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Gold mining in Colorado, a state of the United States, has been an industry since 1858, and played a key role in the establishment of the state of Colorado. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The State of Colorado ( or chiefly by nonresidents) is a state located in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States of America.

Explorer Zebulon Pike heard a report of gold in South Park, present-day Park County, Colorado in 1807. Zebulon Montgomery Pike Jr ( January 5, 1779 – April 27, 1813) was an American soldier and explorer for whom Pikes Peak South Park is an animated American television comedy series created and written by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for Comedy Central Park County is the 17th most extensive of the 64 counties of the State of Colorado of the United States. [1]

Gold discoveries in Colorado began around Denver, traced the placer gold to its source in the mountains west of Denver, then followed the Colorado Mineral Belt in a southwest direction across the state to its terminus in the San Juan Mountains. The Colorado Mineral Belt (CMB is an area with abundant ore deposits The San Juan Mountains are a rugged Mountain range in the Rocky Mountains in southwestern Colorado. The Cripple Creek district, far from the mineral belt, was one of the last gold districts to be discovered. Cripple Creek is a statutory city that is the County seat of Teller County, Colorado, United States.

Contents

Denver-area placers

A gold discovery in 1858 in the vicinity of present-day Denver sparked the Pike's Peak Gold Rush. The City and County of Denver (pronounced /ˈdɛnvɚ/ is the Capital and the most populous city of Colorado, in the United States The Pike's Peak Gold Rush (later known as the Colorado Gold Rush) was the boom in Gold prospecting and mining in the Pike's Peak Country of western In 1858, prospectors focused on the placers east of the mountains in the sands of Cherry Creek, Clear Creek, and the South Platte River. The South Platte River is one of the two principal tributaries of the Platte River and itself a major river of the American West, located in the U However, the placer deposits on the plains were small, and when the first rich discoveries were made in early 1859 in the mountains farther west, the miners abandoned the placers around Denver.

Although the economic portions of the gold placers around Denver were quickly exhausted, producers of construction aggregate in the area sometimes recover small amounts of gold from their sand and gravel washing. Construction aggregate, or simply " aggregate " is a broad category of coarse particulate Material used in Construction, including The plains counties of Adams, Arapahoe, Denver, and Elbert are each credited with having produced small amounts of gold. Adams County is the fifth most populous of the 64 counties of the State of Colorado of the United States. Arapahoe County is the third most populous of the 64 counties of the State of Colorado of the United States. The City and County of Denver (pronounced /ˈdɛnvɚ/ is the Capital and the most populous city of Colorado, in the United States Elbert County is the 21st most populous of the 64 counties of the State of Colorado of the United States. [2]

Central City-Idaho Springs district

On January 5, 1859, during the Colorado gold rush, prospector George A. The Pike's Peak Gold Rush (later known as the Colorado Gold Rush) was the boom in Gold prospecting and mining in the Pike's Peak Country of western Jackson discovered placer gold at the present site of Idaho Springs, where Chicago Creek empties into Clear Creek. Clear Creek is a tributary of the South Platte River, approximately 40 mi (64 km long in north central Colorado in the United States. It was the first substantial gold discovery in Colorado. Jackson, a Missouri native with experience in the California gold fields, was drawn to the area by clouds of steam rising from some nearby hot springs. Missouri ( or) is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. A hot spring is a spring that is produced by the emergence of geothermally heated Groundwater from the earth's crust. Jackson kept his find secret for several months, but after he paid for some supplies with gold dust, others rushed to Jackson's diggings. The settlement was first called Spanish Bar, later renamed Idaho Springs, after the hot springs. [3]

On 1859-05-06, John H. Year 1859 ( MDCCCLIX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 1527 - Spanish and German troops sack Rome; some consider this the end of the Renaissance. Gregory found a gold-bearing vein (the Gregory Lode) in Gregory Gulch between Black Hawk and Central City. Gold (ˈɡoʊld is a Chemical element with the symbol Au (from its Latin name aurum) and Atomic number 79 The historic City of Black Hawk is a Home Rule Municipality located in Gilpin County, Colorado, United States. Within two months many other veins were discovered, including the Bates, Gunnell, Kansas, and Burroughs. [4] Other early mining towns in the district included Nevadaville and Russell Gulch. Nevadaville was a gold-mining town in Gilpin County, Colorado, United States.

Hardrock mining boomed for a few years, but then declined in the mid-1860s as the miners exhausted the shallow parts of the veins that contained free gold, and found that their amalgamation mills could not recover gold from the deeper sulfide ores. [5]

Nathaniel P. Hill built Colorado's first successful ore smelter in Blackhawk in 1868. Nathaniel Peter Hill ( February 18, 1832 - May 22, 1900) was a United States Senator from Colorado. Hill's smelter could recover gold from the sulfide ores, an achievement that saved hardrock mining in the district. Other smelters were built nearby. Through 1959, the district produced about 6. 3 million troy ounces (196 tonnes), mostly from sulfide veins in gneiss and granodiorite. Gneiss (ˈnaɪs is a common and widely distributed type of rock formed by high-grade regional metamorphic processes from preexisting formations that were originally Granodiorite (ˌgrænəˈdaɪəraɪt/ /ˌgreɪn- is an intrusive Igneous rock similar to Granite, but contains more Plagioclase than Potassium feldspar [6]

The early gold discoveries were at the northeast end of the Colorado Mineral Belt, a large alignment of mineral deposits that stretches northeast-southwest across the mountainous part of Colorado. The Colorado Mineral Belt (CMB is an area with abundant ore deposits The State of Colorado ( or chiefly by nonresidents) is a state located in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States of America. From Idaho Springs, prospectors followed the Colorado Mineral Belt west along Clear Creek, then over the mountain passes to South Park and to the headwaters of the Blue River. The historic City of Idaho Springs is a Statutory City that is the most populous city in Clear Creek County, Colorado, United States The Colorado Mineral Belt (CMB is an area with abundant ore deposits South Park is an animated American television comedy series created and written by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for Comedy Central

Breckenridge district

Placer gold was discovered in the Breckenridge, or Blue River district, in 1859. The historic Town of Breckenridge is a Home Rule Municipality that is the County seat of Summit County, Colorado, United States Lode deposits were developed in the 1880s, as prospectors followed the gold to its source veins in the hills. In Geology, a vein is a finite volume within a rock, having a distinct shape filled with Crystals of one or more Minerals which were precipitated Gold in some upper gravel benches north of the Blue River was recovered by hydraulic mining. Hydraulic mining, or hydraulicking, is a form of Mining that employs Water to dislodge rock material or move sediment Gold production decreased in the late 1800s, but revived in 1908 by gold dredging operations along the Blue River and Swan River. Dredging is an Excavation activity or operation usually carried out at least partly underwater in shallow seas or Fresh water areas with the purpose of The Swan River is a short tributary of the Blue River, approximately 10 miles (16 km long located in the Rocky Mountains of central Colorado in the The Breckenridge mining district is credited with production of about one million troy ounces (about 31 tonnes) of gold. Troy weight is a system of units of Mass customarily used for Precious metals Black powder, and Gemstones Named after Troyes [7]

The gold mines around Breckenridge are all shut down, although some are open to tourist visits. The characteristic gravel ridges left by the gold dredges can still be seen along the Blue River and Snake River, and the remains of a dredge are still afloat in a pond off the Swan River. The Snake River is a short tributary of the Blue River, approximately 15 miles (24 km long in central Colorado in the United States.

Alma district

The Alma district was discovered in 1859 at the headwaters of the South Platte River. The historic Town of Alma is a Statutory Town located in Park County, Colorado, United States. The South Platte River is one of the two principal tributaries of the Platte River and itself a major river of the American West, located in the U The initial placer discovery was followed by the discovery of lode gold the following year. The district produced about 1. 3 million ounces of gold. [8]

Leadville district

The history of the Leadville district began with the discovery of placer gold in 1860 at Oro City. Leadville is a Statutory City that is the County seat of and the only incorporated municipality in Oro City, now a Ghost town, was an early gold Placer mining town in the Mosquito Range of Lake County, Colorado, United States The placers were exhausted within four years, but lode gold was discovered in 1868. The gold discoveries led to the discovery of the silver deposits in 1877, and the founding of the city of Leadville. Leadville is a Statutory City that is the County seat of and the only incorporated municipality in The Leadville district produced 3. 2 million ounces (101 tonnes) of gold, mostly as a byproduct of silver mining. [9].

Summitville district

Prospectors found placer gold in 1870 in the Wrightman Fork of the Alamosa River. The Alamosa River is a River in the southern part of the American state of Colorado. Gold veins were discovered in 1871, and large-scale production started in 1875 after the construction of a mill. Operations were continuous until 1906, then sporadic after that. [10]

In 1985, Summitville Consolidated Mining Company, a subsidiary of Galactic Resources of Vancouver, British Columbia started open pit heap-leach mining at the Summitville mine. Vancouver (vænˈkuːvɚ is a coastal The Summitville Mine was a Gold mining site in Rio Grande County Colorado south of Del Norte. Mining ceased in 1992, and remediation started. However, Galactic Resources declared bankruptcy in December 1992, and the US Environmental Protection Agency stepped in to prevent releases of pollution from the property. [11] The EPA declared it a federal Superfund site in May 1993. Superfund is the common name for the United States environmental policy officially known as the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act [1] The total cost of environmental cleanup at the site has been estimated to be between $100 and $120 million. [12]

In 1998, the general manager and the environmental manager of the mine pleaded guilty to federal pollution charges, and were each sentenced to six months probation and $20,000 fines. [13]

Sneffels-Red Mountain-Telluride district

The Sneffels-Red Mountain-Telluride district, at the southwest end of the Colorado Mineral Belt, was discovered in 1875. The Town of Telluride is a Home Rule Municipality that is the County seat and the most populous town of San Miguel County in the southwestern The Colorado Mineral Belt (CMB is an area with abundant ore deposits The district is within and adjacent to a Tertiary volcanic caldera. The chuprichondira geological time interval covers roughly the time span between the demise of the non- avian Dinosaurs and beginning of the most recent Ice Age, approximately Deposits are chimneys and veins in Tertiary volcanics and intrusives, and in older sedimentary rocks. The chuprichondira geological time interval covers roughly the time span between the demise of the non- avian Dinosaurs and beginning of the most recent Ice Age, approximately Production through 1959 was 4. 7 million ounces of gold, as well as considerable silver, lead, and copper. Silver (ˈsɪlvɚ is a Chemical element with the symbol " Ag " (argentum from the Ancient Greek: ἀργήντος - argēntos gen Characteristics Lead has a dull luster and is a dense, Ductile, very soft highly Copper (ˈkɒpɚ is a Chemical element with the symbol Cu (cuprum and Atomic number 29 [14]

Cripple Creek district

Although known as the "Pike's Peak Gold Rush" because Pike's Peak was a landmark visible 100 miles out on the plains, the early gold and silver discoveries in Colorado were all far away from Pike's Peak. The Pike's Peak Gold Rush (later known as the Colorado Gold Rush) was the boom in Gold prospecting and mining in the Pike's Peak Country of western Located a few miles southwest of Pike's Peak, the Cripple Creek district, the most productive gold-mining district in Colorado, was not discovered until 1891. Cripple Creek is a statutory city that is the County seat of Teller County, Colorado, United States. The towns of Cripple Creek and Victor were established to serve the mines and miners of the district. Cripple Creek is a statutory city that is the County seat of Teller County, Colorado, United States. Victor is a Statutory City in Teller County, Colorado, United States. Among its principal mines was Stratton's Independence mine, at Victor, Colorado. Stratton's Independence Mine and Mill is a historic mining site near Victor Colorado on the south slope of Battle Mountain Victor is a Statutory City in Teller County, Colorado, United States.

The Cripple Creek mining district covers a Miocene volcanic caldera filled with quartz latite porphyry. The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene period and extends from about 23 The ore bodies are veins and replacement zones within the quartz latite. The ore minerals are gold and silver tellurides, with accessory fluorite.

The Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mining Company formed in 1976 as a joint venture to restart mining in the district. From 1976 to 1989, the company produced 150,000 ounces of gold by reprocessing tailings and mining two small surface deposits. The Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mining Company began the first large-scale open pit mining in the district in 1994. [15] The Cresson mine open pits are located a few miles north of Victor. Mining continues today under the ownership of AngloGold Ashanti, producing about 330,000 troy ounces (10. AngloGold Ashanti Limited ( is a global Gold mining company with mines on four continents Troy weight is a system of units of Mass customarily used for Precious metals Black powder, and Gemstones Named after Troyes 3 tonnes) of gold annually.

External links

Gold mining today

Three Colorado mines continue to produce gold. The Cripple Creek & Victor mine at Victor, an open-pit heap leach operation owned by AngloGold Ashanti, is the leading producer, with 8. Victor is a Statutory City in Teller County, Colorado, United States. AngloGold Ashanti Limited ( is a global Gold mining company with mines on four continents 8 tonnes (283,000 troy ounces) of gold in 2006. Other active gold mines in the state are underground Golden Wonder mine near Lake City, and the Cash and Rex mines in the Gold Hill mining district in Boulder County, Colorado. The Town of Lake City is a Statutory Town that is the County seat of and the only incorporated municipality Gold Hill is a Census-designated place (CDP in Boulder County, Colorado, United States. Boulder County is the sixth most populous of the 64 counties of the State of Colorado of the United States. [16]

See also:

External links

Colorado Geological Survey: Gold! Gold! Gold!

References

  1. ^ A. The Idarado Mine was a gold Mining operation in the San Juan Mountains of Ouray County Colorado. The Old Hundred Gold Mine is a gold mine in San Juan County Colorado, United States H. Koschman and M. H. Bergendahl (1968) Principal gold-Producing Districts of the United States, US Geological Survey, Professional Paper 610, p. 143.
  2. ^ Ben H. Parker Jr. , Gold placers of Colorado, book 1, Quarterly of the Colorado School of Mines, v. 69, n. 3, July 1974, p. 26.
  3. ^ Robert L. Brown (1985) The Great Pikes Peak Gold Rush, Caldwell, Ida. : Caxton, p. 26-32.
  4. ^ Paul K. Sims and others (1963) Economic Geology of the Central City District, Gilpin County, Colorado, US Geological Survey, Professional Paper 359, p. 7-8.
  5. ^ A. H. Koschman and M. H. Bergendahl (1968) Principal Gold-Producing Districts of the United States, US Geological Survey, Professional Paper 610, p. 86.
  6. ^ A. H. Koschman and M. H. Bergendahl (1968) Principal gold-Producing Districts of the United States, US Geological Survey, Professional Paper 610, p. 143.
  7. ^ A. H. Koschman and M. H. Bergendahl (1968) Principal Gold-Producing Districts of the United States. US Geological Survey, Professional Paper 610, p. 116-117.
  8. ^ A. H. Koschman and M. H. Bergendahl (1968) Principal Gold-Producing Districts of the United States, US Geological Survey, Professional Paper 610, p. 109.
  9. ^ Mark W. Davis and Randall K. Streufert (1990) Gold Occurrences of Colorado, Colorado Geological Survey, Resource Series 28, p. 54-55.
  10. ^ Bruce Geller, Summitville, Colorado, Mining Record, 25 Feb. 1987, p. 17.
  11. ^ Al Knight, ‘Disaster’ at Summitville was after the EPA arrived, Denver Post, 28 Apr. 1996, p. 1E.
  12. ^ Environmental Considerations of Abandoned Mine Lands (1995) US Geological Survey, Bulletin 2220.
  13. ^ Mike McPheee and Mark Eddy, Ex-mine managers sentenced, Denver Post, 19 Dec. 1998, p. 4B.
  14. ^ A. H. Koschman and M. H. Bergendahl (1968) Principal Gold-Producing Districts of the United States, US Geological Survey, Professional paper 610, p. 107-108, 115-116.
  15. ^ Keith Dyas and Jerry Marcus (1998) The Cresson project, Engineering & Mining Jour. , 6/1998, p. 32KK-32OO.
  16. ^ J. Burnell and others, Colorado, Mining Engineering, May 2007, p. 76-77.
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