Winnekta Mill

It is rare to find a Chilean mill out in the wild, not to mention one that is ten feet in diameter! The original 10 stamp mill was built on the site sometime before 1910. The mine was already doing well by then and making shipments to the Anaconda smelter in Butte, Montana. It remained a good producer until 1927 when the mill burnt down and the mine closed.

After a few idle years, the mine reopened and the second (and existing) mill was built in 1930 by the newly formed Winnekta Mining Company. The mill was equipped with a 2-stage Ingersoll-Rand Type 20 compressor, Blake jaw crusher, a Lane slow-speed roller (Chilean style) mill with a Whifley concentrating table to catch the fines. The impressive Chilean mill is all that remains today. It is a Lane slow roller mill. The mining camp once had an assay office, boarding house, compressor plant, bunkhouse, and cabins. Fourteen men worked the mine and mill until it closed in 1940.

Underground, the mine had over a thousand feet of workings and stopes, but has since been reclaimed and is currently sealed.

Roller mills are rare. Check out this other roller mill and an even rarer Huntington mill.

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Last Updated on March 1, 2021 by Guy Starbuck