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The copper mines in Butte had vertical shafts most nearly 5000' deep. They went to open pit mining in the 50's but the underground workings stayed open in the mid 80's. The ore was hauled to the surface and sent to a crusher, then to the concentrating process(turning the ore to a slurry mixture, then hauled 26 miles to the west to be smelted. After that it was hauled in ingot form 100 miles to the north to be refined. <br /> <br />The ore here was mostly a grayish color, with lesser copper being reddish/orange and the higher grade ore almost a deep aqua green. They also mined gold, silver, platinum, magneseum and molybdenum here. Butte is called the "Richest Hill on Earth" because it was the biggest copper mining center in the US. <br /> <br />John
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