Gold production peaked around 1900 with production valued at $18 million.  From 1890 to 1910, 22.4 million ounces of gold were produced.  Production was not without its problems.  Unlike discoveries in other western mining camps, the gold in Cripple Creek was contained in gold-telluride minerals.  The mineralogy dictated the use of the chlorination process rather than the conventional stamp milling and amalgamation.  Later, chlorination was replaced by cyanide leaching.

The district is noted for several large and famous mines and is said to have produced 30 millionaires.  Winfield Scott Stratton discovered the Independence Mine in 1901 and later sold it for $11 million.  The nearby Portland Mine at one time employed 700 miners.  The profits from entrepreneur Spencer Penrose’s C. O. D. Mine built the famous Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs.

The district was rocked by labor strife during several periods.  In 1894, a five month long strike by the Western Federation of Miners was prompted when the mine owners lengthened the workday from 8 to 10 hours.  Violence between the striking miners and a company-paid militia of sheriff’s deputies resulted in the declaration of martial law with the Governor calling in the army to restore order.  The strike was eventually settled by reinstitution of the 8 hour day and no cut in the $3 daily wage.  The union victory strengthened the Federation in Colorado and elsewhere.  In 1903 rising labor tensions again resulted in the calling in of the National Guard during the Colorado Labor Wars.  After an extended period of violent clashes between union and non-union groups, the Federation was driven from the Colorado mines in 1904.

As the mine workings deepened, water became a serious problem.  A number of drainage tunnels were driven to drain the mines and prolong the life of the district.  The longest of these was the Carlton Tunnel which drained from the deepest levels of the Vindicator Mine.  The tunnel was completed in 1941.  Unfortunately the closure of the mines during World War II limited its effectiveness.  After the war, with the gold price pegged at $35 per ounce, most mines became uneconomic and the district shut down.

The rebirth of the district started in 1976 when Texasgulf and Golden Cycle formed a joint venture, the Cripple Creek and Victor Mining Company.  Open pit mining at the Cresson Mine was permitted in 1994 and production rose steadily.  Ownership evolved through mergers and acquisitions until the present time when the mine is owned by Newmont.  In 2019 the company poured 322,000 ounces of gold.