Ken Martin Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> >There are also newspaper references to the other
> mines between Hancock and Romley, notably the
> Flora Bell,
>
> I have a shipping order for one gondola of crude
> ore from the Flora Belle Mining co. to the Globe
> smelter.
> and I believe there is a picture in the South Park
> Annual from CRRM.
>
> Ken Martin
this document [
lcweb2.loc.gov]
has a great deal of mining info regarding St Elmo and Romley mines,
quote
Physical evidence of the mining activity in Upper Chalk Creek still abounds
around St. Elmo. Probably over 100 shaft openings and tailings (dumps) dot the
mountain, sides of the canyon, and nearby gulches. On Murphy Mountain, shaft
houses of the Mary Murphy Mine {HAER No. C0-26) may be seen above the
timberline. At one of the lower levels of the mine are found the
boardinghouse, ruins of miners' cabins, and the combined sorting mill and
tramway house.
HABS No. CO-72
Less than a mile north of Romley are the ruins of the milling operations of the
Mary Murphy Gold Mining Company. On the hillside below the former railroad
right-of-way are the concrete foundations of the main mill, erected in 1912-13,
in which the company installed the latest "flotation and static separation"
machinery for concentrating the ore. A small section of the mill buildings
still stands at the east end. Below, on the south side of the upper fork of
Chalk Creek, are immense deposits of silt and discarded minerals, the residue
of the milling operation. The corridors and many of the wooden towers of the
two aerial tramways leading down from the upper levels of the Murphy mine may
be seen on the side of Chrysolite Mountain above the old railroad right-of-way.
There also are remains of the Iron Chest Mine on the north side of Murphy
Mountain. The shaft house, boardinghouse, and remains of a mill survive above
the timberline about 3 miles southwest of St. Elmo.
At St. Elmo itself, several ruins associated with milling remain. The presumed
remains of the Pat Murphy Mining Company mill, erected in the 1890s, are found
in the southern portion of the townsite on the west bank of the south fork of
Chalk Creek. At the east end of Main Street stand the stables and blacksmith
shop of the Pawnee Mining and Milling Company (HABS No. CO-72-A).
The Pawnee stamp mill, erected about 1892, adjoined the stable building to the north. The
ore wagon road and scales may be found above the stable and mill site. The
Pawnee Mill owners concentrated ore under contract to several companies.
Just east of the townsite, on the south side of County Road 162, the ruins of
the Paramount Mill (HAER No. CO-23) dominate the hillside. The concrete
footings for the milling machinery and the wooden floors remain on four
terraces in the hillside. The mill, erected about 1910, was also a custom
operation, undertaking ore reduction for multilple mining concerns. Below the
Paramount was the plant of the St. Elmo Mining, Milling and Cyaniding Company.
The Jeffrey cyanide plant had appeared on the site in the mid-l890s in response
to the development of the new cyanide process, which increased gold production.
The St. Elmo Cyaniding Company's concrete facility replaced the wooden one.
Built sometime after 1904, the St. Elmo plant today consists only of poured
concrete foundations installed on the south side of the creek to support
cyanide processing vats. Remains of a dam are found immediately to the west.
