Box Creek Placer Mine: Then and Now

In my last blog I had mentioned that there was a new gold mining operation going on just south of Leadville that is capitalizing on the leftovers of a dredging operation from a century ago. In the video below you'll see a bird's-eye view of the current placer mine. Today's dig relies on large dump trucks and front-end loaders to deliver the massive amounts of dirt and gravel to the trommel and sluice box that sort the material and collect the gold but a hundred years ago you would have seen a gold dredge at this site. I've seen and visited dredges from Fairplay to Alaska but knew next to nothing about the dredging operation along Corske and Box Creeks that are two of the myriad of streams coming down from the eastern flank of Mount Elbert, Colorado's highest 14'er at 14,440 feet. 

On Sunday, October 10, 1915 the Derry Ranch Gold Dredging Company, owned and operated by the New York Engineering Company began operation of a dredge of their own design and manufacture first on Corske Creek and after 1923 on Box Creek. It would continue operating until 1926 when it was subsequently dismantled ultimately to be shipped to South America.  The dredge was equipped with 6 cubic foot steel buckets electrically driven (power supplied by the Colorado Light and Power Company) and in its first two months of operation handled 142,900 cubic yards of gravel and recovered $69,552 in gold ($1.78 million in 2020 dollars). 

Now, if you are not familiar with what a dredge actually is picture a floating barge with a digging conveyor belt of buckets at the front end (that can be moved up and down and side to side) to dig into the slope ahead of the dredge. In the middle is a revolving perforated cylinder and screen (trommel) which washes and sizes the material with the over-sized material being carried via another conveyor belt at the rear of the dredge where it is dumped and left behind as a tailing. The smaller screened gravel is processed via a sluice where the gold is actually recovered.

As the dredge moves forward in the pond (either natural or man-made) in which it floats it continues to process material from the front while discarding tailings from the rear so the size of the required pond remains relatively constant. A huge digging spud holds the dredge in place and can be raised when the dredge is moved forward.

Over the time period the Derry Dredge operated it collected 39,000 ounces of gold. At the time the dredge was operating the United States government set the price of gold at $20.17 an ounce. That equates to $786,630 in 1920 dollars. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics $1 in 1920 is equivalent in purchasing power to $12.82 in 2020. So those $786,000 1920 dollars would be worth a little over $10 million in today's world. Not bad, but consider this - unlike when the Derry Dredge was mining and the price of gold was set by our government, in today's world the price of gold is free to fluctuate based on demand. In June 2020 the price of gold is around $1,761 per ounce. Those 39,000 ounces at today's price would be worth more than $68 million. Thus the incentive to see if there is any gold in the tailings left behind by the Derry Dredge. One Colorado company, Titan AU out of Greeley, is betting there is. 

In December 2018 Titan AU filed an application with the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board to commence placer mining in March 2019 with a proposed date of completion of 2044. The proposal indicated the land would be returned to rangeland and ponds after mining is finished. There was some local opposition to a large scale gold mine in the area but if the company truly reclaims the land as promised it will more closely resemble what it looked like before the Derry Dredge began operation 105 years ago. From a historical perspective one might not appreciate that the reclamation done by the current mine operators will also actually erase the signs of the Derry Dredge tailings. Once the reclamation is complete future generations may look at the site and have no real comprehension of what happened there. So if you are a history buff or simply interested in what a placer gold mine in full operation looks like, now is your chance. To get there, drive south out of Leadville on Highway 24 and then turn right onto County Road 24. I think the best views are from County Road 24A which parallels the south side of the mine. Bring the binoculars!

According to the Leadville Herald Democrat the Box Creek Placer mine sits on 950 acres including land leased from the City of Aurora and the Colorado State Land Board. The State Land Board is the second largest landowner in Colorado (the Federal Government is the largest) and manages their land in large part for the financial support of Colorado's public schools and other public institutions. 

Lots of resources were used in writing this blog. History Colorado, the Denver Public Library, the Leadville Herald Democrat were all very helpful in doing research. Perhaps most helpful in learning about the early days of the Derry Dredge was a hard to find book published by the actual owners of the Derry Dredge, the New York Engineering Company, titled "The Business of Gold Dredging" in 1922. The book provides a wealth of information not only on the Derry Dredge but on the dredging business in general in the early 1900's. It's a fascinating and fun read for any history buff and can be found here. 

And as promised, here's a short video on the Derry Dredge and the Box Creek Placer Mine then and now. Enjoy!