Gold Flakes to
Yellowcake
Historic Mine Trail
The Yellowcake Boom
The post-WWII quest for uranium in Central Wyoming was triggered by the
sudden demand for yellowcake – processed uranium – primarily for national
defense in the early years, but later used to fuel the 104 nuclear power plants
in the U.S. One pound of yellowcake produces the same amount of energy as
31 barrels (1,302 gallons) of fuel oil, or 10 tons of coal. Since production
started, Wyoming uranium has provided energy equal to 5.9 billion barrels of
fuel oil or 1.9 billion tons of Wyoming coal.
Gold
Jeffrey City: Biggest Bust of Them All
In 1954 prospector Robert (Bob) Adams discovered uranium. He founded the
Lost Creek Oil and Uranium Company, purchased property next to Home on
the Range and built a company town, naming it Jeffrey City after Dr. C.W.
Jeffrey of Rawlins, his biggest financial backer. Adams renamed his company
Western Nuclear, Inc. and later sold to Phelps-Dodge, a mining conglomerate,
during the industry’s slowdown in the 1960s. With the next uranium boom in
the 1970s, Phelps-Dodge added employees and built housing, streets, and
parks; Jeffrey City bustled. In 1980, with nearby uranium mines in full swing,
over 4,000 people
called Jeffrey City
home. The school
had almost 600
students, and the
area’s uranium
industry employed nearly
1,000 workers.
"STOP (Jeffrey City,
WY)" painting by Travis
Ivey, 2008. CAPA 2009.3.1, Wyoming State
Museum
Wyoming Historic Mine Trail and Byway Program
The Historic Mine Trail and Byway program was established
by the Wyoming Legislature in 2005. It created the program for
the purpose of identifying historic mine locations and designating trails and byways that link historic mines within the state.
Objectives of the program are to 1) Provide a precise history of
mineral development in Wyoming; 2) Interpret the role of mining and minerals in the development of Wyoming's economy;
3) Identify and describe Wyoming's mining and mineral development heritage.
Uranium
Iron
Carissa Mine
Wyoming Historic Mine Trail
and Byway Program
State Historic Preservation Office
Monuments and Markers Program
2301 Central Ave, Barrett Building
Cheyenne, WY 82002
Program Coordinator: Laura Nowlin
Phone: 307-777-6179
Fax: 307-777-6421
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: http://wyoshpo.state.wy.us/mm/
A Division of the Wyoming Monuments and Markers Program
Gold Flakes to Yellowcake Historic Mine Trail
Atlantic City: Surviving the Bust
Centrally located on the gold-bearing vein in the area, mines literally surrounded
Atlantic City by the fall of 1868. The townspeople soon fostered a thriving business community. In addition to sawmills and blacksmith shops, Atlantic City
boasted of beer breweries and one of Wyoming Territory’s first public schools.
Boom rapidly led to bust and the town faltered. Today, Atlantic City remains a
community of resilient souls where modern homes coexist with historic log cabins
in one of Wyoming’s oldest cities.
Miners Delight: The Boom’s Broken Promises
As the news of gold spread, the Sweetwater Mining District filled with miners
who established Hamilton City in 1867. The following year, the name of the town
changed to Miners Delight, after a highly productive nearby mine. The Miners
Delight mine produced the greatest wealth of any in the mining district while the
town remained the smallest and most isolated. According to a 1916 government
report, the Miners Delight mine and surrounding placers had produced over $2.5
million. By 1870, the gold boom had ended.
Original Carissa Mine in 1903, J.E. Stimson Photographer, Courtesy
of the Wyoming State Archives
This Historic Mine Trail links significant
areas of mineral development in Central
Wyoming. Mining in the state has contributed to the accumulation of both private and
public riches, and likewise the loss of
wealth. Traditionally, Wyoming has been
reliant on mining activities and as a result,
the history of the state is directly related to
the ups and downs of the industry and the
environmental and cultural effects of mining. Mineral development in Wyoming followed this pattern of boom and bust since the first discovery of gold
in the 1860s. The Historic Mine Trail interprets this story by linking gold mines to uranium mines and connecting the boom and bust
experience of the 1870s to the 1970s.
“The Gold Flakes Region,” located in the Sweetwater Mining District at the headwaters of the Sweetwater River, contains the state’s
only developed gold mines. This area witnessed the state’s one
gold rush, which occurred as Wyoming Territory was being
formed. The rush contributed to the population increase and the
development of freight roads in Wyoming, and forced the Territory
to face its Native American issues. The gold rush became the first
of Wyoming’s long tradition of mineral boom and bust cycles.
Linked to this first mining development in Wyoming are the uranium mines of the “Yellowcake Region.” The uranium mines contributed similarly to Wyoming’s development and tell another story
of boom and bust. Much of the state’s history is tied to this cyclical
experience, which helps explain the state’s population distribution,
the employment rates, environmental policies, and legislative policies.
The Atlantic City Project: The Iron Ore Boom and Bust
Beginning in the 1960s, iron ore mining provided an economic boom for the area.
In 1960 the U.S. Steel Corporation broke ground on the nation’s highest open pit
iron ore mine at 8,300 feet above sea level. By the spring of 1963 the complex
was in full swing. Employees operated an open pit mine, an ore crushing and
screening facility, a concentrating plant and water storage and handling system,
and storage, loading, and shipping facilities. The Iron Mine closed in 1984.
The Yellowcake Region
The Gold Flakes Region
Gold found at the Carissa lode in 1867 set off a rush to the Sweetwater region, Wyoming’s largest gold rush. The towns of South Pass City, Miners Delight, and Atlantic
City sprouted to support the miners. The gold quickly played out and most people
eventually moved on, leaving behind shells of the boom towns that once existed. In
addition to gold, the highest open pit iron ore mine in the United States operated in the
region from 1962 until 1984.
South Pass City: Wyoming’s Biggest Gold Boom and Bust
Emigrant travelers on their way west likely discovered small amounts of gold in the
1840’s, but it took until 1868 for the first mining claims to be staked. Word of the new
gold rush spread and the summer of 1868 brought an influx of people from every corner of the globe to partake in the bonanza. A torrent of mining activity followed for the
next several years. In 1869 South Pass City, with perhaps 3,000 people, was Wyoming
Territory’s second largest town.
The Carissa Mine: Cycle of Boom and Bust
Thousands rushed to the South Pass area following the find of substantial gold deposits
at the Carissa Mine in 1867. As the boom gained steam, the Carissa sat at the center of
mining development, serving as the primary economic force for South Pass City.
Eventually, the gold played out and the Carissa’s mining technology reached its limit.
A stampede of prospectors followed the initial 1953 discovery of uranium in the
Gas Hills by Neil M. McNeice (Lucky Mc). The boom that followed transformed
Home on the Range, a gas station and post office, into the thriving Jeffrey City.
But with every boom comes a bust; the mining operations drastically declined and
the streets of Jeffrey City emptied by 1988.
The Rise and Fall of Wyoming’s Yellowcake Industry
In 1948, when the Atomic Energy Commission guaranteed a market for yellowcake (processed uranium), prospecting started in earnest. In September 1953, Neil
McNeice and his wife Maxine first discovered uranium in the Gas Hills. They
quickly found partners and developed the Lucky Mc mining properties. More
activity followed, with a hot discovery in Crooks Gap later the same year, and
Jeffrey City was born. By 1955, more than 7,000 mining claims were filed in Fremont County alone. Just north of Jeffrey City, the Split Rock Mill started operation in 1957. Additional mills sprang up in the Gas Hills and at Riverton. In the
1950s, man camps and mining towns blossomed in the remote Gas Hills Mining
District, with the population peaking at nearly 3,000 people. Mine haul roads connected the mining settlements, and the uranium industry flourished in the 1950s
and 1960s. A downturn in
1973 depopulated the towns
in the Gas Hills. Then, when
demand for Wyoming’s
yellowcake fell in the mid1980s, came the bust.
The Gas Hills today.