Winter or summer, the Silver Valley is a great place to vacation and visiting Crystal Gold Mine takes it to a whole new level — literally! Nine hundred feet underground is the Crystal Gold Mine, in Kellogg, Idaho. This mine is one of the first hard rock mines in the Silver Valley. Just minutes from historic downtown Wallace, this preserved mine was worked during the 1880’s and then shuttered and forgotten for over a hundred years. Through a series of fascinating events the mine was rediscovered in 1991 and reclaimed in 1996. Crystal Gold Mine is now operated as historical tourist attraction with loads of educational insight.
You will learn about the miners' process of back-braking labor done by hand and in candlelight. The guided underground tour explains how they drilled with "Hand Steels" using "Single Jacks" and "Double Jacks" (Hammers), how they traced the quartz vein using 1880 methods, and how they tested the vein for gold. You will be able to see beautiful stalactite crystals of smithsonite in an array of colors that coat the walls (the source of Crystal Gold Mine's name) and the wire silver that is still in the quartz vein. Best of all there is still gold to be seen and touched!
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Previous owner Ray Cropp takes us 900 feet underground to explore this well preserved time capsule.
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