Timeline of mining in Colorado

Last updated

Colorado Mineral Belt Colorado Mineral Belt.svg
Colorado Mineral Belt

Colorado mining history is a chronology of precious metal mining (e.g., mining for gold and silver), fuel extraction (e.g., mining for uranium and coal), building material quarrying (iron, gypsum, marble), and rare earth mining (titanium, tellurium).

Contents

The Uravan Mineral Belt (UMB) is on the west side of the state, and the Colorado Mineral Belt (COMB) is a large area of the state had gold/silver booms. Outside of the UMB & COMB, the Denver Basin produced small amounts of gold, and the Cripple Creek district had a different gold boom.

Mining events

Chronology
DateTypeDistrictEvent
2011 uranium UMBThe Pinon Ridge Mill construction in Paradox Valley near Bedrock, Colorado, was approved by the Environmental Protection Agency on October 26, 2011. [1]
2009uraniumUMBThe price of uranium dropped between 2007 and 2009. In 2009 it cost more per pound to mine the uranium than it could be sold for and, as a result, the last working uranium mine closed that year. [2] [lower-alpha 1]
2008goldGold HillThe only working underground mine in Colorado in 2008 was the Cash mine, built in 1872, at Gold Hill in Boulder County. Each ton of ore yields about .75 ounce of gold at the mine, which daily extracts about 50 tons of ore. [4]
2004 nahcolite Piceance Basin American Soda pilot project that mined via fracturing ended after 3.75 years. [5]
2004coalOut of 30 states that produce coal, Colorado was the sixth largest producer of coal in the country. In 2010, Colorado was the eleventh largest producer. [6]
1999LeadvilleThe last working mine in the Leadville mining district, the Black Cloud Mine, closed in 1999. [6]
1996gemstonesState Line Kimberlite DistrictThe Kelsey Lake Diamond Mine produced quality diamonds up to 26 carats beginning in 1996. [6]
1995 molybdenum Leadville The Climax mine, the country's largest molybdenum mine, was put on care and maintenance status for years. [7] After a long shutdown, the Climax mine reopened and resumed shipment of molybdenum on May 10, 2012. [6]
1995gold Cripple Creek Large-scale open pit gold mining began at Cripple Creek & Victory Gold Mining Company's Cresson Mine and by 2003 had produced 1.62 million gold ounces. [8] The Cripple Creek district has been the largest producer of gold in the state, with more than 22 million ounces mined. [6]
1991goldRio Grande CountyThe Summitville mine (now a Superfund site) was served with a cease and desist order by the state government concerned with metal levels in water run-off. [9]
1972uraniumWestern ColoradoThe United States Congress created the 15-year Grand Junction Remedial Action Plan in 1972 to clean up sites, like the Climax mill and a total of 594 buildings, that were contaminated during uranium processing. [10] Realizing the implications at other uranium sites in the country, Congress then passed the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act, which resulted in the clean-up of nine mills in Colorado, including other Grand Junction area mills, Durango, Rifle, Maybell, Naturita, and Gunnison mills. [10]
1965uraniumRalston Buttes DistrictThe Schwartzwalder uranium mine, built in 1953, closed in 2000 after producing a total of 17 million pounds of uranium. [6] [10] Contamination was discovered in 2007. [11]
1959aluminumCOMBThe aluminum beer can was introduced by Coors. [12]
1957uranium Grand Junction The Grand Junction Climax Uranium Mill at the United States Atomic Energy Commission (A.E.C.) Compound along the Gunnison River processed 2000 tons of North/South Dakota lignites, confirming their "reserve of uranium". [13]
1956 titanium Iron Hill carbonatite complex DuPont Corporation has purchased property, staked claims, and acquired mineral rights at Iron Hill, which Bradley S. Van Gosen of the US Geological Survey says it is believed to be "the largest known resources of titanium and niobium in the United States." [14]
1954uraniumGateway Coffinite was first identified by Thomas W. Stern of the US Geological Survey in February 1951 in the Gateway district at the La Sal No. 2 Mine. [15]
1943uraniumGrand JunctionThe War Department acquired 54 acres (22 ha) at Grand Junction for a refinery for the Manhattan Project (atomic bomb). [16] There were also mills at Uravan and Durango that were used by the project. [17]
1941iron Pueblo Pueblo's open-hearth steel plant was stated in Colorado, a Guide to the Highest State, which was published in 1941, to have become "the largest steel mill west of the Mississippi River" and "the largest single industrial establishment in Colorado". [18]
1927coal Serene During the Columbine Mine massacre, six unarmed Colorado Fuel and Iron Company miners were killed and dozens more were injured by ex-state policemen using machine guns. [19] See also: Coal Wars (1890-1930)
1923 radium UMBRadium Company of Colorado was one of the "world's foremost producers of radium" [20] until a richer grade of radium from the Belgian Congo made it difficult to compete. Radium mines were closed in Colorado in 1923. [20] [21]
1918molybdenumLeadvilleIn February, Climax, Colorado's 400-ton molybdenum mill went into production. [22]
1917coalHastingsThe Victor American Hastings Mine Disaster, which killed 121 miners in Las Animas County on April 27, was the worst mine disaster in Colorado's history. [23]
1915zincLake CountyG.F. Loughlin described the value of zinc in 1915 as an "extraordinarily high price", [24] which resulted in a 30% increase in the overall value of metals that year in Colorado. [22] Lake County, for instance, saw more than a doubling of the value of zinc sold in 1915 from the previous year, even though production was reduced from 78,763,334 pounds in 1914 to 72,493,170 pounds in 1915. [24]
1913-14coalLudlowThe Colorado Coalfield War (1913–14) began when about 12,000 coal miners when on strike in Ludlow on September 23. Some of the workers were forced from their home and established a tent city, and 26 people were killed on April 20, 1914, at the makeshift settlement by agents of the coal mine owners. [25] See also: Ludlow Massacre
1913radiumDenverThe National Radium Institute was founded in 1913 and its Denver plant began production in June 1914. [26] It was a Superfund site in 1983. [27] [lower-alpha 2]
1910radiumUMBStandard Chemical Company started producing vanadium and radium in 1910 in Paradox Valley at the Jim Dandy mine, which initiated a radium boom in Colorado. [28]
1907goldColorado CityColorado City's Golden Cycle Mill—considered to be a modern, well-equipment plant—processed Cripple Creek ore economically. [29]
1904goldCripple CreekA fifteen-month strike, precipitated by firing of workers identified as union members and mine owners calling for state intervention, continued into 1904 and resulted in explosions that killed non-union workers, violence, deaths due to unsafe equipment, mine owners "jockeying" for control, and intervention by the military. [30] For instance, the mining camp at Dunnville was captured by a trainload of soldiers that defeated union miners. [31]
1903goldOld Colorado CityGovernor James Hamilton Peabody sent troops to Colorado City in 1903 to settle a miner's strike. They set up Camp Peabody at what became the 1903 Colorado Labor War. [32] Old Colorado City was the location of a 1903 labor strike that spread to Cripple Creek and eventually led to the Colorado Labor Wars. [33]
1901aluminumCOMB Bauxite was reported to have been recently discovered near Buena Vista, Colorado. [34]
1900goldCripple CreekCripple Creek produced more than $18 million (equivalent to $659,232,000in 2023) in gold, which was more than 2/3 of the gold production for Colorado that year. [35]
1900uraniumUMBThe first mill for radioactive metals was built on La Sal Creek by Charles Poulot and Charles Voilleque. [36] It produced 15,000 pounds of uranium oxide and then closed in 1902. One year later Western Refining Company operated the mill until 1904. [37]
1899 tungsten NederlandOres containing tungsten were found in Nederland, Boulder County. [38] In 1910, 1,221 tons of tungsten was produced in Boulder County. [39]
1898 gypsum Perry Park Gypsum has been quarried in the Ralston Creek formation, near Perry Park, beginning in 1898. [40]
1898uraniumUMBTen tons of a particularly rich shipment of carnotite (15% vanadium(V) oxide and 20% triuranium octoxide) was made from the Copper Prince claim on Roc Creek. [41]
1898uraniumUMB Carnotite was discovered in western Montrose County, Colorado in late 1897 or early 1898 and named [lower-alpha 3] by Charles Poulet, who built an 1899 mill in the McIntyre mining district of San Miguel County. [44] [43]
1896-09goldCripple CreekCripple Creek ores were processed through a new Colorado-Philadelphia chlorination mill installed at Colorado City. [45]
1896-07silverLeadvilleThe Leadville Miners' Strike by a local organization of the Western Federation of Miners unsuccessfully attempted to get higher wages.
1894-05goldCripple CreekWorkers of the Western Federation of Miners went on strike, creating the Cripple Creek miners' strike of 1894. A key bargaining issue was creation of an eight-hour-workday. Governor Davis Hanson Waite sent in the militia to maintain peace—after several deputies and strikers were killed—and to mediate bargaining. [45] [46]
1893goldCripple CreekThe first chlorination plant for the district's ore was erected by Edward Holden. [47]
1892ironLeadvilleIn 1892, 3,110 tons of manganiferous iron was shipped from Leadville. [48]
1892goldCripple Creek and CreedeBoth Cripple Creek and Creede experienced mining booms. [49] One year later, Cripple Creek had the largest gold discovery in the state's history. [6]
1890goldCripple CreekGold was discovered in Cripple Creek, which resulted in rapid growth of mining in the area. [50]
1887carbonate oreLeadvilleLeadville produced almost one half of the Colorado's metals from carbonate ore for the year, valued at a $12,072,967.81 (equivalent to $409,407,753in 2023). [51]
1886-09gold Manhattan Mining District A "rich strike" was discovered west of Fort Collins [52] in September 1886 between the Seven Mile and Elk Horn creeks. [53] [54] This resulted in a rush of miners to the area along Manhattan Creek. [53] [55]
1885zincClear Creek, Summit and Lake countiesZinc, an undesirable byproduct of mining other ores, was first recovered in Colorado in 1885 [48] in Clear Creek, Summit and Lake counties. [56]
1882aluminumColorado Springs Cryolite was discovered by October 1882 at St. Peter's Dome near Pike's Peak. [57] [58]
1882coalColorado SpringsThe completion of the Denver and New Orleans Railroad in July, 1882 was instrumental in the effective production and shipment of coal from the Franceville Mine. It became the first coal mine that was "worked to any extent", according to Colorado's state coal-mine inspector. [59]
1881uraniumUMBTom Talbert discovered the yellow uranium-vanadiaum of the Colorado Plateau on Roc Creek, near the town of Uranium. [60] [61] Western Colorado is the country's oldest uranium mining area. [62]
1880LeadvilleColorado's first labor strike required intervention by the state militia. [46]
1879molybdenumClimaxMolybdenum was discovered in 1879 near Climax. [6]
1879silverLeadvilleThe Colorado Silver Boom began after a large deposits of silver was found in Leadville, which was one of the first boom towns. This led to another surge in the territory's population, aided by railroad service. [63] For instance, Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad was in Leadville by 1880. [48]
1878coal Erie The first Knights of Labor mining labor organization in Colorado was formed by Erie coal miners. [64] Mining labor unions continued to be formed thereafter. [46]
1877leadLeadvilleLead was found in California Gulch, which led to construction of a smelter that year, and soon after the founding of the town named Leadville. [65]
1874gold Lake City Enos Hotchkiss found a gold lode, originally called Golden Fleece, in Hinsdale County near Lake City. The mine was in production for 50 years. [66]
1873copperPark CountyA copper reverberatory furnace was installed by the Mount Lincoln Smelting Works at the Dudley Smelter in Park County in August to produce copper matte. It ran until January 25, 1874. [67]
1873marble Crystal River Valley Yule Marble was discovered in the Crystal River Valley and was used in the Tomb of the Unknowns soldier memorials, Colorado State Capitol, and the outer facade, columns and upper steps of the Lincoln Memorial. [68] [69]
1872 tellurium Tellurium BeltTellurium was discovered in Colorado on Boulder County's Gold Hill in the Red Cloud Mine. [70] The tellurium belt through the Gold Hill, Sugar Loaf, Magnolia, and Sunshine districts of Boulder County is 3 to 6 miles (4.8 to 9.7 km) wide and 15 to 20 miles (24 to 32 km) long. [71]
1871uranium Central City-Idaho SpringsThe first pitchblende (Uraninite) identified in the United States was found at the Wood gold mine in Central City. For several years, small amounts of high quality uranium were taken as a byproduct from gold mining at the Kirk and Wood gold mines on Quartz Hill. [72]
1867-06goldBlack HawkBoston & Chicago Smelting Company built an experimental smelter in June 1867 in Black Hawk, which was operational in January 1868. [73] [74]
1866silver-leadGeorgetownSilver-lead deposits were found in 1866 in Georgetown, in 1874 in Leadville, and about 1880 in Aspen. [75]
1864-09silverArgentineThe first paying silver mine, the Belmont lode, was found 8 miles (13 km) above Georgetown on McClellan Mountain, [73] by Robert Layton, James Huff, and Governor Robert Williamson Steele on September 14. [76] [77] This led to a rush to mine silver in the Argentine district over the next three years. [73]
1864silver Montezuma Silver was first discovered at the headwaters of South Clear Creek on Glacier mountain at the Coaley claim. This location is one mile south the current town of Montezuma in Summit County. [73] [78] The silver had a high lead content. [76]
1864goldLeadvilleThe placers near Leadville were exhausted within four years. [79] In April 1860, one of the richest discoveries of Colorado placer gold was discovered at California Gulch, the site of Oro City. [80] [81] Another rich discovery was made at McNulty Gulch along the headwaters of Tenmile Creek. [82]
1863coalBoulderJoseph W. Marshall, owner the Consolidated Coal Company, [83] operated the first commercial coal mine in Marshall, near Boulder, beginning in 1863. [84] [lower-alpha 4]
1861gold Gilpin County Within Gilpin County, there are trials of multiple mining methods, including use of chemicals, fire, steam and other crushers. [73] Events in 1861 affected gold mining production: the outbreak of the Civil War and the creation of the Colorado Territory. [73] [86] :46–49 Gold production fell as miners left Colorado to enlist as soldiers during the Civil War. In addition, much of the gold that was on the surface or easy to attain had been exploited, so miners had to sink mine shafts and change their methods for mining for complex refractory ores. [86] :49 This resulted in an end of the Pike's Peak Gold Rush. [87]
1860-07gold Russell Gulch A consolidated ditch was completed in July 1860 that delivered water from Fall River to Russell Gulch, [73] south of Central City, along two ditches for hydraulic mining. [88] [lower-alpha 5]
1860-07goldDenverAustin Clark, Milton Clark, and Emanuel H. Gruber first minted gold coins, many patterned after federal issues, from their Denver bank and assay office beginning July 1860. [89] [90] [lower-alpha 6] See also: Denver Mint
1859-08goldSummit County"Rich gold placers" were found in August and September 1859 along Georgia Gulch in what is now Breckenridge, Summit County. Summit County is Colorado's top placer gold producer, most of it coming from the southern Tenmile and Breckenridge districts. [73] [91]
1859-07goldCentral City-Black HawkOn July 5, J. D. Peregrine installed the first water powered arrastra at Gregory Diggings, near Black Hawk. [92] [93]
1859-05goldCentral CityOn May 6, John H. Gregory discovered the first lode vein at Gregory Diggings", [lower-alpha 7] now in Central City, on Clear Creek's North Fork. When news of the find spread, the population of Gregory increased to 10,000 from 15 in one month and the summer saw of flood of "Pikes Peak or Bust" gold seekers across the plains for Rocky Mountain settlements. [73] [86] :41–43 [lower-alpha 8]
1859-04goldIdaho SpringsAmong the discoveries in 1859, George A. Jackson's discovery of pay placer gold on South Clear Creek, later called Chicago Creek, [73] was an important gold discovery in Colorado, which helped fuel further participation in the Pike's Peak Gold Rush. [76] [86] :37–40 Discoveries continued in other locations in the current state of Colorado throughout the year. There were also as many people who returned to their homes the first half of 1859—frustrated by the effort, Indian attacks, and reports of a starved group that resorted to cannibalism—as those who tried to find gold in earnest. [86] :40–43 [lower-alpha 9]
1858gold Montana City Montana City was established north of the site of the 1857 find by William Green Russell and was the first settlement of modern Denver. The gold findings were unsatisfactory and the settlement was abandoned in 1859. [95] [96] The Pike's Peak Gold Rush began as other prospecting parties looked for gold at other Colorado sites. [97] [86] :37–40
1857-06gold Englewood William Green Russell outfitted in Leavenworth, Kansas and led a group of prospectors, including Cherokee Native Americans, that found gold near Little Dry Creek of the South Platte River. [97] [86] :35–37 Author Caroline Bancroft states that Green was the "greatest single cause of the Pikes Peak Rush." [86] :35–37
1850-06goldDenver area Lewis Ralston, and other Cherokee prospectors, en route to the California Gold Rush panned small amounts of gold in June at Ralston Creek, South Platte River, and Cherry Creek. The party continued to California's Gold Country. [97] [86] :35 [lower-alpha 10]
1848goldLake CityGold was said to be found near the present Lake City by a member of the John C. Frémont mapping expedition of the West, but "the spot is unmarked and was unheralded." [97] [66] See 1874 Lake City item.
1807goldSouth Park districts Zebulon Pike recorded in his journal that James Pursley [98] or Purcell [99] had shown him some gold nuggets in Santa Fe, New Mexico that Purcell said that he found in South Park. Pike, though, questioned the finding. [98] [99]
1758gold Antoine-Simon Le Page du Pratz's map depicted a source of gold north of the Arkansas River near a tributary running from a mountain, which he described "a rivulet whose waters rolled down gold dust." [100] His map, however, was "clouded with so much doubt and uncertainty, that no dependence could be placed upon it", according to Antonio de Alcedo and George Alexander Thompson in 1814. [101]
Miocene goldCripple Creek Breccia rock of pre-Cambrian gneiss, schist, and granite in a caldera created during the Miocene age is the source of most gold in the Cripple Creek district. [102]
Eocene coalThe Dakota Group formed with coal deposits east of the Rocky Mountains, such as the modern Denver [103]

Mining organizations

Chronology
DateLocationOrganization
1992 Creede The mining portion of the Creede Underground Mining Museum was completed. [104]
1970Colorado SpringsThe Museum of the West was incorporated and was renamed the 1972 Western Museum of Mining & Industry.
1949Lulu CityThe National Park Service purchased the Lulu City, Colorado mining settlement, which was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.
1891PuebloPueblo's Mineral Palace was completed with "a ceiling formed of 28 domes [and] specimens of all the minerals produced in the State." [105]
1882DenverNational Mining Exposition ("Industrial Exposition") opened in Denver. [106]
1876DenverThe Colorado Mining Association formed (incorporated 1897).
1870 Golden City Territorial School of Mines construction began in 1870 by George Maxwell Randall, an Episcopal Bishop. It was sold in 1874 to the Territory of Colorado and is now the Colorado School of Mines.

See also

Notes

  1. The Sunday Complex, West Sunday, Sunday/St. Jude, and Topaz uranium mines were in operation between 2007 and 2009, but all were closed by or in 2009. [3]
  2. The former National Radium Institute and Superfund site, is now occupied by a Home Depot store. [27]
  3. In honor of French mining engineer Marie-Adolphe Carnot [42] or French president Marie François Sadi Carnot. [43]
  4. James Whiteside, author of Regulating Danger: The Struggle for Mine Safety in the Rocky Mountain Coal Industry states that 1863 is the first reliably reported date for commercial coal mining in Colorado. He speculates that residents may have been taking coal from the surface since 1859 when the area was settled. [84] The Walking Into Colorado's Past: 50 Front Range History Hikes book states that William A. Kitchens discovered coal in Marshall in 1859 and sold the property to James Marshall in the mid-1860s. [85]
  5. It cost $100,000 (equivalent to $3,391,111in 2023) to build the ditches to transport the water about twelve miles. [88]
  6. Clark, Gruber and Company is the only commercial bank until then and since to issue its own coins. [89] The United States government purchased the Denver establishment in April 1862. [73]
  7. It was also called "claim no. 5 on the Gregory lode". [76]
  8. Soon after, the area became part of the self-proclaimed Jefferson Territory. [94] Legally, lands in the present state of Colorado were in the Kansas and Nebraska Territories until 1861. [86] :46
  9. An estimate of this rush and counter-rush has placed the number of gold-seekers who set out from the Missouri River during the entire spring of 1859 at 100,000. Probably 50,000 of these reached the end of their journey. And at least 25,000 of those who arrived at the Cherry Creek settlement were so discouraged that they returned home after a brief stay." [86] :43
  10. According to Henderson, the year may have been 1849, 1850, or 1852. [97]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victor, Colorado</span> City in Colorado, United States

The City of Victor is a Statutory City in Teller County, Colorado, United States. Gold was discovered in Victor in the late 19th century, an omen of the future of the town. With Cripple Creek, the mining district became the second largest gold mining district in the country and realized approximately $10 billion of mined gold in 2010 dollars. It reached its peak around the turn of the century when there were about 18,000 residents in the town. Depleted ore in mines, labor strife and the exodus of miners during World War I caused a steep decline in the city's economy, from which it has never recovered. The population was 379 at the 2020 census. There is a resumed mining effort on Battle Mountain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denver Basin</span> Geologic structural basin in the U.S.

The Denver Basin, variously referred to as the Julesburg Basin, Denver-Julesburg Basin, or the D-J Basin, is a geologic structural basin centered in eastern Colorado in the United States, but extending into southeast Wyoming, western Nebraska, and western Kansas. It underlies the Denver-Aurora Metropolitan Area on the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains.

Eldorado Resources was a Canadian mining company active between 1926 and 1988. The company was originally established by brothers Charles and Gilbert LaBine as a gold mining enterprise in 1926, but transitioned to focus on radium in the 1930s and uranium beginning in the 1940s. The company was nationalized into a Crown corporation in 1943 when the Canadian federal government purchased share control. Eldorado Resources was merged with the Saskatchewan Mining Development Corporation in 1988 and the resulting entity was privatized as Cameco Corporation. The remediation of some mining sites and low-level nuclear waste continue to be overseen by the Government of Canada through Canada Eldor Inc., a subsidiary of the Canada Development Investment Corporation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manhattan, Colorado</span> Ghost town located north of Rustic in Larimer County, Colorado, United States

Manhattan is a ghost town located 4 miles (6.4 km) north of Rustic in Larimer County, Colorado, United States at an elevation of 8,474 feet (2,583 m). It became a mining town after discovery of gold in the area in September 1886. The area was difficult to mine and produced small quantities of gold, and the population dropped off by the turn of the century. The land was acquired by the United States Forest Service and by 1933, the remaining structures were dismantled because they were considered a fire hazard, but a cemetery remains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paradox, Colorado</span> Unincorporated community in Colorado, United States

Paradox is an unincorporated community and a U.S. Post Office located in the Paradox Valley, Montrose County, Colorado, United States. The Paradox Post Office has the ZIP Code 81429.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uranium mining in the United States</span> Uranium mining industry in U.S.

Uranium mining in the United States produced 224,331 pounds (101.8 tonnes) of U3O8 in 2023, 15% of the 2018 production of 1,447,945 pounds (656.8 tonnes) of U3O8. The 2023 production represents 0.4% of the uranium fuel requirements of the US's nuclear power reactors for the year. Production came from five in-situ leaching plants, four in Wyoming (Nichols Ranch ISR Project, Lance Project, Lost Creek Project, and Smith Ranch-Highland Operation) and one in Nebraska (Crowe Butte Operation); and from the White Mesa conventional mill in Utah.

Gold mining in Colorado, a state of the United States, has been an industry since 1858. It also played a key role in the establishment of the state of Colorado.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uranium mining in Colorado</span>

Uranium mining in Colorado, United States, goes back to 1872, when pitchblende ore was taken from gold mines near Central City, Colorado. The Colorado uranium industry has seen booms and busts, but continues to this day. Not counting byproduct uranium from phosphate, Colorado is considered to have the third largest uranium reserves of any US state, behind Wyoming and New Mexico.

Silver mining in Colorado has taken place since the 1860s. In the past, Colorado called itself the Silver State.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uranium mining in Utah</span>

Uranium mining in Utah, a state of the United States, has a history going back more than 100 years. Uranium mining started as a byproduct of vanadium mining about 1900, became a byproduct of radium mining about 1910, then back to a byproduct of vanadium when the radium price fell in the 1920s. Utah saw a uranium boom in the late 1940s and early 1950s, but uranium mining declined in the 1980s. Since 2001 there has been a revival of interest in uranium mining, as a result of higher uranium prices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uranium mining in Canada</span>

Canada is the world's second-largest producer of uranium, behind Kazakhstan. In 2009, 20% of the world's primary uranium production came from mines in Canada. 14.5% of the world production came from one mine, McArthur River. Currently, the only producing area in Canada is northern Saskatchewan, although other areas have had active mines in the past.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mine</span> Open pit mine near Victor, Colorado, US

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, 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. 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 Mining Corporation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bibliography of Colorado</span> Bibliography of the U.S. State of Colorado

This is a bibliography of the U.S. State of Colorado.

Roswell, now annexed into the city of Colorado Springs, Colorado, was a coal mine settlement near the northern bluffs of Colorado Springs and a 19th-century railroad junction. The town was located at roughly the present intersection of Fillmore Street and North Nevada Avenue in Colorado Springs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pikeview, Colorado</span>

Pikeview is a neighborhood of Colorado Springs, annexed to the city as the "Pike View Addition" on August 1, 1962. In 1896 there was a Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad station in Pikeview, and miners had begun digging a shaft for the Pikeview Coal Mine. Pikeview also had a quarry beginning 1905 for the mining of limestone for concrete. Coal mining ended in 1957, but the Pikeview Quarry continues to operate. Quarry operations, though, have created a gash or scar in the landscape and efforts have been made since the late 1980s to reclaim the hillside landscape. The Greg Francis Bighorn Sheep Habitat in what had been Queens Canyon Quarry was founded in 2003 in recognition of the individuals and organizations that have worked to create a nature hillside habitat.

The National Radium Institute (NRI) was an organization incorporated in 1913 to extract radium from US domestic sources for use in cancer treatment and possible industrial use and in the process to develop more efficient methods of radium extraction. It was headquartered in Denver, Colorado. The institute was a joint project initiated by Dr. Howard Kelly a physician at Johns Hopkins University, and James S. Douglas, a mining executive and philanthropist, in cooperation with the US Bureau of Mines.

St. Peter's Dome is a granite-topped peak on Pikes Peak massif in the Pike National Forest. The peak, at 9,528 feet (2,904 m) in elevation, is located in El Paso County, Colorado, above Colorado Springs. It is located about 8 miles (13 km) from Colorado Springs along Old Stage and Gold Camp Roads. Old Stage Road is picked up behind The Broadmoor and Gold Camp Road winds through Cheyenne Canyon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheyenne Mountain</span> Mountain in El Paso County, Colorado, US

Cheyenne Mountain is a triple-peaked mountain in El Paso County, Colorado, southwest of downtown Colorado Springs. The mountain serves as a host for military, communications, recreational, and residential functions. The underground operations center for the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) was built during the Cold War to monitor North American airspace for missile launches and Soviet military aircraft. Built deep within granite, it was designed to withstand the impact and fallout from a nuclear bomb. Its function broadened with the end of the Cold War, and then many of its functions were transferred to Peterson Air Force Base in 2006.

In the mid-19th century, Colorado Springs was a center of mining industry activity. Coal was mined in 50 mines in the area and towns, now annexed to Colorado Springs, were established to support residents of the coal mining industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Franceville, Colorado</span>

Franceville was a coal mining town and railroad post office in eastern El Paso County, Colorado, about five miles from the town of Falcon and twelve miles east of Colorado Springs. The Franceville post office operated from November 2, 1881, until May 14, 1894. The town was located on land owned by Matt France. There were 120 people in the town in 1885.

References

  1. "Pinon Ridge Uranium Mill Rad NESHAPs Construction Approval" (PDF). United States Environmental Protection Agency. October 26, 2014.
  2. Thomas M. Power; Donovan S. Power (December 2010). "A Socioeconomic Analysis of the Impact of the Proposed Piñon Ridge Uranium Project on Western Mesa, Montrose, and San Miguel Counties, Colorado" (PDF). pp. 2, 74. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
  3. "US Uranium Mining and Exploration: US Nuclear Fuel Cycle Appendix 1". World Nuclear Association. November 2014. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
  4. Nick Sutcliffe; Brenden, Harrington (Spring 2008). "Hard Rock Gold Mining". Colorado School of Mines. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
  5. Max Ramey, American Soda; Michael Hardy, Agapito Associates, Inc (Fall 2004). "The History and Performance of Vertical Well Solution Mining of Nahcolite (NaHCO3) in the Piceance Basin, Northwestern Colorado, USA" (PDF). Solution Mining Research Institute. p. 1. Retrieved January 22, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "History". Colorado Geological Survey. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
  7. U. S. Department of the Interior (January 2011). Minerals Yearbook, 2007, V. 2, Area Reports, Domestic. Government Printing Office. pp. 8–2. ISBN   978-1-4113-3027-6.
  8. "Cripple Creek" (PDF). Rocktalk. 6 (2). Colorado Geological Survey: 4. April 2003. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
  9. "Summitville Mine Superfund Site Five-Year Review". State of Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. September 2005. Retrieved January 22, 2015 via Colorado State Publications Library Digital Repository.
  10. 1 2 3 "History of Uranium Prospecting and Mining in Colorado—a Story of Boom and Bust" (PDF). Rocktalk. 9 (2). Colorado Geological Survey. Fall 2006. Retrieved 2013-02-16.
  11. Bruce Finley (May 20, 2010). "Water providers raise alert over uranium pollution from mine". The Denver Post. Retrieved January 22, 2015.
  12. The Oxford Companion to Beer. Oxford University Press. 9 September 2011. p. 266. ISBN   978-0-19-991210-0.
  13. Summary Report 1954-1959: Raw Materials Development Laboratory, Winchester, Massachusetts and Grand Junction, Colorado (PDF) (Report). September 30, 1959. Retrieved 2014-02-06.
  14. Bradley S. Van Gosen (2009). "The Iron Hill (Powderhorn) Carbonite Complex" (PDF). US Geological Survey, US Department of the Interior. pp. 2, 23. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
  15. Kathleen Bruÿn (1955). Uranium Country. University of Colorado Press. p. 54.
  16. "Grand Junction, Colorado, Site" (Fact Sheet). United States Department of Energy . Retrieved January 22, 2015.
  17. Educational Foundation for Nuclear Science, Inc. (February 1948). "Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists". Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: Science and Public Affairs. Educational Foundation for Nuclear Science, Inc.: 88. ISSN   0096-3402.
  18. Best Books on; Federal Writers' Project (1941). Colorado, a Guide to the Highest State. Best Books on. p. 75. ISBN   978-1-62376-006-9.
  19. Robert E. Weir (2013). Workers in America: A Historical Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. pp. 155–156. ISBN   978-1-59884-718-5.
  20. 1 2 R.F Mould (1 January 1993). A Century of X-Rays and Radioactivity in Medicine: With Emphasis on Photographic Records of the Early Years. CRC Press. p. 41. ISBN   978-0-7503-0224-1.
  21. W.I. Finch (1957). "Geology of Uranium Deposits in Triassic Rocks of the Colorado Plateau Region". Mineralogic Classification of Uranium-vanadium Deposits of the Colorado Plateau. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 127.
  22. 1 2 Charles William Henderson (1926). Mining in Colorado: a history of discovery, development and production. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. p. 16.
  23. Clare Vernon McKanna (1997). Homicide, Race, and Justice in the American West, 1880-1920 . University of Arizona Press. p.  93. ISBN   978-0-8165-1708-4.
  24. 1 2 G.F. Loughlin (1918). "US Geological Survey Bulletin 681: The Oxidized Zinc Ores from Leadville" (PDF). Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
  25. Ballard C. Campbell (2008). Disasters, Accidents, and Crises in American History: A Reference Guide to the Nation's Most Catastrophic Events. Infobase Publishing. p. 1914. ISBN   978-1-4381-3012-5.
  26. "Formation of National Radium Institute". Bureau of Mines - Bulletin 102. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. 1916. p. 8.
  27. 1 2 Rebecca J. Thomas (January 1999). "Denver Radium Study". Superfund Redevelopment Program. US Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
  28. "History of Uranium Prospecting and Mining in Colorado—a Story of Boom and Bust". Colorado Geological Survey Rocktalk. 9 (2). Colorado Geological Survey: 24. Fall 2006.
  29. F.L. Barker (1908). "Cyaniding Cripple Creek Ores". Colliery Engineer. International Textbook Company. p. 422.
  30. Elizabeth Jameson (2007). "Cripple Creek Strikes: The 1903-1904 strike". In Eric Arnesen (ed.). Encyclopedia of U.S. Labor and Working-class History: G-N; Index. Taylor & Francis. pp. 329–330. ISBN   978-0-415-96826-3.
  31. Tim Blevins, Chris Nicholl, and Calvin P. Otto, eds. (2006). The Colorado Labor Wars: Cripple Creek 1903-1904, A Centennial Commemoration. Pikes Peak Library District. p. 109. ISBN   978-1-56735-223-8.{{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  32. United Mine Workers of America (1907). Proceedings of the ... Annual Convention of the United Mine Workers of America. United Mine Workers of America. p. 277.
  33. Colorado's War on Militant Unionism, James H. Peabody and the Western Federation of Miners, George G. Suggs, Jr., 1972, page 47
  34. J. Ohly (1901). "The Occurrence of Bauxite in Colorado and Wyoming and its Utilization". Mining Reporter. Mining Reporter Publishing Company. p. 190.
  35. Eugene Parsons (January 12, 1918). "The Mines of Colorado". The Mining American. Industrial Reporter Company. p. 2.
  36. Twitty, Eric (March 1992) [July 15, 2008]. Guide to Assessing Historic Radium, Uranium, and Vanadium Mining Resources in Montrose and San Miguel Counties, Colorado (OMB No.1024-0018) (PDF) (Report). p. E-19. Retrieved 2014-03-02.
  37. American Mining Congress (1914). Report of Proceedings of the American Mining Congress: Sixteenth Annual Session, Philadelphia, Pa., October 20-24, 1913. American Mining Congress. p.  227.
  38. Charles William Henderson (1926). Mining in Colorado: a history of discovery, development and production. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. p. 250.
  39. Frank Lee Hess; Waldemar Theodore Schaller (1914). "Geography and Production". Colorado ferberite and the wolframite series. Government Printing Office. p.  7.
  40. Wallace R. Hansen; Eleanor J. Crosby (1982). "Igneous and Metamorphic Rocks: Gypsum". Environmental Geology of the Front Range Urban Corridor and Vicinity, Colorado. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 41.{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  41. R.C. Coffin; et al. (1922). "Radium, Uranium, and Vanadium Deposits of Southwestern Colorado". Economic Geology. Economic Geology Publishing Company. p. 509.
  42. Roger F. Robison (December 1, 2014). Mining and Selling Radium and Uranium. Springer. p. 125. ISBN   978-3-319-11830-7.
  43. 1 2 Thomas F.V. Curran (December 20, 1913). "Carnotite - I". Engineering and Mining Journal. Western & Company. p. 1165.
  44. Hahne, F J (September 1989). Early Uranium Mining in the United States. Fourteenth International Symposium (Report). London: Uranium Institute. Archived from the original (web transcript w/o graphics) on 2014-03-02. Retrieved 2014-03-02.
  45. 1 2 Charles William Henderson (1926). Mining in Colorado: a history of discovery, development and production. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. p. 12.
  46. 1 2 3 Dale Oesterle; Richard Collins (2011). The Colorado State Constitution. Oxford University Press. p. 21. ISBN   978-0-19-977884-3.
  47. Waldemar Lindgren; Frederick Leslie Ransome (1906). Geology and Gold Deposits of the Cripple Creek District, Colorado. U.S. Government Printing Office. p.  139.
  48. 1 2 3 Charles William Henderson (1926). Mining in Colorado: a history of discovery, development and production. Government Printing Office. p. 11.
  49. Will C. Bishop (1913). The Trail: A Magazine for Colorado. W.C. Bishop. p. 9.
  50. Charles William Henderson (1926). Mining in Colorado: a history of discovery, development and production. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. p. 76.
  51. "Leadville: Mining and Smelting". From Plains to Peaks: A Hand-book for Tourists in the Rocky Mountains. Passenger Department of the Colorado Midland Railway. 1888. pp. 38–39.
  52. Sandra Dallas (1 January 1988). Colorado Ghost Towns and Mining Camps. University of Oklahoma Press. pp. 130–131. ISBN   978-0-8061-2084-3.
  53. 1 2 Kenneth Jessen, Correspondent (March 2005). "Manhattan: Poudre Canyon's ghost town". North Forty News. Wellington, Colorado. Retrieved January 20, 2015.{{cite news}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  54. James La Force (2012). Glen Echo, Rustic, and Manhattan. James La Force. pp. 20–21. ISBN   978-1-257-94155-1.
  55. James La Force (2012). Glen Echo, Rustic, and Manhattan. James La Force. p. 21. ISBN   978-1-257-94155-1.
  56. Charles William Henderson (1926). Mining in Colorado: a history of discovery, development and production. Government Printing Office. p. 82.
  57. Cross, C. W.; Hillebrand, W. F. (1883). "On minerals of the cryolite group recently found in Colorado". American Journal of Science. s3-26 (154): 271–294. Bibcode:1883AmJS...26..271C. doi:10.2475/ajs.s3-26.154.271. S2CID   131103050 . Retrieved 2014-03-02.
  58. Charles Abiathar White (1885). On the Mesozoic and Cenozoic Paleontology of 186ornia. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 259.
  59. Geological Survey (U.S.) (1910). "Colorado Springs Coal Field, Colorado: Developments and Markets". Bulletin - United States Geological Survey. The Survey. p.  339.
  60. Lincoln Ridler Page; Harriet B. Smith (1956). Contributions to the Geology of Uranium and Thorium. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 244.
  61. Reuben Clare Coffin (1921). Radium, Uranium and Vanadium Deposits of Southwestern Colorado. Eames brothers, state printers. p. 151.
  62. Jerome G. Morse; David H. Hebb; M. S. Curtin, Colorado School of Mines (1977). Colorado Energy Resources Handbook. Colorado School of Mines. p. 8.
  63. Steven L. Danver (14 May 2013). Encyclopedia of Politics of the American West. SAGE Publications. pp. 76, 81. ISBN   978-1-4522-7606-9.
  64. David Thomas Brundage (1994). The Making of Western Labor Radicalism: Denver's Organized Workers, 1878-1905 . University of Illinois Press. p.  181. ISBN   978-0-252-02075-9.
  65. Charles William Henderson (1926). Mining in Colorado: a history of discovery, development and production. Government Printing Office. p. 10.
  66. 1 2 Carolyn Bauer (May 1987). Colorado Traveler - Colorado Ghost Towns: Remnants of the Mining Days. American Traveler Press. p. 33. ISBN   978-1-55838-067-7.
  67. Charles William Henderson (1926). Mining in Colorado: a history of discovery, development and production. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office. pp. 10, 76, 189, 190.
  68. "Lincoln Memorial Construction". U.S. National Park Service. January 17, 2015. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  69. Elaine S. McGee (1999). "Colorado Yule Marble: Building Stone of the Lincoln Memorial" (PDF). US Geological Survey, Bulletin 2163, US Department of the Interior. US Government Printing Office. pp. 8, 30, 38, 44. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  70. William Crowley Kelly; Edwin Newell Goddard (1969). Telluride Ores of Boulder County, Colorado. Geological Society of America. p. 66. ISBN   978-0-8137-1109-6.
  71. Colorado. Office of State Geologist (1885). Report of E. Le Neve Foster, the State Geologist, Colorado. Denver: Collier & Cleaveland Lithograph Company, State Printers. pp. 21–22.
  72. George Emerson Moore (1963). Bedrock Geology of the Coventry Center Quadrangle, Rhode Island. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 6.
  73. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Charles William Henderson (1926). Mining in Colorado: a history of discovery, development and production. Government Printing Office. p. 9.
  74. U.S. Geological Survey (1917). Professional Paper - United States Geological Survey. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 161.
  75. Luther Crocker Snider (1912). Preliminary report on the lead and zinc of Oklahoma. Co-operative publishing company. p.  3.
  76. 1 2 3 4 Spurr, Josiah Edward; Garrey, George H.; Ball, Sydney Hobart (1908). Geology of the Georgetown Quadrangle, Colorado (Google books) (Report). United States Government Printing Office. p. 173. Retrieved 2014-02-11.
  77. Ovando James Hollister (1867). The Mines of Colorado. S. Bowles. p. 252.
  78. T. S. Lovering & E. N. Goddard (1950), "Geology and Ore Deposits of the Front Range Colorado", US Geological Survey, Professional Paper 223, US Government Printing Office, p. 123
  79. S.M. Voynick (1992). Colorado Gold. Missoula: Mountain Press Publishing Company. pp. 60–61. ISBN   0878424555.
  80. Ben H. Parker Jr. (October 1974). "Colorado School of Mines Quarterly". Gold Placers of Colorado, Book 2. Vol. 69. p. 17.
  81. S.M. Voynick (1992). Colorado Gold. Missoula: Mountain Press Publishing Company. p. 23. ISBN   0878424555.
  82. S.M. Voynick (1992). Colorado Gold. Missoula: Mountain Press Publishing Company. p. 24. ISBN   0878424555.
  83. Mona Lambrecht (5 November 2008). Boulder:: 1859-1919. Arcadia Publishing. p. 28. ISBN   978-1-4396-2070-0.
  84. 1 2 James Whiteside (1990). Regulating Danger: The Struggle for Mine Safety in the Rocky Mountain Coal Industry. University of Nebraska Press. p. 4. ISBN   0-8032-4752-4.
  85. Walking Into Colorado's Past: 50 Front Range History Hikes. Big Earth Publishing. 2006. pp. 101–102. ISBN   978-1-56579-519-8.
  86. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Caroline Bancroft (1 January 1959). Colorful Colorado: Its Dramatic History. Big Earth Publishing. ISBN   978-0-933472-13-6.
  87. Garnet Basque (2012). Gold Panner's Manual. Heritage House Publishing Co. p. 23. ISBN   978-1-927051-37-5.
  88. 1 2 "Hydraulic mining in Russell Gulch". Arthur Lakes Library, Colorado School of Mines, Colorado School of Mines. Archived from the original on January 19, 2015. Retrieved January 17, 2015 via Heritage West, Item #79271.
  89. 1 2 Elizabeth Victoria Wallace (2011). Hidden History of Denver. The History Press. pp. 55–59. ISBN   978-1-60949-350-9.
  90. Heritage Numismatic Auctions, Inc. (1 September 2008). Heritage Numismatic Auctions US Coin Auction Catalog #1117. Heritage Capital Corporation. p. 390. ISBN   978-1-59967-296-0.
  91. A.H. Koschman & M.H. Bergendahl (1968). "Principal Gold-Producing Districts of the United States" (PDF). Geological Survey Professional Paper 610, US Department of the Interior. Washington D.C.: US Government Printing Office. p. 116. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
  92. Mining Reporter. Mining Reporter Publishing Company. 1902. p. 160.
  93. Paul M. O'Rourke (1980). Frontier in Transition: A History of Southwestern Colorado. Colorado State Office, Bureau of Land Management. p.  59.
  94. Dale Oesterle; Richard Collins (2011). The Colorado State Constitution. Oxford University Press. pp. 7–8. ISBN   978-0-19-977884-3.
  95. Wilbur Fiske Stone (1918). History of Colorado. S. J. Clarke. p.  134.
  96. Steve Fisher (20 May 2014). The University of Denver: A History. The History Press. p. 26. ISBN   978-1-62584-811-6.
  97. 1 2 3 4 5 Charles William Henderson (1926). Mining in Colorado: a history of discovery, development and production. Government Print. Office. p. 8.
  98. 1 2 "Gold Discoveries and Their Results". The American Monthly Review of Reviews. Review of Reviews. 1906. p. 337.
  99. 1 2 Robert L. Brown (1994). Central City and Gilpin County: Then and Now. Caxton Press. p. 2. ISBN   978-0-87004-363-5.
  100. Dickman, Edward D (1954). Colorado Lead-Zinc Mines (official survey) (Report). State Mineral Resources Board. Retrieved 2014-02-09.
  101. Antonio de Alcedo; George Alexander Thompson (1814). The Geographical and Historical Dictionary of America and the West Indies: Containing an Entire Translation of the Spanish Work of Colonel Don Antonio de Alcedo. J. Carpenter. p. 316.
  102. A. H. Koschmann, US Department of the Interior (1949). "Structural Control of the Gold Deposits of the Cripple Creek District, Teller County, Colorado" (PDF). Washington D.C.: US Government Printing Office. p. 5. Retrieved January 17, 2015.
  103. Annual Report of the United States Geological and Geographical. Vol. 8. 1876. Retrieved January 17, 2015.
  104. "Creede Underground Mining Museum". Lifetime Legacies Productions and San Luis Valley Museum Association. Archived from the original on February 2, 2015. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
  105. Karl Baedeker (1904). The United States: With an Excursion Into Mexico. K. Baedeker. p. 532.
  106. "Search: National Mining Exposition". Western History/Genealogy Digital Collections. Denver Public Library. Retrieved January 18, 2015.