From The Durango Herald (Dale Rodebaugh):
These days, the Mayflower Mill operates as a self-guided tour for visitors interested in the area’s rich mining history. But power demands at the mill made electricity extremely expensive, Rich said. When Sunnyside Gold ceased operations in 1991, the cost of power could run as much as $30,000 a month. “It costs us $600 a month to turn on the lights there,” Rich said. “Since the mill is open for touring only three days a week, four months of the year, and we’re going to generate power 12 months a year we could sell our hydro production to San Miguel Power Co. and buy electricity.”
The Mayflower Mill, which produced 1.9 million ounces of gold, 30 million ounces of silver and 1 million tons of combined base metals in 49 years of operation, owned two water rights on Arrastra Creek totaling slightly more than 1 cubic foot of flow per second – year round. Water rights in Colorado are worth gold no matter the quantity. Now, the hydroelectric plant will sit on the west side of the Animas River just downstream from its confluence with Arrastra Creek. A one-mile pipeline draws water from upper Arrastra Creek for the Mayflower Mill. A new pipeline, parallel to the current one, will feed the hydroelectric plant, which will recycle the water into the Animas. Telluride Energy will install an 8-kilowatt hydro turbine adjacent to the site of the former Mears Wilfley Mill, which recycled tailings from nearby mines. The State Historical Society this month put up $105,000 for the hydro project. The local society will contribute $30,000, and $20,000 from the United States Department of Agriculture’s rural development fund, $10,000 from the Colorado Water Resources and Power Development Authority and $4,000 from the state Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety…
The Mayflower Mill, the single longest-operating ore mill in the San Juan Mountains, is a National Historic Landmark. The mill operated for 49 of its 61-year life (1930-1991). “There aren’t many ore mills left in the United States – and none like the Mayflower,” Rich said. “It’s intact. We could throw a switch, and it would operate.”