Mountains and Mine

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Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine (3)

This is the last of my mining-related posts for now, and in it I'll show you some of the equipment in the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine. All of these are operational and were demonstrated to us; all were very loud as they use compressed air for power. First is a machine used to move rocks quickly.

Next is a drill used to bore into the rock. After the holes were drilled they would have been filled with explosives.

Here's a hoist used to raise ore from lower levels.

And finally, an underground ride that took us from one section of mine to another.

I hope you've enjoyed my extended series on gold mining in the local area, I've certainly had fun posting these photos. Next week I'll find something else to post about for Our World Tuesday.

Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine (2)

Here are a few photos taken down in the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine - all photos are handheld with no flash. The tunnels seem to go on for miles, but they're well lit up for tourists.

Some of the old mine carts are still in place.

It's hard to tell from the photo but this is looking up a near-vertical shaft.

Can you imagine working up one of those ladders, handling the heavy equipment used to drill the rock?

Just like a modern office there's a room for the miners to have lunch.

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Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine (1)

It seems that a lot of readers are enjoying my series on local mining history, so I'll answer a couple of questions about the huge open-pit mine I've been showing you.

• Some chemicals are used to leech the gold from the crushed rock, but I'm not sure which ones; it's much more regulated these days than in the past.
• I was not using a telephoto for most of the photos, I was right there next to the crusher and the trucks, and down in the pit.
• The mine is not open to the public, but with advance reservations and a small fee a few people are given a tour several days a week. That's how I was able to see it all, and I think it's one of the best sightseeing bargains in the area.

On to my next mining post, about the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine. This is a former vertical-shaft gold mine, operating from 1891 to 1961, and now open for public tours. The only way down is in the two-level cage the miners used to ride; if you're claustrophobic or afraid of being suspended by nothing more than a single cable I don't recommend it, although the mine itself is surprisingly spacious. All photos are hand-held without flash.

Here's the sign when you get out of the cage at the bottom.

It's a multi-level mine, and this shows the bell system used to indicate how to raise and lower the cage. Yes, it's still run by a person, and the tour guide will ring the bells appropriately.

Here's a close-up of some growths on the mine walls. Next week I'll show you some of the tunnels.

Our World Tuesday

Signs, Signs

Pit Mine Rock Crusher

Happy New Year to all my readers! I'm going to finish my series on the huge open pit mine near Cripple Creek, Colorado - the mining is for gold. All the rock is fed into this huge crusher, and then into various processes to extract the gold.

The massive trucks dump their loads...

...and it all feeds through this rotating blade, which is far larger than it appears in the photo.

Conveyor belts move all the rock around.

It's at the bottom of one of the pits.

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Pit Mine - Bottom

As part of the tour of the Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mine, we went to the very bottom of the biggest open pit. The small openings are old mining tunnels which have been exposed by the massive excavation.

It's over one thousand feet (300 meters) down.

In this next photo notice the crack running up the rock face - it's a fault line, made very clear by the excavations and not something you'd notice on the surface. The truck gives a sense of scale.

And finally here's a wide-angle shot - the large trucks help the viewer to realize the massive size and depth of the pit.

I'll be taking a week off from blogging to spend time with the family over the holidays. Visit Our World Tuesday to see lots more blog posts from around the world.

Pit Mine Hauler

Here are some photos of one of the haulers from a large open pit mine. For scale, look at the people.

Here's the operator's cabin.

In these photos it almost looks like a toy.

I was able to get underneath it.

Even its tires are much larger than a person!

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Pit Mine

In my mining explanations, I signed up for a tour of the active Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mine, an active open-pit mine.

It's a major employer in the area and it's impressive to see.

The haulers going up and down the mining roads are massive; I'll show you more details soon.

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Cripple Creek Views

I've been showing some photos of the area's mining history. Here are views around the town of Cripple Creek, one of the main gold-mining towns. These days it survives mainly on legalized gambling - here's a view of the town itself.

It's situated in a very pretty, hilly area on the Western side of Pikes Peak.

There are only a couple of roads into town, but it's only a little over an hour from Colorado Springs.

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Theresa Mine

I don't have a lot of information about this mine, the Theresa Mine, in the Victor/Cripple Creek area.

It operated from 1895 to 1961.

The buildings are still standing but decaying. This is the change house.

At one time it would have been a hive of activity. Can you imagine getting in that cage suspended by one cable to go hundreds of feet underground?

Here is the hoist mechanism, still intact but I'd guess not functional.

I'll continue my series on local mining next week.

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Independence Mill Ruins

Continuing with my series on mining, you may wonder what happens to all the ore that comes out of the mine. In the case of a large mine like the Independence, it's milled and the gold is extracted on-site. All that's left of the milling operation is ruins.

You can go inside the old buildings but in most cases there's not much left.

I still think it makes for some pretty photos.

Of course there are mountainous backdrops wherever you look.

That's all from this mine, but I've got lots more to come from this exploration of the area's mining history. Visit Our World Tuesday to see photos from many other parts of the world.

Independence Mine Area

Surrounding the actual Independence Mine near Victor, Colorado are various structures in poor condition - this probably funneled water.

Here's another nearby mine, I don't remember which one.

And of course there are huge piles of tailings everywhere, frequently polluted with heavy metals.

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Independence Mine

Happy Halloween - here are some spooky photos of an abandoned mine to continue showing you some of the history of my part of the world. This is the famous Independence Mine near Cripple Creek. You have to be very careful walking around these old mines and stay on the marked paths because there are unmarked shafts and holes which can kill.

Approximately 200,000 ounces (5,670 kg) of gold was mined here.

It's also infamous for a 1904 cage mishap which killed 15 workers.

Our World Tuesday