Ajax Mine

The Ajax Mine is a silver and gold mine located in Park county, Colorado.

About the MRDS Data:

All mine locations were obtained from the USGS Mineral Resources Data System. The locations and other information in this database have not been verified for accuracy. It should be assumed that all mines are on private property.

Mine Info

Satelite View

MRDS mine locations are often very general, and in some cases are incorrect. Some mine remains have been covered or removed by modern industrial activity or by development of things like housing. The satellite view offers a quick glimpse as to whether the MRDS location corresponds to visible mine remains.

Site Name

Primary: Ajax Mine
Secondary: Ajax Tunnel Site and Mill Site, Ajax NO. 1 and Ajax No. 7

Commodity

Primary: Silver
Primary: Gold

Location

State: Colorado
County: Park
District: Alma

Land Status

Land ownership: National Forest
Note: the land ownership field only identifies whether the area the mine is in is generally on public lands like Forest Service or BLM land, or if it is in an area that is generally private property. It does not definitively identify property status, nor does it indicate claim status or whether an area is open to prospecting. Always respect private property.
Administrative Organization: Pke National Forest (South Park Ranger District)

Holdings

Type: Located Claim

Workings

Not available

Ownership

Owner Name: Kevin Lawrence
Home Office: Alma, Colorado
Info Year: 2012
Years: 1988 -

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Past Producer
Operation Type: Underground
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant:

Physiography

Not available

Mineral Deposit Model

Not available

Orebody

Not available

Structure

Not available

Alterations

Not available

Rocks

Not available

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Not available

Comments

Comment (Commodity): Commodity may have been gold or silver.

Comment (Production): IF the mine ever produced, the quantity of ore and grade are unknown.

Comment (Location): Several news reports as of March 2012 erroneously repeat the misinformation that the mine is in Teller county. The mine is NOT in Teller County.

Comment (Reference): There is no note of this mine in Patton, H.B., Hoskin, A.J., and Butler, G.M., 1912, Geology and ore deposits of the ?Amsa District, Park County, Colorado: Colorado Geological Survey Bulletin No. 3, 284 p. (pl. 1,

Comment (General): Mine was in the news March 12, 2012 when the owner/operator, Kevin Lawrence, was found crushed to death in a mine collapse.

Comment (Location): Location estimated from fig. on USFS environmental assessment report (USFS, 2007, p. 8, 9) to be the same as the unnamed prospect at 12,400 ft in SE of SW of Sec. 29 on the Climax 1:24,000 topo.

Comment (General): Ajax tunnel entrance is an historic site from an historic mine established in the 1890's. It is not eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places. (USFS, 2007, p. 19)

Comment (Geology): "No vein is exposed at the surface of the Ajax tunnel site and only a few pieces of pyritic rock were found on the waste-rock pile." (USFS, 2007, p. 28)

References

Reference (Deposit): Patton, H.B., Hoskin, A.J., and Butler, G.M., 1912, Geology and ore deposits of the Alma District, Park County, Colorado: Colorado Geological Survey Bulletin No. 3, 284 p. (Note that there is no mine shown in this area on the plates nor mentioned in the text.)

Reference (Deposit): U.S. Forest Service, 2007, Final Environmental Assessment, Ajax Mining Operation, Region 2, Pike National Forest, South Park Ranger District, 52 p., available at ftp://ftp2.fs.fed.us/incoming/r2/RO/FOIA/BiologicalDiversity-GreenwaldFOIA/PSICC/south_park_docs/ajax/AJAX_EA.pdf
URL: ftp://ftp2.fs.fed.us/incoming/r2/RO/FOIA/BiologicalDiversity-GreenwaldFOIA/PSICC/south_park_docs/ajax/AJAX_EA.pdf

Colorado Mining Photos

Check out this collection of Colorado's best historic mining photos: Incredible Photos of Colorado Mining Scenes.