Colorado School of Mines Geology Museum1310 Maple St.Golden, Colorado 80401 HoursMonday – Saturday: 9AM – 4PMSunday: 1 – 4PM AdmissionFree The Colorado School of Mines Geology Museum boasts the largest collection of Colorado mineral specimens housed in a slick, well curated, 2-story wing on the Colorado School of Mines campus. Notable in the museum’s collection…
Big Brutus lives up to its name. The massive Bucyrus-Erie model 1850-B electric shovel is so large it was abandoned at the location of its final use. Indeed, it was the second largest of its kind in the 1960s and 1970s and the largest shovel still in existence—16 stories tall with a 150-foot long boom and weighing in at 11 million pounds. The dipper can fill three railroad cars with its 90-cubic-yard capacity. It is less of a surprise that the shovel was abandoned, despite the $6.2 million price tag back in 1962, when one learns that it can only move at .22 MPH.
As gold deposits petered out in the Sierra foothills, prospectors who flooded California in 1849 fanned out, many coming south. Despite the harsh environment of modern day Joshua Tree Park, 300 mines were established within the park’s bounds. While most mines in Joshua Tree were poor producers, Lost Horse Mine was an exception: 10,000 ounces…
April continues a monthly trend of decreased activity in 2016 as compared to 2015. There were over 2,000 fewer mining claims authorized last month compared to April 2015. Nevada continues to experience the greatest amount of activity across the states, with 61 staked and 33 abandoned claims over the month of April. Esmeralda, Nevada accounts for 51 of the 61…
Yards from the University of El Paso Sun Bowl Stadium is an often overlooked piece of history: The Practice Mine. As the name would suggest, the Practice Mine was a practical learning tool for students back in the 1919. At that time, University of El Paso was the Texas State School of Mines and Metallurgy….
Chino Mine is one of New Mexico’s standout mines and host to many historic events in mining. It was a critical copper mine supporting Spain’s New World holdings in the early 1800s. It was the hub for many burgeoning mining towns after the Civil War. And it became the test site for one of mining’s most significant innovations: open pit mining. While still an active operation, the diggings are easily observable from a viewing deck which is open daily.
Silver City, as the name suggests, owes its name, architecture, and very existence to the rich silver deposits found in the Silver City Mining District of New Mexico. The Silver City Museum houses a collection of artifacts from local mining operations and the daily life of the town’s residents. Native copper, assaying tools, portable scales, and even radioactive health treatments from the local ore all are on display for the curious visitor.
March 2016 experienced a general increase in mining claims staked on public land but less than the amount in March 2015. There was nearly a five-fold uptick in abandoned acreage last month compared to the year before. Yet, that amount is only a third as many acres that were claimed over the same time. Nevada continues to be the…
Most active mining sites are tightly restricted from the public. Fear of claim jumping or accident keeping an operation weary of visitors. Yet, the Asarco Mineral Discovery Center not only houses educational displays on modern copper mining, but is the departure point for regular guided tours of the open pit mine and mill. The discovery…
Why is the Arizona Mining & Mineral Museum closed? The ornate building in downtown Phoenix contains a remarkable mining and mineral collection, worthy of a state whose history is filled with major mining events and towns built up around massive ore deposits such as Bisbee, Tombstone, and Jerome. One needs only circle round the building and outdoor displays to see that this still has the potential to be a world class mining museum. And, yet the collection remains locked away, on extended hiatus.
