Dives-Pelican & Seven-Thirty Mines: Silver Plume Colorado
Historical offering of 122 Patented Mining Claims representing approximately 350 acres above the town of Silver Plume, Colorado and directly adjacent to the 723,744 acre Arapaho National Forest
Ranging in altitudes from roughly 9,200′ to about 11,400′, the veins of the mines within the Georgetown Silver Plume District in the region were initially discovered shortly after the mid 1850’s and the part of the district along the southern slopes of Sherman Mountain and Republican Mountain contained some of the most productive veins within the district. According to a report from 1903 , “these properties held the record for the highest grade ore of any mining district in the world. While the ores carry some gold, the main values lie in silver and lead.” Taken from the REPORT ON THE DIVES-PELICAN AND SEVEN THIRTY MINES (See Documents Section).
It has been estimated in a more recent evaluation in 2002 conducted by Mining Engineer, Albert Barnhard, using research from the Colorado School of Mines Library and the Georgetown Colorado Public Library, that “good grade ore of gross value of $1.3 billion (in 2002 estimated values) or more remains in the properties with the potential to discover many more hundreds of millions of dollars in ore values if the properties are prudently explored and developed.” (See Research and Proven Reserve Estimation within Documents section).
Long Term Investment Opportunity
It has been hypothesized by the owners that with a growing global demand for rare earth minerals that are mostly sourced from abroad in current times; there will come a need to tap in to the vast resources available domestically from existing ore deposits. Indeed in a recent article in the MIT Technology Review titled “the race to produce rare earth elements” by Mureji Fatunde; “Access to rare earth elements, key ingredients in many of these technologies, will partly determine which countries will meet their goals for lowering emissions or increasing the proportion of electricity generated from non-fossil-fuel sources”. She goes on to suggest “some nations, including the US, are increasingly worried about whether the supply of those elements will remain stable”.
History & Recreation
The region began bustling with prospectors in the 1860’s and by 1880 Town of Silver Plume was founded where “miners realized that they were exploring one of the richest silver mountains in the state“. The properties can be accessed via the 7:30 Mine Trail which takes hikers on an interactive journey through some of the history and drama of the mining days. Some come to visit the Griffin Monument; a 10′ tall granite landmark atop a outcropping precipice on the property. Others use the trail to gain access to the upper reaches of Silver Plume, Sherman, and Republican Mountains. The area is rich with wildlife including bighorn sheep, mountain goats, deer & elk, and bears. The properties lie within Colorado Big Game Managment Unit 39 and Sheep Unit S32
