Laserfiche WebLink
INTRODUCTION <br />December 1917. Although provisions were made to allow recovery to <br />at least the 9th level, all subsequent work has been above water <br />level.e <br />Minor production, mostly by "leasers," continued from 1918 <br />through 1941. Most of this production was from the Smuggler <br />tunnels or from adjacent claims accessible by means of the <br />Cowenhoven tunnel. The Herron brothers operated a small gravity <br />concentrator utilizing material from the Smuggler and Mollie Gibson <br />dumps during World War II and up to 1947; they resumed their work <br />in 1952. <br />The U.S. Bureau of Mines carried out minor rehabilitation <br />work and substantial sampling and exploration in the Smuggler No. <br />1 and No. 2 tunnels from 1946 through 1948 evaluating the mine not <br />for silver but for the strategic base metals lead and zinc. The <br />Anaconda Mining Company did considerable rehabilitation and <br />exploration work in the Smuggler tunnels as well as in Aspen <br />mountain from early 1949 through 1950. Anaconda's principal work <br />was in the Smuggler No. 1 tunnel, the Herron drift, and the <br />Anaconda crosscut in the Smuggler mine. The Aspen area in general <br />and the Smuggler mine in particular were examined by the Atomic <br />Energy Commission in 1952, resulting in the identification of up to <br />240 tons of uranium oxide ore in the Smuggler mine - the only <br />significant discovery of radioactive minerals in the Aspen area. <br />Except for samples none of this material was removed. <br />Only minor work was done in the Smuggler tunnels by the <br />Herron brothers and others from 1952 into the 1970s, although <br />several major natural resource exploitation organizations examined <br />the area during this period. <br />The Smuggler claims were leased by Stefan Albouy in 1978 and <br />are currently held by Smuggler Consolidated Mines Corporation. <br />Since 1978 approximately 70 tons of ore have been shipped for test <br />smelting. Most activities have been directed at clean-up of the <br />Smuggler No. 2 and Clark tunnels and the Garrish stope, with minor <br />work to maintain the Smuggler shaft to the Smuggler No. 1 tunnel <br />level, the Smuggler No. 1 tunnel itself, and adjacent raises and <br />stopes. This is being done for exploration and development <br />purposes as well as for present and future tourist attraction <br />potential. As of this writing, tours are conducted through <br />portions of the Smuggler No. 2 tunnel, the Garrish stope and the <br />Clark tunnel. <br />Mr. Albouy hopes to eventually open the Irish stope and <br />The water level apparently stabilized just below the Cowenhoven <br />tunnel, which is situate just below the Smuggler No. 1 tunnel in <br />elevation. Water levels remain essentially the same today. <br />Bruce A. COl1inS - X1X - SHUGGLER BIBLIOGRAPHY <br />