Gold King mine

[Old Silver]

This mine is located near Ophir, Colorado, about 300 miles north of Santa Fe, NM.

The Gold King mine wasn't always the source point for an environmental disaster. It wasn't even always a mine. It was just a mineral outcropping that miner Olaf Nelson happened to notice and claim in 1887, when he was working at the nearby Samson mine. The new outcropping looked more promising than the vein network he'd been working on, so he staked a claim, then died four years later without ever developing the mine.Willis Z. Kinney, an experienced mine manager in San Juan County, partnered up with two other investors and bought Nelson's mining claim from his widow in 1894. Then the Gold King Mining and Milling Company drove the tunnel that found a vein beating everyone's expectations. Today, that same tunnel has found national fame as the source point of the Animas River release.
The company patented their claim, turning the area from public to private land so they could extend the mining efforts. They also built a massive mill on the banks of Cement Creek below Gold King Mine. An advanced aerial tramway ferried ore between the two.
The richness of the find and the advanced industrial techniques employed there quickly made Gold King Mine one of the most important in the region. In 1902, British investors offered $4 million for the property but the Gold King Company turned them down.
If the 19th Century was a mining bonanza in San Juan County, the 20th has been a mining hangover. Operations at Gold King Mine ceased in 1923 -- just about 50 years after the San Juan Mountains opened to prospectors. Sunnyside Gold Corp. closed the final mining operations in the San Juan County in 1991. By that time, the area had become the largest untreated mine drainage in the state. Altogether, the Sunnyside mine group, which includes the Gold King Mine, produced $150,000,000 over its lifetime.

The Gold King Mine: From An 1887 Claim, Private Profits And Social Costs | CPR

 

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[Old Silver]

The gold King Mine, and the Placerville district, are the two areas I have posted about as being the correct distance, according to the Beale story, north of Santa Fe. Now I want to consider another point. The Placerville area was discovered BEFORE 1885, leaving open the possibility that the writer of the Beale story knew of this, and used it in a fabricated tale. But this area consists of placer gold, not mines. The Gold King Mines, on the other hand, are actual mines, as described in the Beale story, and was discovered AFTER 1885. This means that the only gold mine discovered that matches the Beale story, that I know of, was discovered (by mainstream mining operations) too late to have been used in a fabricated tale in 1885. This lends weight to the possibility of the Beale story being true.

Now the question about how much gold and silver could be mined by 30 men. There have been researchers who have put a dollar amount on the gold and silver which is supposed to have been mined by Beale and his men, and using the prices of pure gold and silver at that time shows those figures to be accurate. Beale, however, never put a dollar amount on the mined gold and silver. He did put a dollar amount on the jewels for which he had traded some of the silver, but the gold and silver he only speaks of by weight. We only assume he meant pure gold and silver. So if the treasure is real, it would almost certainly be gold and silver ore, and not pure. This would mean the treasure would be worth less than thought, but still it would be worth a fortune in gold and silver ore. Obviously, none of this is proof of the existence of a treasure, but it does leave open the door of possibility, even if it lessens the value of what might have been deposited.

Note: The article above does say that when the Gold King Mine was discovered in 1887, the discoverer was working the Samson mine, but the new outcropping (Gold King) looked more promising than the vein network he'd been working on, and that it was a vein beating everyone's expectations. This sounds more like what is talked about in the Beale story.

 

[Rebel - KGC]

The gold King Mine, and the Placerville district, are the two areas I have posted about as being the correct distance, according to the Beale story, north of Santa Fe. Now I want to consider another point. The Placerville area was discovered BEFORE 1885, leaving open the possibility that the writer of the Beale story knew of this, and used it in a fabricated tale. But this area consists of placer gold, not mines. The Gold King Mines, on the other hand, are actual mines, as described in the Beale story, and was discovered AFTER 1885. This means that the only gold mine discovered that matches the Beale story, that I know of, was discovered (by mainstream mining operations) too late to have been used in a fabricated tale in 1885. This lends weight to the possibility of the Beale story being true.

Now the question about how much gold and silver could be mined by 30 men. There have been researchers who have put a dollar amount on the gold and silver which is supposed to have been mined by Beale and his men, and using the prices of pure gold and silver at that time shows those figures to be accurate. Beale, however, never put a dollar amount on the mined gold and silver. He did put a dollar amount on the jewels for which he had traded some of the silver, but the gold and silver he only speaks of by weight. We only assume he meant pure gold and silver. So if the treasure is real, it would almost certainly be gold and silver ore, and not pure. This would mean the treasure would be worth less than thought, but still it would be worth a fortune in gold and silver ore. Obviously, none of this is proof of the existence of a treasure, but it does leave open the door of possibility, even if it lessens the value of what might have been deposited.

Note: The article above does say that when the Gold King Mine was discovered in 1887, the discoverer was working the Samson mine, but the new outcropping (Gold King) looked more promising than the vein network he'd been working on, and that it was a vein beating everyone's expectations. This sounds more like what is talked about in the Beale story.

"1887"...? Beale PAPERS Pamphlet... 1885.

 

[Old Silver]

"1887"...? Beale PAPERS Pamphlet... 1885.

Yes, the Gold King Mine was "discovered" in 1887 by mainstream gold prospectors. The thought is that someone, or some party might have discovered it long before this. It's in the right area to be what was spoken of in the Beale story. Who knows.

But the further point is, if this mine was discovered in 1887, then it couldn't have been used as a fictional story in 1885. Some other mine in the area could have, but this one seems to be very rich. It sounds a little like what Beale and his men found. But again, who knows.

 

[Cryptography]

Yes, the Gold King Mine was "discovered" in 1887 by mainstream gold prospectors. The thought is that someone, or some party might have discovered it long before this. It's in the right area to be what was spoken of in the Beale story. Who knows.

But the further point is, if this mine was discovered in 1887, then it couldn't have been used as a fictional story in 1885. Some other mine in the area could have, but this one seems to be very rich. It sounds a little like what Beale and his men found. But again, who knows.

No fiction, just some misdirection in the Beale Papers trying to smoke out the key.

 

[masterpoe]

No fiction, just some misdirection in the Beale Papers trying to smoke out the key.

So why would the persons who put out the pamphlet about tons of gold not tell us all the truth? Do you think they were just trying to get the gold for themselves?