The Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mine, formerly and historically the Cresson Mine, is an active gold mine located near the town of Victor, in the Cripple Creek mining district in the US state of Colorado. The richest gold mine in Colorado history,[1] it is the only remaining significant producer of gold in the state, and produced 322,000 troy ounces of gold in 2019, and reported 3.45 million troy ounces of Proven and Probable Reserves as at December 31, 2019.[2][3][4][5] It was owned and operated by AngloGold Ashanti through its subsidiary, the Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mining Company (CC&V), until 2015, when it sold the mine to Newmont.[6][7][8][9]
Gold mining in the district began in the 1890s, mostly as underground operations, chasing high grade veins. Over 23 million ounces of gold have been recovered from the district since 1890.[8] At 2012 prices ($1600 per troy ounce [11]),[12] this would be worth around US$37 billion.
Warren, Harry & Frank Woods entered the Victor mining scene in when they purchased the Mount Rosa Placer and incorporated the Mt. Rosa Mining, Milling and Land Company on January 9, 1892. This would later become known as the Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mine.[13]
Most of the Cripple Creek properties were consolidated into the Golden Cycle Mining and Reduction Company, and the Carlton Tunnel was completed in 1941. This 6.5 mile long tunnel drained the district down to 3,000 feet. The roasting-cyanidation Carlton Mill opened in March 1951. This mill also tested the first carbon adsorption-desorption process.[14]:110–111,113
The current open cut operation dates back to 1995.[8] The operation became part of AngloGold in March 1999, when the company acquired the Independence Mining Company and thereby 66% of the mine. AngloGold merged with junior partner Golden Cycle Gold Corporation in 2008 and thereby acquired the remaining 33% of the project.[10][16]
The mine is a low-cost, low-yield open pit operation, with grades well below one gram of gold per tonne of ore. In recent years, 2008 and 2009, the mine accounted for 5% of AngloGold Ashanti's worldwide production. It is the company's only active operation in the United States.[10] In 2008, the State of Colorado and Teller County granted the mine a mine-life extension.[17]
Production and grade of the mine have steadily declined over the last few years, while the total production costs have risen from US$372 an ounce in 2007 to US$475 in 2009. The mine employed 562 people in 2009, of which 367 were permanent employees.[17]
In August 2015, the mine was sold to Newmont.[7] In December 2024, Newmont sold the mine to SSR Mining.[18]
Cresson Vug
On 24 November 1914, Dick Roelofs was supervising the exploration of the mine to the 1300 level, when a large gold-filled vug was blasted open on the 1200 level. The next day, Roelof, a mine owner and an attorney explored the "cave of sparkling jewels". The vug measured 14 feet wide, 23 feet long, 36 feet high, which took a month to empty, and yielded 60,000 troy ounces of gold.[14]:78–80
Two "Aladdin's caves of gold" were discovered in August 1953, on the 3100 foot level of Ajax Mine, Battle Mountain. Sylvanite and Calaverite covered the walls. Mine superintendent M.H. Grice stated, "It is a sight a mining man may see but once in a lifetime..."[14]:114
Production
This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(August 2022)
Town of Cripple Creek and CC&V (Cresson) Mine, 2012High-grade Calaverite (gold telluride) ore from the Cresson mine. Specimen size 2.6 x 2.1 x 1.1 cm. Individual calaverite crystals up to 9 mm, in frosted grey quartz.
At the bottom of the Cresson Pipe pit. The pipe is a phonolite. Notice the dike in the middle.
Looking into the Cresson Pipe pit. Notice the leach pile on the upper right.
Approximately 250 tons being unloaded into the crusher.
Looking into the Fuller-Traylor NT Gyratory Crusher, which reduces the ore to fragments of 3/4 of an inch or less. The mine also employs an Excel MP Cone Crusher.
Historic shafts reached depths of 3000 feet. However, today, the mine strictly uses surface mining.
Geophysical exploration for old stopes. Notice the stope tunnel on the next bench up, and in the middle.
A new leaching pad being constructed where the ore will be leached in 100 feet layers, extracting the silver-gold-telluride from the mostly lamprophyrediatremebreccias.
Milling facility for extracting higher grade ores.
Cross, W., and Penrose, R.A.F., 1895, Geology and Mining Industries of the Cripple Creek District, Colorado, USGS, Washington: Government Printing Office
Lindgren, W., and Ransome, F.L., 1904, Geological Resurvey of the Cripple Creek District, Colorado, USGS Bulleting No. 254, Washington: Government Printing Office
Lindgren, W., and Ransome, F.L., 1906, Geology and Gold Deposits of the Cripple Creek District, Colorado, USGS Professional Paper No. 54, Washington: Government Printing Office
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
