Teller County staff recommend conditional approval of CC&V mine expansion
The proposed amendment would add about 189 million tons of leach capacity and extend parts of reclamation and monitoring through 2064; county commissioners have not voted.
Published at
Teller County’s Planning Commission recommended conditional approval of a proposed Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mining Co. mine-plan amendment after an Aug. 11 public hearing. County staff also recommends approval, subject to conditions. The Board of County Commissioners has not approved the proposal, which would add about 189 million tons of leach capacity and extend parts of the mine’s reclamation and monitoring schedule into the 2060s, the county staff report says
Known as Amendment 14, the proposal would add phases at Valley Leach Facilities 1 and 2, a process-solution storage area and an infiltration gallery, and expand the Globe Hill pit. It also includes 14.20 acres for an employee parking lot and 0.63 acres for a temporary access road to the state-regulated affected-lands boundary. The parking lot is not proposed for mining activity and would require a county access permit and construction to county road standards.
The proposed schedule would extend active mining from 2031 to 2032, process-solution recovery from 2038 to 2049, final reclamation and closure from 2050 to 2059, and post-closure monitoring through 2064.
County staff recommends six conditions: compliance with state requirements related to an investigation of a 2025 high-process-water event; obtaining applicable permits; meeting county access and road standards for the parking area; shielding and directing exterior lights downward; filing annual reports; and treating the company’s material representations as binding.
The Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety conditionally approved the amendment in October 2025. That state approval does not replace the county’s pending decision. The county’s Oct. 27 Board work-session agenda lists a discussion of Amendment 14, but says work sessions are informal, are not public hearings, take no public comment and involve no formal Board action.
The application record includes one written public comment. Lawrence Marston said mine infrastructure, fencing, access restrictions and utilities could affect mining claims held by the Marston Trust, and requested mapping and clarification of access rights. CC&V responded that the jointly owned Harold MS 13650 claim is potentially affected by existing operations, but not by Amendment 14’s proposed changes; the company said the Trust’s other listed properties are outside the current mine plan and affected-lands area. The staff report records the parties’ positions, not a county determination of property rights or access.