Comet, Montana
Encyclopedia
Comet is a ghost town
located about twenty miles (32 kilometers) south-southwest of Helena, Montana
, United States
. It is reached by following High Ore Road north from Interstate 15. The remains of the town cover about thirty-five acres and consist of an ore hopper, a large ore processing building, several other company buildings, and numerous houses and other private structures. High Ore Creek runs through the center of the property and separates the mine buildings from the town proper. The town is abandoned except for a single active residence; although it sits on private grazing land, it is open to public access.
, due to production at this mine. They employed 100 men. The operations of BMTC continued until 1941 when the mine was exhausted and operations were permanently halted.
The Comet mine produced some $20 million in ore and was the richest mine in the district; the Gray Eagle mine produced over $2 million on top of this. Ores produced included lead, zinc, copper, silver, and gold.
. This project was completed in June of the following year and consisted of moving the tailings into a single pile south of the processing building which was then fenced off and planted. The project, which was overseen by the Mine Waste Cleanup Bureau of the Montana Department of Environmental Quality, was judged to be successful. In 2006 the department received a National Award from the U.S. Office of Surface Mining in recognition of the work done for this project.
Ghost town
A ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...
located about twenty miles (32 kilometers) south-southwest of Helena, Montana
Helena, Montana
Helena is the capital city of the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat of Lewis and Clark County. The 2010 census put the population at 28,180. The local daily newspaper is the Independent Record. The Helena Brewers minor league baseball and Helena Bighorns minor league hockey team call the...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is reached by following High Ore Road north from Interstate 15. The remains of the town cover about thirty-five acres and consist of an ore hopper, a large ore processing building, several other company buildings, and numerous houses and other private structures. High Ore Creek runs through the center of the property and separates the mine buildings from the town proper. The town is abandoned except for a single active residence; although it sits on private grazing land, it is open to public access.
History
The town is named for the Comet Mine, which was developed in 1883 by the Helena and Livingston Smelting and Reduction Company, based on a discovery made in 1874. Ore was transported to another mine in Wickes for processing. This operation shut down in 1897. Operations were revived in 1900 under the Montana Consolidated Copper Company; in 1927 the Basin Montana Tunnel Company took over the property and built a processing plant on the site for both this mine and the nearby Gray Eagle mine. The company was the largest producer of base metals in the state, outside of Butte, MontanaButte, Montana
Butte is a city in Montana and the county seat of Silver Bow County, United States. In 1977, the city and county governments consolidated to form the sole entity of Butte-Silver Bow. As of the 2010 census, Butte's population was 34,200...
, due to production at this mine. They employed 100 men. The operations of BMTC continued until 1941 when the mine was exhausted and operations were permanently halted.
The Comet mine produced some $20 million in ore and was the richest mine in the district; the Gray Eagle mine produced over $2 million on top of this. Ores produced included lead, zinc, copper, silver, and gold.
Remediation
In 1997 a reclamation project was begun to alleviate pollution caused by toxic metal leachage from the tailingsTailings
Tailings, also called mine dumps, slimes, tails, leach residue, or slickens, are the materials left over after the process of separating the valuable fraction from the uneconomic fraction of an ore...
. This project was completed in June of the following year and consisted of moving the tailings into a single pile south of the processing building which was then fenced off and planted. The project, which was overseen by the Mine Waste Cleanup Bureau of the Montana Department of Environmental Quality, was judged to be successful. In 2006 the department received a National Award from the U.S. Office of Surface Mining in recognition of the work done for this project.
External links
- High Ore Mining District from the Montana Department of Environmental Quality website
- DEQ Abandoned Mine Reclamation Project Earns National Award press release from Montana DEQ
- Comet Mine Reclamation Project, Phase I from Ecosystem Restoration website at Montana State UniversityMontana State University - BozemanMontana State University – Bozeman is a public university located in Bozeman, Montana. It is the state's land-grant university and primary campus in the Montana State University System, which is part of the Montana University System...