STIBNITE

It was gold that brought prospectors to Stibnite, but it was the discovery of tungsten that catapulted this mining town into the history books!

Gold prospectors from Warren came to nearby Thunder Mountain and eventually worked their way to Stibnite in the 1920's. Nearby Yellow Pine was a staging stop for supplies, as well as a nighttime activity for the men.

In the 1930's a mineral survey revealed the existence of tungsten at Stibnite. Tungsten is a hardener of steel. With America's entry into World War Two, Stibnite's importance to the war effort in the 1940's vastly overshadowed that of other mining communities in Idaho. In fact, Stibnite's Bradley Mining Company produced nearly 80% of the nation's tungsten and antimony, which is used in munitions. It was considered so important that the federal government subsidized the mining activity.

In its heyday -- in the '40's and early '50's -- Stibnite was a "company" town of several thousand people, with its own hospital and school, a bowling alley, a theatre, a ski team and a high school football team.

Some mining activity flared up again in the 1980's with the rise in the price of gold. But today almost nothing remains of the once populous mining community, as the State of Idaho, the Forest Service, and Mobil Corporation work to clean up the potential superfund site.

To learn more about Stibnite's interesting geology and town spirit, visit our OUTDOOR IDAHO "Yellow Pine Country" web site, at http://idahoptv.org/outdoors/shows/ypine/index.html