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Y i <br /> facilitate the ore processing. The mining of this period was characterized by large investments of <br /> capital from big mining conglomerates. Hydroelectric facilities provided power to many mines and <br /> there were other technological innovations including the development of improved tram systems <br /> Diversification of mining in the early part of this century included the mining of zinc, lead and <br /> other minerals in addition to silver and gold. <br /> By the late 1910s to early 1920s the boom in mining of the San Juan Mountains was over <br /> with increased production costs and the playing out of many of the richer claims (Smith 1996-In <br /> Blair 1996). Many gold and silver mines closed down, or sharply curtailed their operations. A <br /> total of$53 million in gold, silver,zinc, lead, and copper in San Juan County during the boom <br /> (Smith 1996-In Blair 1996). <br /> Some small scale mining continued m the area through the 1930s and 19408. In the 1950's <br /> and 1960's there was significant comeback in the industry. Companies such as Standard Mining <br /> Company were able to work old claims and make a profit. By the 1980s the industry had again <br /> declined with only a few small scattered mining operations .In the 1990s, large scale mining in the <br /> San Juan Mountains is over and mining companies are doing reclamation work on their properties <br /> and leaving. <br /> History of the Gold Prince Mine <br /> In order to reconstruct the history of the Gold Prince Mine, records were consulted that are <br /> on file at the San Juan County Clerks Office in Silverton, San Juan County Historical Society <br /> Archives in Silverton, and Silverton Library. Other references to the mine and surrounding <br /> facilities were found in an original government survey(Ransome 1901), a report to share holders <br /> (Kinney 1905)and histories of the Silverton area(Brown 1984; Sloan and Skowronski 1975). <br /> Records on file at the BIM San Juan Resource Area in Durango were also useful and included <br /> management planning documents for cultural resources(BLM 1980), and research projects <br /> conducted by students at the University of Colorado which include many useful historic references <br /> from the Silverton newspapers(Aly 1990a, 1990b;Hoffman 1990). <br /> The Gold prince Mine was originally called the Sunnyside Extension Mine. The claim was <br /> separate but close to the Sunmyside Claim first located in 1874 by George Howard and R.J. <br /> McNutt(BLM 1980). The Sunnyside extension was located in 1874 by Rasmus Hanson(BLM <br /> 1980), but was not worked until 1886 (Ransome 1901). Rasmus Hanson had immigrated to the <br /> United States from Denmark in 1868, came to the San Juans in 1876, and resided in the <br /> community of Eureka(Brown 1984:90-91)). He was a respected mine developer who was also <br /> responsible for the development of the Mastadon property, and was elected to the Eureka board of <br /> trustees in 1896(Silverton Standard April 1896). He died in 1909 (Sloan and Skowronski <br /> 1975:101). <br /> In the 1880s,the mine was owned by Sunnyside Extension Mining and Milling Company, <br /> a group of investors including George Howard and R.J. McNutt and other individuals from <br /> Denver(Brown 1984:88). The ore from the mine was contained in the 75_150 ft wide Mastadon <br /> Vein and contained lead, silver, zinc, copper, and gold. The ore of the Sunnyside Extension was <br /> comprised of 70 percent gold making it a rich gold claim(Brown 1984:89). During 1886 <br /> $4,000 worth of ore was shipped from the mine, and by 1892 the mine had produced S337,687 <br /> worth of ore. <br /> 6 <br />