The Gold Bar #1
(Placer)
(15.3 acres)
Broadwater County, Montana
$29,000
(Placer)
(15.3 acres)
Broadwater County, Montana
$29,000
•Primary Commodities: Gold
• Claim designation: un-patented Placer
• Size: 15.30 acres
• Location: Broadwater County, Montana
• Claim designation: un-patented Placer
• Size: 15.30 acres
• Location: Broadwater County, Montana
- Financing is available with $1950.00 down and monthly payments of $199.00
- Direct quit claim deed purchase available
The Gold Bar #1 Placer is a historic gold property located within the Magpie Gulch–Bar Gulch placer system of Broadwater County, Montana. The property features reported gold values ranging from approximately 0.5 to 2.5 grams of gold per cubic yard, with coarse gold reported throughout the claim and particularly strong concentrations associated with the upper terrace bench.
The character of the gold is particularly interesting. Gold recovered from the property is described as coarse placer gold, consistent with the property's position within a historic gold-bearing drainage and its proximity to the ancient source areas that supplied gold to the Magpie Gulch and Bar Gulch system.
The mining claim is situated within a drainage that has been investigated and worked by Montana miners for more than a century.
Historical USGS reports document that Bar Gulch was worked for approximately 1¼ miles from its mouth, primarily through drift mining. The same reports document extensive placer mining along Magpie Creek and identify significant historic gold production from the Magpie Gulch–Bar Gulch system.
During the late 1880s, Courtney Sheriff Sr. of Canyon Ferry worked the upper portion of Magpie Creek immediately below the mouth of Bar Gulch. To overcome groundwater problems, Sheriff and his miners constructed a bedrock drainage tunnel, allowing them to sink shafts and drift along the bedrock. In 1892, the operation was incorporated as the Magpie Mine and Drain Company.
The historic workings were substantial. USGS records state that Sheriff discovered a 2-ounce gold nugget, while later geological reports describe the gold-bearing gravel as having been worked extensively along Magpie Creek and Bar Gulch.
The area continued to attract miners decades after the original discoveries.
In 1928, USGS geologist Joseph Pardee documented Jim Walston washing gold along Bar Gulch. At approximately the same time, the Magpie Mining Company, under the direction of E. I. Wall, was sinking a shaft in Magpie Gulch.
In 1931, the Big Belt Gold Mining Company, managed by J. W. Kager, leased previously unworked ground on the old Sheriff claim and again pursued the placer deposit using bedrock drainage, shafts, and underground drifting.
One of the most interesting features of the Gold Bar #1 Placer is its upper terrace bench.
Ancient placer channels can remain preserved above modern stream levels as erosion causes a drainage to cut progressively deeper into its valley. These elevated gravels can preserve older concentrations of gold that are no longer exposed in the present-day creek.
Gold Values:
Gold values on the Gold Bar #1 are estimated between 0.5 and 2.5 grams per cubic yard, with gold reported throughout the claim and concentrated in areas of the upper terrace bench. The gold is notably coarse in character, adding interest to the property's location within this historic placer system.
Gold has been reported throughout the claim, with the upper terrace bench providing a particularly attractive exploration target.
The reported coarse nature of the gold adds another interesting component to the property. Rather than being limited to extremely fine flour gold, the material sampled on the claim contains coarser gold consistent with the historic character of this placer district.
Featuring a good-condition dirt road provides access to the property and is suitable for most vehicles under normal conditions. The claim also features an established parking and staging area, providing a practical location for equipment, supplies, and prospecting operations. Water is available nearby from Magpie Creek located on public lands.
The Gold Bar #1 Placer offers the opportunity to explore ground within one of Broadwater County's documented historic placer systems.
The character of the gold is particularly interesting. Gold recovered from the property is described as coarse placer gold, consistent with the property's position within a historic gold-bearing drainage and its proximity to the ancient source areas that supplied gold to the Magpie Gulch and Bar Gulch system.
The mining claim is situated within a drainage that has been investigated and worked by Montana miners for more than a century.
Historical USGS reports document that Bar Gulch was worked for approximately 1¼ miles from its mouth, primarily through drift mining. The same reports document extensive placer mining along Magpie Creek and identify significant historic gold production from the Magpie Gulch–Bar Gulch system.
During the late 1880s, Courtney Sheriff Sr. of Canyon Ferry worked the upper portion of Magpie Creek immediately below the mouth of Bar Gulch. To overcome groundwater problems, Sheriff and his miners constructed a bedrock drainage tunnel, allowing them to sink shafts and drift along the bedrock. In 1892, the operation was incorporated as the Magpie Mine and Drain Company.
The historic workings were substantial. USGS records state that Sheriff discovered a 2-ounce gold nugget, while later geological reports describe the gold-bearing gravel as having been worked extensively along Magpie Creek and Bar Gulch.
The area continued to attract miners decades after the original discoveries.
In 1928, USGS geologist Joseph Pardee documented Jim Walston washing gold along Bar Gulch. At approximately the same time, the Magpie Mining Company, under the direction of E. I. Wall, was sinking a shaft in Magpie Gulch.
In 1931, the Big Belt Gold Mining Company, managed by J. W. Kager, leased previously unworked ground on the old Sheriff claim and again pursued the placer deposit using bedrock drainage, shafts, and underground drifting.
One of the most interesting features of the Gold Bar #1 Placer is its upper terrace bench.
Ancient placer channels can remain preserved above modern stream levels as erosion causes a drainage to cut progressively deeper into its valley. These elevated gravels can preserve older concentrations of gold that are no longer exposed in the present-day creek.
Gold Values:
Gold values on the Gold Bar #1 are estimated between 0.5 and 2.5 grams per cubic yard, with gold reported throughout the claim and concentrated in areas of the upper terrace bench. The gold is notably coarse in character, adding interest to the property's location within this historic placer system.
Gold has been reported throughout the claim, with the upper terrace bench providing a particularly attractive exploration target.
The reported coarse nature of the gold adds another interesting component to the property. Rather than being limited to extremely fine flour gold, the material sampled on the claim contains coarser gold consistent with the historic character of this placer district.
Featuring a good-condition dirt road provides access to the property and is suitable for most vehicles under normal conditions. The claim also features an established parking and staging area, providing a practical location for equipment, supplies, and prospecting operations. Water is available nearby from Magpie Creek located on public lands.
The Gold Bar #1 Placer offers the opportunity to explore ground within one of Broadwater County's documented historic placer systems.
