Hobby gold prospecting group has claim near Libby

By JEREMY WEBER
Daily Inter Lake

LIBBY, Mont. (AP) — An organization based in northwestern Montana is continuing a 160-year tradition of prospecting for gold near Libby. The Northwest Montana Gold Prospectors spend one weekend a month in the summer and two weekends in September at their claim about 23 miles south of Libby. They rent an excavator and up to nine trommel screens to help sift the material. They split up their haul equally at the end of each outing. Their claim is near a public gold panning area in Libby Creek. Group president Sandy Randall says that while finding gold is the ultimate goal, they also have fun and make good friends.