Newsletter

It’s becoming evident that too many of our elected officials see themselves as managers; the sort to whom the actual methodical, plodding mechanics of work is undignified. It started with the District Attorney. She’s farmed out most of her work. She’s got a for-profit prosecuting firm, the California District Attorneys’ Association to do the actual dirty work; weighing case’s merits and prosecuting people. Now the Sheriff and Treasurer/Tax Collector have [...]

Two hundred plus attended the annual meeting in June. Three new directors were nominated and elected to join Scott Robertson, Sandor Holly and me. Due to health complications Sandor tendered his resignation. We talk frequently on the phone. He now joins a solid group of past directors, who maintain an interest in and value to the mine. In alphabetic order our new directors are: Gray Davis. Mr. Davis has spent [...]

In the past 51 years one miner died while mining in the Sixteen to One vein. His name was Mark. He began mining with his father at the age of four. He had his own wet suit and together they looked for gold in the waters of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. His life ended on November 6, 2000, on the 1700 foot level of the Sixteen to One Mine. It [...]

Michael M. Miller, 60, the Alleghany mine's president and chief executive officer, and Jonathan T. Farrell, 32, the mine's manager, were charged with violating Occupational and Health Safety Administration rules, resulting in a death, court records show. The charges filed in Sierra County Superior Court carry possible penalties of three years in prison and a $100,000 fine. The charges allege both men broke state law by willfully violating OSHA rules [...]

in Superior Court on charges of felony manslaughter stemming from a mine accident in November, 2000. In the accident, miner Mark Fussell was killed when he ran a trammer under a chute which protruded into the haulage way, breaking his neck. According to the charges, Miller as CEO and Farrell as Mine Manager, were criminally negligent in allowing a violation of OSHA standards which consequently killed Fussell. District Attorney O'Sullivan's [...]

Michael Miller, president and chief executive officer of the Original Sixteen to One Mine, said he would write a letter Monday to Davis informing him of the appointment. Davis was not consulted prior to the appointment, which was ratified at the mine's annual shareholders' meeting Saturday. The mine is publicly held, but its stock is not listed on an exchange. Miller, 60, said he is serious about the appointment, and [...]

ALLEGHANY? At a civil hearing held Friday, March 1 in Sacramento, the Central Valley Water Quality Control Board forbid the Sixteen to One mine to allow water to drain through the mine, demanded $60,000 worth of annual water monitoring, hugely more expensive permit fees, and sent the case to the Attorney General's office. Only at the beginning of the Sacramento meeting did the water board inform mine CEO Mike Miller [...]

SACRAMENTO? Alleghany's Sixteen to One Mine was assessed $20,000 by the regional Water Quality Control Board on Friday, September 26. The assessment comes as a result of an undescribed amount of sand, most probably from the mine's 40 acre property, which went into Kanaka Creek in February. The Water Board's staff had originally assessed a $40,000 fine, although suggesting the actual liability was over $7 million. The mine requested a [...]

Bad news continued this year when trading of the mine's publicly held stock on the Pacific Exchange was suspended. The Original Sixteen to One Mine Inc. reported lower revenue and a loss in 2001, according to an annual financial report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Original Sixteen to One reported an operating loss of $591,249 in 2001 on revenue of $716,515. When combined with a $799,000 [...]

Iron shavings, laid maybe a couple feet deep in the bottom of the quarter-mile-long discharge shaft, might work, said Mike Miller, the gold mine's chief executive officer. "It pulls the arsenic out," Miller said Monday, explaining that arsenic bonds to iron. That's one idea Sixteen to One officials are considering in the wake of a cease-and-desist order issued in March by the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board. Under [...]

Over the last two decades, three out of every four metal miners have lost their jobs. While Farmers wallow in boundless public sympathy, miners rate only apathy. Farmers rank right up there with mother, apple pie and the American flag. We know who put the chicken, milk and ear of corn on our tables, and a drive on the interstates is a panoramic display of agriculture in action. But kids, [...]

Mike's home of nearly 30 years is tucked in a corner of a corner of the world that's called Alleghany. It's about an hour's drive from Nevada City, and it's also home to some 60 other residents, most of whom probably enjoy being tucked as far away from the rest of us as they can possibly be tucked. The town generates just enough outgoing mail to keep a post office [...]

Environmental regulators touched a live nerve when they went after the 16-to-1 Mine, the mine near Alleghany which is the only working, underground hard-rock mine in the state. The mine is a beloved connection to the region's past. Hundreds of people tour the 16-to-1 each year for a close understanding of the history of the Gold Country. But the mine is an important part of its present as well. It's [...]

"They have until March of 2005 to come into full compliance, but there's a lot they have to do in the meantime," said David Carlson of the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board. The water board is requiring that the water that seeps naturally from the mine meet new federal drinking water quality standards for arsenic. Under the cease-and-desist order, the mine has 45 days to submit a plan [...]

The Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board ordered the 16-to-1 Mine to immediately cease discharge into Kanaka Creek, a Middle Yuba River tributary, due to arsenic and other concerns. The order took effect immediately. But Robert Schneider, the water board's chairman, said the board has worked with industry before and doesn't want to see the mine go out of business. "I think the board is very open to reconsideration," [...]

ALLEGHANY - Water that seeps out of the Original 16-to-1 Mine needs to meet drinking-water-quality standards for arsenic under a discharge permit to be considered Friday. Otherwise, a state agency's directors could issue a cease-and-desist order against the 100-plus-year-old gold mine, the only underground hard-rock operation left in California. That and other issues will be considered in Sacramento at a hearing of the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board. [...]

CALIFORNIA REGIONAL WATER QUALITY CONTROL BOARD CENTRAL VALLEY REGION 3443 Routier Road, Suite A. Sacramento, California 95827 PUBLIC HEARING concerning CONSIDERATION OF RENEWAL OF WASTE DISCHARGE REQUIREMENTS (NATIONAL POLLUTION DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM) and CONSIDERATION OF ISSUANCE OF A CEASE AND DESIST ORDER for ORIGINAL SIXTEEN TO ONE MINE. INC. SIXTEEN TO ONE MINE SIERRA COUNTY The Original Sixteen to One Mine, Inc. owns and operates Sixteen to One Mine, a [...]

We recently confirmed a significant target adequate to warrant shareholder recognition and a press release. We have been finding gold over the past six months in a fascinating spot in the mine. This front-page newspaper article is a worthy report: THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2002 DOWNIEVILLE, SIERRA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA Happy New Year Gold Strike at Sixteen to One ALLEGHANY-Last Year was not a pleasant time at the Sixteen to One, Sierra [...]

PETITION FOR REVIEW Background A hearing was held in Downieville, California, on January 17 and 18, 2001, and was continued and concluded on April 3, 2001, in Nevada City, California. The Decision of Administrative Law Judge Zielinski of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission was issued on October 19, 2001. During the twelve-year period, 1985 to 1997, there were a total of 83 citations issued to the Sixteen [...]

have been pulled from the mine. See newsletter #47 for detailed information. Photo of some of the ore can be seen in "previous pictures" on the home page.

Michael Miller, president and chief operating officer of the Original Sixteen-to-One Mine, said he will appeal, which could set up a review by a five-member panel of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission. Miller is acting as his own attorney. "The administrative law judge was a very fair man," he said. "We got a fair treatment, we've got no complaints with how we were treated, but he was [...]

The Original Sixteen-to-One Gold Mine in the tiny Sierra County village of Alleghany may get a cease-and-desist order in March from the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board. Water that flows from the mine contains too much arsenic, said an official from the state agency. Meanwhile, mine President Mike Miller said the mine doesn't pollute and vows to fight any attempt to close it. "(Arsenic is) the biggest problem," [...]

Please be advised that we have had a delay with the printers. The certificates have not been mailed yet, but will be shortly.Rae BellOffice Manager

The bid is $.35 and the ask is $.40. The 3 for 1 split increased the outstanding shares to 12,746,046.Michael M. Miller, President/C.E.O.

Congratulations to all of us for owning a piece of American history - America’s oldest traditional underground gold mining company. The enclosed stock certificate represents two additional shares for each share you owned prior to the close of business on October 12, 2001. Increasing the shares we each own was a necessary step along a strategically planned path of building value for the twenty-first century and preserving a shrinking American [...]

Original Sixteen to One Mine, Inc. (OAU) Board of Directors ratified motion to amend articles of incorporation to increase authorized shares from ten million to thirty million. For each share outstanding (4,248,682) an additional two shares will be issued. File and notification date is today. Record date is September 14, 2001. Those who own shares on this date are entitled to two additional shares for each share owned. Mail date [...]

Our three major mining activities are: 1. Replacing the pumps. We currently use 185 horse power to keep the mine open to the 2200 foot level. The discharge lines are in the 49 winze. New efficient pumps using less electricity are being installed in the Tightner Shaft. PG&E (our electricity provider) expenses have become excessive. We anticipate at least a $1,000 per month savings. 2. Realign the main haulage on [...]

I received many positive comments about our decision to open the two active underground headings on the 800-foot level for shareholder inspection. The miners who work the headings were on hand to explain their activities. The day underground was a success. We will do it again next year! Thanks to all of you who took advantage of our push to sell gold specimens and jewelry. Sales for the day totaled [...]