Empire Mine

Steam powered hoist used for lifting ore from the mine.

This last week we went on a little trip to the gold country area of Grass Valley. One of the highlights of the trip was a tour of the Empire Mine at Grass Valley. This mine was operated for over 100 years, finally shutting down for good in 1956. During its years of operation, nearly six million ounces of gold were produced.

In the beginning gold was found on several small surface outcroppings of quartz. Miners set up claims and began to chip away at the rocks to get at the gold. Soon digging in the ground was necessary and it became obvious that they did not know how to dig safely. Cave-ins were frequent and the mountain springs flooded their tunnels.

A group of miners worked to consolidate the mining claims. In 1851 it was known as the Ophir Hill Mine. In 1852 the mine was sold to John Rush, who changed the name to the Empire Quartz Hill Company.

During the 1910’s and 1920’s, the Empire mine was considered to be one of the most progressive and best managed. Considerable investments were made in materials and the best technology available at that time. One of the things they did was to use mules to pull ore car trains from the side tunnels to the main mine shaft where they could be unloaded. This was quite a novel thing when first done, as the miners themselves had to push the loaded cars around before that.

The mine was bought out in 1929 by the Newmont Mining Corporation. At the same time Newmont also bought another California mine. All three mines were then known as the Empire-Star Mines Company. Gold from the mines made the Great Depression something the residents of Grass Valley only read about in the paper.

The mine was doing well financially but was shut down by government order during World War II, as it was considered a non-essential industry. It was reopened in 1945, but because of the artificial government price fixing of gold to 1934 levels, the mine’s profit margins began to fall, then go negative in the early 1950’s. Even though the price of gold was fixed, prices of mining equipment and salaries continued to go up. By 1956 the miners went on strike to protest their low wages. The strike could not be settled and the mine closed down in late 1956. Most of the moveable equipment was auctioned off early the next year.

Today many of the original buildings have been demolished and only foundations remain. However, there is a group of people who want to keep the memory of this historic mine alive. They have reconstructed several of the most important buildings, such as the blacksmith shop, the machine shop and the tool sharpening shop. Also a large assortment of antique mining equipment has been brought in to demonstrate approximately what the mine looked like in the 1890’s.

There is a sign posted on the entrance to the mine offices which gives quotes of the price of gold at various times during the mine’s operation. In 1856, the price was $6.23 per troy ounce. In 1920 it was up to $20.57. By 1956, when the mine closed, the price was $35.00.

Since that time the gold prices are no longer controlled by government. It held the $35 per ounce price until August 15, 1971 when President Richard Nixon announced that the United States would no longer convert dollars to gold at a fixed value. The limitation on gold ownership in the U.S. was repealed after President Gerald Ford signed a bill legalizing private ownership of gold coins, bars and certificates December 31, 1974. As of April 5 of this year, the price of gold was $909 per ounce.