Abandoned mines in Lincoln County, Montana

1. Mine openings

   shafts, adits, air shafts, portals and vertical openings: the ways into underground workings
   89 33.5%
2. Prospect pits and trenches

   shallow exploration diggings that never became a mine
   49 18.4%
3. Mines and surface workings

   labelled mines, open pits, strip mines, placer and hydraulic workings
   3 1.1%
4. Quarries, gravel and borrow pits

   construction-material and industrial-mineral extraction
   117 44.0%
5. Dumps, tailings, spoil and gob

   what mining left above ground
   3 1.1%
6. Mills, tipples and facilities

   processing plants and hazardous structures
   1 0.4%
7. Other reclamation problems

   highwalls, subsidence, polluted or clogged water, fires, slides and gases in OSMRE's inventory
   4 1.5%

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.

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.

1. 4 Corners Pit

   Surface metal/non-metal · Great Northern Sand & Gravel · MSHA ID 2402756
   Abandoned 2021-02-05
2. 6-Mile

   Surface metal/non-metal · R P O Stone, Inc. · MSHA ID 2402373
   Abandoned 2015-11-16
3. ACM 55 & 58 MILE

   Surface metal/non-metal · Montana Rockworks LLP · MSHA ID 2402228
   Abandoned 2003-08-06
4. Airstrip

   Surface metal/non-metal · Enos Miller · MSHA ID 2402519
   Abandoned 2008-07-03
5. Backus

   Surface metal/non-metal · RPO Stone Inc · MSHA ID 2402428
   Abandoned 2014-09-02
6. Batch Plant -001

   Surface metal/non-metal · Great Northern Concrete · MSHA ID 2402775
   Abandoned 2022-05-12
7. Big Chance Placer

   Surface metal/non-metal · R & R Prospectors Inc · MSHA ID 2401601
   Abandoned 1981-09-23
8. Blue Bird Mine

   Underground metal/non-metal · Libby Resources Inc · MSHA ID 2401423
   Abandoned 1985-07-26
9. Boisverts Hill

   Surface metal/non-metal · Rocky Mountain Rock, Inc. · MSHA ID 2402378
   Abandoned 2007-11-26
10. Camco Incorporated Portable Crusher

    Surface metal/non-metal · Camco Inc · MSHA ID 2401826
    Abandoned 1986-09-19
11. Cedarapids 2236

    Surface metal/non-metal · Keller Logging Inc · MSHA ID 2402400
    Abandoned 2024-11-13
12. City of Libby

    Surface metal/non-metal · City of Libby · MSHA ID 2402648
    Abandoned 2013-08-05
13. Copper Creek Group

    Underground metal/non-metal · Copper Creek Mining & Milling · MSHA ID 2401717
    Abandoned 1983-08-31
14. Crusher #2

    Surface metal/non-metal · Remp Sand & Gravel Inc · MSHA ID 2402454
    Abandoned 2007-08-02
15. CRUSHER #3

    Surface metal/non-metal · Remp Sand & Gravel Inc · MSHA ID 2401967
    Abandoned 2019-10-02
16. E-Quarry

    Surface metal/non-metal · Acme Stone Supply · MSHA ID 2402404
    Abandoned 2006-06-20
17. Enterprise Mine

    Underground metal/non-metal · Enterprise Mine Inc · MSHA ID 2401395
    Abandoned 1979-10-12
18. Excavating Etc

    Surface metal/non-metal · Melvin D Smith · MSHA ID 2402721
    Abandoned 2018-08-20
19. IBEX

    Surface metal/non-metal · Overman's Western Stone · MSHA ID 2402690
    Abandoned 2019-12-10
20. KAVALLA

    Surface metal/non-metal · Interstate Rock Products Inc · MSHA ID 2402217
    Abandoned 2003-06-18
21. Kenelty Mine

    Surface metal/non-metal · Montana Barite Company · MSHA ID 2401521
    Abandoned 1985-07-19
22. Libby Ready Mix

    Surface metal/non-metal · Libby Ready Mix Inc · MSHA ID 2400472
    Abandoned 1993-02-08
23. Libby Transfer Portable Crusher No

    Surface metal/non-metal · Libby Transfer · MSHA ID 2401418
    Abandoned 1980-01-25
24. LINCOLN COUNTY SCREEN

    Surface metal/non-metal · Lincoln County · MSHA ID 2401957
    Abandoned 2019-10-29
25. Little Buck

    Surface metal/non-metal · Gene Willison · MSHA ID 2401699
    Abandoned 1983-09-16
26. Lower Suprise Hill

    Surface metal/non-metal · Rocky Mountain Rock Inc · MSHA ID 2402347
    Abandoned 2005-04-29
27. Montanore

    Underground metal/non-metal · Noranda Minerals Corp · MSHA ID 2401895
    Abandoned 1995-10-30
28. Montanore Mine

    Underground metal/non-metal · Gilbert/Dynatec J/V · MSHA ID 2401905
    Abandoned 1989-12-13
29. NEW PORTABLE CRUSHER/SCREEN PIT

    Surface metal/non-metal · Northwest Excavating · MSHA ID 2402146
    Abandoned 1999-04-13
30. NUTTING PIT

    Surface metal/non-metal · Timberline Ready Mix Inc · MSHA ID 2401974
    Abandoned 2005-05-10
31. Parker Pit

    Surface metal/non-metal · Johnson-Wilson Constructors, Inc. · MSHA ID 2402683
    Abandoned 2016-07-19
32. PC BAR Z 11 Quarry

    Surface metal/non-metal · Anderson Masonry Inc · MSHA ID 2402542
    Abandoned 2012-07-01
33. Peak Portable Crusher

    Surface metal/non-metal · Peak Paving Company Inc · MSHA ID 2401802
    Abandoned 1986-07-25
34. Pine Creek Quarry

    Surface metal/non-metal · Cabinet Stone of Montana Inc. · MSHA ID 2402695
    Abandoned 2016-09-12
35. Portable Screen Plant

    Surface metal/non-metal · Montana Department Of Transportation · MSHA ID 2401956
    Abandoned 1994-05-06
36. Portable Screen Plant #3

    Surface metal/non-metal · Remp Sand & Gravel Inc · MSHA ID 2402403
    Abandoned 2019-10-02
37. Portable Screening Plant

    Surface metal/non-metal · Lincoln County · MSHA ID 2401983
    Abandoned 1995-10-30
38. Princess Ethme

    Underground metal/non-metal · Chamberlain Enterprises · MSHA ID 2401615
    Abandoned 1981-09-22
39. Raven

    Surface metal/non-metal · Jacobs Consulting Co · MSHA ID 2402736
    Abandoned 2022-01-27
40. Rexford Pit

    Surface metal/non-metal · R. E. Harrell · MSHA ID 2402557
    Abandoned 2009-09-01
41. Rock Slide

    Surface metal/non-metal · Gary Palmer · MSHA ID 2402278
    Abandoned 2005-08-09
42. Silver Butte

    Underground metal/non-metal · Berscham Energy & Mineral Inc · MSHA ID 2400551
    Abandoned 1982-07-28
43. Small Amount

    Surface metal/non-metal · Scott D Smith · MSHA ID 2402697
    Abandoned 2019-04-15
44. Surprise Hill

    Surface metal/non-metal · R P O Stone Inc · MSHA ID 2402284
    Abandoned 2015-11-16
45. Surprise Hill

    Surface metal/non-metal · Rocky Mountain Rock Inc · MSHA ID 2402391
    Abandoned 2005-01-14
46. THE PIT

    Surface metal/non-metal · Pit The (Jfl Trust) · MSHA ID 2401958
    Abandoned 1999-03-09
47. Troy Sand & Gravel

    Surface metal/non-metal · Troy Sand & Gravel · MSHA ID 2402165
    Abandoned 2009-01-01
48. Twin Creek

    Surface metal/non-metal · Montana Rockworks Inc. · MSHA ID 2402227
    Abandoned 2026-04-13
49. Valley View

    Surface metal/non-metal · H & L Gravel · MSHA ID 2402246
    Abandoned 2002-10-30
50. Ward Crushing LLC #1

    Surface metal/non-metal · Ward Crushing LLC · MSHA ID 2402159
    Abandoned 2021-06-07
51. Ward Crushing LLC #2

    Surface metal/non-metal · Ward Crushing LLC · MSHA ID 2402406
    Abandoned 2021-06-07
52. Wash Plant

    Surface metal/non-metal · KOOTENAI SAND & GRAVEL, INC. · MSHA ID 2402443
    Abandoned 2024-11-13
53. Zonolite Mine Mill And Bagging Plant

    Surface metal/non-metal · W R Grace & Company · MSHA ID 2400165
    Abandoned 1992-11-06

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

• Madison County 3,766
• Silver Bow County 2,397
• Jefferson County 1,973
• Lewis and Clark County 1,862
• Broadwater County 1,418
• Beaverhead County 1,378
• Carbon County 769
• Powell County 741
• Granite County 719
• Cascade County 708
• Deer Lodge County 688
• Fergus County 550

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.