Special Visit To The Incredible 16 to 1 Mine: Part 6 - Tightner Shaft

We continue our explore of the gold mine along the 1700 Level to see a fantastic piece of historical mining equipment in the form of an enormous pump. We also visit the nearby Tightner Shaft before returning on the underground train to the 49 Winze where we then make our way back to the 1300 Level on the way to the ballroom. The quartz we pass through on the 1300 Level should give you an idea of what is to come in the ballroom…

And in case it wasn’t clear when we were looking down the Tightner Shaft, the winze keeps going for thousands of feet. Remember, we were standing on the 1700 Level looking down and the winze drops below 3,000 feet! There is still a lot of water to be pumped out.

I’m going to jump ahead a bit with the history on this mine as by the 1960s, the mine was under extreme pressure from the low (and fixed) price of gold relative to inflation, the fire in the Tightner Shaft, poor management decisions and rising production costs. As such, production was minimal and the mine was leased by multiple parties ranging from a group of Japanese businessmen (remember when Japan was set to take over the world, much as China is supposedly set to do now?) to Lucky Chance Mining Company to Royal Gold before the Original Sixteen to One Mine Inc. regained full title to its property on June 3, 1991.

Of note, Royal Gold spent $7 million on the mine and produced $5 million in gold. The largest pocket mined by Royal Gold contained over 6,000 ounces… On another occasion, Royal Gold recovered over 1,200 ounces of gold from an area five feet by six feet. In other words, in an area covered by a single round. Royal Gold likely could have broken even, or even profited from the Sixteen to One, but high-grading was reportedly a serious problem during this time and a lot of gold left the mine in people’s pockets.

I’m resuming the history of the Sixteen to One Mine from the book just after the Original Sixteen to One Mine Inc. regained control of the property as this is most relevant to the modern history of the mine:

“Since regaining control of its mine it has been feast or famine for the company, which is typical of the mines in the district. Soon after the return of the mine famine set in. The company had no money; then, during the end of 1991 a pair of out-of-work miners, Ian Haley and Randy Yeager, approached Mike Miller, president of the company since 1983, with a plan. The pair wanted to try and use metal detectors in the mine, which was otherwise on maintenance status. The novel idea appealed to Miller, and a 30-day co-op contract was negotiated. Success was immediate. The first day two ounces of gold were found. At the end of the first week 150 ounces had been found, and the next week 50 ounces were recovered from one spot. Some of the gold was “new gold” and some was stolen gold that had been hidden in the mine. Soon every miner had his own metal detector.

During 1992, aided by the use of metal detectors, the company produced 5,237 ounces of gold. During 1993 the company produced 8,163 ounces with a production cost of $183 per ounce. Included in this number is 2,500 ounces produced from the 1330 stope in one day. During five days in July 1995 the mine produced 1,717 ounces of high-grade and 3,327 ounces of specimen gold worth $1,936,829. During this time and up to the present a number of smaller pockets have been mined, which has allowed the mine to survive up to the present.”

Again, the above is excerpted from “Gold Mines of the Alleghany-Forest Mining District” by Raymond W. Wittkopp and Wayne C. Babros.

A couple of small points… The numbers quoted above were in 1990s prices. That would be several times more valuable today. And, yes, in case that didn’t stand out, they produced 2,500 ounces in one day! That’s known as the “million dollar day” around the mine. Today, it would be the “several million dollar day!”

Also, those of you that have been with this channel for a while may have recognized Randy Yeager’s name from our tour of the “Rogue Miner’s Mine.” If you haven’t seen it, it is an excellent video and Randy is a very colorful guide… A link is here:

   • Fascinating Visit To The “Rogue” Mine...  

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