Stibnite, Idaho, Valley County is a ghost town with a rich history rooted in mining, which once played a significant role in the war effort during World War II. Below is detailed information about the town.
County: Valley County
Zip Code: Not available
Latitude / Longitude: 44.8975° N, 115.3372° W
Elevation: Approximately 6,500 feet (1,981 meters)
Time Zone: Mountain Standard Time (MST)
Established: 1920s
Disestablished: Late 1950s
Comments: Stibnite was primarily a mining town known for its production of antimony and tungsten, which were critical for military purposes during World War II. The town experienced a boom during the war as it became one of the leading producers of these minerals in the United States. However, the demand decreased after the war, leading to the town’s decline.
Remains: Today, the remains of Stibnite include old mining equipment, building foundations, and remnants of the mining infrastructure. The area is largely abandoned, but some structures still stand, offering a glimpse into the town’s past.
Miners first came to Stibnite during Idaho’s gold rush days in 1899. Over the next few years, the number of miners at the site grew, and several operators, including United Mercury Mining Company and Bradley Mining Company, started working in the area. In 1938, miners started focusing their efforts on the Yellow Pine Pit.
Miners could extract large quantities of gold from this area of the site. However, operations at the pit blocked fish passage, and to this day, fish in the East Fork of the South Fork of the Salmon River cannot swim upstream past the site. Antimony became a mineral critical to the war effort during World War II.
It was used to create bullets. Stibnite contained such large quantities of antimony that individuals could serve their country by working at the site. At one point, more than 1,500 people were working there.
From 1941 to 1945, Stibnite mined and milled more tungsten and antimony than any other mine in the United States. During this wartime period, Stibnite produced 40 percent of the nation’s domestic supply of tungsten and 90 percent of its antimony.
After World War II, operations at the site slowed down, and many miners moved out of the area. Mining continued in the area sporadically from the 1970s to the late 1990s.
Current Status: Stibnite is considered a ghost town with no permanent population. The site is accessible to visitors, although it is remote and requires travel on rough roads. Due to the mining impact, some environmental restoration efforts have been made in the area.
Remarks: Stibnite reflects the boom-and-bust cycle of mining towns. Its story highlights the critical role such towns played in national efforts while also underscoring the environmental and economic challenges that followed their decline.
The town’s legacy continues to interest historians, environmentalists, and those fascinated by the American frontier. Stibnite is located in the mountains of central Idaho, approximately 10 miles outside Yellow Pine and 39 miles east of McCall.
The Stibnite Mining District sits atop the Idaho Batholith, one of the signature features of Idaho’s unique geology. The Idaho Batholith is nearly 14,000 square miles of granite, formed from the collision of the oceanic plate and the North American plate around 100 million years ago during the Cretaceous period.
Continental drift pushed the denser oceanic plate under the North American plate, where immense heat, pressure, and superheated water caused the rocks to melt, rise, and slowly cool, creating the vast expanse of crystalline granite underneath most of central Idaho.
Some 50 million years later, an enormous volcanic complex erupted through the granite, leaving volcanic ash, lavas, and crystalline rocks behind. The volcanic activity pumped hot fluids into the cracks and pores of the Idaho Batholith.
These hot fluids contained gold, silver, antimony, and sulfur, which left behind minerals like pyrite, stibnite, and scheelite as the waters cooled.
The partnership of the Idaho Batholith cooling and interacting with volcanic forces and mineral-rich fluids created a geologic region that has captured the attention and imagination of geologists and prospectors for more than 100 years.
