Dry Cottonwood Placer

The Dry Cottonwood Placer is a gold, corundum, and gemstone mine located in Deer Lodge county, Montana.

About the MRDS Data:

All mine locations were obtained from the USGS Mineral Resources Data System. The locations and other information in this database have not been verified for accuracy. It should be assumed that all mines are on private property.

Mine Info

Satelite View

MRDS mine locations are often very general, and in some cases are incorrect. Some mine remains have been covered or removed by modern industrial activity or by development of things like housing. The satellite view offers a quick glimpse as to whether the MRDS location corresponds to visible mine remains.

Site Name

Primary: Dry Cottonwood Placer

Commodity

Primary: Gold
Primary: Corundum
Primary: Gemstone

Location

State: Montana
County: Deer Lodge
District: Orofino District

Land Status

Land ownership: National Forest
Note: the land ownership field only identifies whether the area the mine is in is generally on public lands like Forest Service or BLM land, or if it is in an area that is generally private property. It does not definitively identify property status, nor does it indicate claim status or whether an area is open to prospecting. Always respect private property.

Holdings

Not available

Workings

Not available

Ownership

Owner Name: American Gem
Years: 1994 -

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Producer
Operation Type: Unknown
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N
Deposit Size: S

Physiography

General Physiographic Area: Rocky Mountain System
Physiographic Province: Northern Rocky Mountains

Mineral Deposit Model

Not available

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Type: R
Description: Boulder Batholith

Alterations

Not available

Rocks

Name: Gravel
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Pleistocene

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Gold

Comments

Comment (Workings): 2 CONNECTED-BUCKET DREDGES WERE USED, HYDRAULICS

Comment (Geology): GOLD AND SAPPHIRES FOUND ON AND NEAR BEDROCK

Comment (Deposit): DURING 1992-1994, AMERICAN GEM ACQUIRED CONTROL OF MOST OF THE HISTORIC SAPPHIRE MINING AREAS IN MONTANA. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT

Comment (Development): PREVIOUSLY OWNED BY NAT SIMON, BOX 185, BUTTE MONT. IN SEPTEMBER, 1994, A WASH PLANT WAS UNDER CONSTRUCTION AND EXPECTED TO BE OPERATIONAL BY OCTOBER, 1994.

Comment (Location): LAT. LONG FOR GUARD STATION, MOST WORK HAS BEEN DONE ON S FORK FOR 4 MILES. INFO FROM LAND.ST :(1959)

Comment (Reserve-Resource): RESERVES ARE FOR A 17.5 ACRE PORTION OF THE 400 ACRE PROPERTY.

Comment (Commodity): THE SAPPHIRES ARE NATURALLY PALE, BUT CAN BE HEAT TREATED TO ACHIEVE A DEEPER BLUE COLOR.

Comment (Production): PRODUCTION IN 1907 WAS PAID FOR BY THE AMOUNT OF GOLD FOUND FOR BOTH GOLD AND SAPPHIRES, NO REAL MARKET FOR SAPPHIRES SO PRODUCTION ENDED.

References

Reference (Deposit): MBMG MEM NO 31, P. 21.

Reference (Deposit): USBM INF CIR 7461, P. 5

Reference (Deposit): MBMG MEM NO 26, P. 25, 27

Reference (Deposit): USGS MIN. RES. PART II, P. 881-4.

Reference (Deposit): USGS BULL 842, P. 283-4.

Reference (Deposit): THE NORTHERN MINER, 1994, AMERICAN GEM PRODUCING SAPPHIRES IN MONTANA: V. 80, NO. 30, P. 1, 10, 11.

Reference (Production): USGS MIN. RES. 1910, PART II.

Reference (Reserve-Resource): THE NORTHRN MINER, 1994.

Principal Gold Districts of Montana

In Montana, 54 mining districts have each have produced more than 10,000 ounces of gold. The largest producers are Butte, Helena, Marysville, and Virginia City, each having produced more than one million ounces. Twenty seven other districts are each credited with between 100,000 and one million ounces of gold production. Read more: Principal Gold Districts of Montana.