Oregon Gold Mine

The Lower Grandview Mine Property consists of 20 lode mining claims and one mill site claim located approximately six miles south of Unity, Oregon in the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest on the north slopes of Bullrun Mountain, between Shirts and Jobs Creeks. 

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Elevations vary from 5500 ft. to approximately 6200 ft. above sea level. The legal description is N/2 NE/4, Section 7 AND the SE/4 SE/4, Section 6, T1rS – R37E, Baker County, Oregon. The area has been famous as a high-grade underground gold producing region for decades. 

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Baker County, Ore. was the center of the Eastern Oregon gold rush in the 1860s, and values from 25 to 70 ounces of gold per ton in the immediate region are common. This mountainous region experiences dry summers and wet winters with most of the precipitation in the form of snow, accumulating 12 – 24 inches per annum. 

Temperatures range from near freezing in winter to 80F in the summer. Pine, fir, tamarack and mountain mahogany trees partially cover the hillside with sage brush and bunch grasses dominating the lower elevations along the foothills.  A nearby spring provides adequate domestic water.  Water necessary for mining and milling operations is provided by the nearby and abundant creeks.   

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Originally known as the “Showdown Mine,” an operational partnership between Ralph Leonhardy and Pat Vinsom was terminated in July of 1947.  A new partnership was formed when the property was obtained on a new lease by Leonhardy and Kenneth Grabner and renamed the “Lucky Boy Mine.”  

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Grabner continued to hold the property until the 1970s when Art Cheatum, Dave Henley, and Cameron Avery acquired it.  Cheatum discovered an ore shoot west of the original operations and beginning in 1978 produced moderate amounts of gold annually.  During those years, the mine was known as the “Thomson Mine” and the “Schwayder Mine.” The various pits, adits, and workings were combined during this time and the area became known as the “Grandview Mine” which now consists of 20 claims.  For 41 years, small scale mining operations have been conducted on a seasonal basis, with an aggregate mining total of probably less than 45,000 tons of ore.  Although the mine has not been utilized to its full potential, the production to date has yielded excellent gold values with an overall average grade of .5 ounces of gold per ton of ore.  

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In 1986, Richard Hansen took ownership of the mine and in 1993 he entered into a lease-purchase arrangement with Sigma Mining Technologies for seasonal mining and milling operations. In 1996, Midwest Mining , L.L.C. became the owner, with Sigma Mining as a partner. In a separate agreement Hansen’s personal interest in the mine was taken over by DWW/MCW in August 2003.

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DWW/MCW joined into partnership with Sigma and Midwest Mining, L.L.C. in 2009, now known as Sigma-Midwest, L.L.C.