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Abandoned mines › Montana
Abandoned mine inventory

Abandoned mines in Big Horn County, Montana

Big Horn County, Montana has 171 mine and prospect features on USGS topographic maps published 1958–1983, including 3 mine openings (shafts, adits and air shafts) and 24 prospect pits; 4 of the features carry a name on the map. OSMRE's abandoned mine land inventory lists 168 problems in the county, 9 of them not yet reclaimed. MSHA's register carries 16 mines in the county with status Abandoned or Abandoned and Sealed.

Every mine and prospect feature the USGS digitized from historical topographic maps covering Big Horn County, every OSMRE abandoned mine land problem in the county, and every MSHA-registered mine here with status Abandoned. Named features are listed below; unnamed ones are counted by type. Locations are deliberately not shown: this page says what abandoned workings are in the county, not where to find them. They are dangerous and should not be entered.

Mapped mine features (USGS)
171
Mine openings
3
OSMRE problems unreclaimed
9
MSHA mines marked abandoned
16
4 features carry a name24 prospect pits42 quadrangle maps, published 1958–1983 168 OSMRE problems, 159 reclaimed 4 MSHA mines abandoned and sealed
What the features are
  1. Mine openings
    shafts, adits, air shafts, portals and vertical openings: the ways into underground workings
    16 4.7%
  2. Prospect pits and trenches
    shallow exploration diggings that never became a mine
    24 7.1%
  3. Mines and surface workings
    labelled mines, open pits, strip mines, placer and hydraulic workings
    18 5.3%
  4. Quarries, gravel and borrow pits
    construction-material and industrial-mineral extraction
    126 37.2%
  5. Dumps, tailings, spoil and gob
    what mining left above ground
    68 20.1%
  6. Mills, tipples and facilities
    processing plants and hazardous structures
    2 0.6%
  7. Other reclamation problems
    highwalls, subsidence, polluted or clogged water, fires, slides and gases in OSMRE's inventory
    85 25.1%
Named features on the maps4 named · from the USGS compilation
Name on map Feature
Bighorn Caverns Adit
Busby Mine Adit
Sarpy Creek Mine Open Pit Mine area
Tongue River Mine Open Pit Mine

A name is the label printed beside the symbol on the map. "First mapped" is the earliest topographic edition that shows the symbol, which bounds the feature's age from above; it is not the date it was worked. Unnamed features (most prospect pits, adits and shafts carry no label) are in the counts above but not this list.

OSMRE abandoned mine land problems168 on inventory
Problem area Problem Status
Al Hubbard Mine P2 Dangerous Highwalls Reclamation Completed
Al Hubbard Mine P2 Dangerous Piles & Embankments Reclamation Completed
Al Hubbard Mine P2 Hazardous Water Bodies Reclamation Completed
Anderson P3 Gobs Reclamation Completed
Anderson P3 High Wall Reclamation Completed
Anderson P3 Pits Reclamation Completed
Anderson Allotment P2 Dangerous Piles & Embankments Reclamation Completed
Beamont Gravel Pit P3 High Wall Reclamation Completed
Beamont Gravel Pit P3 Spoil Area Reclamation Completed
Beaver Creek Mine P3 Haul Road Reclamation Completed
Beaver Creek Mine P3 High Wall Reclamation Completed
Beaver Creek Mine P3 Spoil Area Reclamation Completed
Big Man 2 Mine P3 Spoil Area Reclamation Completed
Big Man Mine P3 High Wall Reclamation Completed
Big Man Mine P3 Pits Reclamation Completed
Busby Mine P2 Subsidence Reclamation Completed
Carpenter P3 Gobs Reclamation Completed
Carpenter P3 Pits Reclamation Completed
Chalk Butte P3 Bench Reclamation Completed
Chalk Butte P3 Gobs Reclamation Completed
Charles Lewis Mine P3 Gobs Reclamation Completed
Charlie Secrest Rnch P3 Gobs Reclamation Completed
Coal Creek Mine P3 Gobs Reclamation Completed
Coal Creek Mine P3 Haul Road Reclamation Completed
Coal Creek Mine P3 High Wall Reclamation Completed
Coal Creek Mine P3 Spoil Area Reclamation Completed
Corral Creek Mine Site P1 Portals Reclamation Completed
Crow Community AMLER 1 P3 Other In Reclamation
Crow's Nest P3 Pits Reclamation Completed
Crow's Nest P3 Slump Reclamation Completed
Davis Creek P2 Portals Reclamation Completed
Davis Creek P2 Subsidence Reclamation Completed
Davis Creek Mine P3 High Wall Reclamation Completed
Davis Creek Mine P3 Mine Opening Reclamation Completed
Davis Creek Site P3 Gobs Reclamation Completed
Davis Creek Site P3 Spoil Area In Reclamation
Denius Ranch P1 Dangerous Piles & Embankments Reclamation Completed
Denius Ranch P1 Vertical Openings Reclamation Completed
Denius Ranch P2 Dangerous Highwalls Reclamation Completed
Denius Ranch P2 Portals Reclamation Completed
Denius Ranch P3 Bench Reclamation Completed
Denius Ranch P3 Gobs Reclamation Completed
Denius Ranch P3 High Wall Reclamation Completed
Denius Ranch P3 Pits Reclamation Completed
Denius Ranch P3 Pits Reclamation Completed
G. Rhinehardt P3 High Wall Reclamation Completed
G. Rhinehardt P3 Pits Reclamation Completed
Goestogether P3 Pits Reclamation Completed
Iron Horse Mine P3 Gobs Reclamation Completed
Iron Horse Mine P3 Pits Reclamation Completed
Iron Horse Mine P3 Slump Reclamation Completed
James Romine P2 Clogged Stream Lands Reclamation Completed
James Romine P2 Dangerous Highwalls Reclamation Completed
James Romine P2 Dangerous Piles & Embankments Reclamation Completed
James Romine P2 Portals Reclamation Completed
Joe Goyen Ranch Mine P3 Gobs Reclamation Completed
Joe Goyen Ranch Mine P3 Haul Road Reclamation Completed
Joe Goyen Ranch Mine P3 High Wall Reclamation Completed
Joe Goyen Ranch Mine P3 Spoil Area Reclamation Completed
Joe Hope Ranch Mine P3 Gobs Reclamation Completed
Joe Hope Ranch Mine P3 Haul Road Reclamation Completed
Joe Hope Ranch Mine P3 High Wall Reclamation Completed
Joe Hope Ranch Mine P3 Spoil Area Reclamation Completed
John Weaver Mine P2 Polluted Water: Agricultural & Industrial Reclamation Completed
John Weaver Mine P2 Portals Reclamation Completed
John Weaver Mine P2 Vertical Openings Reclamation Completed
Kane Ranch Mine P3 Gobs Reclamation Completed
Kane Ranch Mine P3 High Wall Reclamation Completed
Kidd Creek P2 Dangerous Highwalls Reclamation Completed
Kidd Creek P2 Dangerous Piles & Embankments Reclamation Completed
Kidd Creek P2 Dangerous Slides Reclamation Completed
Kidd Creek P3 Gobs Reclamation Completed
Kidd Creek P3 Pits Reclamation Completed
Kidd Creek P3 Spoil Area Reclamation Completed
Larance Mine P3 Gobs Reclamation Completed
Little Owl Creek Mine Ii P2 Dangerous Piles & Embankments Reclamation Completed
Little Owl Creek Mine Ii P2 Dangerous Slides Reclamation Completed
Little Owl Creek Mine Ii P2 Portals Reclamation Completed
Little Owl Creek Mine Ii P2 Subsidence Reclamation Completed
Little Owl Creek Mine Ii P2 Vertical Openings Reclamation Completed
Lloyd Mine P2 Portals Reclamation Completed
Lodge Grass Mine P1 Subsidence Reclamation Completed
Lodge Grass Mine P2 Dangerous Highwalls Reclamation Completed
Lodge Grass Mine P2 Dangerous Piles & Embankments Reclamation Completed
Lodge Grass Mine P2 Dangerous Piles & Embankments Reclamation Completed
Lodge Grass Mine P2 Portals Reclamation Completed
Lone Pine Mine P3 Bench Reclamation Completed
Lone Pine Mine P3 Gobs Reclamation Completed
Lone Pine Mine P3 Haul Road Reclamation Completed
Lone Pine Mine P3 Slump Reclamation Completed
Lost Lansing P3 High Wall Reclamation Completed
Lost Wayne P3 Gobs Reclamation Completed
Lost Wayne P3 Pits Reclamation Completed
Luther 1 P3 Spoil Area Reclamation Completed
Luther 2 P3 Spoil Area Reclamation Completed
Luther 3 P3 Spoil Area Reclamation Completed
Luther 4 P3 Spoil Area Reclamation Completed
Luther 5 P3 Spoil Area Reclamation Completed
Luther 6 P3 Spoil Area Reclamation Completed
Martin Dick Mine P3 Gobs Reclamation Completed
Martin Dick Mine P3 Haul Road Reclamation Completed
Martin Dick Mine P3 Spoil Area Reclamation Completed
Matt Mine Site P3 Gobs Reclamation Completed
Midway Coal Mine P1 Dangerous Highwalls In Reclamation
Miller P3 High Wall Reclamation Completed
Murray Brown Ranch P2 Hazardous Equip & Facilities Reclamation Completed
Murray Brown Ranch P2 Polluted Water: Agricultural & Industrial Reclamation Completed
Murray Brown Ranch P2 Subsidence Reclamation Completed
North Whinner Mine P3 Gobs Reclamation Completed
Old Doyle Mine P3 Bench Reclamation Completed
Old Doyle Mine P3 Gobs Reclamation Completed
Old Doyle Mine P3 Pits Reclamation Completed
Pryor Gravel Pit P2 Dangerous Highwalls Reclamation Completed
Pryor Gravel Pit P2 Dangerous Piles & Embankments Reclamation Completed
Red Butte P3 Pits Reclamation Completed
Redfield I P3 Gobs Reclamation Completed
Redfield I P3 Haul Road Reclamation Completed
Redfield I P3 Slump Reclamation Completed
Redfield I P3 Spoil Area Reclamation Completed
Redfield Ii P3 Gobs Reclamation Completed
Redfield Ii P3 Haul Road Reclamation Completed
Redfield Ii P3 High Wall Reclamation Completed
Redfield Ii P3 Spoil Area Reclamation Completed
S.u. Ranch P3 Gobs Reclamation Completed
S.u. Ranch P3 High Wall Reclamation Completed
S.u. Ranch P3 Pits Reclamation Completed
S.u. Ranch P3 Spoil Area Reclamation Completed
Shows Mine P3 Gobs Reclamation Completed
Shows Mine P3 Haul Road Reclamation Completed
Squirrel Creek P3 Spoil Area In Reclamation
Squirrel Creek P3 Water Problems In Reclamation
Stops Mine Site P3 High Wall Reclamation Completed
Takes A Horse Mine P3 Pits Reclamation Completed
Takes Horse 2 P3 Bench In Reclamation
Takes Horse 2 P3 Spoil Area Reclamation Completed
Tanner Creek East P2 Dangerous Piles & Embankments Reclamation Completed
Tanner Creek East P3 Bench Reclamation Completed
Tanner Creek East P3 Gobs Reclamation Completed
Tanner Creek East P3 Mine Opening Reclamation Completed
Tanner Creek West P3 Gobs Reclamation Completed
Tanner Creek West P3 High Wall Reclamation Completed
Torry Johnson Ranch P2 Portals Reclamation Completed
Torry Johnson Ranch P2 Subsidence Reclamation Completed
Walter Miller Mine P1 Dangerous Highwalls Reclamation Completed
Walter Miller Mine P1 Dangerous Slides Reclamation Completed
Whinner P3 Gobs Reclamation Completed
Whinner P3 Haul Road Reclamation Completed
Whinner P3 Spoil Area Reclamation Completed
Wm. T. Shaw Mine P1 Portals Reclamation Completed
Wm. T. Shaw Mine P3 Gobs Reclamation Completed

…and 18 more problems not listed here.

Problem types carry OSMRE's priority prefix: P1 and P2 are threats to health, safety and property, P3 is environmental. A problem area is a cluster of problems reclaimed as one project; several rows can share one location.

MSHA-registered mines with status Abandoned16 on register
  1. Surface metal/non-metal · Gary Lautt · MSHA ID 2402120
    Abandoned
  2. Big Horn County Crusher
    Surface metal/non-metal · Big Horn County · MSHA ID 2401554
    Abandoned
  3. C-11 Portable
    Surface metal/non-metal · Gravel Products Inc · MSHA ID 2401824
    Abandoned
  4. Crusher #2
    Surface metal/non-metal · Gilbert Central Corp · MSHA ID 2401424
    Abandoned
  5. Crusher 3
    Surface metal/non-metal · Croell, Inc. · MSHA ID 2402706
    Abandoned
  6. Cx Ranch Mine
    Surface coal · Consolidation Coal Company · MSHA ID 2401621
    Abandoned and Sealed
  7. East Decker
    Surface coal · Decker Coal Company · MSHA ID 2401458
    Abandoned and Sealed
  8. Foss Pit
    Surface metal/non-metal · Reeves Inc · MSHA ID 2401438
    Abandoned
  9. Koebbe Sand & Gravel Plant
    Surface metal/non-metal · Koebbe Construction Company Inc · MSHA ID 2400782
    Abandoned
  10. Mehling Pit
    Surface metal/non-metal · Warrens Transportation & Brokerage LLC · MSHA ID 2402579
    Abandoned
  11. Melville Ready Mix Sand & Gravel
    Surface metal/non-metal · Melville Ready Mix Sand & Gravel · MSHA ID 2400453
    Abandoned
  12. Pearl Mine
    Surface coal · Shell Oil Company · MSHA ID 2401439
    Abandoned and Sealed
  13. Portable Crusher #2
    Surface metal/non-metal · Big Horn County · MSHA ID 2401858
    Abandoned
  14. S J Kenney Portable Crusher
    Surface metal/non-metal · S J Kenney Construction Inc · MSHA ID 2401517
    Abandoned
  15. Salveson #1 Portable
    Surface metal/non-metal · Salveson Construction Company · MSHA ID 2401844
    Abandoned
  16. Youngs Creek
    Surface coal · Shell Oil Company · MSHA ID 2401216
    Abandoned and Sealed

Status and date are as reported to MSHA by the operator. Each mine's own page carries its accident, citation and inspection record.

By source vocabularythe publishers' own terms
Feature type Features
Gravel Pit 72
Gravel Pit 43
P3 Gobs 31
P3 Spoil Area 27
Prospect Pit 24
P3 High Wall 19
P3 Pits 16
Disturbed Surface - Pit 14
P3 Haul Road 11
Gravel/Borrow Pit - Undifferentiated 10
P2 Dangerous Piles & Embankments 9
P2 Portals 8
P2 Dangerous Highwalls 7
P3 Bench 6
P3 Slump 5
P2 Subsidence 5
Adit 3
P2 Vertical Openings 2
P3 Mine Opening 2
P2 Polluted Water: Agricultural & Industrial 2
P2 Dangerous Slides 2
P1 Dangerous Highwalls 2
P2 Hazardous Equip & Facilities 2
Disturbed Surface 2
P1 Portals 2
P1 Vertical Openings 1
P1 Dangerous Slides 1
P2 Clogged Stream Lands 1
P2 Hazardous Water Bodies 1
P3 Other 1
P1 Subsidence 1
P2 Dangerous Impoundments 1
Open Pit Mine 1
Open Pit Mine 1
P3 Slurry 1
P1 Dangerous Piles & Embankments 1
Gravel/Borrow Pit - Undifferentiated 1
P3 Water Problems 1
Other counties in MontanaAll counties →
How to read these numbers

A USGS feature is a symbol on a historical topographic map, there when the map was surveyed; it may since have been sealed, reclaimed, built over or reopened as a working mine, and the map does not say which. An OSMRE row is a problem the abandoned mine land program tracks, not a mine. An MSHA mine is a registered operation whose operator reported abandonment, a record that starts in the 1970s. The three overlap and are never added together. The county is assigned from each feature's coordinates against the Census 2023 county boundaries. The full method is on the national page.

Sources
  1. USGS, Consolidated Prospect- and Mine-Related Features from 7.5- and 15-Minute Topographic Quadrangle Maps of the United States (USMIN)
    597,612 point and area features digitized from about 106,350 historical topographic maps published 1886–2006; public domain (CC0). A feature is a map symbol, not a field-verified site, and the map does not say whether it was still worked.
  2. USGS Fact Sheet 2025–3003, The Abandoned Mine Inventory of the United States
    States that as of 2025 there is no comprehensive national inventory of abandoned mine features, and that the detailed national database now being built will not be published.
  3. OSMRE, Abandoned Mine Land Inventory System (e-AMLIS), public Problems layer
    One row per abandoned mine land problem in a problem area, with its type, funding program and reclamation status; mostly coal mined before the 1977 Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act. Coordinates are the problem area's.
  4. MSHA, Mines dataset (Mine Data Retrieval System)
    Every mine registered with MSHA since the 1970s; a mine reads Abandoned or Abandoned and Sealed when its operator reported that status. Refreshed weekly.
  5. US Census Bureau, 2023 cartographic county boundaries (1:500,000)
    Each feature's county is assigned by its coordinates against these boundaries, not copied from the source file.
  6. GAO-20-238, Abandoned Hardrock Mines (March 2020)
    Federal agencies had identified at least 140,000 abandoned hardrock mine features on federal land and estimated more than 390,000 more not yet captured in their databases.
  7. Abandoned Hardrock Mine Reclamation (AHMR) Program, US Department of the Interior
    The program the USGS inventory is compiled for. Its appropriations and the 674,000 field-confirmed feature count on this page were provided by the program manager, Office of Environmental Policy and Compliance, and are cited with permission (2026-09-08).
  8. IMCC-NAAMLP Hardrock AML Report
    Page 48 carries the two figures this page leans on: USGS estimates 633,181 of the 725,690 mine features it recorded from historic topographic maps, 87 percent, are hardrock; and state and federal agencies have submitted more than 724,000 AML features to the national database being built, already more than the historic maps hold. Year-by-year AHMR funding is on page 35.