Gold mining on Rib Mountain in Wisconsin was largely unsuccessful, despite early speculation that the mountain contained valuable deposits. The mountain, composed primarily of quartzite, was mined for abrasives rather than precious metals. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, companies like Wausau Quartz Company and Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing (3M) extracted quartzite for use in sandpaper and grinding materials. While some believed gold could be found within the rock, attempts to mine it proved futile, and no significant gold deposits were ever discovered.
