GOLD IN WYOMING

First a word of caution: NEVER ENTER AN ABANDONED MINE! These mines are old, unstable, and unventilated. The lower levels are usually flooded; timbers, ropes and ladders are rotten and may give way at the slightest touch. These mines may also contain old explosives or dangerous chemicals such as mercury and arsenic. TOUCH NOTHING! If you come upon an abandoned mine, write down its location and contact the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality, report what you found and where it is located. Nobody knows how many of these mines exist or where they may be, your report may save somebody's life. Mine reports can be phoned into 1-800-807-6017 or 307-777-6145. If you find old explosives contact the nearest law enforcement agency.

Now that we've got the serious stuff done, onward to the past. Wyoming's gold rush occurred after the 1849 California Gold Rush. In fact, many of the 49'ers passed through Wyoming on their way to the California gold fields. If they had looked down at their feet as they crossed Wyoming streams they could have saved themselves a trip.

There were two areas of the state where gold was extracted in abundance. The Snowy Range in south-east Wyoming and the South Pass/Atlantic City/Miners Delight area of Fremont County.

SNOWY RANGE

Placer gold was discovered in Douglas Creek in Albany County west of Laramie and it still produces today. The Middle Fork of the Little Laramie River has some placer gold. Other creeks in the Snowy Range also have gold, but most of the gold recovered from the Snowy Range was found by hard-rock mining not by working placers .

Centennial Ridge overlooks the town of Centennial to the east and was the site of several famous mines around 1876 working the Centennial Lode. The Centennial Mine was located in the east face of the ridge 260 feet above the valley floor. A tramway was build to lower the ore to a stamp mill below. The ore was crushed and the gold extracted using mercury amalgamation. In 1877 the vein was lost in a fault gouge. After repeated failures to relocate the vein, the mine was closed.

The Cliff Mine is located at the top of Centennial Ridge on the western slope and overlooks the Middle Fork of the Little Laramie River. The tailings pile and some of the mine buildings are still visible. The entrance to the mine itself has collapsed as the picture above left shows. Upstream of the Cliff Mine on the west bank of the Little Laramie River is the Independence Mine. This mine is apparently being worked by a small company so don't trespass. There is another mine about 200 yards downstream of the Cliff mine. You can try panning the stream, there is some gold there.

At the very top of Centennial Ridge is the Queen Platinum Mine. This is way up on the ridge and and overlooks the valley to the east. There are other pits up on the ridge that were dug while trying to locate the lost Centennial Lode. These mines or pits are known to be there but there is no record of their exact locations or how extensive they were so watch where you step. The area has produced gold, silver, platinum, copper, and garnets.

SOUTH PASS/ATLANTIC CITY

The primary gold producing district in Wyoming is located in the South Pass/Atlantic City/Miners Delight area of Fremont County. There are mines, pits, and shafts all over this area and placers are located in the Sweet Water River. All these old mines are closed now, but there is one working mine at Miner's Delight.

The big producer at South Pass was the Carissa Mine.

This mine was operating into the 1950s but is shut down now. Incomplete records indicate that the mine produced from 50,000 to >180,000 ounces of gold. (UPDATE 2006:The Carissa Mine has been acquired by the State of Wyoming and work started to improve the mine buildings. The Carissa will be operated by the Wyoming Parks and Recreation Department as a tourist attraction.) The Duncan, Tabor Grand and Mary Ellen mines are nearby and all produced good gold. In spite of all the apparent mining activity there has actually been very little when compared to the Alaska and California Gold Rushes. The discovery of gold at South Pass was announced worldwide, but the hordes of get-rich-quick miners just never materialized. There are many streams in the area, most are seasonal, that should have good placers that have never really been prospected. You can try Rock Creek, Big and Little Atlantic Gulches, Spring Gulch(near Miners Delight), and Yankee Gulch. Make sure that you are on state land and not on private property.(2)

The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality is responsible for monitoring mining activities. Generally they have no problem with the small gold panner or dredge operator. Just keep in mind that in Wyoming dredges are limited in size to 3" MAX. No dredging is allowed prior to 1 July on any stream in Wyoming, this allows the fish to spawn undisturbed. If you plan on using a dredge, first check on the stream classification. Dredges CANNOT be operated in Class 1 streams. Panning, and only panning, is allowed on Class 1 streams. Check with WDEQ at deq.state.wy.us/wqd/ for definitions of the classifications.

UPDATE JUNE 2008: The WDEQ is no longer issuing dredging permits. As of this year the USFS will be responsible for ALL mining activities on Forest service lands and the BLM for BLM lands. The USFS in Laramie, Wy (Medicine Bow NF) is requiring EVERYONE to file a plan on what you are going to do and where. EVEN GOLD PANNERS MUST FILE A PLAN! This is a new requirement, panning and slucing never required submittal of a plan before 2008. Panning, slucing, and dredging can begin 1 July and will end 10 September.

References

1.The Centennial Ridge Gold-Platinum District, Wyoming, W. Dan Hausel Senior Economic Geologist Wyoming State Geological Survey, www.wsgs.uwyo.edu>

2. Gold Placer Potential of the South Pass Greenstone Belt, Western Wyoming, W. Dan Hausel Senior Economic Geologist Wyoming State Geological Survey, www.wsgs.uwyo.edu>

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