A vanload of members of the ACS, Colorado Section, were treated to an extensive tour of the Cripple Creek and Victor (CC&V) mine last Friday. The photo below shows a view of the mine from the abandoned American Eagle Mine above the CC&V pit operations. The mountains in the background are the Sangre de Cristo range.

View of Cripple Creek & Victor Mining Operations from the American Eagle Mine, May 2010.

A haul truck bed was converted to a scenic overlook platform (below).  A few section members take in the view.

CC&V Scenic overlook platform

From this high vantage point we could see blasting operations at work. Multiple sites may be prepared simultaneously. Blasting typically occurs at 1:00 pm. Holes are drilled on 20 ft centers for optimum coverage. Every blasting hole is sampled and analyzed by ICP to measure the gold value for that zone.  Zones with low value are hauled to the waste heap and the high value rock is taken to the crusher.

Preparation for blasting, CC&V, May 2010.

We visited the pit and watched haul trucks get loaded by a gigantic loader. For every one truckload of ore there are two truckloads of unproductive rock that have to be hauled to a separate location on site. The definition of unproductive rock depends entirely on the market price of gold.  In the photo below, drilling rigs for the blasting charges are in operation for the next round of blasting.

Loading area, CC&V Mine.

Later we watched the trucks unload into a crusher with a gyrating element that crushed the rock into football sized chunks. The resulting rock is conveyed to a screener and another crusher in order to further reduce the size to 0.75 inches. Every truckload of rock is treated with lime to help maintain a high pH for the aqueous cyanide leaching operation.  In the photo below, the white tank on the lower right contains the lime.

Heap leaching operations, CC&V May 2010.

The gold bearing rock is irrigated with a very dilute sodium cyanide solution which percolates to the bottom of the heap and is captured in a basin feature at the bottom of the heap. The “pregnant” solution of gold cyanide extract is pumped out from under the heap at 14,500 gal/min into a cascading series of charcoal filtration tanks in the extraction building (see photo).

Pregnant solution passing over charcoal filter bed. CC&V May 2010.

Once a specified loading of Au is sorbed onto the charcoal, the sorbent is treated with hot concentrated cyanide. This concentrate is then passed over steel wool where the gold precipitates. The precipitated gold is then smelted to produce bulk crude metal which is shipped off-site for further refinement.