Mining Districts

"Between 1862 and 1959 a total of 441,696 ounces of gold was reported out of Elmore County Idaho. Most from districts in the northeastern part of the county. You can find both placer and lode veins in this county. The two main areas are along the Boise River (the Middle Fork and the South fork) and at Twin Springs.

Atlanta District

The Atlanta district, which includes Hardscrabble Mine, Middle Boise Mine and Yuba Mine, produced around 385,000 ounces of gold. The area creeks all contain placer. There are numerous old mines that produced lode gold. The Atlanta Hill Mine was the major producer in this district.

Featherville

All streams and benches along the South Fork of the Boise River contain placer gold. Over 32,000 ounces of gold came from this area.

Neal District

Northwest of Mayfield, near the Arrowrock Dam, about 15 miles southeast of Boise in Ada County, in Township 2 and 3 North and Range 5 East, is the Neal district. This district produced around $2,000,000 prior to 1911. There are many area placer worked on small regional creeks. Also there are many old lode mines.

Rocky Bar District

In the Rocky Bar District along Bear Creek and its tributaries are very rich in placer gold. Many old lode mines in this area."

---idahogold.net

"The Twin Springs mining district was the most consistent producer of placer gold from 1901 to 1940. The gold was mined primarily by hydraulic operations. Water for hydraulic mining came from Sheep Creek, was siphoned across the Middle Fork Boise River (fig. 11A), and then flowed chiefly by flume (fig. 11B) about 2.5 mi to a placer site in high gravel near Twin Springs (fig. 11C). Smaller scale hydraulic placer mining was conducted in terrace gravel on the east side of Middle Fork Boise River, across the river from Twin Springs, using water brought by ditch from nearby Alder Creek." - Geology, Geochemistry, and Mineral Resources of the Lower Part of the Middle Fork Boise River Drainage Basin, Boise and Elmore Counties, Idaho


See also "Gold Camps & Silver Cities (Nineteenth Century Mining in Central and Southern Idaho)," by Merle W. Wells



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