Geological Report of Summer Field Trip 1928

The object of this trip and report was to familiarize the students of the Montana State School of Mines with methods of taking and mapping surface and undergound geology. All surface geology was mapped by means of plane table and alidade, and undergound work by means of Brunton compass and taps. The senior class of the Montana State School of MInes under the supervision of Dr. E.S. Perry performed the work, which covered an area in Madison County including South Boulder Creek, near Jefferson Island, the Silver Star Mining District, and the Alameda Mine, near Virginia City.

Leaching Copper Minerals in the Butte District

The history of mining in Butte is woven about three of our principal metals. The gold placers first attracted the attention of miners in 1863, and reached their peak production in 1867. Silver was the second metal mined, and this operation required the erection of large mills with a consequent increase in mining activity that made the district a prominent producer. Although the presence of copper in the silver ore had been known, the credit for the first development of the copper veins is due Senator W. A. Clark. The original Colusa, Mining Chief, and Gambetta claims were developed to 1872. The ore was freighted by wagon trains 400 miles to Corrine, Utah, thence by rail eastward, some of it going to Swansea, Wales. The cooper production of the "richest hill on earth" has mounted to ten billion pounds.