Arastra - Central City, CO - Colorado Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

The plaque reads:

The most primitive form of ore crusher, grinding by means of heavy stones dragged around a circular bed. The gold is recovered by amalgamation.

This arastra was unearthed during placer development on North Clear Creek at Black Hawk in 1937 and presented to the Central City Opera House Association by EDWARD MANION

"Miners from Sonoran Mexico had a technique for pulverizing gold ore that required no water for the initial stages of gold processing. Called the arrastre, this system consisted of an upright axle with large spokes. Horses or mules, hooked to the outside edges of the spokes, pulled them around and around. Tied to the interior of the spokes were chunks of gold bearing quartz, which were dragged over a rocky surface and hence pulverized. After the rock was pulverized, the miners then used gold pans for final processing." (from (visit link) )

Group or Groups Responsible for Placement: Edward Manion County or City: Central City Date Dedicated: Unknown Check here for Web link(s) for additional information: Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   06/20/2013 M2H visited it