If you own mining property, you own your own private bank. Gold is going to levels previously unimaginable.
Where will you mine next season?
All claims listed for sale have been sampled and researched to establish worth. Only that ground meeting complete satisfaction and bearing realistic potential for gold were acquired. Several tenures comprise ground not before thoroughly or seriously worked for placer. Many of these locations comprise potential tertiary benches or buried channels, suitable for smaller-scale operations.
Whether a major commercial mining company, a serious junior mining concern, a recreational miner, the weekend prospector, or individuals simply wishing to enjoy the out-of-doors while trying their hand at unearthing lustrous treasures, whether using a pan, sluice, searching with a detector or employing other recovery methods, properties hereunder listed, hold excellent potential. Those claims contiguous to one another may be purchased individually or as a group. Group prices may apply.
LOOKING FOR NEW GROUND?
1,240 ACRES OF PLACER GOLD CLAIMS
For Sale or Lease
NW MONTANA
Based on information documented by state and federal agencies, geologists, historians, and our own prospecting experience, we believe the Big Flat Project represents a unique opportunity for recovering substantial quantities of gold within a proven gold-bearing trend that boasts impressive records of past gold production. We invite you to consider the mining properties offered for sale or lease in the Big Flat.
Owner financing available
5% Down – Balance over 10 years
No Credit Check, No Banks, No Interest
Non-Patented
Serious Inquiries Only
509-389-2606
marneaffeld@mac.com
Mining claims are a tangible asset and show your rights to all interests in minerals in the claim boundary. They can be bought, sold, or used as collateral, just like any other piece of real estate. A mining claim can be sold, traded, leased, gifted, willed, used as collateral, or transferred in part or in its entirety just like any other real property using a quitclaim deed which is a recordable conveyance.
If you have been following the price of gold, you know it is on the move.
The price of GOLD is up more than 300% in the past 15 YEARS.
The Big Flat Project comprises a total of ten unpatented mining claims (1240 acres) located in Mineral County, Montana. The claims collectively encompass the potential lode sources for the placer workings. The property is located within a historically productive gold district. The aim of the project is to locate, define, and exploit these prolific placer deposits.
Available For Sale, Lease or Joint Venture: a premium group of non-patented placer gold claims located in Cedar Creek Mining District, Mineral County, Montana. The contiguous block is located in the historically proven gold-bearing area of Oregon Creek known as the Big Flat: the location of one of the richest gold strikes in Mineral County, Montana. The gold from this district was notably fine; some gold that was 982 fine was recovered and it was not unusual for it to be as high as 960 to 970 fine (22 Karat). (Lyden, 1948, p. 102).
Placer Gold:
- A placer deposit is a concentration of a natural material that has accumulated in unconsolidated sediments of a stream bed, beach, or residual deposit. Gold derived by weathering or other processes from lode deposits is likely to accumulate in placer deposits because of its weight and resistance to corrosion. In addition, its characteristically sun-yellow color makes it easily and quickly recognizable even in very small quantities.
Oregon Creek, which cascades through the claims, is a primary tributary of Cedar Creek. Oregon Creek has been a significant proven producer. On one section of the creek (part of the Big Flat Project) history records report that on several claims, men equipped each with only a gold pan and shovel were pulling out an ounce or more to the pan.
The Big Flat Project spans over 10.3 miles of Oregon Creek and its tributaries. Oregon Creek ranges from 6 to 10 ft. wide, but in some areas can reach up to 20 ft. The depth of the creek ranges from 8-10 inches in the shallow areas, and up to 3-to-12 feet or more in-depth. There are lots of benches, gravel bars, river rocks, waterfalls, and exposed bedrock in the creek: all of which trap gold.
The gold pan or miner's pan of old was a shallow sheet-iron vessel with sloping sides and flat bottom used to wash gold-bearing gravel or other material containing heavy minerals. The process of washing material in a pan referred to as "panning," is the simplest, most commonly used, and least expensive method for a prospector to separate gold from the silt, sand, and gravel of the stream deposits. It is a tedious, back-breaking job, and only with practice does one become proficient in the operation. Thankfully, technology finally caught up with our gold fever and brought us modern methods and equipment!
The gold previously produced from Oregon Creek was mined with very little mechanized equipment: the miners of yesterday did not have access to sophisticated methods of gold detection and recovery. Geologists suggest that the early prospectors recovered less than ten percent of the available gold. Oregon Creek remains relatively unworked for almost 150 years.
Gold is recovered from stream and bench gravels located along the three creeks and their tributaries. The gold originates from veins associated with igneous dikes crosscutting the northward extension of the Bitterroots.
Location and access is a concern for any mining operation. A valuable asset of the Big Flat Project is the existence of an established network of maintained roads and trails. Located in the Lolo National Forest on United States Forest Service land, the claims are easily accessible via USFS roads. Easy access is a key feature of the Big Flat Project and one that not only enhances the value of the property but increases the ability to remove minerals with a higher profit margin.
Gold is present at a grade sufficient to have a strong effect on the economics of an excavation project. These claims could contain world-class mineral deposits. Further study, sampling and drilling will likely prove major gold reserves.
Offered For Lease or Joint-Venture - Investor Inquiries Invited.
Will lease parcels as small as 20 acres.
Offered For Lease or Joint-Venture - Investor Inquiries Invited.
Barber Gulch Placer Gold Claim
Southern Cross Placer Gold Claim
Bonanza Gulch Placer Gold Claim
Hard Times No. 1 & No. 2 Placer Gold Claims
Grubstake Gulch Placer Gold Claim
Missoula Gulch Placer Gold Claim
Rainbow's End Placer Gold Claim
With the price of gold holding at a strong high, participation in the Big Flat Project presents a unique investment opportunity for a visionary entrepreneur.
Historical Notes
This map, courtesy of the Mineral County Historical Society, dates to about the time the USFS took over forest management (1906) - It is interesting to note, that as early as 1906, there were several established mines within the area known today as the "Big Flat."
“The best place to find a new mine is in the shadow of an old mine”
Strike On Cedar Creek Draws Miners To The Area
On December 10, 1869, the news hit the major papers across Montana and Idaho, and the New Northwest paper out of Deer Lodge City, MT read:
"Big Mines Reported Struck! Such a time! We are living on excitement here entirely—Missoula has been wild for the last week—stampedes, charivari’s [sic] and I scarcely know what else. First a noise for four nights—and such a noise, thirteen boiler shops and a thousand gongs would be as nothing compared to it. Louis Barrette, one of the discoverers was in town to-day and had some of the gold with him, and it looks much like the gold from old Kootenai, coarse and well washed, and of a dark yellow color."
The Cedar Creek Chinese Report on Excavations at 24MN249 & 24MN262
The Montana Department Of Environmental Quality, reports. “The Cedar Creek Mining District, known primarily for its placer deposits, encompasses Cedar, Quartz, and Trout Creeks, rising near the crest of the northward extension of the Bitterroot Mountain range. The creeks flow northeastward to enter the Clark Fork River above Superior (Sahinen 1935).
The placers were first claimed in 1869 by French Canadian, Louis A. Barrette, and have seen continuous production since then. By 1935 the district had yielded at least $2,000,000 in gold and perhaps as much as $10,000,000. Annual output between 1869 and 1935 ranges from $1,000 to $50,000: with recovery primarily through sluicing and hydraulic methods.
Cedar Creek's history and gold production insights are especially intriguing. Many miners, prospectors, and geologists have long speculated: the gold recovered from Cedar Creek originates in Oregon Gulch.
Gold Production In Mineral County, Montana
The US Geological Survey ranks Montana as number 7 in gold production in the US and reports the state contains 31 gold mining districts, including the Cedar Creek Mining District, located in Mineral County. Total state gold production from the 19th century to 1968 was 17.8 million ounces, but considerable amounts of gold have been mined since (Bergendahl and Koshmann, 1968).
Situated in the western section of Montana, Mineral County is bounded by Missoula and Sanders counties and the state of Idaho. Most of the county topography is quite rugged with elevations ranging from 2500 to 8000 feet above sea level.
Located along the Idaho border, Mineral County was formed in 1914 by a partition of Missoula County. The county derives its name from the diverse array of minerals including lead, copper, zinc, silver, and gold located in its mountainous terrain. The county has a rich historical heritage of mineral discoveries in the late 1800s. Gold and silver were commercially produced from mines located in Mineral County. All gold mined before 1914 from the area now included in Mineral County is credited to Missoula County.
Almost all of the entire gold output in Mineral County came from placer deposits along the creeks that drain the east side of the Bitterroot Mountains and that flow into Clark Fork River between Tarkio and Superior. The most productive placers, and the only ones that produced more than 10,000 ounces of gold, were those along Cedar and Trout Creeks and their tributaries.
Estimates by Lyden (1948, p. 98-103) suggest that placer production before 1904 may have exceeded 120,000 ounces. From 1904 through 1956 the county produced placer gold valued at about $665,000 (32,175 ounces), most of which were produced before 1942.
The gold recovered from the placers was considered to be exceptionally rich, ranging from $19.75 to $20.45 with a standard price of $20.67 per ounce.
In 1875 it was reported that the various drifts were yielding as high as $300 to $600 to a set of timbers, and that about $50,000 in gold was recovered each year from 1871 to 1873. The fineness was reported as ranging from .950 to .982 (Sahinen 1935; Lyden 1948).
Surface Geology
The surficial geology of the area was created by Glacial Lake Missoula about 15,000 years ago. The entire flow of the Clark Fork River backed up behind an ice dam, and the glacial lake reached an elevation of about 4350 feet. When the ice dam failed, Glacial Lake Missoula emptied through the Clark Fork Valley in just a few days, releasing the greatest flood of known geologic record. This process occurred repeatedly, each time resulting in colossal floods. Exposed bedrock and sedimentary deposits provide evidence of the lake in the Missoula Valley, as do layers of lakebed deposits alternating with river sediments exposed just west of Missoula (Alt and Hyndman 1986).
Local Resources:
The claims are located 25 miles up the mountain via Cedar Creek Road from the town of Superior, MT.
Superior is situated on I-90 for immediate access to airports Spokane, WA and Missoula, Mt. Missoula is an excellent resource for equipment, parts and service.
Local heavy equipment service is available in Superior, MT as is secure storage for winter repairs and staging.
Superior, MT is a small rural community with a hospital, post office, grocery, lumber yard, and hardware store. There is a local airport for small aircraft.
This group of claims lends itself to a commercial mining operation. There is excellent road access – In 2018, Cedar Creek Road was resurfaced and rerouted in and is in excellent condition for easy access. The above claims are a stellar mineral prospect with the Hard Times No. 1 and 2 as the heart of the exploration area. Each of the sites provides cleared USFS approved campsites suitable for an RV or mining equipment base.
Mineral County continues to be a site of active gold exploration. Based on geology, it is predictable that several large undeveloped and undiscovered gold deposits will be found, identified and developed in the future.
For Further Information, Contact:
Marlene A. Affeld
Oregon Gulch Gold
PO Box 70
Saint Regis, Montana 59866
509-389-2606
marneaffeld@mac.com
The description information provided above is as accurate and complete as possible and presented in good faith. While I have made every effort to provide as complete historical notes as possible, various records are subject to interpretation. Therefore, I make no warranty, implied or expressed, as to the completeness or accuracy of the furnished information. As with any non-patented mining transaction, the lessee or purchaser is advised to perform research and their own due diligence.
Locality information is for reference purposes only. Please do not attempt to visit any sites listed without first ensuring that you have the permission of the land and/or mineral rights holder for access and that you are aware of all safety precautions necessary.
- Please be aware that mining claims are federally protected.
- Anyone found prospecting a mining claim without express consent from the owner can be charged with criminal trespass and theft.
- Our properties are closely monitored.
- Please contact us in advance before visiting any of our gold properties. 509-389-2606
Important Notice: Properties offered for sale hereunder, are for mining purposes only and do not include ownership of surface rights or the right to use the surface for residential or recreational purposes.
All claims are “Unpatented” mining claims, which means you will own the mineral rights to the property but not the actual land. The land belongs to the federal government (i.e.; the American People) and is administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and/or the United States Forest Service (USFS). According to the BLM, a mining claim is “a parcel of land for which the claimant has asserted a right of possession and the right to develop and extract a discovered, valuable, mineral deposit. This right does not include exclusive surface rights.”
