Chasing The Wind

Hard Times No. 3 Placer Claim

The price of gold is on the move! Financial analysts predict we may see an all-time high before the end of the year. Where will you be prospecting this season? 

• Known primarily for its rich placer gold deposit, the Cedar Creek Mining District encompasses the Cedar, Quartz and Trout Creek drainages, which rise near the crest of the northward extension of Montana’s Bitterroot Mountains. The creeks flow in northeasterly direction to empty into the Clark Fork River above Superior.

• Since gold was first discovered in the Cedar Creek Mining District of Mineral County, Montana, the precious metal has been recovered, at one time or another, by most every method known to man.

• Cedar Creek is the most productive of the district drainages. Oregon Gulch is the most important tributary of Cedar Creek.

• Production from placer mines from 1867-1947 yielded as much as $2000000 along Cedar Creek and its tributaries. In 1875 production was estimated at as high as $6 per yard.

• Placer gold from the district exhibits extreme purity. 0.980 fine gold has been recovered. It is not unusual for gold to be .096 to .097 fine.

• Placer gold production within the Cedar Creek district is intimately associated with nearby lode deposits.

Hard Times Mine No. 3 

50 Acres

Non-Patented 

W 1/2 Section 12, Township 15 North, Range 28 West

Cedar Creek Mining Distict

Mineral County, Montana

The Hard Times No. 3 Placer Claim is part of a contiguous block of approximately 770 acres slated for commercial gold exploration and production. Gold is present at a grade sufficient to have a strong effect on the economics of an excavation project. The package is available for sale/lease or joint-venture. 

For more information please contact:

Marlene Affeld

marneaffeld@mac.com

509-389-2606 

The Hard Times Mine No. 3 has not been actively mined since the great Cedar Creek Gold Rush. The claim has not been worked by us beyond routine sampling, testing, and assessment work

Gold is recovered from the stream bed and bench gravels located along the entire length of the claim. The gold originates from veins associated with igneous dikes that crosscut the northward extension of the Bitterroot Mountains. Chalcopyrite is the predominant ore material, quartz is plentiful.

Chalcopyrite has a golden yellow color, which often resembles gold. However, its physical properties such as streak and tenacity are very different from gold and can easily distinguish it. Chalcopyrite is a beautiful mineral, with good crystals being fairly common.

Copper and silver, in small amounts have also been found. 

The Hard Times No. 3 Placer Gold Claim has exposed bedrock outcroppings and several natural gravel bars, a diversity that offers outstanding spots to pan, high-bank, dredge, sluice or metal detect. The incredible potential of this claim would keep anyone prospecting for a lifetime.

For More Information On The Hard Times No. 3 Placer Gold Claim

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Exploring The Rare Gems and Minerals in Montana

When checking the concentrates in your pan, as Montana is blessed with a diverse array of rare gems and minerals. 

Reprinted Courtesty Of Goldrushnuggets.com

It doesn't get much better than Montana for us rock hounds! The western half of the state is rich with gold, sapphires, garnets, amethyst, and a huge assortment of rare minerals. The eastern half of the state has some of the greatest dinosaur fossils occurrences on Earth.

Sapphires

Sapphire is among the most precious gemstones in the world. It is one of the rare precious stones that are found in famous gem mining locations such as Sri Lanka, Burma, Madagascar, Brazil, Nepal, China, Australia, India and Thailand. High-grade sapphires are only found in a few locations in the U.S.

Sapphire is made of aluminum oxide and is found in varied and vivid colors like blue, pink, yellow, purple and orange. It is sometimes also found in colorless or amazing dark blue or black variety. Certain iron, titanium and rarely chromium impurities give this gemstone it’s unique and varied colors. This gem is usually found using a different method compared to traditional pit or underground mine.

The stone is found by washing off the gravels found in the stream deposits.

Montana is the best state in the U.S. for sapphire mining, and there are several locations where rockhounds can pay to dig for the valuable gem.

About 15 sites in Montana claim sapphire findings. The Gem Mountain Sapphire Mine is extremely popular for its gemstone mining. It is one of those areas where sapphire mining is open for tourists as well. People can come and participate in the dig. It makes for an exciting weekend trip and activity with children and “grown-ups” alike.

Another popular Sapphire mine is the Montana Blue Jewel Mine that is situated atop El Dorado Bar. Besides theses mines, there are areas in the Beaverhead County, Deer Lodge County, Granite County, Lewis and Clark County, Madison County and Silver Bow County that have sapphire claims. There are sapphire deposits found all throughout western Montana.

Amethyst and Quartz

Crystal Park near Elkhorn Hot Springs Area in the Pioneer Mountains of Montana is popular for its Amethyst hunting. The mountains are located at a height of 7,700 feet. The site is preserved in cooperation with the Beaverhead National Forest and Butte Mineral and Gem Club.

In addition, other mining areas include, Bald Mountain, Delmoe Lake, Glittering Hill Pegmatite, Wissikihon Creek, Pohindorf Mine, Little Pipestone Creek, Little Gem Mine, Homestake Pass and Beehive No.2 Pegmatite in Jefferson County. Quartz crystals of all varieties have been found at these locations.

Another area in Silver Bow County, the Janney Pegmatite Occurrence is known for amethyst mining.

Petrified Wood and Fossils

The assorted stone deposit can be found in the eastern Montana Badlands region near Glendive. Other items located here are beautiful rock fragments and lignite. Another significant site where the precious gem is located in Montana is the Gallatin Petrified Forest which is 35 to 55 million years old.

The forest is located close to rocks and porcupine creeks in the Gallatin Range and uniqueness of the Gallatin Petrified Forest is that most of the trees location in this region were petrified standing upright in their original position.

Eastern Montana is world-renowned for its fossil occurrences. Of particular interest are the dinosaur fossils that have been found here including the prized Tyrannosaurus Rex. Other species include Triceratops, Hadrosaurs, and a variety of other dinosaurs. Some of the greatest paleontological discoveries on Earth have been made in Eastern Montana and the Dakotas.

Garnets

Sightings of the bright red and orange red and reddish pink almandite garnet have been made in the Missouri River near Helena in Lewis County and Clarke County. Deposits of this precious gemstone are also seen on the drainages of the Ruby River in Madison County.

The Alder Gulch deposit is located where Alder Gulch joins the Ruby River Valley. About 40 million tons of old placer gold tailings are found in this area from historic gold mining operations. Garnets are abundant in this area. 

 

Rhodochrosite

Rhodochrosite occurs in the Butte district, Montana. Some of the ores come from the Emma Mines which is located near downtown Butte. The crystal is also common in some of the southwestern and western part of the district and also abundant in the veins of the northern part of the district.

Common minerals that are less associated with the crystal are barite, calcite, ankerite, chalcopyrite, tenantite and bornite. Most of the ore that is produced in the Emma Mine are exclusively made up of rhodochrosite.

The huge copper mines around the town of Butte produced a huge variety of different mineral specimens as by-product of the copper mining. If you ever find yourself in Butte, check out the amazing Mineral Museum on the campus of Montana Tech. There are thousands of local minerals on display, including a 27.5-ounce gold nugget found just south of Butte.

Gold

Western Montana is quite rich with gold. There was an abundance of gold mining activity that took place here dating back to the 1860 up through the 1950’s. Even today there is plenty of gold that can be panned from many creeks and rivers in western Montana.

 

The Extermination Of The American Buffalo

By: Marlene Affeld

It is believed that that bison, or buffalo, originated in Eurasia then crossed over the Bering Strait land bridge that at one time connected the Asian and North American continents. In prehistoric times the massive herds literally darkened the face of the earth as they roamed and foraged. Over many centuries the buffalo slowly migrated southward until they inhabited much of the grasslands of the United States. Seas of bison herds stretched across the horizon from Canada to Mexico and from the northwestern Pacific coast in Oregon southeast as far as Florida. 

Bison were the most numerous single species of large wild mammal on Earth and is the largest land mammal in North America since the end of the Ice Age. A male buffalo may stand as high as six feet and weigh up to 2,000 pounds.

Continue Reading The Extermination Of The American Buffalo

The Osprey Are Back!

Although we experienced an intense snowstorm in the high country and an accumulation of slush in the valleys, the spring days are delightful. The osprey are back, buttercups are blooming, and the air is crisp, clear and heavy with the scent of cedar. 

Handsome Fish Hunters - Osprey In Montana

By: Marlene Affeld

Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus), when hunting on the wing, seem to glide effortlessly over the water. Smaller than an eagle, an osprey is still an impressive raptor. With wingspans of up to 72 inches and up to 24 inches in length and a weight of almost 5 pounds, the osprey is a wonderful addition to Montana’s rich abundance of bird life. 

Handsome fish hunters, the osprey has a distinctive white head and belly with rich, dark brown feathers gracing its back. The under side of the wings are also snow-white except for dark patches and barred-brown flight feathers. Ospreys vocalize with a series of piercing whistles and chirps that become more intense if the nest is approached. Osprey nest just about anywhere in close proximity to water that provides safety and an abundance of food.

 

Continue Reading Handsome Fish Hunters - Osprey In Montana 

Power Stones - Montana Moss Agates

 By: Marlene Affeld

Since biblical times agates have been considered power stones, talismans of protection and healing energy. The agates found in Montana are no exception. Native Americans believed the intriguing stone told stories from the earth mother and provided protection. It was the stone of warriors. Montana Moss Agate is considered by many to be the most powerful of all agates and is said to ward off storms.

 

 

Montana Moss Agate, a semi-precious stone found in the alluvial gravels of the Yellowstone River and its tributaries, is an exquisite and valued form of “chalcedony”, one of many types of the mineral, quartz. Montana Moss Agate is classified as a cryptocrystalline or microcrystalline quartz and has a hardness rating of 7. 

Continue Reading Power Stones - Montana Moss Agates

 

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The American White Pelicans of Montana

By: Marlene Affeld

Spring is in the air and the migratory birds are returning. I especially love Montana this time of the year. 

Montana is the summer home of thousands of fat, funny waterbirds - The American White Pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhyn-chos).

I have always associated pelicans with the ocean and never considered them an inland bird. I was amazed to discover that thousands of pelicans spend their breeding season in Montana. American White Pelicans in Montana are long-distance migratory birds that spend the winter in warmer weather, traveling as far south as Central America and faithfully returning to their natal habitat every spring.

White Pelicans sport an enormous bill with a flapping (disensible gular) pouch; they waddle on broad (totipalmate) webbed feet, yet fly with grace and precision. In flight, the pelicans fly, rather comically, with their heads withdrawn. White Pelicans are a social bird that normally travel in a flock and freely shares its feeding ground with cormorants and seagulls.

Continue Reading The American White Pelicans of Montana

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The Disappearing Wasp Nest

It's spring, and bees and bugs are buzzing - this season I am planting herbs around the garden perimeter to attract pollenators and repel insect pests. What is your secret for not getting stung? Please share your thoughts and advice. 

 

By: Marlene Affeld

 

My friend Starr is terrified of wasps and justifiably so. When stung she has had horrific reactions that included intense pain, shallow breathing, rapid and massive swelling of the site, fever, headache, nausea and dizziness. Not a pleasant experience. Wary of wasps, we are careful when we grab a bush or climb the creek bank. As wasps buzz and dart, a backyard barbecue can be an intimidating event. 

 

There are over 20 varieties of wasps in the families Sphecidae and Vespidae that inhabit Montana. Some make their nests high in the trees, or under eves; others prefer to be closer to the ground and will make their nest in an exposed root mass, under overhanging branches and in brush or ground cover. Still other swarms will nest in soil in pre-existing cavities such as a ground squirrel’s domain or a marmot burrow. Some years they seem to be everywhere. Scary!

Continue Reading The Disappearing Wasp Nest

Beavers In Montana

By: Marlene Affeld

 

Changing The Flow Of The Creek

 

Have you ever seen a 100 pound wet rat? The first time I spotted a large male beaver on Cedar Creek, (Mineral County, Montana) that’s exactly what I thought it was. I looked again, perhaps the gangly creature waddling down the bank was a bear cub. My next thought was, where is Mama Bear? 

 

 

Meeting the beaver was a unique and rather unsettling experience. Movies and cartoons have often portrayed beavers as industrious, cheeky and tenacious. Beavers are all of that, however; in the wild they are also just plain ugly.

 

Continue Reading Beavers In Montana

 

My Mountain Garden

The spring gardening catalogs are arriving in the mail - I am enjoying planning new additions to my gardens. I love butterflies and delight in watching them in nature. This year I plan to introduce a few new plantings to attract these intriguing visitors. The Mourning Cloak (Nymphalis Antiopa) is Montana's State Butterfly. I would like to be able to find them in my garden.

I have established lemon thyme and several varieties of mint at the base of my fruit trees. I have noticed an increased number of bumble bees but not as many butterflies as I would welcome. 

What do you do to attract butterflies, birds and wildlife to your garden? Please share your suggestions and experiences. Are you interested in exchanging plant seeds? I look forward to hearing from you, in the mean time, here are some resources to brighten these dark Winter days and have you thinking of Spring. 

Creating a Butterfly Garden (the basics to get started)

Butterfly Nectar Plants (plants adult butterflies like)

Butterfly Host Plants (plants caterpillars like)

Butterfly Gardening by Area (what butterflies live in your area)

Butterfly Garden Plans (the layout and design)

Butterfly Behavior To Watch in the Garden (feeding, basking, etc)

Sprucing Up Your Butterfly Garden (spruce up your existing garden)

Raise Butterflies & Build Them a Home (add butterflies to your garden)

Butterflies Found In Montana

Brush-footed Butterflies (Nymphalidae) Admirals and Relatives (Limenitidinae) 'Astyanax' Red-spotted Purple (Limenitis arthemis astyanax) Lorquin's Admiral (Limenitis lorquini) Red-spotted Purple (Limenitis arthemis) Viceroy (Limenitis archippus) Weidemeyer's Admiral (Limenitis weidemeyerii) White Admiral (Limenitis arthemis arthemis) Longwings (Heliconiinae) Alberta Fritillary (Boloria alberta) Aphrodite Fritillary (Speyeria aphrodite) Arctic Fritillary (Boloria chariclea) Astarte Fritillary (Boloria astarte) Bog Fritillary (Boloria eunomia) Callippe Fritillary (Speyeria callippe) Coronis Fritillary (Speyeria coronis) Edwards' Fritillary (Speyeria edwardsii) Freija Fritillary (Boloria freija) Frigga Fritillary (Boloria frigga) Great Basin Fritillary (Speyeria egleis) Great Spangled Fritillary (Speyeria cybele) Hydaspe Fritillary (Speyeria hydaspe) Meadow Fritillary (Boloria bellona) Mormon Fritillary (Speyeria mormonia) Northwestern Fritillary (Speyeria hesperis) Pacific Fritillary (Boloria epithore) Regal Fritillary (Speyeria idalia) Relict Fritillary (Boloria kriemhild) Silver-bordered Fritillary (Boloria selene) Variegated Fritillary (Euptoieta claudia) Zerene Fritillary (Speyeria zerene) Milkweed Butterflies (Danainae) Monarch (Danaus plexippus) True Brushfoots (Nymphalinae) American Lady (Vanessa virginiensis) California Tortoiseshell (Nymphalis californica) Compton Tortoiseshell (Nymphalis vaualbum) Eastern Comma (Polygonia comma) Edith's Checkerspot (Euphydryas editha) Field Crescent (Phyciodes pulchellus) Gillette's Checkerspot (Euphydryas gillettii) Gorgone Checkerspot (Chlosyne gorgone) Gray Comma (Polygonia progne) Green Comma (Polygonia faunus) Hoary Comma (Polygonia gracilis) Milbert's Tortoiseshell (Aglais milberti) Mourning Cloak (Nymphalis antiopa) Mylitta Crescent (Phyciodes mylitta) Northern Checkerspot (Chlosyne palla) Northern Crescent (Phyciodes cocyta) Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) Pale Crescent (Phyciodes pallida) Pearl Crescent (Phyciodes tharos) Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) Rockslide Checkerspot (Chlosyne whitneyi) Sagebrush Checkerspot (Chlosyne acastus) Satyr Comma (Polygonia satyrus) Silvery Checkerspot (Chlosyne nycteis) Tawny Crescent (Phyciodes batesii) Variable Checkerspot (Euphydryas chalcedona) West Coast Lady (Vanessa annabella) Metalmarks (Riodinidae) Mormon Metalmark (Apodemia mormo) Parnassians and Swallowtails (Papilionidae) Parnassians (Parnassiinae) Clodius Parnassian (Parnassius clodius) Rocky Mountain Parnassian (Parnassius smintheus) Swallowtails (Papilioninae) Anise Swallowtail (Papilio zelicaon) Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes) Canadian Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio canadensis) Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus) Indra Swallowtail (Papilio indra) Old World Swallowtail (Papilio machaon) Pale Swallowtail (Papilio eurymedon) Two-tailed Swallowtail (Papilio multicaudata) Western Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio rutulus)

Courtesy of: Opler, Paul A., Harry Pavulaan, Ray E. Stanford, Michael Pogue, coordinators. 2006. 
Butterflies and Moths of North America. Bozeman, MT: Mountain Prairie Information Node.

 

 

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Storied Stones - Prehistoric Rock Art of Montana

When prospecting, have you come across petroglyphs or unusual ancient stones. Please comment on your finds. 

By: Marlene Affeld

I am fascinated by pictographs and petroglyphs. Are they 10,000 year old graffiti or a sacred magical symbolic code, a treasure map, a historian’s guide book in storied stone? 

In 1806, while on their historic journey across Montana, the Lewis and Clark Expedition encountered several signs of the first inhabitants of this great land. Pictographs and petroglyphs were inscribed on rock faces by the tribes that lived in this area as well as nomadic tribes that followed the bison herds across the Great Plains. From Clark's Journal “. . .on the face of this rock the figures of animals”.

To an archaeologist there is a distinct difference between pictographs and petroglyphs. Pictographs are intricate designs painted on a hard surface, petroglyphs are chiseled or carved into the rock surface. 

Continue Reading Storied Stones - Prehistoric Rock Art of Montana