Colorado
It may take decades to close all the abandoned gold rush mines.
Mere feet from a prospect pit where miners dug for gold in the second half of the 19th century, bikers whizzed by on the Maryland Mountain trail system west of Denver.
“This one is 15-to-16-feet deep with vertical walls. You wouldn’t have an easy time getting out of it,” said Jeremy Reineke, a project manager with the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety. “You can see how close it is to the trail if a biker decided to take off and miss a corner or decide to go off trail, you could get on this really fast.”
Reineke oversees the closure of mines and prospect pits like this one near Central City, Colorado. The town was situated on what was once considered the richest square mile on Earth because of the gold mining that was a boon to the region’s economy. At that time, the digging involved shovels, picks and mules. And after that hard labor, sometimes there wasn’t enough ore to move forward.
Reineke said there are “thousands and thousands” of unmapped prospect pits.
Soon, the prospect pit near the bike trail will be covered by a metal grate so trailgoers don’t fall in.
It’s critical public safety work, especially as hiking and bike paths are created in former mining areas, said Jeff Graves, director of the state’s Inactive Mine Reclamation Program.
“There have been instances of fatalities in Colorado associated with folks in abandoned mines,” Graves said. “A child fell into a mine shaft just outside of Central City. And so that prioritized a lot of the work here within Gilpin County.”
That was in 1989.
But in a state where mining was fundamental to its early economy, the quiet work of closing up these mines will likely go on for decades.
Around 13,500 mine features have been closed so far, including shafts, adits, stopes, pits, highwalls and hazardous facilities, according to Graves. The state has the capacity to safeguard about 300 each year.
“Maybe we’re halfway through the total, hopefully,” he said. “But likely, we still have at least that many more within the state that need some type of physical safety, closure constructed on them.”
The program addresses hazards that predate Colorado statehood. “Without the mining, Gilpin County would not exist. Probably Colorado as we know it would not exist,” said David Forsyth, director of the Gilpin Historical Society.
He said it’s hard to overstate the importance of mining to the area.
“It was really [miner] John Gregory’s discovery of lode gold up here in May of 1859 that kind of made Colorado’s gold rush permanent,” Forsyth said.
He said news of that discovery drew thousands of miners within weeks.
“The country was still really recovering from the Panic of 1857,” Forsyth said. “And so, a lot of people were still really hurting financially. And easy gold, ‘Hey, I can go out to Gregory Diggings in Colorado and get rich.’”
Few actually made it rich — but the mining did provide jobs.
Forsyth said miners earned around $2 to $3 per day, and houses, stores, schools and theaters were built as the mines operated. But by the early 20th century, mining activity had slowed significantly and halted during World War I and World War II.
“It was not a wartime necessity, and it never really came back after that,” Forsyth said. “A lot of people who had mines up here just parked their equipment inside, shut the door, said, ‘We’ll be back when the war is over.’ And then they weren’t.”
Until folks from the Inactive Mine Reclamation Program came around many decades later — in some cases welding mines closed with old equipment still inside.
“It’s reminiscent of what the miners are doing to some extent, trying to find that original gold,” Graves said. “We’re trying to find what they were looking for and what they caused, what they left in their wake.”
The lack of regulation at the time allowed these mines to be abandoned — and not just in Colorado.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office estimates there are some 140,000 known abandoned hard-rock mining features on federal lands, and hundreds of thousands more may be unaccounted for.
Graves said Colorado’s program benefits from both state and federal funds. Additional money from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will help by freeing up state funds previously used for coal mines.
Even so, Graves said, efforts to close abandoned hard-rock mines are “certainly underfunded.”
“When you look at the magnitude of the problem, even in Colorado it would take us decades to address [it] at the current funding rates,” he said.
It looks like state governments, as well as the feds, will be paying to clean up after the 19th century gold diggers well into the 21st century.
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The offseason in MLS is in full swing and The Athletic has you covered on all the latest breaking news.
Here’s the latest I’m hearing around the league…
Colorado Rapids to acquire Sealy
The Rapids are finalizing a deal to acquire Trinidad and Tobago international winger Dante Sealy from CF Montréal, sources briefed on the situation tell The Athletic. Montréal will receive around $2 million GAM from the Rapids, sources add.
Sealy, 22, was a highly rated graduate of FC Dallas’ academy and moved to Montréal ahead of the 2025 season, enjoying a breakout campaign with nine goals and two assists.
Colorado is among the most aggressive teams in the trade market, seeking young, domestic-based talent, and Sealy is the latest example. He previously spent two seasons with PSV’s second team as well, where he made 54 appearances.
It’s a busy winter of change for the Rapids, who will name Tottenham assistant Matt Wells their next head coach, The Athletic reported last week. He has been involved in player acquisition decisions.
CF Monterrey bid for Orellano
Liga MX’s Monterrey has submitted a bid to sign Luca Orellano from FC Cincinnati, sources briefed on the situation tell The Athletic. Orellano was the subject of bids from Cruz Azul last winter, but ultimately signed a new contract to stay.
Orellano, 25, is a natural winger who has excelled in a wingback role for Cincy. He had a strong debut season with 10 goals and seven assists in 2024 but didn’t match that output this past year as he struggled with injury. He had two goals and six assists in just under 2,000 minutes.
Monterrey is one of the highest-spending Liga MX clubs and has acquired talent from MLS clubs before – including from Cincinnati, when Los Rayados signed forward Brandon Vazquez in 2024.
READ MORE
Orlando City to sign Coronel
Orlando City is finalizing a deal to sign Paraguay international goalkeeper Carlos Coronel, sources briefed on the deal tell The Athletic.
Coronel is a free agent after departing the Red Bulls this winter. He was one of the best players in this free agency class.
Orlando was looking to sign a new starting goalkeeper after longtime backstop Pedro Gallese departed this winter when his contract expired.
Coronel, 28, made 180 appearances for the Red Bulls, an anchor for their playoff run to reach MLS Cup in 2024, where they fell to the LA Galaxy. He made 31 MLS appearances in 2025.
Coronel has nine caps for Paraguay, starting the first six matches in World Cup qualifying. Paraguay, which will open the 2026 World Cup as the co-host U.S.’s first opponent, secured qualification in September.
Orlando has been busy to kick off its offseason, with The Athletic previously reporting the club is finalizing deals for a pair of highly-rated young Brazilian talents via the U-22 initiative: Tiago from Bahia and Luis Otávio from Internacional.
Red Bulls sign Che
The Red Bulls have signed American defender Justin Che from Brøndby, sources briefed on the deal tell The Athletic.
Che, 22, is a graduate of Dallas’ academy and a former U.S. youth international. He has bounced around in recent years, including stints in Germany with the youth setups at Bayern Munich and Hoffenheim.
The versatile defender, who can play right back or right centerback, gives the Red Bulls – and new manager Michael Bradley – options in defense.
Che made 15 MLS appearances for Dallas before heading to Europe. He made 24 appearances for Hoffenheim’s second team.
It’s a busy winter for the Red Bulls, with The Athletic previously reporting the club is finalizing deals to send Peter Stroud to Minnesota United and Lewis Morgan to San Diego FC.
Bartlett asks D.C. to speak about future
D.C. United center back Lucas Bartlett is attracting interest on the trade market and has asked the club to discuss his future, sources briefed on the situation tell The Athletic.
Teams around MLS have called D.C. about a potential deal, as well as a club in Europe, sources say. Bartlett, 28, joined D.C. United ahead of the 2024 season and has been a key starter the last two years, making 67 appearances.
The aerially dominant center back spent time with FC Dallas and St. Louis City in his career as well.
The United States Postal Service is offering a reward for information on the person who robbed a Denver mail carrier this weekend.
According to the USPS Inspection Service, a man approached the letter carrier around 9:45 am.n. on Friday near Roslyn Street and 8th Place. Officials said he was around 5’5″ and was wearing a black mast, black jacket, blue jeans and black shoes. The USPS says a possible firearm was tucked in his belt.
They are offering a $150,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for the robbery.
The USPS encouraged anyone with information on the case to contact their inspection service at 1-877-876-2455 or make a report online.
DENVER — Authorities issued a Medina Alert Sunday following a hit-and-run crash that seriously injured a motorist.
Police said the driver of a gold 2008 BMW X3 SUV struck another vehicle at the intersection of Sheridan Boulevard and W. 17th Avenue in Denver around 4:37 p.m. Saturday.
The crash left the driver of the victim vehicle with serious bodily injuries, according to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.
CBI
The BMW driver fled following the crash, traveling northbound on Sheridan Boulevard, CBI said in a bulletin.
The gold BMW X3, with Colorado license plate ECB F17, sustained heavy damage on the driver’s side from the collision.
If seen, call 911 or the Denver Police Department at 720-913-2000.
This was the second hit-and-run crash and Medina Alert in Denver on Saturday.
Earlier Saturday, a pedestrian in a crosswalk was seriously injured after being struck by a 2010 white Toyota Corolla, Colorado license plate EDM U42, at the intersection of Federal Boulevard and W. Kentucky Avenue.
The driver of the Corolla left the scene—heading northbound on Federal Boulevard.
No arrests have been announced.
A Medina Alert honors the memory of Jose Medina, a 21-year-old valet driver who was killed by a hit-and-run driver in 2011.
A taxi driver witnessed the event, followed the driver, and gave the police the license plate number, leading to the capture and arrest of the suspect.
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