By Lowe Billingsley

There are moments in a career that feel less like a step forward and more like a return to something that helped shape you.

For me, coming back to the Cripple Creek & Victor (CC&V) Gold Mine, where I started my career 37 years ago, is one of those moments.

One of the first jobs that helped define me was in Victor as an ore control geologist. It introduced me to mining at its core and to the people behind it. People who show up before sunrise know the land, and understand their work matters far beyond the mine.

Now, decades later, returning as General Manager is something I do not take lightly. It is more than a professional milestone. It feels like coming home.
The Cripple Creek & Victor Mine is more than one of Colorado’s most important mining operations. For many families, it is part of their identity.

In Teller County, CC&V contributes more than $635 million annually to the local economy, supporting 644 jobs and generating $60.5 million in labor income. Across the broader Pikes Peak region, including El Paso and Fremont counties, that contribution grows to more than $704 million annually, with 430 employed workers and $70.9 million in labor income. Statewide, the mine supports 942 jobs and contributes more than $830 million annually to Colorado’s economy.

Those dollars support public services and local small businesses, from welders and electricians to fuel suppliers and restaurants. They sustain good-paying jobs and long-term opportunities that are difficult to replace in rural communities.

What has always stayed with me is the team.

This team gives 100 percent every day and takes pride in how it does the work. Many have spent years, some their entire careers, at this mine. For many families, that commitment spans generations.

You see it here in a way that is increasingly rare: sons following in their fathers’ footsteps, stories of grandfathers who helped shape this operation, and families whose livelihoods have been sustained by the mine for decades.
That is the greatest contribution anyone can make. Generations of families have built their lives around this mine and built something lasting in this community.

Just as importantly, this is a highly skilled team, the kind of people you trust day in and day out to make sure things are done safely and with integrity.

I am humbled to work alongside the men and women at CC&V, and I am honored to serve as General Manager. Not because of the title, but because of what it represents: the opportunity to be part of a team that cares deeply about its work, its safety, and its community.

Colorado has a long and proud mining history, and the Cripple Creek & Victor Mine remains a living part of that story, where tradition meets modern standards.

Coming home to CC&V reminded me why I chose this work in the first place. Not because of the mine itself, but because of the people who have dedicated their lives to it.

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Lowe Billingsley is the General Manager of the Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mine and a veteran mining executive who began his career in Victor more than three decades ago as an ore control geologist. A Colorado College geology graduate, he has held leadership roles across the United States and internationally before returning to Southern Colorado to lead CC&V.