Route 80 north, in Auburn turn off onto route 49 north, exit Empire Street.
MAY to AUG daily 9-18.
SEP to DEC daily 10-17.
[2006]
Surface Tours: per Person USD 1.50.
Undergroudn Tours: not yet open.
[2006]
Gold Mine
| Location: |
Grass Valley California, the heart of the gold country. Route 80 north, in Auburn turn off onto route 49 north, exit Empire Street. |
| Open: |
JAN to APR daily 10-17. MAY to AUG daily 9-18. SEP to DEC daily 10-17. [2006] |
| Fee: |
Park: Adults USD 3, Children (5-16) USD 1, Children (0-4) free. Surface Tours: per Person USD 1.50. Undergroudn Tours: not yet open. [2006] |
| Classification: |
Gold Mine
|
| Light: | electric. |
| Dimension: | L=590km |
| Guided tours: | not yet open |
| Bibliography: | |
| Address: | Empire Mine State Historic Park, 10791 East Empire St., Grass Valley, CA 95945, Tel: +1-530-273-8522. |
| Last update: | $Date: 2008/07/01 20:31:30 $ |
| 1850 | mine opened. | |
| 1869 | William Bourn Sr. owned controlling interest. | |
| 1929 | sold to Newmont Mining. | |
| 1959 | mine closed. | |
| 1975 | State purchased the surface property as the Empire Mine State Historic Park. |
This was the richest hard-rock mine in California producing 165,000kg of gold all together. The gold is part of a quartz vein in a massive of gray granite. Such veins are hydrothermal depositions formed by the heat of the granite intrusion.
Empire Mine is the oldest, largest, and richest gold mine in California. The Historic Park contains many of the original mine buildings, the owners cottage and the restored gardens and grounds. The park has an area of 342ha and almost 20km of hiking trails.
The gold was discovered by George Roberts, but he soon sold his interest. Since 1869 William Bourn Sr. owned controlling interest and the family maintained control until it was sold to Newmont Mining in 1929. The mine was closed in 1959 and almost twnty years later in 1975 it was purchased by the State. The Empire Mine State Historic Park was opened, which soon became a popular tourist destination. The main attractions are historical tours of the Bourn Cottage, the mineyard, and the Park museum. The museum shows a scale model of the underground workings of the Empire/Star mine complex. A gold room displays ore samples from local mines. There is also the Assay Office, and an extensive mineral collection. Visitors can see the video entitled Tears from the Sun which explains various gold mining techniques.
But all sights were above ground until now, although there were almost 600km of abandoned and partly flooded mine shafts. So a few years ago the creation of an underground tour was started, called the Underground Tour Project. The California Cultural and Historical Endowment (CCHE) granted the Empire Mine State Historic Park and the Department of Parks & Recreation more than 1.2 million dollars for its completion. The construction of a Maintenance Building and the Orientation Center will start this fall.
An adit is built horizontally through the quartz-laced gray granite. The final destination is the main shaft. The visitors will ride a mine train through this 250m long tunnel. Dioramas depicting the advancement of hardrock mining techniques over the years will be constructed along the tracks, and the train will stop now and then. At the main shaft a socalled stope will be visted, a huge cavern created by the upward mining of the quartz vein. The adit is almost completed.
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