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RECLAIMING HISTORY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
AT CRIPPLE CREEK
Environmental article by Harold Hough Oct/Nov 2009
When we think of reclamation, we usually think about reclaiming the
environment and remediation of the damage caused by the current mining
operation. However, at the Cresson Mine near Cripple Creek, CO, they are
also reclaiming history while reducing the ecological damage from over
a century of mining.
Cripple Creek and Victor Gold Mining Company (CC&V) operates the Cresson
Mine, which is the largest gold mine in the State of Colorado, with production
over 250,000 ounces of gold in 2008. Over 300 people keep the mine operating
24 hours per day, seven days per week, 365 days per year. CC&V is
a joint venture between AngloGold Ashanti (Colorado) Corp. and GCGC, LLC,
based in Colorado Springs.
The Cripple Creek Mining District has seen many boom and bust times since
the mid 1800s. But, with gold over $1,000, things are looking more like
the boom times of old. Forget the high national unemployment rate - he
Cresson Mine has been a real benefit for the community. Employees of CC&V
live throughout the region, with 50% in Teller County, 25% living in Fremont
County to the south, and 17% in other locations. The average annual salary
and benefit package is over $64,000. An economic analysis completed in
2008 estimates that total direct and induced employment in Teller County
resulting from the operation equals 900 jobs with earnings of $30,260,000.
Although it’s been over a century since Bob Womack first discovered
gold at Poverty Gulch in 1891, Cripple Creek still remains a serious gold
mining district in Colorado. Today the Cresson Mine is producing from
deposits which were once thought exhausted. Despite pronouncements that
Cripple Creek was doomed to become a ghost town in the 1950s and 1960s
when gold was at artificially low prices, today gold mining is the single
largest private employer in Teller County and although over 23 million
ounces have been mined since 1890, some geologists think more gold may
be mined in the future than was ever mined in the past.
Since Cripple Creek was so thoroughly mined earlier in the century, miners
are constantly reminded of their heritage. When a new level was opened
up at the bottom of the pit, miners would see backfilled excavations,
rusted rails, and voids from drifts and shafts. In fact there are supposedly
thousands of miles of unmapped drifts, shafts, and stopes in addition
to abandoned prospecting holes, town sites, and waste piles. This actually
poses a hazard to miners as trucks and loaders can fall into a collapsing
void, and during the early days of the operation, three incidents occurred
where mining equipment fell into voids. Although no one was hurt, the
equipment was damaged and the mine decided to use ground penetrating radar
before digging.
As the mining operation goes over old ground, the mine is careful to
reclaim much of Cripple Creek’s mining heritage. In order to encourage
tourism and preserve the community’s heritage, the mine has gone
to great pains to preserve and restore old mining equipment. The mine
relocated the Cresson Mine headframe to the Victor Gold Bowl (a softball
field built by the mine), the Cresson Ore Sorting House to the Independence
Site, the Gold Sovereign Headframe to the Cripple Creek District Museum,
the Deadwood Headframe and Joe Dandy Headframe and ore sorting house,
to a spot above Cripple Creek. It has also helped place the Independence
Mine headframe on the National Register of Historic Places. In addition
to meeting the many environmental requirements, CC&V has built trails
and set up mining equipment exhibits in cooperation with a local volunteer
group. The company earned a State award for the rehabilitation of the
building used for their offices in Victor. In all, the mine has invested
millions of dollars to reclaim historical and culturally significant artifacts
from their property.
The mine is also involved in restoring much of the environmental damage
done by previous mining. This includes recountouring and revegetating
barren ground. The mine has even broken new ground in the science of high
altitude revegetation (the mine is at 10,000 feet). They have also been
very successful in lowering cyanide levels at abandoned heap leaching
pads to below that acceptable in drinking water.”
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