The Cripple Creek and Victor Gold Mine generated more than $830 million in economic activity across Colorado last year according to a new report, highlighting the continued economic reach of one of the state’s oldest industries.
Today, gold mining looks drastically different from the days of prospectors and burros, but accounts for more than half of Teller County’s annual gross domestic product, making it the county’s most significant economic asset, said Lowe Billingsley, the mine’s general manager, while unveiling the report.
“Our employees, they’re very skilled, hardworking and proud of what they do,” Billingsley said. “They’re also parents, neighbors, coaches, volunteers and customers of local businesses. Their work is what makes these economic contributions possible and they deserve much of the credit reflected in this report.”
The mine, about 45 miles west of Colorado Springs, is Colorado’s only active gold mine. Last year, it produced about 153,000 ounces of gold — nearly 5 tons — at a value of $3,634 per ounce, according to Denver-based SSR Mining, the mine’s current owner.
Statewide, the mine supported 942 jobs and produced $38 million in state and local tax revenue last year, the report found. The mine could generate an additional $262 million in annual economic activity through 2050, under a proposed state permit amendment that would extend the life of the mine, the report found.
“When we talk about industries that built Colorado, we have to start with mining,” Johnna Reeder Kleymeyer, president and CEO of the Colorado Springs Chamber and Economic Development Corporation, said. “Long before we have experienced the benefits of having pillars of aerospace and defense, cybersecurity and technology and advanced manufacturing, truly mining was what helped put Colorado on the map.”
Mining still is an important piece to the southern Colorado ecosystem, Reeder Kleymeyer said.
The economic impacts are most directly felt in the Pikes Peak region where the mine generated $704 million in economic activity and supported 789 direct and indirect jobs, according to the report.
More than half of the mine’s 438 employees live in Teller County, 110 live in Fremont and 80 live in El Paso, the report said.
Billingsley said he expects the mine to continue providing “high-paying, quality jobs” in rural parts of the state, where such jobs can be difficult to find.
The average mine employee earns about $94,000 a year — more than 35% above the average annual wage in El Paso County and 75% above the average wage in Teller County.
SSR Mining, which purchased the mining operation in 2025, provides $100,000 annually to each of two community-based committees in Victor and Cripple Creek, which can distribute the money for local projects, said Annie Durham, mayor of Cripple Creek.
The company also provides $20,000 each year for field trips, children’s programs and other projects in the Cripple Creek Victor School District, including care for the school’s turtles, Durham said.
Durham said the company also has responded to community concerns about air quality, particularly around blasting. While the mine’s previous owners confirmed that the two air quality monitors at the north and south ends of the mine met the legal requirements, SSR installed three more monitors that provide continuous monitoring, rather than hourly snapshots, she said.
In Victor, a town of about 400 residents where generations of families have worked in the mines, the operation remains an important source of revenue, Mayor Barbara Manning said.
The town recently secured a new 25-year contract with the mine for water rights that will bring about $15 million to Victor, Manning said.
“We only have a tax base of about 400 residents. You cannot run a city on a tax income of 400 residents, so the mine’s income will allow us to have better infrastructure repairs to ancient, truly ancient, infrastructure that needs to be replaced or modernized at least,” she said.
The mine also began offering public tours this month after a six-year hiatus since the start of the pandemic. That’s helping bring more visitors to the area, adding to another local draw, Danish artist Thomas Dambo’s massive troll named Rita, Manning said.
“We greatly appreciate having SSR having the mine in our backyard,” Manning said.
This story previously appeared on The Colorado Sun.
Copyright 2026 High Plains Public Radio.
