Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Basin Montana Tunnel Company Records, 1933-1942
Overview of the Collection
- Subject
- Basin Montana Tunnel Company
- Title
- Basin Montana Tunnel Company Records
- Dates
- 1933-1942 (inclusive)19331942
- Quantity
- 15.5 linear feet, (18 legal and oversize archival boxes and 6 oversize volumes)
- Collection Number
- Mss 053
- Summary
- This collection contains correspondence, financial, operational reports, maps, and blueprints generated by the Basin Montana Tunnel Company, which operated silver, gold, lead, and zinc ore mining operations between Butte and Helena, Montana.
- Repository
-
University of Montana, Mansfield Library, Archives and Special Collections
Archives and Special Collections
Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library
University of Montana
32 Campus Dr. #9936
59812-9936
Missoula, MT
Telephone: 406-243-2053
library.archives@umontana.edu - Access Restrictions
-
Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of Archives and Special Collections, the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, and The University of Montana-Missoula.
- Languages
- English
- Sponsor
- Funding for creating this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Historic Publications and Records Commission. Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Historical NoteReturn to Top
The Basin Montana Tunnel Company was incorporated in 1927 by William H. Hax, New York City, and Carl J. Trauerman of Butte.
The company had the Gray (Grey Eagle) and Comet patented claims and more than 100 additional patented and unpatented claims, about 21,000 acres, on the west side of High Ore Gulch in the Cataract District, extending about three miles south of the Comet Mill to the Great Northern Railroad station at Fuller, Montana, and about 6 miles northeast of Basin, Montana. The claim contained silver, gold, lead, and zinc ore. The company had the only custom milling plant in Montana outside of Anaconda, and the company was the largest producer of base metals in Montana outside of Butte. The company employed 100 men.
The mine was considered played out by 1941, and the company was inactive by 1949.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
This collection contains correspondence, financial, operational reports, maps, and blueprints generated by the Basin Montana Tunnel Company, operations located between Butte and Helena Montana. Collection materials are predominantly financial records and operational reports. Included are nearly complete sequences of operational time reports, mineral content assay reports, and ore shipment tonnages from the mid 1930s through 1941. This collection also contains an extensive collection of cross-section maps from the Comet mine near Basin, Montana. Materials in this collection provide insights into Depression Era mining operations in southwestern Montana.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Restrictions on Use
Researchers are responsible for using in accordance with 17 U.S.C. and any other applicable statutes. Copyright not transferred to The University of Montana.
Preferred Citation
[Name of document], Basin Montana Tunnel Company Records, Archives and Special Collections, Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, The University of Montana-Missoula.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in four series:
Series I: Correspondence, 1 folder, 1936-1937
Series II: Financial Records, 4.0 linear feet and 6 oversize volumes, 1933-1941
Series III: Reports, 4.5 linear feet, 1934-1942
Series IV: Maps and Blueprints, 3.0 linear feet and 2 oversize blueprint rolls, 1935-1937
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
Series I: Correspondence, 1936-1937Return to Top
This series contains one folder of Basin Montana Tunnel Company outgoing and internal correspondence regarding lease royalties owed to Willard B. Riley.
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 1/1 | Willard B. Riley |
1936-1937 |
Series II: Financial Records, 1933-1941Return to Top
This series contains financial records generated by the Basin Montana Tunnel Company. Materials include monthly operating statements, supply receipts, payroll reports, operational time reports, and construction expense tracking cards. Materials in this series provide insights into the financial health of the company and reveal the downturn in operations that led to the company's closing.
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 1/2 | Operating Statements |
1935 |
| 1/3 | Operating Statements |
1937-1941 |
| 1/4 | Receipts |
1936-1937 and undated |
| Volume | ||
| 1 | Journal |
1933-1938 |
| 2 | Payroll Time Reports |
1935-1941 |
| 3 | Time Reports |
1933-1935 |
| 4 | Time Reports |
1935 |
| 5 | Time Reports |
1936-1938 |
| box-volume | ||
| 1/6 | Time Reports |
1939-1941 |
| 1/7 | Time Reports |
1939-1941 |
| OS2/8 | Operating Statements |
1935-1939 |
| OS2/9 | Operating Statements |
1938-1941 |
| Volume | ||
| 10 | Operating Statements |
1933-1936 |
| box-volume | ||
| OS16/11 | Operating Statements |
1935-1938 |
| Box | ||
| 3 | Mill Construction
Expenses |
1934-1935 |
| 4 | Grey Eagle Mine
Expenses |
1935-1936 |
| 5 | Grey Eagle Mine
Expenses |
1936 |
| 6 | Grey Eagle Mine
Expenses |
1936 |
| 7 | Comet Mine Expenses |
1936-1937 |
| 8 | Grey Eagle Mine/Mill Construction
Expenses |
1937-1938 |
| 9 | Comet Mine Expenses |
1939 |
Series III: Reports, 1934-1942Return to Top
This series includes operational reports generated by the Basin Montana Tunnel Company. Materials include an extensive run of undated transit books, nearly complete sequences of assay reports and ore tonnage shipments between 1936 and 1941, and more limited sequences of monthly mining and plant operation reports. These materials provide insights into ore qualities during the company's operation of the Comet and Grey Eagle mines as well as the company's operational practices.
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 10/1 | Assay Office |
1936 |
| 10/2 | Assay Office |
1936 |
| 10/3 | Assay Office |
1937 |
| 10/4 | Assay Office |
1937 |
| 10/5 | Assay Office |
1937-1938 |
| 10/6 | Assay Office |
1938-1939 |
| 10/7 | Assay Office |
1939 |
| 11/1 | Assay Office |
1939-1940 |
| 11/2 | Assay Office |
1940 |
| 11/3 | Assay Office |
1940 |
| 11/4 | Assay Office |
1941 |
| 11/5 | Filter Plant |
1936-1937 |
| 11/6 | Filter Plant |
1938 |
| 11/7 | Ore Shipment, Anaconda Copper
Mining Company |
1935-1941 |
| 11/8 | Ore Shipment, American Smelting
and Refining Company |
September 1936 - July 1937 |
| 11/9 | Ore Shipment, American Smelting
and Refining Company |
November 1936 - September 1937 |
| 12/1 | Ore Shipment, American Smelting
and Refining Company |
1937-1938 |
| 12/2 | Ore Shipment, American Smelting
and Refining Company |
1937-1939 |
| 12/3 | Ore Shipment, American Smelting
and Refining Company |
1940-1941 |
| 12/4 | Ore Shipment, American Smelting
and Refining Company |
1941-1942 |
| 12/5 | Ore Tonnage |
1937-1941 |
| 12/6 | Ore Tonnage |
1938-1941 |
| 12/7 | Blank Report Forms |
undated |
| box-volume | ||
| OS2/12 | Ore Tonnage |
1939 |
| OS2/13 | Ore Tonnage |
1940-1941 |
| 13/14 | Transit Book |
undated |
| 13/15 | Transit Book |
undated |
| 13/16 | Transit Book |
undated |
| 13/17 | Transit Book |
undated |
| 13/18 | Transit Book |
undated |
| 13/19 | Transit Book |
undated |
| 13/20 | Transit Book |
undated |
| 14/21 | Transit Book |
undated |
| 14/22 | Transit Book |
undated |
| 14/23 | Transit Book |
undated |
| 14/24 | Transit Book |
undated |
| 14/25 | Transit Book |
undated |
| 14/26 | Transit Book |
undated |
| Box | ||
| OS16 | Distribution of Mine
Employees |
1940-1941 |
| OS16 | Comet and Grey Eagle Mines,
Monthly Mining Record |
1934 |
| OS16 | Comet Mine, Monthly Mining
Record |
1936 |
| OS16 | Comet Mine, Monthly Mining
Record |
1938 |
| OS16 | Comet Mine, Monthly Mining
Record |
1939 |
| OS16 | Comet Mine, Monthly Mining
Record |
1940 |
Series IV: Maps and Blueprints, 1935-1937Return to Top
This series contains maps and blueprints generated by the Basin Montana Tunnel Company, primarily during operation of the Comet and Grey Eagle mines. Most of the maps in this series are cross-sectional depictions developed for operation updates; however, materials also include informal ore vein sketches and draft pencil drawings for construction projects. This series also includes a few blueprints for machinery and the processing mill layout.
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box/Folder | ||
| 15/1 | Comet Mine Transects |
undated |
| 15/2 | Grey Eagle Transects, 600
feet |
1935-1937 |
| 15/3 | Grey Eagle Transects, 700
feet |
1936-1937 |
| 15/4 | Unidentified Mine
Transects |
undated |
| Box | ||
| OS16 | Company Mining Claims
|
undated |
| OS16 | Comet Mine, Road
System |
undated |
| OS16 | Comet Mine, Geological
Cross-section |
undated |
| OS17 | Comet Mine Longitudinal Sections,
100-200 feet |
undated |
| OS16 | Comet Mine Longitudinal Sections,
200-600 feet |
undated |
| OS16 | Comet Mine, Stope, 200
feet |
undated |
| OS16 | Comet Mine, Stope, 300 feet
(1) |
undated |
| OS16 | Comet Mine, Stope, 300 feet
(2) |
undated |
| OS16 | Comet Mine, Stope, 400
feet |
undated |
| OS16 | Comet Mine, Stope, 500 feet
(1) |
undated |
| OS16 | Comet Mine, Stope, 500 feet
(2) |
undated |
| OS16 | Comet Mine, Stope, 600
feet |
undated |
| OS16 | Comet Mine, Stope, 700
feet |
undated |
| OS16 | Romerio Unpatented Claims,
Tracing and Print |
undated |
| OS16 | Geochemical
Prospecting |
undated |
| OS16 | Geochemical
Prospecting |
undated |
| OS16 | Blueprints, Double Friction Drum
Electric Hoist |
undated |
| OS17 | Blueprints, Marcy Ball
Mill |
undated |
| OS18 | Pencil Drawings: Foundation and
Construction of Marcy Ball Mill and Geology of Basin Wickes
District |
undated |
| OS18 | Comet Mill, Machinery
Blueprints |
undated |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Mines and mineral resources --Montana--Jefferson County
- Mining corporations -- Montana--Basin
Geographical Names
- Comet Mine (Jefferson County, Mont.)
Form or Genre Terms
- Blueprints
- Business records -- Montana--Basin
- Maps
Finding aid prepared by Jodi
Allison-Bunnell and Jack Rowan
2004
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
