Baker City gold mine scoured for leftovers

Published 6:12 am Tuesday, February 21, 2012

BAKER CITY A Nevada company thinks high gold prices can help it make money by working over the leavings of a Baker County mining operation from the first half of the 20th century.

Ironside Mining Inc. of Elko figures the giant Sumpter Dredge had captured only 40 percent of the gold when it was shut down in 1954, the Baker City Herald reported.

Dredges are normally associated with deepening river channels, but versions were used in mining in the Sumpter Valley in Eastern Oregon to dig rock that was processed with water to separate the ore from the rock, which became the tailings.

The 2.5-million-pound Sumpter Dredge went into operation in 1913. It has been partially restored during the past 15 years and is the centerpiece of a state heritage area about 30 miles southwest of Baker City. The area attracts about 40,000 visitors per year.

The county owns nearly 1,600 acres in the tailings, piles of rock and gravel interspersed with clumps of trees and ponds that are habitat for waterfowl and other species. The federal government owns 100 acres, and 450 acres are in private hands.

Ironside asked the county for a long-term lease.

The project would start off small and ramp up over a period of three to four years to a full-blown commercial placer operation that would generate significant amounts of revenue for Baker County, Ironside said in a report to the county government.

Depending on the price of gold and the length of the mining season, Ironside said, the county could reap more than $1 million a year once a full-scale plant goes into operation.

The company said it could dig pits this spring to test the ore, build a pilot plant by fall and have one plant in operation by 2014. It envisions several plants and 15 to 20 years of work.

Ironside said its process would re-sort the tailings and leave coarse rock below a top layer of granular sand and soil suitable for farming or pastures.

County commissioners said the operation would entail what one called a lot of planning issues but they were interested in the development and the jobs it could bring.

It would be nice to have the gold out, said Commissioner Carl Stiff.