Ridgeway Mine

The Ridgeway mine was a gold and silver open-pit mine near Ridgeway, South Carolina. In its eleven years of operation between 1988 and 1999, it produced 1,500,000 ounces of gold and 900,000 ounces of silver. The mine's two ore bodies are part of the gold-rich Carolina Slate Belt rock package that runs through the upstate Piedmont foothills. The operator of the mine, the Ridgeway Mining Company, is a subdivision of Kennecott Minerals. Kennecott is a subdivision of Rio Tinto which is one of the world's largest mining companies. The mine faced fierce opposition from the local community while applying for permits and licensing from government regulators. These neighbors created Gold Camouflage, a group organized to bring legal and procedural challenges against the mine. Gold Camouflage was unable to stop the mine from opening and eventually settled with the owners. After the mine was exhausted, Ridgeway began reclamation of the mine which continues to this day. The mine's waste rock piles were covered with clay and grass to create an artificial hill and water is filling the mine pits to create two artificial lakes. Mine management hopes that one of the lakes will eventually be usable by the public for recreation.