Mines and Museums

Creede was the last silver boom town in Colorado in the 19th century. The town leapt from a population of 600 in 1889 to more than 10,000 people in December 1891. The Creede mines operated continuously from 1890 until 1985, and were served by the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad.

The original townsite of Creede was located on East Willow Creek just above its junction with West Willow Creek. Below...

Silver was discovered in the Gilman mining district in 1878 or 1879. As the deeper sulfide ores were reached, the miners found that the ore contained so much zinc that the smelters refused to buy it. A roaster and magnetic separator were installed in 1905 to separate out the zinc minerals, turning the problem into an asset. The mining operations transitioned increasingly to zinc, although the...

Gold was discovered in the area in late 1859, during the Pike's Peak Gold Rush. However the initial discovery, where California Gulch empties into the Arkansas River, was not rich enough to cause excitement. On April 26, 1860, Abe Lee made a rich discovery of placer gold in California Gulch, about a mile east of Leadville, and Oro City was founded at the new diggings. By July 1860 the gold...

The Cliff mine was the first successful copper mine in the Copper Country of the state of Michigan in the United States. The mine is at the now-abandoned town of Clifton in Keweenaw County. Mining began in 1845, and the Cliff was the most productive copper mine in the United States from 1845 through 1854. Large-scale mining stopped in 1878.

The Cliff mined a fissure vein of native copper in...

Silver mining in Nevada, a state of the United States, began in 1858 with the discovery of the Comstock Lode, the first major silver-mining district in the United States. Nevada calls itself the "Silver State." Nevada is the nation's second-largest producer of silver, after Alaska. In 2014 Nevada produced 10.93 million troy ounces of silver, of which 6,74 million ounces were as a byproduct of...

Manantial Espejo is an open pit and underground silver-gold mine located in Santa Cruz, Argentina and is 100% owned by Pan American.

Silver and gold mineralization is present as epithermal veins, vein breccias, sheeted and stockwork veining, and minor disseminations. Ore is mined at Manantial Espejo using a combination of conventional open pit and underground mining methods. The surface mining...

Navidad is a development stage silver property located in Chubut, Argentina.

Pan American acquired the project in 2010 through the acquisition of Aquiline Resources Inc. Silver, lead, and minor amounts of copper mineralization are present as epithermal, stratiform veins and disseminations

A preliminary economic assessment completed in 2011 anticipated a daily production rate of 15,000 tonnes...

The San Jose silver-gold mine is located in Argentina, in the Santa Cruz province, 1,750 kilometres south-southwest of Buenos Aires. The property covers a total area of 50,491 hectares and consists of 46 contiguous mining concessions totalling 40,499 hectares and an exploration permit covering almost 10,000 hectares. The San Jose property is located approximately 20 kilometres north of...

The Golden Grove Mine is a copper, lead, silver, zinc and gold mine located 52 km south-southeast of Yalgoo, Western Australia.

It is operated by EMR Capital, a specialist resources private equity manager, who purchased the mine from MMG in February 2017. Minerals and Metals Group was formed after its parent company China Minmetals bought the mine from OZ Minerals in June 2009. Golden Grove...

The McArthur River mine is a zinc-lead mine, situated about 70 kilometres southwest of Borroloola, near the Gulf of Carpentaria in the northeastern Northern Territory, Australia. It is operated by McArthur River Mining (MRM), a subsidiary of the Swiss mining company Glencore. Although discovered in the 1950s, when it was originally called the HYC or "Here's Your Chance" deposit, it only opened...

Mount Isa Mines Limited ("MIM") operates the Mount Isa copper, lead, zinc and silver mines near Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia as part of the Glencore group of companies. For a brief period in 1980, MIM was Australia's largest company. It has pioneered several significant mining industry innovations, including the Isa Process copper refining technology, the Isasmelt smelting technology, and...

The Prominent Hill Mine is a major copper, silver, and gold mine in north west South Australia, 130 km south-east of Coober Pedy, which has been developed by Oxiana Limited, later to become OZ Minerals. The deposit is an iron oxide copper gold style mineralisation.

The mine, which cost A$1.15 billion to develop, was projected to produce 100,000 tonnes of copper and 115,000 ounces of gold in...

Thundelarra is primarily an Australian gold exploration company. Gold, either in stand-alone geological settings or in association with copper, is our principal target. Copper remains an important focus too. Our portfolio also boasts prospects with discovery potential for base metal (nickel, zinc, silver, lead), uranium and graphite mineralisation. We are active in Western Australia (WA) and...

Pan American holds a 95% interest in Pan American Silver Bolivia (“PASB”). The remaining 5% of PASB is owned by Urion Holdings (Malta) Ltd., an affiliate of Trafigura Baheer B.V. PASB has a joint venture agreement (Contrato de Riesgo Compartido) with Corporación Minera de Bolivia (“COMIBOL”) the state mining company of the Plurinational State of Bolivia, pursuant to which PASB holds a...

The San Cristobal mine in Lipez, Potosí Department, Bolivia is an open-pit silver, lead and zinc mine near the town of San Cristóbal, Potosí. The mine, operated by Sumitomo Corporation, produces approximately 1,300 metric tons of zinc-silver concentrate and 300 tons of lead-silver concentrate per day, as of August 2010, by processing 40,000 to 50,000 tons of rock. It is one of Bolivia's...

Since the 1960’s the area had been a focus for exploration by various companies, with five kilometres of underground development completed at the Brucejack property’s West Zone, near the heart of the current mine. Though a mine development certificate for an underground gold-silver mine had been granted to prior owners for the West Zone in 1993, a mine was never ultimately developed there...

The Silvertip mine is one of the industry’s newest and highest-grade silver-zinc-lead mines. Located in British Columbia, just below the Yukon border, the operation sits within a highly prospective 93,000-acre (37,650 hectares) land package. Silvertip commenced production during the fourth quarter of 2016 and was purchased by Coeur Mining in October 2017.

Pan American’s vision is to be the world’s pre-eminent silver producer, with a reputation for excellence in discovery, engineering, innovation and sustainable development. Pan American Silver is headquartered in Vancouver, BC, and was founded in 1994 with the intention to provide investors with the best vehicle to gain real exposure to silver. Today, after more than two decades of...

Guanaco is located approximately 220km SE of Antofagasta in Northern Chile at an elevation of 2,700m, 45km east of the Pan American Highway and 70km south of El Peñón (Yamana´s successful operation). The trip from Antofagasta takes about three hours. The climate is typical Atacama Desert, with little or no rainfall, and a resulting absence of practically any form of vegetation. The altitude...

The Buenavista mine is a large copper mine located in the north-west of Mexico in Cananea, Sonora. It lies 35 km (22 mi) south of the international border near Nogales, Arizona. Buenavista mine represents one of the largest copper reserves in Mexico and in the world, having estimated reserves of 36 million tonnes of ore grading 0.69% copper, 3.3% zinc and 33.4 million oz of silver.

In August...

The Camino Rojo mine is one of the largest silver mines in Mexico and in the world. The mine is located in the center of the country in Zacatecas. The mine has estimated reserves of 1.63 million oz of gold and 32.07 million oz of silver.

Cerro de San Pedro is a village and seat of the Municipality of Cerro de San Pedro, located in the state of San Luis Potosí in central Mexico. It is located in hills, 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) northeast of the city of San Luis Potosí.

As of 2005, the population was 95. The townsite is now threatened by the new and adjacent open pit gold mining operations.

Location

The village is located in the...

The Chalchihuites mine is a large copper mine located in the center of Mexico in Zacatecas. Chalchihuites represents one of the largest copper reserve in Mexico and in the world having estimated reserves of 16 million tonnes of ore grading 0.69% copper, 3.08% zinc and 48.6 million oz of silver.

The Palmarejo silver-gold complex consists of (1) the Palmarejo mine and mill; (2) the Guadalupe underground mine, located about 8 kilometers southeast of the Palmarejo mine; (3) the Independencia underground mine, located approximately 800 meters northeast of the Guadalupe underground mine; and (4) other nearby deposits and exploration targets. The Palmarejo complex is located in the state of...

The Palmarejo silver-gold complex consists of:

1. the Palmarejo mine and mill;
2. the Guadalupe underground mine, located about 8 kilometers southeast of the Palmarejo mine;
3. the Independencia underground mine, located approximately 800 meters northeast of the Guadalupe underground mine; and
4. other nearby deposits and exploration targets. The Palmarejo complex is located in the state of Chihuahua,...

Gold Resource's Arista underground mine is located at the Company's El Aguila Project in the southern state of Oaxaca, Mexico. The El Aguila Project mineralization occurs as structurally-controlled epithermal deposits in veins and stockwork zones consisting of concentrations of sulfides containing gold, silver, copper, lead and zinc, associated with gangue minerals such as quartz, calcite, and...

Gold Resource Corporation's Mirador underground mine is located at the Company's Alta Gracia Project in the southern state of Oaxaca, Mexico. Oxide mineralization from the Mirador mine is trucked to and processed in the Aguila Mill's agitated leach circuit. Initial mining rates target 100 to 200 tonnes per day and an initial mill processing rate of 150 tonnes per day. The Mirador mine has the...

Golden Minerals Company owns the silver and gold Velardeña Properties located in Durango State, Mexico. The Properties are comprised of two underground mines and two processing plants within the Velardeña mining district, approximately 65 kilometers southwest of the city of Torreón and 140 kilometers northeast of the city of Durango.

In July 2015, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hecla Mining...

Cobalt Mining Museum The Cobalt silver rush started in 1903 when huge veins of silver were discovered by workers on the Temiskaming and Northern Ontario Railway (T&NO) near the Mile 103 post. By 1905 a full-scale silver rush was underway, and the town of Cobalt, Ontario sprang up to serve as its hub. By 1908 Cobalt produced 9% of the world's silver, and in 1911 produced 31,507,791 ounces of...

The London Silver Vaults is a large subterranean market that opened as The Chancery Lane Safe Deposit on 7 May 1885. Originally renting out strong rooms to hold household silver, jewellery and documents, it transitioned to housing silver dealers in secure premises a few years later. It is located on Chancery Lane, London, WC2A 1QS. One vault was used to store a farthing, with the owner paying...

From the Middle Ages to the start of the 20th century, Fournel gorges, situated not far from the little town of L'Argentière-la-Bessée, were the location of a large argentiferous lead ore mine. Dedicated to the history of the mine, the silver mine museum (Musée des Mines d'Argent), located at the foot of the cliffs in the former stables of the Saint-Jean château, houses collections of...

The Caroline Pit (German: Grube Caroline) in the Eberbächle, a side valley of the Brettenbach, is an old silver mine in Sexau in the Black Forest in Germany which is open to the public as a show mine. In 1987, volunteers began to uncover the pit and maintain it. It lies within the mining region of Sexau and Freiamt.

The oldest parts of the Caroline Pit date with some certainty to the 11th to...

The Finstergrund Pit (German: Grube Finstergrund) near Wieden in the Black Forest in Germany is an abandoned medieval silver and lead mine that was also used in the modern era to extract fluorite and baryte. Since 1982 it has been used as a visitor mine.

The most important lodes in the region around Wieden are the fluorite-barite lodes known as Tannenboden, Anton, Werner II, Hoffnung and...

The Glasebach Pit (German: Grube Glasebach) is a mining museum and former pit in the Harz fluorspar mining area near Straßberg in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is run by the East Harz Mining Society (Montanverein Ostharz e. V.). The pit was founded under the name of Vertrau auf Gott ("Trust in God").

The mining industry in the area around Straßberg goes back to the time around the...

The Segen Gottes Show Mine (German: Besucherbergwerk Segen Gottes) is a show mine in the parish of Schnellingen in the municipality of Haslach in the Central Black Forest in Germany. The silver mine of Segen Gottes was first mentioned in the records in the 13th century, but is probably older. The mine was closed in the 18th century.

In 1997 minining enthusiasts began opening the adits and...

The Silbergründle Pit (German: Grube Silbergründle) near Seebach in the Black Forest in Germany was a lead and silver mine. There is clear evidence that mining began here in the 12th or 13th century and ended around the year 1770. Since 1984 the pit has been used as a show mine.

The pit developed two quartz veins, of up to 1.5 metres thickness. The host rock is Seebach granite. The veins...

The Wenzel Pit (German: Grube Wenzel) is a former silver mine in the Zinken Frohnbach in Oberwolfach in the Black Forest in southern Germany. The pit had its heyday in the Napoleonic era, but has been a show mine since 2001.

Silver has been mined here since the early 14th century; but after several decades they could find no more and the mine was closed. Not until about 1760 was silver found...

The Mineralogical Museum of Lavrion was inaugurated in 1986 through the efforts of the “Society for Lavrion region Studies” (the Scientific Society of Lavrion, in Greek “Etaireia Meleton Lavreotikis”, E.ME.L.), a non-profit cultural association founded in 1984 and recognized by the Ministry of Culture with the status of a private legal association grouping the scientific community of...

The Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine and its Cultural Landscape were registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in July 2007. The silver mine, the most famous in Japan, had its heyday from the early 1500s to the late 1600s, when it produced more than half of all of the silver mined in Japan. In those days, about a third of the silver on world markets came from Japan, so Iwami Ginzan had an important...

The Iwami Ginzan (石見銀山) was an underground silver mine in the city of Ōda, in Shimane Prefecture on the main island of Honshu, Japan. It was the largest silver mine in Japanese history. It was active for almost four hundred years, from its discovery in 1526 to its closing in 1923.

The mines, mining structures, and surrounding cultural landscape — listed as the "Iwami Ginzan Silver...

Kongsberg Silver works ( Kongsberg Sølvverk) was a mining operation at Kongsberg in Viken county in Norway. The town of Kongsberg is the site of the Norwegian Mining Museum (Norsk Bergverksmuseum).

History

Operating from over 80 different sites, Kongsberg silver mines constituted the largest mining field in Norway. It was the largest pre-industrial working place in Norway, with over 4,000...

Sala Silver Mine (Swedish: Sala silvergruva) is a mine in Sala Municipality, in Västmanland County in Sweden. The mine was in continuous production from the 15th century until 1908. Additional mining occurred in 1950-1951 and also in 1945-1962 in the neighboring Bronäs Mine.

Geology

The Sala ore is mainly known for its high silver content though the ore also contained economic amounts of...

Pearce, Arizona, and Sunsites, Arizona, are adjacent unincorporated communities in the Sulphur Springs Valley of Cochise County, Arizona, United States. The two communities are often referred to as Pearce-Sunsites, Pearce/Sunsites, or Pearce Sunsites.

Pearce is located between the Cochise Stronghold, Chiricahua National Monument, and the winter Sandhill Crane refuge of Whitewater Draw making...

The National Mining Hall of Fame is a museum located in Leadville, Colorado, United States, dedicated to commemorating the work of miners and people who work with natural resources. The museum also participates in efforts to inform the public about the mining industry.

The museum occupies 71,000 square feet (6,600 m2). Major exhibits include an elaborate model railroad, a walk-through replica...

The Emma Silver Mine is a currently inactive silver mine near Alta, Utah, in the United States. The mine is most noted for an attempt in 1871 by two American business promoters, including Senator William M. Stewart and James E. Lyon, to make a profit by promoting the depleted silver mine to British investors.

Origins

In the Spring of 1871, promoters Senator William M. Stewart of Nevada, and...

The El Gallo Complex is located in Mexico’s Sinaloa State, along the foothills of the Sierra Madres. McEwen Mining announced the initial discovery holes from the El Gallo silver/gold discovery in November 2008. The Complex includes the El Gallo and Palmarito silver deposits and the Magistral gold deposit, located within a 13 km (8 mile) radius.

The El Gallo Mine achieved first gold pour in...

The Naica Mine of the Mexican state of Chihuahua, is a lead, zinc and silver mine. Located in Naica in the municipality of Saucillo, the Naica Mine is owned by Industrias Peñoles, the world's largest silver producer. Caverns discovered during mining operations contain gigantic crystals of CaSO₄ · 2 H₂O (calcium sulfate dihydrate, gypsum, also sometimes called selenite. Peñoles announced in...

The Noche Buena mine is one of the largest silver mines in Mexico and in the world. The mine is located in the center of the country in Zacatecas. The mine has estimated reserves of 1 million oz of gold and 32.4 million oz of silver. Noche Buena translates into English literally as "Good Night", but is typically the term used for the Christmas Eve holiday in Latin American cultures.

Dolores is an open pit silver-gold mine located in Chihuahua, Mexico, and was acquired in 2012 as part of Pan American’s acquisition of Minefinders Corporation Ltd.

Silver and gold mineralization is present as structurally controlled, low to medium sulphidation epithermal veins, silica stock works, breccias, and replacements. Mining at Dolores is currently by standard open pit methods using...

La Colorada is an underground polymetallic silver mine located in Zacatecas, Mexico, and was acquired by Pan American in 1998. Silver, gold, zinc, and lead mineralization is present as epithermal veins, breccia pipes, mantos, and lime stone replacements in three main zones known as Candelaria, Estrella, and Recompense. The mining method used at all three mines is cut and fill stoping.

The...