Gold Panning & Abandoned Gold Mines in Colorado
The mineral belt of Colorado is well known for its rich occurrence of minerals but Gold was the main attraction for the Gold Rush of the 1850's & 1860's. Gold is still being found today in this rich mineral belt and can be collected by panning many of Colorado's streams and rivers but it can also be found in small quantities along with the many associated minerals at the many abandoned gold mines in the state. Thanks to the early Colorado gold miners, there are many abandoned gold producing mines on public lands. These abandoned mines afford many opportunities for the novice to find their own gold and hunt for the many minerals associated with gold.
Colorado Gold Rush
Most people know of the California gold rush and the historic 49'ers but Colorado also has a very storied and larger gold rush of it's own. Gold was actually discovered in Colorado in 1849 and 1850 by prospectors heading to the California gold rush; however, the amounts of gold found in the South Platte river were not enough to keep these early Colorado prospectors from the much-hyped wealth of the California gold rush. It wasn't until 1859 that the Colorado gold rush was officially in full swing on the front range of Colorado around Denver and Pikes Peak in Colorado Springs. The Colorado gold rush was the largest in American history and these prospectors were called the 59'ers for the peak year of the rush. The boom continued until around 1861 when most of the placer gold had been panned. The focus then turned towards hard rock mining but in those early days, the technique for extracting the gold from the sulphide ores was not productive. This extraction process was later improved and prospectors began searching other parts of the state for gold ore deposits. It is estimated that Colorado has over 23,000 abandoned mines, many of which are gold mines on public lands and open to anyone who wishes to poke around.
A Golden River
The Arkansas River starts in Leadville Colorado about 30 miles north of Buena Vista Colorado and offers up some very challenging Class IV & V rapids for the whitewater enthusiast. For the rock hounds of the world it also offers up a unique form of recreation called gold panning. I know it may sound antique to some of you, conjuring up visions of old-timers with a floppy old hat with a foot long gray beard kneeling over a stream and an old mule standing behind him. Yeah, I must admit, it may feel kind of corny bending over a stream or river with a gold pan in your hand but panning for gold is a very fun and relaxing hobby to many rock hounds in the world. For many of those rock hounds, it is more like an addition to the repertoire of outdoor activities they enjoy rather than a full blown hooby but judging by the number of people that can be found using sluice boxes and panning machines, it is definitely an enjoyable and sometimes profitable hobby to many people.
How to Pan for Gold
To pan for gold, fill the pan up about 1/4 full with sand and rock from the river. A good tip is to find a big boulder in the river and try to get the sand that is on the down stream side of the boulder. The water slows down as it eddies around the back side of the boulder hopefully allowing gold particles to “fall out” of the fast moving water. Pick out the rocks that are bigger than a dime and discard them, you won't find gold nuggets in the Arkansas. Now you are ready to begin panning! Dip the pan and sand partly under water and swirl it around in a circular motion letting the brown sand fall out into the water. Every once in a while stop and mix up the sand in your pan with you hand. The idea is that gold will be the heaviest particles in the pan so you want to keep swirling it to ensure the gold works it's way to the bottom of the pan. Dip the pan back in the water and swirl it in a circular motion some more letting the brown sand fall out. Repeat this process several times until the brown sand is mostly gone and you start seeing black sand. This black sand is hematite and is heavier than the brown sand but still lighter than gold. So the gold will be hiding in that black sand in your pan. You can keep swirling the black sand out but be careful at this point because swirling out to much black sand could swirl out some gold. The technique is learned as go. A good goal is to keep swirling until you have only about a 1/8-cup of sand in your pan. At this point you can put a little water in the pan and let the water drag the black sand towards the other side of the pan. You should see some gold flakes sprinkled in the black sand as it pulls back from the edge of the pan. Congratulations, you are now the proud owner of genuine gold dust!
Hunting for Gold & Mineral Collecting on Abandoned Gold Mines
Mary Murphy mine – This mine was a major gold producer operating from 1870 to 1925 and produced 220,000 ounces of gold. It also produced significant amounts of Lead, Zinc and Silver. On the dumps today you can still find very nice samples of Galena (lead), chalcopyrite, sphalerite (zinc) and some poorer quality rhodochrosite. I have personally collected very nice display specimens of galena and sphalerite with chalcopyrite, pyrite and quartz crystals. On occasion I have found some very light pink rhodochrosite but not very good quality. The better quality stuff may be there, I just haven't found any. These minerals can be found within cavities of the rocks and boulders on the mine dumps. There is a certain type of mine rock to look for. These are the ore rocks that have the galena, sphalerite, pyrite and chalcopyrite and the ones most likely to contain cavities with nice quartz points. It is hard to describe what to look for other than a dull steel gray looking rock. This steel gray color is the galena that has tarnished as it has been exposed to the elements. Once you break open that rock it will be very shiny! To find these nice pieces you may need to “dig” down into the mine dump a little. Once you find a rock to open, look for small crevices that could contain larger cavities inside the rock. It may require quite a bit of effort but the rewards will be worth it. This mine is unique to the many I have visited in that the old Mill buildings and the Mill itself are all still standing. The stamp mill is no longer there but the old steam boiler and the Mill chutes and ore buckets can all be visited for an up close look. The old miner bunkhouse and coal buildings are also still standing. Overall this mine affords a very experience unlike most others in the state. To get to this mine, From Salida or Poncha Springs go north on US 285 to County road 162 in Nathrop. Follow this road to the Iron City/St Elmo area and look for the Forest Service road 295 to the Mary Murphy Mine. There are signs pointing to the Mary Murphy Mine along the way.
Czar Mine – This mine sits on a pretty steep slope and the mine dump encompasses several hundred feet of the slope making it a little treacherous. That being said, I loved exploring this mine site because of the steep slope. With the slope, the mine dump is not deep like most are which allows the collector more opportunity to find that nice specimen that might other wise be buried on most mine dumps. This mine produced, gold, silver, lead, zinc and copper. Most of the specimens here will be typical metallic mine gangue minerals but this mine does not appear to picked over like most mines I have been too. I found many different mineral specimens that I wanted to keep and at the end of the day, I was forced to pick through my finds to decide which ones to keep. According to www.Mindat.org, there are only 5 minerals reported at this mine but I did find what appears to be copper. I have found copper from abandoned mines in Michigan soI know what it looks like and I am 99% sure that is what this is. The majority of what I collected here are nice cavities or vugs of quartz crystals with pyrite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite and galena. These cavities can be absolutely gorgeous especially when the metallic minerals have crystallized onto the quartz points. Some of the vugs contained quartz points about an inch long. There are also several old mine buildings at this site and the old ore chute still remains. Not surprisingly, I found many nice specimens under the ore chute. The views of the mountains and the valley below are also stunning. The mine is the middle of an aspen grove so along with the views, the aspens, the mine buildings and the smell of sulphur in the air, you get a really good feel for what it must have been like to be a miner back in the day. To get to this mine, travel west on US Hwy 50 from Gunnison to Hwy 149. At Hwy 149, cross Blue Mesa reservoir and go South to Lake City (approx 55 miles). In Lake City look for County road 20. It should be marked as the Engineer pass/Alpine loop road. Follow County road 20 to Capitol City (Approx 9 miles) Capitol City is just a few homes not a town. Here you will see a crossroads, take the one to the right up the hill. This is a 4-wheel drive road.