About Mining

Starting in the 1860's, mines, miners, mining districts and mining camps were part of a restless population in New Mexico, shifting from gulch to gulch hoping for a strike. The search was the thing!

But prospectors seldom left written records. They spent their days chipping away at every outcrop, digging down when it seemed worthwhile. Only when one found something promising did they file a claim, leaving us a written record of their work. So much of what we know today is based on hearsay, historical documentation, reminiscences, and on the prospect holes and mines they left--and on guesswork.

Very few of the miners who actually located the mineral wealth became owners of mining companies for it took different kinds of people to solve problems of profitable mining.