The primary source for this collection was Mines and Prospects map Series 1981, compiled by Gail S Hustedde, William B. Stroud, Victoria E. Mitchell and Earl H. Bennett. This was published by Idaho Bureau of Mines and Geology. The aid of these publications has greatly reduced the research task for this collection of information. The modern base map has been provided by the U.S. Department of Interior Geological Survey.

Great care has been exercised to accurately transfer all information from authentic documents to the featured maps of this collection. The reader should be reminded that maps have been used in some cases as an information source. The older the document, the less accurate the information. Inasmuch as this is an endeavor to display mining activity locations for a century, old documents had to be employed.

No effort has been made to include information pertaining to Idaho's mining laws. This may be obtained on request from the Idaho Bureau of Mines and Geology, Moscow. The Department of Interior and the Bureau of Land Management distributes free copies of staking a claim on Federal land and patenting a mining claim on Federal lands. Both may be obtained from most district offices of the Bureau of Land Management.

Gold
Gold production of the world is used mainly for monetary purposes, either as money or more generally as reserves in the form of bullion to back currencies which in themselves have no intrinsic value. Large quantities are used in the form of decorative arts, such as jewelry, watches, gilding and plating. Smaller amounts are used in industry, dentistry and medicine.

In 1792 the U.S. Treasury Department set the price of gold at $19.393939 per fine troy ounce. This was increased to $20.689658 in June of 1834 but was reduced to $20.671835 in January, 1837. That price remained in effect until 1933. In January, 1934, the price of $35.00 per ounce was established and remained in effect until the late 1900's. With the ever increasing costs of production, mining activities were substantially reduced in this century. The price increase to $35.00 per ounce brought the production up to 149,816 ounces in 1941; however the figure fell to 4,845 ounces in 1962 as it became economically impossible for most companies to continue to operate. The world price increased to $700.00 per ounce in October 1980. The price was fixed at $316.60 per troy ounce in London and $318.00 in Asia as of March 2000. When one considers the price of gold is valued at nine times greater than yesteryear, the hobby must be worthwhile. It is this thought that has been the inspiration for this research project.

Where Is It? Gold occurs most commonly in the form of small grains in quartz and metallic sulfides. It often forms an alloy with silver and when equal amounts are present the compound is known as electrum. Gold may also be found in telluride minerals such as Calaverite, Sylvanite, Kremerite and Petzite.

Types of Deposits
The classifications of gold deposits found in Idaho are fissures, veins, replacement deposits and placers. The majority of the gold produced in Idaho has been mined from placer claims. Veins and replacement deposits should be considered important as a future source. The predominant gangue minerals of fissure vein deposits are Quartz, Chalcedony, Calcite, Barite, and Siderite. Substantial yields from fissure veins have occurred in the Silver City District which included the DeLamar, Florida, War Eagle Mountain and Flint Camps of Owyhee County. The Silver City district has produced approximately one million ounces and equal dollar values in silver. Replacement deposits of Idaho have not been a major source of gold. They have been mined for lead, silver, copper and cobalt with gold extracted as a by-product. Placer deposits are an accumulation of gold in gravel where the gold has been separated and concentrated by gravity created by the action of wind or moving water. Placer deposits have been rich in the Boise Basin, Yankee Fork, French Creek and Florence districts. Older placers in bench and terrace gravel occur in many areas as much as 500 feet elevation above present drainage levels. Substantial quantities of gold from these perched deposits have been found in Pierce and Elk City districts. Places in the Mt. Pisgah District of Bonneville County were actively worked in the 1870's. Much of the placer material may be of glacio-fluvial deposits. Iowa and McCoy Creeks, down stream from Caribou City yielded much reworked placer gold. Renewed interest in precious metals over the past few years has stimulated a modern mining bonanza in the Western U.S. With the lure of a productive mining past Idaho has enjoyed a big share of this attention. Mineral exploration and development projects rose from 37 in 1986 to 100 in 1990. (Idaho Geological Survey, Geo note 19.)

Idaho Gems
Idaho has been nicknamed the Gem State since territorial days. The word Idaho was supposedly derived from the Indian word E-Dah-Hoe meaning Gem of the mountains or Light on the Mountains. From A for acanthite to Z for zoisite, over 240 different minerals have been identified in Idaho. The state can claim world-class specimens of Vivianite, Pyromorphite, Cerussite, Smoky Quartz, Aquamarine, Ilvaite and other minerals. Many of these specimens are rare and cherished exclusively in museums, private collections and gem dealers. One exception to this limited availability is the Star Garnet, the official state gem. This beautiful stone is found in some abundance only in Idaho and India. Emerald Creek in northern Idaho is a popular area for the ROCKHOUND. Information on this area is available from the U.S. Forest Service, St. Joe Ranger District, P.O. Box 407, St. Maries, Idaho 83861. Phone 208.245.2531. (The above information has been taken from the Idaho Geological Survey, Bulletin 37 prepared by Earl Bennett.)

As stated above, over 200 specimens of gems may be found in the Gem State. Obviously, it would be a difficult task to attempt to research and list each location in this collection. Therefore, only twenty one of the more commonly popular types and locations have been included. For further information, bulletins, pamphlets and Geo-notes are available from Idaho Geological Survey located at the University of Idaho in Moscow