Captain Jack Superfund Site - 2006 - bjcortis' Photos

Since the Fall of 2005 I have been a board member of the Lefthand Creek Coalition. Our work involves the remediation of abandoned mine sites in the Lefthand Watershed.

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bjcortis > Captain Jack Mill Area is one of hundreds of mines on the northern tip of the Colorado mineral belt. Undated picture, early 20th century. Source: Remedial Investigation (RI) and Feasability Study (FS).

bjcortis > Captain Jack Mill Superfund Site actually contains at least 3 distinct mining sites. White Raven Mine is found on the southern section (bottom right). Black Jack Mine and Captain Jack Mill area are located roughly in the middle of this picture. And, at the northern section the Big Five Tunnel. Blue line represents the Lefthand Creek. Green line in northern section represents the flow of acid mine drainage from the Big Five adit (more on this later).

bjcortis > White raven. Starting at the southern tip of the site, the California Gulch area includes the White Raven Mill. As of the fall of 2006 this structure, originally a mill and mine shaft known as "White Raven," was still standing. Notice the mine tailings pile with yellowish coloring.

bjcortis > Mine tailinigs piles make up a large section of the Lefthand Creek bank. Mine tailings are basically mine waste. Once the target ore has been milled, this debris remains. Often, tailings piles contain high concentrations of heavy metals.

bjcortis > Black Jack mine shaft. Now sealed for safety reasons, debris still litters the area around the mine entry.

bjcortis > Inside the mine shaft external structure. It always amazes me how much was left behind. The area surrounding the mine looks as though workers just set down their tools one day and walked away.

bjcortis > Captain Jack mill area. A significant amount of metal machinery was left behind when the Captain Jack mill shut down permenantly.

bjcortis > An old mill. Metal slowly rusts and wood slowly rots. It appears that someone has been adding to the pile of debris by abonding a car recently.

bjcortis > Big five tunnel tailings pile. The Big Five tunnel stretches into the mountside for miles. This massive pile of waste tailings helps convey the scale of the operation. In the foreground are members of the Lefthand Creek TAG Coalition (LCTC) and Lefthand Water District. Furthest left is Dr. Joe Ryan, Technical Adviser to LCTC. I'm deep in the background with a baseball cap.

Captain Jack Mill Area is one of hundreds of mines on the northern tip of the Colorado mineral belt. Undated picture, early 20th century. Source: Remedial Investigation (RI) and Feasability Study (FS).

> Captain Jack Mill Area is one of hundreds of mines on the northern tip of the Colorado mineral belt. Undated picture, early 20th century. Source: Remedial Investigation (RI) and Feasability Study (FS).

Captain Jack Mill Area is one of hundreds of mines on the northern tip of the Colorado mineral belt. Undated picture, early 20th century. Source: Remedial Investigation (RI) and Feasability Study (FS).

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