The Original Sixteen to One Mine Trip
Tours are available with proper coordination with the UGMM. Click the link below.
The Original 16 to 1 Mine is still alive and well. The Underground Miners Museum
is still active and Rae is back again after a few months of vacation.
They need donations, volunteers and of course funding.
They have a new board of directors for 2000 which apparently brings back Mike Miller Sr.
to President and CEO whereas for quite some time Mike Miller Jr. was at the
helm. In any case I am very glad that things are moving once again.
This Winter 1996 trip was hosted by The Los Angeles County Museum of Natural
History's Gem and Mineral Council headed by Dr. Tony Kampf.
Information on the Gem and Mineral Council can be found by clicking
here.
History's Gem and Mineral Council headed by Dr. Tony Kampf.
Information on the Gem and Mineral Council can be found by clicking
Now - on with the trip......
Rounding up near the Alleghany Store -
Headquarters for the Original Sixteen to One Gold Mine...
The trip begins on the road to the Original Sixteen to One Gold Mine....
President Mike Miller gives the group a briefing on the history of the mine....
He also tells us about the unique mining tools that they use to mine
and their environmentally conscious operation. The miners use metal detectors
to discover high grade gold deposits left behind by previous miners.
The adit to the mine....
A group mugshot of the attendees on this great trip....
Electric trains run in the tunnels but we walked in the day we visited....
A shot of the group in a stope....
The hoist operator at the mine brings both miners
up and down the shaft but also the valuable ore....
A shot of the ore bucket with a full load of rock....
Some folks waiting by the hoist station....
The workhorse at the mine is the crusher house where all the
highgrade ore is crushed and separated. There is no waste
generated by this operation and there is no use of cyanide
solutions for recovery. The crushed rock left after
the gold has been separated out is used to backfill
and stabilize the nonworking tunnels and stopes.....
The ore crusher....
The crucible being heated for a fresh pour of gold....
The metallurgists getting ready to pour the hot gold....
The metallurgists pouring the gold melt into the molds.....
The gold after being poured into the mold....
Me holding one of the solid bars of 99.95% pure gold worth about $20,000.
The day we visited they poured $50,000 worth of gold bars....
President Mike Miller holding the largest gold specimen found to date....
Large quartz boulder with lots of gold....
Some large nuggets of gold for sale by the company....
If you found the above interesting click here for the Official Original Sixteen to One Mine web site.