CRIPPLE CREEK — Decades of state inspection reports for the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine Tour in Cripple Creek show the mine had complied with state requirements in the years following a cease and desist order that shut down the mine in 1987.
The tourist attraction is currently closed after a tour guide was killed and nearly two dozen others were trapped 1,000 feet underground last Thursday. The Teller County Sheriff's Office said the doors of the mine shaft elevator were crushed after a mechanical malfunction.
News5 obtained annual inspection reports of the mine tour going back to 1985. During annual inspections in the late 1980s, state inspectors consistently reported a lengthy list of items needing immediate attention.
Inspectors dinged the owners for exposed fuses, improperly stored flammable liquids, a lack of daily hoist brake checks, unsanitary toilets, missing ladder rungs, loose rock in the back of the mine, and hoistmen who were not certified to do their jobs.
The Teller County Sheriff said an incident happened in 1986 that trapped people in a mine shaft elevator. Inspection records show the state sent a cease and desist order to the mine owners effective Nov. 1, 1987. The order said the mine had to shut down until certain safety improvements were made.
A 1988 inspection report said new owners had taken over the mine and began the work to reopen it. It's unclear exactly when the mine reopened to tourists.
Our news partners at The Gazette found the mine shaft elevator failed twice in the summer of 1994. The Gazette reports 13 visitors were trapped underground for 12 hours after a metal elevator pulley broke causing a cable to slip off the wheel. The report said it happened again the next month, trapping 50 tourists for several hours.
Inspection reports from 2003-2021 show state inspectors reminded the mine owners more than a dozen times to keep up with daily oxygen level readings and monthly fire extinguisher reports. The records show inspectors recommended replacements for light covers, new light bulbs, underground first aid kits, underground emergency water, and chaining off non-tour areas.
Among those reports were several positive notes including "Mine looked good!" in 2015 and "Mine looks excellent (as usual)" in 2021.
The most recent annual inspection on Aug. 29th showed no violations or hazards were found.
The Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety (DRMS) sent the current owners of the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine Tour a cease and desist letter after this month's deadly accident, prohibiting the mine from reopening until a review of the mine's operation is complete.
A spokesperson for DRMS said it's trying to determine whether or not the death at the mine was the result of non-compliance or was strictly accidental.
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