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Although the Boulder County telluride deposits are widely
<br />scattered over a broad north-trending belt, most of the pro-
<br />.~• duction has come from a few highly concentrated centers which
<br />exhibit a strong structual control. The largest and most pro-
<br />' ductive precious metal mining district in the Boulder County
<br />•r telluride belt is the Gold Hill mining district which com-
<br />prises about 12 square miles and contains most of the im-
<br />portant mines. One of the most productive centers of mineral-
<br />ization in the Gold Hill district is located near the town of
<br />Gold Hill, within an area about four miles square. This area
<br />has produced more gold and silver than any other area of simi-
<br />lar size in the district or the telluride belt. It encom-
<br />passes the area between Lefthand Creek on the north and the
<br />village of Summerville on the south, and includes the impor-
<br />tant Slide, Cold Spring, Red Cloud, Horsfal, Cash, Alamakee,
<br />Gold Ring, White Cloud, Victoria and Rex veins.
<br />District History and Past Production
<br />Gold was discovered January 16, 1859 in Gold Run Creek near
<br />the present site of Gold Hill. Following a rush of between
<br />three and five thousand people to the area, the first veins
<br />were discovered in the vicinity of the Cold Spring and Horsfal
<br />mines. When the free gold of the oxidized zones was exhaust-
<br />,, ed, the sulfide ores could not be mined and milled profitably
<br />°• by the inefficient equipment of those days, and the district's
<br />mining activity declined greatly.
<br />• In 1872, the discovery of rich gold-silver telluride ores at
<br />the Red Cloud mine led to a tremendous revival of mining acti-
<br />vity and by 1879 nearly all of the larger mines had been lo-
<br />cated. Although the gold-silver telluride deposits were found
<br />to be in narrow veins seldom exceeding two feet in thickness,
<br />the remarkable richness and rarity of some of the ore minerals
<br />received widespread attention. Steady production from the
<br />Gold Hill mining district continued through the early 1900's,
<br />when there was a gradual decline of mining activity that
<br />lasted until 1934. At that time, when the price of gold was
<br />raised from $20.67 to $35.00 an ounce, a great deal of
<br />activity resulted in the reopening of many older mines.
<br />Nearly all of the district's larger mines were closed by the
<br />gold-mining restraining order of World War II.
<br />Although few figures are available on the output in the early
<br />days, the minimum total production from the district through
<br />1959 was about 412,000 ounces of gold and 5,000,000 ounces of
<br />silver. This production would be worth $177,160,000 and
<br />$50,000,000, respectively, at present precious metal prices.
<br />In 1958, Utex Exploration Company became interested in the
<br />district and acquired the Cash, Wynona, White Cloud, Who Do,
<br />Tammany, Rex, and Victoria mines. During this period,
<br />' Russell R. McLellan was the mine manager at the Cash, Rex and
<br />Victoria mines for Utex Exploration Company and its successor,
<br />Steen Mining Company. Mr. McLellan was instrumental in inter-
<br />esting the President and chief shareholder of Utex Exploration
<br />~ Company, Charles A. Steen, in the Gold Hill mining district.
<br />Mr. McLellan was raised in the town of Gold Hill where his
<br />family was involved in mining, and in 1947 he wrote his
<br />Master's thesis for a degree in geology from the University of
<br />Colorado on the "New Mining Possibilities in the Gold Hill
<br />Mining District". At that time he mapped all of the open
<br />underground workings and completed a detailed (1 inch = 50
<br />feet) geologic map of the area east of the town of Gold Hill.
<br />Exploration and development continued until 1964, when the
<br />mines were closed to speculate on precious metal prices by
<br />Charles A. Steen, who had purchased all of the outstanding
<br />shares in Utex in 1962.
<br />The Cash Mine
<br />The Cash vein was discovered during the 1870's and was an im-
<br />portant producer of gold-silver telluride ore until 1919. Ex-
<br />~, cept for some surface work, the mine remained inactive between
<br />World War I and World War II.
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