Mining in Teller County

A report prepared and submitted in March by David Bamberger
& Associates of Colorado Springs offers an economic and social
perspective on the Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mining
Co.

• The mine employs 350,194 people who live in Teller County. In
  addition, 19 of 46 professional contractors live in the county. Of
  all personal income earned in the county, $24.3 million, or 3.1
  percent, is the result of direct or induced earnings supported by
  CC&V’s activities.

• Based on the 2007 level of mining activity, Teller County and
  its political subdivisions will receive about $1.7 million in
  property taxes, $1.2 million in personal property tax, $213,000 in
  sales taxes from purchases made by CC& V and $1.3 million in
  net proceeds tax, $62,700 in county sales tax and $156,000 in
  municipal taxes from the resulting induced expenditures.

• In addition, the county and the political subdivisions should
  receive, on average, more than $700,000 a year from the state
  severance tax fund throughout CC& V’s mine life.

• “Continuation of mining activities will help maintain economic
  diversity within Teller County, helping to insulate again downturns
  in other sectors,” the report states.

• Along with mining activities, CC& V expends funds for
  professional services by outside providers such as consulting
  attorneys, engineering services and laboratory expenses. In 2007,
  for instance, $3.5 million was paid for outside professional
  services while $6.2 million was spent for contract drilling
  services. As a result of these expenditures, 85 jobs and $3.2
  million in earnings are supported in Teller County, the report
  stated.

• Severance taxes, $799,111, are paid to the state by the mine
  and 85 percent of those payments are directed back to the affected
  communities through a discretionary grant and loan program while
  the remaining 15 percent is reimbursed to Teller and Fremont
  counties.

• The City of Victor receives more than 38 percent of its revenue
  from water purchases by the mine.

• CC&V will spend a significant amount on reclamation work,
  increasing in 2013 and reaching a peak of $11.3 million in 2017.
  “From 2007 through 2032, over $70.4 million will have been spent on
  reclamation,” the Bamberger report stated.

• The mining industry provides jobs for workers with a different
  mix of skills than those required by the gaming industry. “As the
  U.S. and Colorado economy begin to feel the effects of an emergent
  recession in 2008, the existence of the mine will serve as a strong
  buffer for the local economy,” the report stated.

• The Bamberger report is based on empirical research, computer
  modeling and rigorous analysis.

719-687-3006 | phill@ccnewspapers.com