Seventeenth level of Gem Mine's main shaft

Abstract

Photograph showing the seventeenth level of the Gem Mine main shaft. A sign showing the signals for the Gem Mine is mounted on one of the posts, and there is a telephone and electric signal button for hoisting on the left. The Gem Mine was patented in 1876 and was originally owned by Charles Stimson and A. P. Florida. The Mine was located on top of Seaton Mountain overlooking Idaho Springs. The main shaft had two compartments that were 1,900 feet deep, and the ore was transported from the mine through the Argo Tunnel. The ore was processed at the Gem Company Mills in Idaho Springs. Electricity for the Mine was supplied by the Gem Hydroelectric Plant and the Gem Steam Electric Plant. During the early 1900s, the Gem Mining Company was owned by the Big Five Corporation. In later years, the Gem, Freighter's Friend, and Franklin mines, which were all located on the Gem-Franklin vein, became the Consolidated Franklin Mine, and over their entire histories approximately 125,000 ounces of gold.