Middle Butte

Besides Standard Hill and Soledad Mountain, gold and silver production also came from Middle Butte. The Middle Butte Mine was worked by Walter Trent in 1935 after the Burton brothers found rich outcroppings the previous year on a nearby claim. One hundred and fifty thousand dollars worth of ore was quickly mined by Trent from surface cuts, with the ore being sent directly to the Selby smelter. The ore shoot was 200 feet long, 10 to 15 feet wide and 100 feet deep. The mine, consisting of over 2,500 feet of workings continued operation until 1942, when shut down by the War Production Board. The Cactus Queen Mine was discovered in the fall of 1934, at Middle Butte. For eight years the mine was operated at full steam, producing more than $4,000,000 worth of ore. It too, was closed by Limitation Order L-208. Mine workings total 12,000 feet with a 1,000-foot shaft providing access. 60