Thursday, September 5, 2019

Victor | Mollie Kathleen Mine | Cliff Dwellings

Surprisingly big day in Victor, CO and environs. It's just down the road from Cripple Creek (where we were most of yesterday). We tooled around town a little before most things were open, and eventually visited the Victor Lowell Museum. On our drive back around to the Cripple Creek area, we stopped at an overlook of the Cripple Creek and Victor Gold Mine, owned by Newmont Gold Corp., where we could see all the way down into one of the big open pits. They were drilling to place charges.

Eventually we made it around to the Mollie Kathleen Mine where I took the best mine tour I've ever done. The excellent tour guide was Jack McGee who found a unique occurrence of fluorite in nearby Moffat Tunnel (not to be confused with the other Moffat Tunnel that cuts through the Continental Divide). It's referred to as fluorite on quartz on barite after laumontite. Here's one article I found. He gave us all a small specimen while on the tour. Check out this YouTube video of Prospectors, Season 4 Episode 4 (starting about 12:20-19:15, 23:23-27:52, and 32:20-38:10).

On the way home we stopped at the Cliff Dwellings near Manitou Springs.

All the photos are here.

Cripple Creek and Victor Gold Mine


Victor, CO.

Victor Lowell Museum.

Green fluorite in the Mollie, 1000 feet below ground.
Upper right looks up into a long, upward stope.

Cliff Dwellings, Manitou Springs.

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