The gold mining activity in New Mexico is very old. Gold mines were worked under the Spaniards as early at least as the 15th century, but owing largely to their inaccessibility they were developed as much in proportion to their importance as had most of the other precious metal-bearing districts of the country. The first gold mined by white men came from placers, which were worked on both sides of the Rio Grande, especially in Sierra County, also at San Xavier, Santa Rita district. The Santa Rita was a flourishing gold producing district in 1770, being known to the American prospectors as the Pot Holes, was formerly known as San Dyonisius and later included in the Mission of Concepcion.
The mines of Silver Lake were discovered in August, 1878 by G.W. Lufkin and were worked practically continuously until 1893. It is remarkable that these orebodies were not discovered by the Spaniards, occurring to close to the surface. Nevertheless, the Spaniards passed by them for three centuries apparently without suspecting their presence. The principal gold bearing counties are Grant, Doña Ana, Lincoln and Socorro. Besides, gold and silver were found in Santa Fe, Bernalillo, Colfax, and Taos counties. The famous placers of Bernalillo and neighboring counties have yielded large quantities of gold, and their exploitation has disclosed the occurrence of rich gold and silver lodes in the mountains bordering the Cerrillos district.
Before the discovery of gold in Pikes’s Peak County, Colorado, gold was found near Taos, being known to army officers stationed at old Fort Massachusetts and other posts. The main gold and silver producing districts in 1881 were the Chloride, Georgetown, Burro Mountain, Virginia, Lordsburg, Lone Mountain, Hillsborough, Organ Mountain, and Magdalena. In 1892, conditions in the mining camps of New Mexico were not encouraging; nevertheless, considerable work was done, especially in the Pinos Altos district, which led in gold production. The Old Abe mine, which gave promise of being a good producer was developed during the year. Considerable gold ore was mined at Cook’s Peak.
The main mines operating in 1894 were the Grande, Bella and Apache. During this and the following years, although work activity carried on in the Cochiti and other districts, there was no adequate increase in production. The Sierra de Mogollon mining properties were developed in 1902, while large orebodies of medium grade gold ore were reported in the Black Range and the Sierra Blanca. In spite of considerable development in the districts, the gold production showed a steady decrease for a number of years, being still low in 1904.
The dredging operations on the Moreno placers, Colfax, County, especially with the El Oro dredger, were successful. Other counties producing placer gold were Grant, Sierra, Santa Fe, Taos, Lincoln, and Socorro; while the richest gold mining districts were the Mogollon, the Red River and the Elizabethtown.