Melrose Mining District, Beaverhead County, Montana, USA.

Claim Information: The Polaris Mining Claim is located on the southwest flank of what might be considered the head of Adson Creek. The road to the Polaris Mine is very accessible by car and the scenery driving up Canyon Creek, through Vipond Park and about halfway up Gray Jockey Peak is beautiful. The claim sits on a gently rolling hillside that is covered in grasses and what looks like a thinned out forest. No water is found on or near the site. The headframe is still standing, but the effects of the elements are taking their toll. The claim includes several potential staging areas that were used in the past and could be used again. While we were exploring the site we observed 4-5 young deer grazing nearby. Come hunting season this might just be the spot to be. This is a lode mining claim, encompassing 20.66 acres, or 1500 x 600 ft. There are no other claims in the general vicinity. This claim covers all of the general mining area and runs NNE/SSW along the geologic trending of the veins. The Mines: The mine, which is a shaft, has suffered internal timber collapse. The mine itself is still stable and shows no sign of collapse, but the wood from the upper collar that has fallen in would need to be removed to safely access the workings. There is no access to the inner workings of the mine in its current condition. The collapse appears to be a natural collapse and from our observations wouldn’t require too much work to dig out and reopen. The trench, that extends across a good portion of the site, is pretty substantial. There is a great deal of disturbed material throughout the property including the trench, tailings piles and prospect pits. Some of the tailings piles appeared to be size and/or compositionally separated. There is evidence of gold, silver and copper as reported by USGS and verified by our geologist. The majority of the minerals visible indicate high concentrations of silver in galena. There is some heavily oxidized iron and copper running with milky quartz. A 1972 report of mines reported there to be a 100ft shaft and a short caved shaft. That fits exactly with this site. They reported a N35/E vertical quartz-galena vein in Cambrian Hasmark dolomite was mined (Geach 1972). Although Geach (1972) reported that a chip sample contained only 0.020 oz/ton gold, 8 oz/ton silver, 0.90% lead, and 1.2% zinc, Winters et al. (1994) took some grab samples that assayed up to 56.6 oz/ton silver.

The host rock of the mine is hasmark dolomite. The ore is probably irregular lenses of quartz veins and lenses (similar to Tuxedo in close reference). Siliceous gossan and boxworks were observed in tailings.

GRE employs a field and research Geologist, we examine each mine, and determine its actual potential. This is based on documented and verifiable history, as well as field observations and mapping of the sites. This helps us thoroughly and accurately describe our claims, as well as help you make informed decisions regarding the purchasing of a mining claim. In addition, the geological and historical information provided gives claim owners the tools to know where to look. After all, the gold, precious metals and minerals are out there, and there is a lot of it, you just have to know where to look. If you need more information, please feel free to contact our office and set an appointment to discuss your desired property with our geologists.

The town of Melrose, Montana, once known as “Camp Creek”, had its early beginnings as a tiny stage stop along the Big Hole River that would eventually become a terminus for the railroad, a shipping and receiving point for the Hecla Consolidated Mining Company and Bryant Mining District, consisting of Hecla, Lion City, Greenwood, Norwood, and Glendale. The area along the Big Hole River was settled as early as 1870, three families shared the valley, Jefferson McCauley, John Stone and William Bowe. In 1875, William Bowe bought out two squatters giving them a combined total of $250.00. William Bowe pre-empted 160 acres of land and subsequently added 80 acres of Desert land.

The arrival of the Utah Northern’s narrow gauge in the spring of 1881 made it possible and profitable for the Hecla Consolidated Mining Company to ship silver and lead bullion (once hauled out by wagon road) to the refineries for further smelting. Hauling ore by wagon was not only costly but time consuming. The arrival of the railroad greatly reduced the costs and overhead of the company and improved profits, helping bring in the necessary supplies, machinery, and charcoal needed to supply the furnaces at Glendale. The railroad arrived at Melrose in the Spring of 1881, marking an end to an era of freighting for Melrose and the communities within the Bryant Mining District.

With the railroad nearing, William Bowe platted the Town site of Camp Creek and named it “Melrose”. William Bowe began selling off lots of this newly platted town around 1880. Business houses and homes quickly sprang up as the railroad inched closer. Miners and their families arrived and went to work the mines of the Hecla Company, miles west of Melrose. Melrose Is situated on the Big Hole River and sits within Silverbow County, Montana. The only thing separating the two counties of Silverbow and Beaverhead is the Big Hole River which runs directly through town.

The District is located on the southwest slopes of the Highland Mountains and includes the mines in the Soap Gulch, Camp Creek and Wickiup Creek drainages. The placer claims in this district have been worked intermittently since discovery in 1866. Although not well-documented, the district had good placer potential. A placer operation on a low saddle between Camp Creek and Rochester Basin recovered several thousand dollars in gold (Sahinen 1939).

A few silver mines were located in the upper part of the district. The principal properties were the Pandora and the Emma Nevada, on the northwest side of Soap Gulch and the Old Glory, one mile north of the Emma Nevada. Horn silver, netting $46,000, was dug from the shallow workings from the Emma Nevada lode. In 1900 the closure of the nearby Glendale Smelter of the Hecla Consolidated Mining Company hastened the decline of district. From 1909 to 1911, the district shipped 504,194 pounds of ore from Soap Gulch. At the smelter the ore returned .69% copper, and 1.43 ounces of silver and 2.63 ounces of gold per ton.