|
|
|
The Maginnis, Spotted Horse/Kentucky Favorite, and Cumberland mines are credited with a production of 350,000 to 450,000 ounces of gold and similar amounts of silver recovered from about 200,000 tons of ore. They sporadically operated from 1881 to 1991, but overall, were high-graded and lacked diligent exploration and development. Located 20 miles north of Lewistown , Montana the mines form a semi circle along the southern, eastern and northern margins of the Gold Hill intrusive complex and its contact with Paleozoic limestone. The three separate owners desire to enter into an arrangement to explore and develop the mines and agree this can best be accomplished under one management.
Approximately 1,500 ounces of gold and 25,000 ounces of silver are contained in old dumps and tailings. The most recent published ore reserves range from measured reserves of 4,400 ounces of gold in the Spotted Horse/Kentucky Favorites to speculative resources included in all the properties of 311,000 ounces of gold. The high-grade telluride ores of Gold Hill have been compared with those of the Cripple Creek District in Colorado , where mineralization extended to a depth of more than 3000 feet. The deepest mine on Gold Hill is 650 feet deep. The Gold Hill breccia pipes have yet to be explored.
Good roads pass through the properties and utilities are in place. The Maginnis and Kentucky Favorite are accessed by rubber tired declines and the Spotted Horse by a shaft. Over the last 30 years there have been considerable improvements and infrastructure developed both underground and on the surface. Some heavy and light mining equipment is available.
Historically, ores were treated by gravity, amalgamation, and cyanidation. A heap leach test in 1980 demonstrated the ore cyanided well and a more recent cyanide vat leach plant achieved recovery rates up to 90%. The cyanide ban that was legislated in Montana in 1998 applies only to open-pit mines and is unlikely to have a major impact on underground mines.
An extensive data package is available for review upon executing a confidentiality agreement. Once the properties are acquired the data could be further evaluated, an exploration program designed and permitted, and work begun. Exploration could be conducted from both the surface and underground with the intent of developing an underground mine(s). Key personnel are available to work on the project. |
 |
| Purpose of this Report |
| This is an introduction and overview of the major mines of the Gold Hill Section of the Warm Spring Mining District, Fergus County , Montana . These gold and silver mines, the Maginnis, Spotted Horse, Kentucky Favorite, and Cumberland , are credited with production of 350,000 to 450,000 ounces of gold and a similar amount of silver. Overall, the properties suffered from a lack of well-planned and adequately funded exploration and development; the high-grade history of the properties drew many operators into the mind-set of mining what was readily available without doing diligent exploration and development. Some operators also made the mistake of building mills prior to having reserves in hand or improperly designing mills. These unfortunate scenarios are true from some of the earliest operations and definitely during the last major operations. There is every indication that the ore bodies continue below present mining levels and there is good potential of finding new ore bodies within the mines and the ground between them. The potential of the Gold Hill breccia pipes remain to be explored. |
| |
|
|
|
|
