Colorado gold mine closed after tour guide died in elevator accident

DENVER | A former Colorado gold mine where a tour guide was killed and a group of tourists were trapped for hours after an elevator accident has been ordered to remain closed and not conduct tours while operations are reviewed, state regulators said Thursday.

In a statement, the Department of Reclamation, Mining and Safety said the decision to close the Mollie Kathleen mine was made following an inspection following the October 10 incident. The agency must determine whether the death of 46-year-old Patrick Weier was due to the mine’s non-compliance, department spokesman Chris Arend said.

The official notice sent to the mine on Wednesday cited a rule that allows the department to close a mine being used as a tourist attraction if an “immediate or significant danger” to workers or the public is determined. The mine was scheduled to close for the winter starting this week.

No one answered the phone at the mine on Thursday. Its website said it was closed until further notice.

Authorities have not explained exactly how Weier died, but Teller County Sheriff Jason Mikesell said his death was due to a mechanical problem with the elevator and not a medical problem.

Before the incident, the mine’s inspection protocols were “satisfactory” and revealed no safety issues, the mining department said in announcing the closure. The mine’s last government inspection was on Aug. 29, but conducting daily inspections was the mine’s responsibility, the agency said.

The Mollie Kathleen is the only tourist mine that has an elevator for public use, the department said.

It was descending into the mine in the mountains near Colorado Springs when the person operating the elevator from the surface “felt something strange” at a depth of about 500 feet (152 meters) and stopped it, it said Mikesell.

Eleven other people, including two children, who were traveling in the elevator during the accident, were raised using it after the accident.

Twelve adults from a second group were trapped at the bottom of the mine, 1,000 feet (305 meters) underground, while engineers made sure the elevator could be used. The group had access to water and used radios to communicate with authorities, who told them there was a problem with the elevator, Mikesell said.

The incident is being investigated by Mikesell’s office and the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, part of the U.S. Department of Labor, the mining department said. In a statement, the Labor Department said the agency has six months to complete its investigation and is not discussing details of an ongoing inspection.

The mining department also agreed to assist in the investigation.

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