Red Mountain Mining District and Silverton, Colorado
June 6, 1999
Host: Duane Smith
PHOTO GALLERY 3
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The Old Hundred Mine Tour (after hours) takes visitors underground through the lower adit at the left in Cunningham Gulch.
Old Hundred Mine buildings (center).The restored ca. 1903 boarding house is located just below the summit at 12,000 feet.
The Mayflower Mill is just as the miners left it.It was built in1929 to serve the Shenandoah-Dives Mine.Before it closed in the 1991, it served the Sunnyside Mine in the hills behind the mill.
At the tramway station of the Mayflower Mill the ore from the mine starts the process to recover its riches.
Follow the direction of the cables of the Mayflower Tramway up Arrastra Gulch to the Shenandoah-Dives Mine located just below the farthest distant ridge at 11,200 feet
The tramway buckets not only brought ore down from the mine but also provided transportation up and down for the miners.
(Above)MHAers explore the recesses of the Mayflower Mill. The flotation cells (Left) recovered the various concentrates containing lead, zinc, copper, silver, and gold.
(Right)The ruins of the 1906 Silver Lake Mill are located along the Animas River just outside Silverton.It received ore by tramway from the Silver Lake and Unity Mines in Arrastra Basin.
(Above and right) Back in Ouray, the MHAers were just in time to join a mini-jackleg drilling contest at the Highgraders’ Heritage Park. These contests started out in mining camps in the old days of hand drilling.Individuals and teams of miners would compete in single and double-jack drilling contests and other tests of mining skills.Betting on your favorites was a popular miners’ pastime.The purses for the winners could be pretty high.
