Geology Reference
In-Depth Information
lode, extending 5 miles southwest from Elkhorn Ridge,
were the most lucrative in Oregon. Production figures
from 1895 to 1908, the most active period, were
$2,485,000 for 100,450 ounces of gold.
After 1900 activity increased. Peak years were
from 1900 to 1908, from 1913 to 1942, and from 1946
to 1954 with the estimated dollar value between 1900
and 1965 placed at $47 million. After that, production
dropped drastically. For example, during 1954 there
were 5,175 troy ounces of gold from both mines and
placers in Baker County. In 1955 only 299 ounces of
gold were recorded from the same sources. Since 1945,
most lode gold has come from the Buffalo Mine in the
Elkhorn Mountain area, while the Bonnanza Mine
north of Halfway is currently the state's major placer
gold producer. Today data on individual companies is
no longer available to the public.
ery of gold just west of Baker in Griffin Gulch. A
second group of miners, harassed by Indians, found
gold in Canyon Creek near John Day in Grant County.
The gold here was so plentiful that the men searched
no farther, and by July 5, 1862, a tent city of 1,000 men
had grown up along the stream. Within a few years,
prospectors spread out to most of the districts in the
Blue Mountains and adjoining Idaho.
Water for working the placers was scarce in
the desert, and long, extensive ditches were dug to
carry it to the workings. The Auburn ditch, parts of
which are still used by the municipality of Baker, was
completed in 1863. The Rye Valley ditch was com-
pleted in 1864, and the 100 mile long El Dorado ditch,
finished in 1873, carried water from the head of Burnt
River to the Malheur placers. The water supply stimu-
lated production for 10 to 15 years until the placer
gravels were exhausted. Bucket line dredges, which
were first used in Sumpter in 1913, also increased gold
production for a time on the creeks and rivers of
eastern Oregon.
Lode mining began shortly after placers with
the development of the Virtue Mine near Baker in
1862 where a 10-stamp mill was constructed to process
the ore. Stamp mills, employing heavy steel rods,
pulverized the gold ore to extract the fine gold. Virtue
and Sanger mines in the Wallowa Mountains and
Connor Creek mine in the Lookout Mountain region
dominated lode gold production until the early 1900s
when production of vein gold from the Cornucopia
mines began. Ranking as the top lode producer,
Cornucopia mines were active for over 60 years,
frequently yielding more than half of the total lode
gold of Oregon for several consecutive years before
closing in October, 1941.
As late as June, 1913, a large nugget weighing
80.4 ounces was picked up in the gravels of a placer
mine near Susanville in Grant County. George Armstr-
ong and his partner found the nugget while mining by
hydraulic pressure. Today the gold specimen worth
between $30 and $40 thousand dollars is exhibited by
the U.S. Bank of Oregon in Baker.
Early gold production for the Blue Mountains
can only be estimated because exact figures were never
recorded, and much of it was sent to the mint at San
Francisco where it was credited to California. Placer
mines in the region west of Baker had an approximate
yield of $5 million dollars, while placers elsewhere in
Grant and Baker counties had an estimated total
output of $18 million dollars by 1900. By way of
comparison, lode mining operations totaled $5 million
dollars by 1900. Mines in the North Pole-Columbia
Now residing with the U.S. Bank of Oregon in Baker,
the Armstrong nugget was among the largest found
in Oregon during the gold rush days (Oregon Dept.
Geology and Mineral Industries).
Silver is typically recovered with gold as part
of the extraction process since gold and silver are
usually associated in nature. Production of silver in the
Blue Mountains province reached just over $2 million
dollars from 1900 to 1965, the most lucrative period.
Southwest and northeast Oregon are prime
targets for gold exploration. Large placer mining
operations, recreational mines using small portable
