>>1660857there is a lot of good info here.
What I mean by one hit wonders is once you get the ore out the mine is finished, This is determined by the size of the ore body as well as the speed in which the ore can be removed. Many mining towns had their populations explode when ore was found. Going from a population of a few hundred to 10,000 - 30,000 almost overnight, many of these towns were only around less than a decade, some even less than that. This is why there are so many ghost towns in mineral rich states.
Another major factor in mining during the time is cost to remove and process the ore. Is the ore body high grade ore, If so you will get more ounces per ton of rock meaning you can spend more to get it, With modern processing there is money to be made on much lower grade ore.
Some modern mines will purchase the waste rock, and tailing piles from these old mines and process this waste for a profit. The will also buy up areas where there was underground mines, then they will open pit the area.
Another aspect of these older mines was pumps for removing water weren't as good during the time. Some mines had to stop simply because the couldn't pump enough of the water out.
