National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum

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 of an underground hardrock mine, the Gold Rush room, with many specimens of native gold, a large collection of mineral specimes, a mining art gallery and a gift shop.

The Hall of Fame is a federally chartered memorial for men and women who have achieved lasting greatness in the mining industry and related fields. Inductees are selected by the museum's board of governors. A candidate ordinarily must be deceased, and have made significant contributions to the American mining scene. Consideration is given to prospectors, miners, mining leaders, engineers, teachers, financiers, inventors, journalists, rascals, geologists and others. A database of inductees to the Hall of Fame is available here. Notable honorees include Georgius Agricola, Janet Zaph Briggs, Gertrude Selma Sober, Meyer Guggenheim, Herbert Hoover, James M. Hyde, Ed Schieffelin, Harrison Schmitt, Paddy Martinez, Horace Tabor, Fred Chester Bond and Edmund J. Longyear, founder of Boart Longyear.