By Katie Soenke, Pikes Peak Courier

For 150 years, gold mining has helped shape the history of Cripple Creek, Victor and Teller County. What began with prospectors searching the hills has grown into one of Colorado’s largest modern mining operations — one that now relies as much on computers, drones and engineering as it does heavy equipment.

That transformation is something Lowe Billingsley has witnessed firsthand during nearly four decades in mining. Today he serves as general manager of the Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mine, but his connection to the district stretches back much further than his career.

Billingsley is a fifth-generation Coloradan who grew up in Colorado Springs. While attending Colorado College, he discovered a passion for geology almost by accident after taking an introductory class that explained the geology behind familiar landmarks such as Pikes Peak and Garden of the Gods. He graduated with a geology degree and accepted an entry-level field geologist position in southwest Colorado in 1988, launching a career that eventually brought him back to Cripple Creek.

“It sounded like fun,” he said.

Returning to Cripple Creek felt like coming home. Billingsley first worked at the mine in 1989, later held executive leadership positions overseeing operations across North and South America, and eventually returned to lead the operation where much of his career was shaped.

“To come back and be a part of something that helped mold who you are—that opportunity doesn’t come along very often,” he said.

Mining is also part of his family history. His great-great-grandfather mined in the Cripple Creek district during the boom years after gold was discovered in 1891, living in Goldfield and working at the Gold Sovereign Mine. Billingsley enjoys imagining that his ancestor may have crossed paths with Winfield Scott Stratton, whose Independence Mine helped launch one of Colorado’s greatest gold rushes.

The Gold Camp’s rise changed Colorado. The mining boom fueled businesses, schools, hospitals and communities across the region. Even the gold that covers Colorado’s State Capitol dome came from Cripple Creek, and when the dome was restored more than a century later, gold from the Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mine was donated again.

Modern mining, however, looks nothing like it once did. Anyone expecting pickaxes and donkeys quickly discovers a workplace built around technology. Survey crews use drones nearly every day. GPS guides equipment across the mine. Computer software helps geologists analyze drilling information, identify ore, schedule maintenance and improve safety.

“This is highly technical. Highly regulated,” Billingsley said. “It takes all of that and more.”

The operation depends on science, technology, engineering and mathematics every day. Engineers, geologists, mechanics, environmental specialists, accountants, EMTs, welders and community relations professionals all play important roles. Billingsley said mining today requires a wide variety of skills that many people never associate with the industry.

The scale is equally impressive. The mine operates a fleet of 18 haul trucks capable, and each can carry 240 tons when loaded. Every tire — standing roughly 12 feet tall — costs about $35,000.

The mine is also an economic engine for Teller County. Billingsley said the operation directly employs about 450 people and generates more than $600 million annually for the economy of Teller County alone. Across Teller, Fremont and El Paso counties, the impact exceeds $700 million annually while supporting roughly 650 direct and indirect jobs – $60 million in labor income locally.

For Billingsley, though, the people remain the best part of mining. He credits the teamwork and camaraderie that develop in an operation running around the clock, every day of the year.

Although the industry has changed dramatically since the first miners arrived 150 years ago, its importance to Teller County remains. Today’s miners may rely on technology instead of pickaxes, but they continue building on a legacy that helped shape Colorado.

And if anyone still pictures him riding a donkey through the mountains? Billingsley laughs.

“Everybody thinks I have a donkey,” he joked. The reality, he said, is that modern mining runs on technology, teamwork and people who enjoy solving complex problems every day.