The Helena Placers is a gold mine located in Lewis and Clark county, Montana at an elevation of 4,199 feet.
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
Elevation: 4,199 Feet (1,280 Meters)
Commodity: Gold
Lat, Long: 46.59139, -111.97917
Map: View on Google Maps
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.
Helena Placers MRDS details
Site Name
Primary: Helena Placers
Secondary: Last Chance Gulch
Secondary: Tenmile Creek
Commodity
Primary: Gold
Location
State: Montana
County: Lewis and Clark
District: Helena District
Land Status
Land ownership: Private
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
Not available
Production
Year: 1953
Time Period: 1864-1953
Mined: 29.000 mt
Material type: gold
Deposit
Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Deposit Type: Placer Au-PGE
Operation Type: Unknown
Year First Production: 1864
Discovery Year: 1864
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: Y
Deposit Size: L
Physiography
General Physiographic Area: Rocky Mountain System
Physiographic Province: Northern Rocky Mountains
Mineral Deposit Model
Model Name: Placer Au-PGE
Orebody
Form: IRREGULAR
Structure
Type: R
Description: Boulder Batholith
Alterations
Not available
Rocks
Name: Granite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Host Rock Unit
Age Young: Holocene
Name: Granite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock Unit
Age Young: Paleocene
Name: Granite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Associated Rock
Age Young: Paleocene
Name: Granite
Role: Associated
Age Type: Host Rock
Age Young: Holocene
Analytical Data
Not available
Materials
Ore: Gold
Comments
Comment (Geology): GOLD CONTAINED IN QUATERNARY GRAVELS DERIVED FROM BOULDER BATHOLITH, AND LATE PRECAMBRIAN, PALEOZOIC, AND MESOZOIC SEDIMENTARY ROCKS IN THE AREA.
Comment (Deposit): IT IS STATED THAT MOST OF THE $16,000,000 RECOVERED BY 1910 WAS REMOVED DURING OR BEFORE 1868. THE GOLD IN THE GRAVELS IN THIS DISTRICT ARE THOUGHT TO HAVE BEEN DERIVED FROM LODE DEPOSITS WITHIN THE DRAINAGE BASIN OF LAST CHANCE CREEK AND ASSOCIATED TRIBUTARIES.
Comment (Location): ALTITUDE GENERALIZED AND APPROXIMATE, LOCATION GENERALIZED
Comment (Production): KOSCHMANN AND BERGENDAHL CONTAINED SOME PRODUCTION INFORMATION, BUT OF MAINLY DISTRICT PRODUCTION WHICH INCLUDED LODE DEPOSITS AND PLACERS, THUS NOT COMPLETELY APPLICABLE HERE.
Comment (Development): LAST CHANCE GULCH IS A GOLD PLACER AND WAS WORKED BY MANY PROSPECTORS, PRIMARILY BETWEEN 1864 AND 1868
Comment (Deposit): ALL OF THE GOLD PLACER DEPOSITS OF THE HELENA VALLEY ARE INCLUDED IN THE DISCUSSION, PRODUCTION FIGURES, ETC. ON THIS FORM
Comment (Workings): NO REFERENCE COULD BE FOUND STATING THE DISTANCE PLACER MINING CARRIED OUT ALONG LAST CHANCE GULCH
References
Reference (Deposit): LYDEN, C. J., 1948, THE GOLD PLACERS OF MONTANA, MONT. BUREAU OF MINES AND GEOL. MEMOIR NO. 26 P. 56-57
Reference (Deposit): KOSCHMANN AND BERGENDAHL, PRINCIPAL GOLD-PRODUCING DISTRICTS OF THE UNITED STATES, U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROF. PAPER 610, P. 105
Reference (Production): LYDEN, C. J., 1948, THE GOLD PLACERS OF MONTANA
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.
