Life in a Volcano

I live in a volcano. An extinct one. At least I hope it is.

"Geologically Cripple Creek is a freak.", reported the Chicago Times in 1896. "It is a vast crater bed in which the elements once were wont to make merry with nature and play unexpected pranks that must have caused the systematic old dame many a vexatious hour."

The City of Cripple Creek can be seen sitting in a basin
which is an extinct caldera

Cripple Creek sits in a caldera measuring 24 square miles. When the caldera collapsed, giant size rocks were thrown about the basin. The caldera is surrounded on all sides by a combination  of quartz, feldspar, and mica. As eons passed by, more volcanic activity took place causing mineral rich solutions to fill the empty faults and fissures. These hardened over time and became the minerals which are now being mined near town. As more years passed, these mineral rich veins made their way closer to the surface only to be buried once again by granite, gneiss, and schist. Erosion later took its toll on some areas, exposing bits of the precious commodity.

The initial activity took place about 35 million years ago. There are still volcanic cones around Cripple Creek. All sitting quiet. Watching. Waiting.

Newmont Mining Corp.

Newmont Mining Corp. will be mining here until at least 2025. This year they are planning on extracting gold from the place where it all started - Poverty Gulch. Loosening and breaking the rock apart is a key component in mining. And that process means that explosives must be used.

Globe Hill is the name of the bare round mountaintop. Poverty Gulch,
where the new digging is going to be, runs at an angle to the bottom right hand corner. The building at the left is the Visitor's Center. The dust in the air is from an explosion.

The ore in Poverty Gulch is the highest grade and in the highest concentration compared to other areas of the mountain. It is also the closest to town. Many of the residents on the east side of Cripple Creek (and on the west side as well) are concerned that the blasting may affect their homes. But modern day blasting is a far cry from the sticks of dynamite used a century ago. Today's explosives are dropped into a small, deep hole and then the hole is filled with sand. If it's done correctly, a person can stand in relative close proximity to the blasting hole and never know the charge ever went off.  Us? Not too concerned. Our house has been here 118 years and has seen a lot in it's time. I'm sure some of the dynamite charges set off during the labor wars rattled a few windows.

Playground, skatepark, & basketball court take up half a city block
(our blocks are about twice the size of normal) The Community Center
is behind the playground (building with wreath above door)

Newmont and the Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mine, like so many companies before them, contribute a lot to the local community. Generous grants are given to schools, museums, and the community center. The kids here have a fabulous basketball court, skateboard park, and playground.  A brand new adventure park complete with a bmx bike track, dog park, disc golf area and tons of state of the art playground equipment complete with a zipline! was just recently completed. Not too shabby for a small town.

This area has a tremendous amount of mining history. History which people travel from all over the world to come see. Newmont has recognized this fact and has done so much in trying to keep that history alive. A lot of the old mining buildings and ghost towns are on land owned by the mine. If mining operations threaten any of these structures, then they are moved and stabilized so people can enjoy them for many more years to come.

Altman backfill area with grass growing. 

Altman Backfill area with mine work on left side of photo and old headframe

Reclaiming the barren landscape is the final life stage of an area which has been mined. When the pit was first begun, bristlecone pines dotted the top of the mountain. Seeds from their cones were collected so that they might be used to grow young trees to reforest the mountaintop. Newmont is also working with a State University to develop a method to grow aspen from roots. Aspen are notoriously hard to transplant.  Areas which have been seeded - much like the road department will seed the side of the roadway - are constantly monitored for health and stability. But I have faith in the methods used by Newmont. This company won an award for its reclamation of an open pit coal mine in Nevada.

Young Bristelcone Pine trees.

Having the mine as a neighbor is not so bad. Our roads are in good repair and kept clear in stormy weather. Our town and other local institutions have many amenities that other small towns do not have. Of course, the casinos do play a small part in some of this. I will write about the casinos in the coming weeks.

Tours can be taken of the current mining operations. It's on the calendar for this summer.

***Yes. The aerial view of he mine does look like a SKULL!***

Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mine

I love my Mother Earth. And I have always seen an open pit mine as an abomination. And yet, I have willingly moved next door to one.  (click on pictures to enlarge - the photos do not capture the immense size of the equipment being used or the pits being dug!)

Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mine seen from the sky.
The towns of Cripple Creek and Victor are marked.

Someone once said that until mankind quits devouring minerals like they were candy, mining and open pit mines will be necessary. A very true statement.

Gold was discovered in a gulch outside of Cripple Creek in 1890. Within five years the town had grown to 8,000 people. The neighboring town of Victor was founded in 1894 . By 1901, at the peak of production, there were 500 mines in the District and $77 million in gold had been taken from the ground. 

Gold production continued until it tapered off in the 1920's, with a brief resurgence in the 1930's. World War II saw a halt to all gold production. In 1995 , a new process of gold leaching was developed and extraction began again at the Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mine. But this time the ore wasn't coming out of shafts, it was being mined in an open pit. 

I am not going to give a lot of details about the early days of gold mining here in the District. That is a story for another series of posts. What I am going to write about is the modern day mining which is currently taking place just over the hill. The current owner of the Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mine is Newmont Mining Corporation, a world wide mining company.

Pit located on northeast section of mining area. This pit is now used for rock disposal.

An open pit mine is just what it sounds like. A great big hole in the ground that keeps getting bigger because of the rocks (minerals/ore) that are being taken out of the hole. Blasting (with explosives) is done which loosens the rock near or just below the surface of the ground. Large heavy equipment then takes out the loose rock to be processed. This process of blasting and hauling rock is repeated over and over until the ore is all extracted. Roads are built around the sides of the pit to allow the heavy trucks to drive down to the bottom.

This hillside is being stripped down to bare ground and will soon look like the photo below.

The gold found here is not in the form of a nugget or dust. It is found mixed in with other minerals and must be separated from these other components via a leaching process. The ore bearing rock is sent to a crusher then on to a mill for processing. Once the rocks have been milled down to a more manageable size,  they are then taken to a leach pit where the precious minerals are extracted. A diluted Potassium Cyanide solution is sprayed on the crushed gold bearing ore in the leach pit. The cyanide trickles down through the rocks, binding with the gold and silver. At the bottom of the pit are carbon filters which trap the cyanide/gold mixture. 

Leaching area

Once the gold and other precious minerals are trapped in the carbon, it is then sent to another processing station where the gold, silver and other minerals are separated from the carbon and smelted down into bell shaped forms called dores. These dores are then sent to a refinery in Switzerland so the gold, silver and other minerals can be separated.

The rock which has no mineral value is loaded back on to dump trucks and taken to a part of the pit which has already been mined. There the rock is dumped and the mountain begins to take shape once again.

Disposal pit with roads running around the sides.
Dump trucks can be seen bringing rocks to be dumped.

Dump truck bed now being used for a viewing platform near the disposal pit

We frequently follow tankers carrying potassium cyanide up the mountain road to Cripple Creek. Never see the gold shipment leaving the mine though. Wonder who's riding shotgun on that stagecoach?

On Monday, I will write about the new exploration going on at the mine and its impact on the local community. I'll also write about the community involvement of Newmont and the most important part of the mining process - reclamation.

Mountainside near disposal pit that has been reconstructed.

All That Glitters...

Is not Gold! Hubby and I thought we might get lucky after the floods this past summer and find a flake or two of gold in our stream. HA! We only found mica. But it was still fun.

Her Name

Our home is next door to a large Victorian home which is owned by the City of Cripple Creek. It is used as housing for the actors, actresses and stage crew for the local repertory theater, The Butte Theater.

The house is only inhabited 6 months out of the year. So it is almost like not having neighbors. This year's crew has been fun and our dogs have greatly enjoyed the extra hands which so eagerly reach over the fence to pet them. 

View of The Victorian Lady from my side yard

The house is gorgeous, with leaded windows and all sorts of detail work. It was built in 1898 by a Charles N. Miller. The house has been named The Victorian Lady. 

Well, not wanting our lovely home to feel left out, hubby named our house The Painted Lady. While the name may reference the "Women of the Night', it is in no way derogatory. The women who worked the bordellos were often kind hearted and generous. And very much misunderstood. But that is all for another post...

The Donkeys of Cripple Creek

Or rather, "Why there are farm animals walking down my sidewalk"....

I have written about the Donkeys of Cripple Creek before. They are a common site around town in the warmer months. Click Here! 

The Donkey was the companion of early day miners. This pack animal was surefooted over treacherous mountain trails and could carry approx. 1/4 of its body weight. Miners would use the burro to carry their supplies and equipment to and from their mining claim. Quite often the burros would get loose or stray from their owners. These donkeys formed the foundation of many of the wild burro herds found around the United States. 

The story - Tourists to the Cripple Creek area are told that the local Donkeys are ancestors of the donkeys brought here by early prospectors. 

The truth - The Donkeys seen around town have all come from various donkey rescue organizations. The City of Cripple Creek maintains (paying for their health care and feed) a herd of 15 individuals. When a herd member is lost due to illness or age, then another burro is acquired. Sometimes when a new member is adopted, a 'bonus' is also included. This past year, two new females were adopted who were both pregnant and they gave birth this past Spring.

During warm weather the Donkeys are left to roam around town, making themselves at home wherever they please. Munching on grass and fertilizing lawns and flower beds. The Donkey herd is quite an attraction for visitors, who might never be able to see this clever creature up close and personal.  During the winter, the burro herd is corralled at the local rodeo grounds.

And that is why there are farm animals walking down my sidewalk. A tribute to the legacy which helped build this town.

Winds of Change

This year has seen a lot of wind in this area. Crazy, strong winds! At least two of the storms brought us wind over 70 mph - that's hurricane force winds! 

Many Indigenous cultures believe that the wind is the Creator talking - that the wind will blow when a person is trying to be told something. Well, I should have been listening harder because those winds were telling us that change was in our future.

We've moved. But this time the move was into our own house. Not on our property in the mountains but very close by. In the quaint and quirky little town of Cripple Creek.

The Town of Cripple Creek as seen at the overlook

A lovely Victorian House chose us to come live within its walls. (I swear there was a bit of magick involved, but I will expand upon that in later posts - gotta have something else to write about)

Welcome to The Painted Lady.

Yes, that's a white pocket fence that you see. The house was built in 1900 and still has many of the original features - doors, transoms, wood molding, brass light fixtures and the gorgeous fireplace with the original firebox. Though it burned coal not wood.

Front entry with original doors

Dining Room with original light fixture

In the coming weeks, I will share things about our new home, the town, and the 'neighbors' who live around us.

Click on the pictures to enlarge and see details.

Grabbin' Ass!

Sheesh! I can't take my Hubby anywhere!

I caught him grabbin' ass not once but twice this weekend! 

looking southwest over the town of Victor, Colorado

It happened over the weekend in the small mining town of Victor, Colorado (elevation 9,780 ft). 

It was a spur-of-the-moment trip. We were in Cripple Creek early to deliver a faux bois bench to the gift shop, Shops at the Silver Mine, and decided we didn't want to go straight back home. So off down the road we went to the neighboring town of Victor. We stopped at a scenic overlook that looked over a beautiful valley and a hiking trail with a few people - and their burros! - walking towards Victor. 

After watching the hikers for a bit, hubby & I wandered off to look at the various mining equipment displays. Not long into my absorption of history, I heard someone yelling, I looked around and saw a woman running down a nearby hill. Far ahead of her was her burro! I got Hubby's attention and he headed towards the main trail. I headed over to the trail spur which led to the parking lot. 

The runaway burro wasn't going any further! Fortunately the burro headed towards Hubby where she was promptly caught and led back to her owner. 

Back on the road we laughed about the "ass grabbin" and wondered what the race was about. As we wondered through town, we decided to stop and eat at a small cafe that looked out onto main street where the finish line was.  

We watched the racers come down the street as we enjoyed the best green chili I've had in awhile! After lunch we went out to mingle with the racers. 

Elrod

There was one burro that took a liking to me, his name was Elrod. Hubby had to keep intercepting him. I don't have a fondness for horses or burros. 

The race was a 'Haulin Ass Up The Pass' race sanctioned by the Western Pack Burro Ass-ociation. Burros were an integral part of Colorado's mining history. Burros supplied the labor to pull the heavy ore carts in the mines. They were the transportation to get the gold ore out of the mountains. Burros were the prospector's best friend. Today's races are an acknowledgement of the part the Burro played in the search for Colorado's riches. Each burro in the race, regardless of size, had to carry a shovel, a pick, a gold pan. The full size donkeys also had to carry 33lbs of weight. 

miniature donkey

How can anyone be mad when the Ass is as cute as the one in the picture above?