Table 8.—Mine production of gold, silver, copper, lead, and zinc in
terms of recoverable 
metals 1 
 
Year Mines producing 
 ————— 
 Lode Placer 
 Material 
 sold or treated 2 (thousand short tons) 
 Gold (lode and placer) 
— ——— 
 Troy Value 
 oUnceS (thousands) 
Silver (lode 
and placer) 
—-—————__—————
Value 
(thousands) 
 
 
 
Troy 
ounces 
(thousands) 
 
 1,535 5,477 $192 16,711 $21,375 
 1,649 5,677 199 16,483 21,313 
 1,783 5,078 178 18,457 23,865 
 1,995 5,056 177 19,777 25,571 
 1,773 4,838 169 17,033 26,402 
 151,640 8,332,884 194,790 841,024 691,139 
 
Copper 
Short 
— 
 Lead Zinc 
————-—-——~-————
———————— 
 Short Value Short Value 
 
Total 
value 
 
Value 
 
 
 
tons (thousands) 
 
tons (thousands) 
tons (thousands) (thousands) 
 
 1963 — 4,172 1964 4,666 
$2,570 
3,042 
 75,759 $16,364 71,312 18,684 
 63,267 $14,551 59,298 16,129 
$55,052 
59,367 
 1965~ 5,140 
3,639 
 66,606 20,781 
 58,034 16,946 
65,409 
1966~ 4,9611967 4,210 
3,589 
3,219 
 72,334 21,867 61,387 17,188 
 60,997 17,689 56,528 15,650 
68,893 
62,628 
1863—1967~.. 202,224 
91,919 
 7,443,498 1,073,009 2,635,787 562,613 2,613,470 
 
 
 Includes recoverable metal content of gravel washed (placer operations),
ore milled, old tailings re-treated, and ore, old slag, and mill cleanings
shipped to smelters during the calendar year indicated. Data may not add
to totals shown because of independent rounding. 
 2 Does not include gravel washed. 
 3 Partly estimated for years before 1901. 
 ' Combined to avoid disclosing individual company confidential data.2 Date
may not add to totals shown because of independent rounding.' Less than 3/~
unit.264 
MINERALS YEARBOOK, 1967 
 
 GoId.—Conditions similar to the previous year—increased mining
costs and a static market price—again resulted in a record low gold
output. The situation was further aggravated by the nationwide copper strike
which cut into the byproduct production from Coeur d'Alene region lead, zinc,
and silver ores. Total gold production in the State, from both lode and placer
operations, was 4,838 ounces, down 4.3 percent from the 1966 record low.
Total placer production from two small-scale hand operations was only 26
ounces. 
 
 Iron Ore.—Iron ore production declined 
1963 57 
1964 55 
1965_ 70 
1966 52 
1967 52 
1863—1967' 
16 
7 
5 
6 
2 
from the 1966 output. The largest source continued to be magnetite from the
Rock Island Gypsum Co.'s Iron Mountain mine, which was used in making cement.
Porter Bros. Co., which became a division of Michigan Chemical Corp. during
1967, also shipped magnetite from a stockpile at Lowman. 
 Lead.—A 15-percent decline in lead output from that of 1966 resulted
from strikes at mines and smelters hit by the nationwide copper strike. Coeur
d'Alene region mines, including the Bunker Hill, Lucky Friday, Star-Morning
Unit area, and Page mines, accounted for most of the State total. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table 9.—Gold production at placer mines 
 
Mechanical and 
hydraulic methods '  
Small- 
scale hand methods 
 
 
Total 2 
 
 
Material 
 
Material 
 
 
Material 
 
Year 
Number treated Gold 
Number 
treated 
Gold 
Number 
treated 
Gold 
 
 of (thousand (troy 
opera- cubic ounces) 
tions yards) 
of 
opera- 
tions 
(thousand 
cubic 
yards) 
(troy 
ounces) 
of 
operations 
(thousand 
cubic 
yards) 
(troy ounces) 
1963~ 
5 8 90 
11 
4 
54 
16 
12 
144 
1964~ 
3 9 80 
4 
2 
24 
7 
11 
104 
1965 
 
5 
3 
31 
5 
3 
31 
1966~ 
1967 
 1 (3) 6 
  
5 
2 
2 
1 
61 
26 
6 
2 
3 
1 
67 
26