COLORADO.
Gold.—In
1911 the production of gold was $19,001,975, a decrease of $1,505,083
from the output for 1910, and of $2,987,361 from that of 1909. The
production of Cripple Creek, which was $10,562,653 in 1911, decreased
$439,600, following a decrease of $468,420 in 1910. The output of Ouray
County fell off $242,889 in 1911, following a decrease of $848,978 in
1910. In addition to the above decreases from Teller and Ouray
counties, notable decreases were also recorded from San Juan, Park, and
La Plata counties, and smaller decreases from Gunnison, Summit, Lake,
Chaffee, Clear Creek, Custer, Dolores, San Miguel, and Pitkin counties
in 1911. The output of Mineral County showed a considerable increase,
and smaller increases are noted from Gilpin, Boulder, Costilla, and
Eagle counties.
The
chief gold-producing counties of Colorado, with their outputs for 1911,
were: Teller (Cripple Creek), $10,562,653; San Miguel, $2,447,841;
Ouray, $1,952,958; Lake (Leadville), $1,133,442; Gilpin, $778,774;
Clear Creek, $519,207; San Juan, $336,463; La Plata, $286,937; and
Summit, $284,241. No other county produced $250,000 in 1911. The San
Juan region, including San Juan, San Miguel, Ouray, Dolores, Hinsdale,
Montezuma, and La Plata counties, in southwestern Colorado, produced
altogether $5,035,610 in 1911, against $5,822,422 in 1910 and
$6,170,201 in 1909. The Clear Creek region, including Boulder, Clear
Creek, and Gilpin counties in north-central Colorado, produced
$1,461,155 in gold in 1911, against $1,350,337 in 1910 and $1,586,991
in 1909.
Of
the total ore mined and sold or treated, dry or siliceous ores made up
79 per cent and yielded $17,907,034 of the gold, or 94 per cent of the
total gold output; nearly 2 per cent came from the placers, and nearly
2 per cent from lead ores, the remainder of the gold production being
derived from copper, zinc, and lead-zinc ores. The total placer output
of Colorado in 1911 was $319,759, a decrease of $75,706. Summit County,
with 3 dredges and 9 placers, mainly in the Breckenridge district,
yielded nearly 81 per cent of the placer output. The greater part of
the remainder came from sluicing operations in Park County and a
dredge in Costilla County.
Silver.—The
silver production of Colorado in 1911 was 7,330,168 fine ounces,
against 8,509,598 ounces in 1910 and 8,902,633 ounces in 1909. Lake
County (Leadville) showed a decrease of 314,719 ounces, following a
decrease of 101,627 ounces in 1910, but yielded 41 per cent of the
State output in 1911, against 39 per cent in 1910 and 38 per cent in
1909. Decreased production is also recorded for La Plata, Mineral, San
Juan, and San Miguel counties, but notable increases were made in
Eagle, Gilpin, Ouray, and Summit counties.
The
silver production of the leading counties in Colorado in 1911 was as
follows: Lake, 3,007,296 ounces; San Miguel, 1,000,834 ounces; Mineral,
545,319 ounces; Ouray, 512,800 ounces; Pitkin, 450,772 ounces; Clear
Creek, 437,841 ounces; and San Juan, 325,604 ounces. No other county
produced 300,000 ounces of silver in 1911. The San Juan region produced
1,972,637 ounces in 1911, against 2,625,033 ounces in 1910, and
2,737,239 ounces in 1909.
Dry
or siliceous ores yielded 5,096,026 fine ounces of silver in 1911, or
nearly 70 per cent of the total output; lead ores, 1,265,594 ounces, or
17 per cent; lead-zinc ores 476,049 ounces, or 6 per cent; copper
