Colorado Mining in Western ColoradoColorado mining is what grew many of the towns in Western Colorado. Unlike today, where tourism, ski areas and hunting account for much of the revenue brought into this state, mining brought people to an area that many would not have bothered to try and settle. The Colorado Mineral Belt encompasses many of the small mining towns of Western Colorado. Because many of the early prospectors that traveled through here searching for gold, other minerals were found as a consequence. When the gold ran out, silver and other minerals started to look pretty good. Silver, gold, copper, lead, and molybdenum were found in abundance in this area but had to be hard rock mined. Special equipment is needed and more costly and less portable than using gold pans and sluice boxes in streams. Steam boilers for powering drills, water pumps, engines for pulling cables to move buckets of ore and mills to break up the rock these minerals were trapped in. Silver was the most important mineral for mining in this region as it was plentiful in much of this area. Gold brought many people to this area but silver and other minerals is what kept them here and helped to build many of the mining towns on the Colorado Western Slope. Financial backing from investors was often sought once claims had been made by prospectors. Some claims were sold outright to large investors who were able to take on the task of removing the minerals and having them processed at a profit. These mines were particularly hard to work because of the extra expenses for pumps to keep water from flooding the mines work face and stopping their progress. Hoists were also necessary to bring up the ore, workers and supplies. The water could become extremely acidic from the minerals in the ground and equipment would become badly corroded and have to be replaced constantly. Some mines had additional horizontal shafts put in for ventilation and to help drain out this water. Because of the extremely rough terrain, severe winters and short summers, some Colorado mines would work through the winters and stock pile ore till spring when it could be shipped. The constant temperatures of around 50 degrees underground allowed this but workers would sometimes have to tunnel through the snow from boarding houses to other buildings and to the mine itself. Higher grade ores were at times the only ones worth shipping to mills and smelters for processing because of the high cost of transportation. First burros were drove down trails in packs to move the ore. When roads were built mule trains pulling wagons and finally narrow gauge trains came and made hauling ore easier and more profitable. In many Colorado mining valleys the tram towers can still be seen today that were used to haul ore and people from mining areas using buckets on cables. Otto Mears known as the "Pathfinder of the San Juan's" became famous for his toll roads and railroads throughout this region. He was able to build roads in places that were considered impossible by others. He became wealthy with his toll roads and narrow gauge railroads, but at the same time made it possible for mine owners to make a profit with the lower grade ores through cheaper transportation. Because of the repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act in 1893 which required that the government purchase so much silver per year, prices fell and there was no market for their silver. The resulting Panic of 1893, caused many of these Colorado mining towns to turn into ghost towns as people had to leave to look for work elsewhere. Fires, snow slides, vandalism and salvage are the reason many of the old Colorado mining towns of the San Juan's have vanished. People during hard times have packed off most anything of value or the slides have buried it. Even the railroad tracks were torn up and used else where or sold for scrap. Nowdays there is great concern for what is left as much of the old claims are privately owned and people are building vacation homes on these mine properties. Many have not been worked for many decades. There are groups like the Red Mountain Task Force that has helped to raise money to buy up some of these old Colorado mining claims so people quit building on them. They then give them to the Forest Service so that they can go in to stabilize and preserve them. The San Juan Mining District should be preserved for future generations to see and experience. Check out Ghost Towns in Colorado for more information on some of the old mining towns of Colorado. ActiveForever.com offers deep discounts and free shipping on a variety of products.
Western Colorado Towns
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Many parts of Western Colorado were just to hard to travel through and better farm lands could be found else where. 
Many of the mines had vertical shafts because the minerals were sometimes found in chimneys rather than veins found in other areas. These circular shaped pipes traveled straight down from a couple hundred feet to two thousand feet into the mountains. 
Mills were located at the ends of many of these tram systems to crush and concentrate the minerals before being sent to smelters for melting down the minerals into ingots, the final product. Smelters could be many miles away so that's where the narrow gauge railroads helped greatly. 
