- Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mine
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Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mine 
Cripple Creek & Victor open-pitLocation in Colorado
Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mine38.75°N 105.18°W / 38.75°N 105.18°WCoordinates: 38.75°N 105.18°W / 38.75°N 105.18°W
Location Cripple Creek State Colorado Country United States Owner Company AngloGold Ashanti Website AngloGold Ashanti website Year of acquisition 1999 JSE ANG Production Financial year 2009 Ounces of Gold 218,000 History Opened 1892 The Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mine, formerly and historically Cresson Mine, is a gold mine located near the town of Victor, in the Cripple Creek mining district in the US state of Colorado. It is the largest current producer of gold in Colorado.[1][2] It is fully owned and operated by AngloGold Ashanti through its subsidiary, the Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mining Company, CC&V.[3]
The mine is an open pit operation. The gold is recovered from the ore by heap leaching. CC&V's heap leach pad is one of the biggest in the world.[4]
Contents
Geology
The ore is in altered and brecciated volcanic and volcanoclastic rocks of Oligocene age and predominantly quartz latite composition. The Cripple Creek volcanic complex is surrounded by Precambrian gneiss, granite, and quartz monzonite. The gold occurs as disseminated micrometre-size free gold and as gold-silver tellurides. Gangue minerals include pyrite, quartz, and fluorite.
History
Gold mining in the district begun in the 1890s, mostly as underground operations, chasing high grade veins. Over 23 million ounces of gold have been recovered from the district since 1890.[3]
Warren, Harry & Frank Woods entered the Victor mining scene in when they purchased the Mount Rosa Placer and incorporated the Mt. Rosa Mining, Milling and Land Company Jan. 9, 1892. This would later become known as the Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mine.[5]
The current open cut operation dates back to 1995.[3] The operation became part of AngloGold in March 1999, when the company acquired the Independence Mining Company and thereby 66% of the mine. AngloGold merged with junior partner Golden Cycle Gold Corporation in 2008 and thereby acquired the remaining 33% of the project.[4][6]
The mine is a low-cost, low-yield open pit operation, with grades well below one gram of gold per tonne of ore. In recent years, 2008 and 2009, the mine accounted for 5% of AngloGold Ashanti's world wide production. It is the company's only active operation in the United States.[4] In 2008, the State of Colorado and Teller County granted the mine a mine-life extension.[7]
Production and grade of the mine have steadily declined over the last few years, while the total production costs have risen from US$ 372 an ounce in 2007 to US$ 475 in 2009. The mine employed 562 people in 2009, of which 367 were permanent employees.[7]
Production
Past production figures since 1995 were:
Year Production Grade Cost per ounce 1995 76,587 ounces 1996 174,600 ounces 1997 228,164 ounces 1998 230,300 ounces 1999 231,000 ounces 2000 248,000 ounces 2001 214,010 ounces 2002 224,988 ounces 2003 [8] 283,866 ounces 0.67 g/t US$ 199 2004 [8] 329,030 ounces 0.61 g/t US$ 220 2005 [8] 329,625 ounces 0.62 g/t US$ 230 2006 [9] 283,486 ounces 0.54 g/t US$ 248 2007 [10] 282,000 ounces 0.53 g/t US$ 269 2008 [10] 258,000 ounces 0.49 g/t US$ 309 2009 [10] 218,000 ounces 0.46 g/t US$ 376 2010 235,000 ounces References
- ^ Active Mines in Colorado Colorado Geological Survey website, accessed: 6 July 2010
- ^ FACTS ABOUT COLORADO MINING Colorado Mining Association website, accessed: 6 July 2010
- ^ a b c About CC&V Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mining Company website, accessed: 5 July 2010
- ^ a b c United States 2008 AngloGold Ashanti country report, accessed: 5 July 2010
- ^ "City of Victor, Colorado - History". City of Victor, Colorado. http://www.victorcolorado.com/history.htm. Retrieved 10/4/2011.
- ^ US gold operation’s life-of-mine extended miningweekly.com, published: 2 December 2002, accessed: 6 July 2010
- ^ a b United States of America: Cripple Creek & Victor AngloGold Ashanti website, accessed: 11 July 2010
- ^ a b c Annual Report 2005 AngloGold Ashanti website, accessed: 11 July 2010
- ^ Annual Report 2006 AngloGold Ashanti website, accessed: 11 July 2010
- ^ a b c Annual Report 2009 AngloGold Ashanti website, accessed: 9 May 2010
External links
AngloGold Ashanti Corporate Management James Motlatsi • Frank Arisman • Ferdinand Ohene-Kena • Wiseman Nkuhlu • Bill Nairn • Sipho Pityana • S. VenkatakrishnanMines AfricaNorth AmericaCripple Creek & VictorOceaniaSunrise Dam · TropicanaSouth AmericaRelated articles Annual Revenue: US$3.8 billion ( 
FY 2009) • Employees: 63,364 • Stock Symbol: JSE: ANG • NYSE: AU • ASX: AGG • Website: anglogold.comCategories:- Gold mines in Colorado
- Surface mines in the United States
- AngloGold Ashanti
- Buildings and structures in Teller County, Colorado
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