Starbuck's Exploring

Sign in Subscribe

Central Montana Rockies

The Central Rockies of Montana

18 posts

Benbow Mine (Stillwater County)

Benbow Mine (Stillwater County)

Named for Thomas Chalkley Benbow, an aviation pioneer, inventor, and prospector, the Benbow mine saw little success during his lifetime. Situated at an elevation of more than 8,400 feet in the Stillwater igneous complex, the mine later proved to be a vital wartime source of chromite, and today, the

Little Giant and W. A. Clark Mines

Little Giant and W. A. Clark Mines

The Little Giant Mines were a group of small gold producers near Townsend, Montana. There were 11 separate veins along Giant Hill which were technically worked by separate mines at one time. There isn't much written on these mines aside from them existing prior to 1901 and producing

Big Dick Mine (Elliston)

Big Dick Mine (Elliston)

The unfortunately named Big Dick Mine is on an unnamed stream draining into the Blackfoot River above Elliston, Montana. This district was generally known as the Elliston Mining District, and saw most of its activity from around 1900-1930. The largest nearby mines were the Monarch, Julia, Charter Oak, Lily,

Golden Age Mine

Golden Age Mine

The Golden Age Mine has several names including Callahan, Deer Horn, and Pataloma. It was really a group of mines, located around 1910. In 1921 the mine was located as the Golden Age and went into production under the Callahan Gold Mining company (unrelated to the great Callahan Mining co

"Antirhodes Mine"

"Antirhodes Mine"

In 2020, a friend of mine asked to meet up and explore a mine he had come across. He had already been inside but wanted to do a more thorough investigation. The mine did not disappoint! After squeezing in a narrow entrance, I crawled for the first half hour to

"Royal Beefeater" Mine

"Royal Beefeater" Mine

A while back, I took a few days off to do some mine exploring with a friend. He said he had a couple of exciting mines to show me. He wasn’t wrong! One of the mines we stopped at was first worked in the 1920s and was completely unremarkable

Forest Rose Mill

Forest Rose Mill

During the summer of 2017, we visited a few cabins and mills in Montana. While tiring, we covered a lot of ground, and it was a great trip! I was a bit surprised about how many mill ruins are left. This one, the Forest Rose, is almost completely ruined, but