Mining mistakes

With a vacation trip in 2010, with great expectation to see the grandeur and beauty of the Rocky Mountains, did not turn out as anticipated. I googled an area north of Durango, Co, which turned out to be Silverton, Co. Upon my arrival I noticed that I stumbled upon a very active mining town during the late 1800 century. My first impression was of total repulsion, the trace of past mining activity was all around me. My curiosity kick-in to investigate this a bit more. A sign at one of the mines stated that a trust fund had been established, for more than a couple of million dollars to clean-up the disaster caused in the early mining years. Also for the past 19 years, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has worked diligently to change the legacy of hardrock mining on federally managed lands. But still the evidence of neglect was still very visible.

But there also has been a more useful cause besides greed:

1941
World War I - World War II - Gold mines ordered to close to focus mining on strategic metals and minerals, such as lead, zinc, copper, and tungsten which were needed for the war effort

1945
Cold War begins. U.S. Atomic Energy Commission calls upon prospectors to begin a full-scale uranium industry.

1951
Korean War increases demand for strategic metals and minerals, such as lead, zinc, copper, tungsten, and uranium.

I have added a few more photos.

I did see many other pleasant nature sites, in this area and do not regret this trip. I came away with many pleasant memories.