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Posted by: Dypheron May 21 2013, 11:16 AM

So I spent the weekend relaxing on our friends property off of Gold Camp Road which is right on the edge of the mining district near Cripple Creek. There's a lot of old mines up there, most are just depressions with small tailing piles but there is one that is quite interesting.

Near as I can tell it was a lead mine, the ore samples from the tailings sure looks like Galena. Looks to me that at some point the top of the shaft collapsed, probably after the vein dried up. No idea how far down it actually goes because the water table is so high that it's full of water. There is still piping from the original pump to keep the shaft dry but the pump is long gone. The vein itself is clearly visible at the entrance and it's at a pretty steep angle, probably 45 degrees or so.

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Posted by: russau May 22 2013, 04:53 AM

WOW look at them 2 old antique rifles them old miners left at the opening of the mine! :) their winching device looks in fair shape for its age!

Posted by: Dypheron May 23 2013, 01:37 AM

Indeed. Stopped to take pictures in the middle of a ground squirrel hunt. The caretaker for the property runs cattle and horses so we do our best to thin the population out and minimize the amount of holes for them to break a leg in. Mine is a Marlin model 60 and his is a Savage Mark II if I remember correctly.

I haven't been able to determine the name of the mine yet. CH&E wasn't around before 1908 so the mine was worked at some point after that, probably up to or around WW II if I had to guess.

Posted by: ColoradoProspector May 29 2013, 06:21 AM

Thanks for sharing the pics, that's a very interesting old mine for sure.
I'm sure it would have been quite a sight to see that winch draw up an ore cart full out of that drift. I'd say you're probably close on the guess of 30's-40's, there was a boom so to speak about then and I'd say it may be a chalcopyritic vein which of course may have had galena in it's make up but the dollars would have had to dictate more than just lead I think to make a profit back then.
Makes you wonder if the mine owner back then was trying to avoid paying another claim owner to access his ore via another claim owners tunnel. That was very common for Cripple Creek back then also, many mines like the Molly Kathleen made more on the other 7 mine owners using their shaft to bring up their ore at a percentage per ton hauled up.

Posted by: ASTROBLEME May 30 2013, 08:50 AM

Hi Dypheron,

The photos show that upper part of the vein has some "good color", it looks like it might be turquoise! There were several turquoise yielding claims in the district that were a by-product of the gold mining efforts. Pperhaps you found one of the mines that carried it.

If you go back to the mine, be sure to check the dump for samples if you can get permission from the owner. Some of the turquoise deposits actually carried visible gold! Those would be premium specimens for sure.

ASTROBLEME

Posted by: Dypheron May 31 2013, 10:20 PM

I have a few ore samples that I brought back from that trip, I'll take a closer look tomorrow if I get a chance. I won't have a chance to get back up there until I get back next summer, but I did ask my buddy to bring back some samples if he gets up there before I leave.

It's too bad that the shaft is full of water, I'd love to know how far down it goes. There's another shaft on the property somewhere but we're always too busy to go check it out. That one is at least mostly horizontal from what I've been told and quite deep.

Posted by: russau Jun 1 2013, 05:09 AM

sounds like you have some free/close water for a highbanker!

Posted by: Kurt Oct 27 2013, 09:49 AM

Love the tracks that go into the brush-perfect horror movie ore cart ride. Yes, it may be a turquoise mine, it has been found in that area.

Posted by: Coalbunny Oct 29 2013, 06:56 PM

Looks like the size of rail I'm looking for myself. I'd say it's 20# rail.

Posted by: Diamond Digger Nov 20 2015, 08:26 AM

Hi,
No pictures?
DD

Posted by: Auger Dec 3 2015, 10:30 AM

Aww... post from 2013 their photobucket prolly died. =P I'd like to see pics too