but its likely been over 50 years since it has been cleared and examined.

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