By Simon Rees
MiningWeekly.com
California’s glory days as a world-leading gold-producing region are long gone. Or are they? With the gold upside still very much in play, mines long thought played out or considered uneconomic are being reassessed.
But unlike the stampede of the mid-nineteenth century, this is not a mad rush of all-comers. Instead, only a handful of companies are involved and many of their projects have been years in the planning, waiting for the support of higher gold prices to awaken their potential. This includes Sutter Gold’s Lincoln underground project in Amador County, 45 miles south-east of Sacramento.
The property comprises three main zones: Lincoln, Comet and Keystone. All lie on a 3.6-mile stretch of the 120-mile-long Mother Lode goldbelt and contain eight old mines, including the original Lincoln mine that came into play in 1851.