Hidee Gold Mining Company thanks community with annual celebration
Free tours, rides, food, fun
In the archives of this newspaper the July 1, 1904 issue reports values of an ore shipment from the Hidee Mine in Lake Gulch district as 6 ounces gold, 9 ounces silver and 11% copper for a total valuation of $130 per ton. The mine had been in operation for eight years by then. The Hidee is still operating today. For the past 15 years it’s been under the ownership of Ed Lewandowski, President of the Hidee Gold Mining Company, producing gold now sold as nuggets or in vials for the tourist trade and collectors. Last Friday, Lewandowski and his crew hosted their sixth annual End-of-Spring Celebration, a community appreciation event with mine tours, surrey rides, music and food. “It’s all free,” Lewandowski repeated as he visited municipal and county meetings prior to the event, inviting all who were there to attend. Close to 300 people did just that, keeping Lewandowski’s crew busy from 4:00 to past 7:00 p.m.
Lewandowski’s sons, Ed and Gary, introduced folks to the Hidee (named for a dance hall girl, but misspelled) as they gathered at the portal. Inside, the temperature stays about 45 degrees Fahrenheit (year round) so jackets were advised. Many also donned hard hats, provided by the gold mining company.(The Hidee’s “back,” the ceiling, is generally high enough for easy walking, but the hard hats were greatly appreciated by those who encountered the occasional “brow,” a low spot that, even though warned of by the guides, still knocked a few unwary noggins.)
Inside the Hidee, tour guides Mark Greaves and John Northern led groups of 10-15 people through the tunnel, pointing out geologic features along the way, like the Dory Fault Line, and explaining mining processes. There were so many mines operating in Gilpin County at one time, that miners sometimes connected the different claims underground by tunneling from one seam to another. Just up hill from the Hidee, the remains of the Pittsburgh’s surface operations can still be seen. 135 feet underground, the workings are seen, inside the Hidee, as the Pittsburgh cross-cut. The tour culminates 700 feet in, where the Hidee claim intersects with the Fay. At that point, a vertical vein of gold traverses the wall and visitors are handed a single-jack (hammer) and drill (chisel) so they can chip out their own sample to take home. In addition to gold, ore from the Hidee may contain silver, gold-pyrite, pyrite, chalcopyrite, covalite and other trace minerals. Because the gold at the Hidee is pyritic, Lewandowski said not to disregard the “fool’s gold” there. It bears the real stuff, too. Hidee ore bears 3-7 ounces of gold, 6-12 ounces of silver and 10-16% copper per ton. The vein accessed on the tour is a particularly rich one, bearing up to 14 ounces gold per ton.
After touring the mine, visitors compared their ore samples, tracing thin yellow threads through golf-ball sized chunks of rock. Some tried their hand at panning in the Hidee Village sluice or took a surrey ride up to the Pittsburgh on the Clydesdale-powered Hidee Village Stage Line. A trio of musicians, known for the day as the “Hidee Miners,” played on the porch of Ma’s Eatery as folks strolled Main Street, watched the Legendary Ladies do-si-do or sat in the picnic area munching gourmet hotdogs, chips and cookies.
Those who missed this event don’t have to wait another year to see the Hidee. Individual and group tours have been offered since 1981 (720-548-0343 or www.HIDEEGOLDMINE.com). A generator powers electric lights and air circulation (supported by ventilation shafts) throughout the mine and the walking is easy. There’s never been a cave-in at the Hidee and the state inspects it for safety annually. The Hidee, located in an extremely rich gold-bearing region (locals dubbed it the “Richest Square Mile on Earth”) has been featured on television and the tour is recommended by the Colorado State Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety as a safe way to learn about 19th century mining. Guides know their history, geology and mining and are enthusiastic information-sharers. Elevation for the Hidee Gold Mine is 8,600 feet. To reach it, take the Hidee Mine Road, located at mile marker 6.3 on the Central City Parkway.