The Gilpin County Mine Rescue Team has served Gilpin County, and surrounding areas, since the 1960’s.  The Mine Rescue Team was first a branch of Search and Rescue, but currently (since 1992) operates under the Gilpin County Sheriff’s Office.

Abandoned and/or inactive mines are abundant in many western states, especially in historical mining districts such as Black Hawk and Central City (Gilpin County, Colorado).  While state and federal agencies are currently working to close such mines (a costly and generally time consuming endeavor), the number of mines remaining open to date is staggering.  The hazards abandoned mines create to both humans and livestock is quite significant, and should not be underestimated.  In addition to obvious dangers such as falling into a vertical shaft, abandoned mines may contain deadly and explosive gases, rotten and unstable timbers or head frames, loose rocks and boulders, unstable collars and portals, hidden shafts (winzes), leftover and forgotten explosives, and dangerous subsidence features.

The Gilpin County Mine Rescue Team was organized in the early 1960’s to address the necessity of having a trained group of individuals who, with specialized training in mine hazards (and safety), would be available in the event of an abandoned mine accident, or emergency rescue.  Since that time, the Gilpin County Mine Rescue Team has participated in well over 100 abandoned mine rescues.  In addition, the team has assisted various Sheriff’s Departments and District Attorney Offices in the recovery of often-crucial evidence of many kinds, from mine shafts in many locations in the mountains of Colorado’s Front Range.  The team is the only one of its kind (specializing in abandoned or inactive mines) currently active in the State of Colorado, and is 100% volunteer operated, and of a non-profit status.  The team has never charged any agency, or person, for services it has provided.

Currently, there are an estimated 3000+ inactive, or abandoned mines still open (and hazardous) in Gilpin County alone (10,000+ state wide), including a 2400-foot deep shaft in Nevadaville – only a short walk from Central City!  Hundreds of these dangerous mines are located within a few miles of the gaming districts of Black Hawk and Central City.  While the team feels lucky that we have not had to respond to an to an abandoned mine emergency in quite some time, we continue to train, and maintain our equipment to the best of our ability.  We feel that the greatly increased number of both visitors and employees traveling to our area, as a direct result of the gaming industry, is analogous to a time bomb waiting to explode.