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CRIPPLE CREEK & VICTOR MINE LOOK AT HISTORY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Domestic Mine article by Harold Hough Dec/Jan 2009

When the Cripple Creek Mining District first drew people 150 years ago, the environment was just something miners dug holes in. Today, however, reclamation is critical to restoring the community to pre mining days and to keeping the mine going after 2012. Last year the Cripple Creek and Victor Mine (CC&V) was recognized by the State of Colorado Division of Reclamation Mining and Safety for its voluntary reclamation of the Independence Mine tailings.

CC&V operates the largest gold mine in the State of Colorado, with production over 282,000 ounces of gold in 2007. Over 300 people keep the mine operating 24 hours per day, seven days per week, 365 days per year. CC&V is owned by AngloGold Ashanti.

The Cripple Creek Mining District has seen many boom and bust times since the mid 1800s. Although prospectors were finding tantalizing amounts of gold since about 1859, Bob Womack made the first major gold discovery at Poverty Gulch in 1891. By the 1920s, many mines had folded or were bought out by others. Although the increase in the price of gold in the 1930s boosted gold mining, wartime regulations placed a low priority on gold mining and flooding caused by the deep mining made the area unprofitable. By the 1950s, gold mining was rapidly declining and the area was only making its living on the tourist trade by the late 1960s.

As gold prices began to climb in the 1970s, Golden Cycle Gold Corporation, which operated one of the last mines in Cripple Creek, began to explore and process gold from old waste dumps along with its partner Texasgulf Minerals and Metals Co. This continued until the late 1980s when it appeared that all the economic gold had been extracted. Then Texasgulf was sold to Pikes Peak Mining Co. Four years later, Pikes Peak was sold to Independence Mining Co. Today, the CC&V Mine is owned by AngloGold Ashanti that purchased Golden Cycle Gold earlier this year.

Cripple Creek’s rebirth in the 1900s was due to improvements in gold mining technology. At the beginning of the century, the gold ore was processed with mercury or by roasting. However, the development of heap leaching technology made the uneconomic ore deposits profitable. Ironically, it was research at Cripple Creek’s Carlton mine in the 1950s that helped develop the carbon-in-pulp method, a popular cyanide leaching method.

Unfortunately, that technology came at a cost to the environment. Many of the tailings were left unreclaimed and unvegetated until the recent gold boom. Some of these tailings occupied the area around the headwaters of Wilson Creek and runoff had caused a sedimentation problem. Although not required by law to do anything, CC&V began a voluntary reclamation program as part of the Milsap Tailings Reclamation Project. Not only has it stabilized the land, it has reduced dust problems and reduced the amount of sediment in neighboring creeks.

Although Cripple Creek mines were pioneers in the use of cyanide in processing gold ore, today’s mine owner, AngloGold, has taken a lead in reducing the threat caused by cyanide by helping to develop the Cyanide Management Code. It focuses exclusively on the safe management of cyanide and cyanidation mill tailings and leach solutions. Companies that become signatories to the Code must have their operations audited by an independent third party to demonstrate their compliance with the Code. As a result of this program, cyanide usage per ounce of gold produced declined about 25% from 2006 to 2007 at CC&V. Energy usage per ounce produced also declined, although it wasn’t enough to offset the skyrocketing fuel prices seen in 2008.

CC&V also has an excellent safety record. The STOP for Safety Program, developed by DuPont, is largely credited with the new safety record. STOP emphasizes awareness and communication among the employees, and the responsibility that safety is everyone’s job. The program encourages employees to watch what’s going on around them and their fellow workers, and to talk to each other about creating a safe working environment. The first principle of STOP is that all injuries and occupational illnesses can be prevented.

Although the current plans call for mining to continue for about three more years, the history of the Cripple Creek area indicates that more unmined gold remains. Several months ago, CC&V filed for the permitting to give the mine an additional fours years of life.

The future of the Cripple Creek Mining District depends on current gold prices and the investment environment in the United States during the Obama Administration. If gold prices remain at current levels and the U.S. remains an attractive place to invest, it seems likely that geologists and mining engineers will find ways to continue delving safely into the earth to find gold for CC&V. And, if they do, rest assured that the Cripple Creek and Victor Mine will be focusing on the environment just as much as today.