In 1954, on a family vacation in Colorado, we drove through the Climax Molybdenum Company mining complex.  Needless to say, it was mind boggling for a bunch of Easterners who had never seen mining on such a large-scale.  Highway 91 passed under the launder that conveyed the tailings to the nearby tailings pond.  The company houses for employees were interspersed among other mining facilities.  Years later, in 1962, as a mining engineering student at Penn State, I had a summer job at the Climax Mine.  I worked on both the Phillipson and Storke levels and lived in the Climax Hotel (the company boarding house for single men).  On the 4^th of July, accompanied by some fellow mining students, we experienced a snow storm while exploring some of the old mines in Leadville.  By that time the company town was already being moved to Leadville.  A lengthy strike abruptly ended that Climax work experience.  The years passed and more changes occurred.  The mine was converted from a block-caving underground mine to an open pit. New processing facilities were built. Thanks to several mergers, the mine is now owned by Freeport McMoRan Copper and Gold (FCX).  The trip to Gunnison was an excellent chance to see some of these changes first hand.  In the 1990s, I read “Mining the Summitt,” by Stan Dempsey and Jay Fell.  It tells the story of mining in the Ten Mile Mining District which includes the Climax Mine.  This book made me realize that I had been interested in mining history since I was a kid and led to my joining the MHA.
 

The immense tailings ponds attest to the massive tonnages of molybdenum ore produced over the decades at the Climax Mine.

This roadside monument commemorates the Masonic Corinthian Lodge No. 42 in Kokomo which existed from 1882 to 1966. (CLICK HERE for a closeup view)

The town of Kokomo, Colorado is shown in this 1963 photo.  The Wilfley Mill was located off the photo to the left.  The Wilfley concentrating table was developed by Arthur Redman Wilfley at this mill in 1890s.  It revolutionized ore concentration before the advent of flotation.  The mill was still accessible in 1962 by student employees at the Climax Mine.  It is now buried beneath the Climax tailings ponds that occupy the valley.

This historic view of the Climax mine in 1936 shows the caving ground above the block caving mining operation on Bartlet Mountain. In the foreground is the company hotel/boarding house, still going strong during 1962. Employee houses are nestled in the wooded area behind the hotel.

In this 2025 view, the land area at the left that once held the company hotel and employee houses is now covered by mine dumps from the open pit mining operation.

In this 2025 view, the land area at the left that once held the company hotel and employee houses is now covered by mine dumps from the open pit mining operation.

Across Highway 91 from the mine entrance gate is an open-air mining exhibit.  Large ore cars and the electric mine motor were used for hauling ore from the underground mine to the mill.  In 1962, this was still the site of the Climax Store.

The entrance to the exhibit area is through a power shovel bucket used in the open pit mine. Interpretive signs tell the story of how the mine and mill operations work and the contribution to the nation during World Wars I and II.

Still remaining in early June, the snow behind the exhibit area reminds us of the many long months of harsh winter weather faced by the miners at high altitude throughout the Ten Mile District from the 1860s to the present time.

Jack-leg drills were used to develop the many miles of haulage and ventilation drifts and other openings on the various levels of the underground mine.

Typical of the interpretive signs in the exhibit area, this one presents an overview of the mining operation and the tailings disposal areas in the valley beyond.

The headframe for the now abandoned Storke Shaft of the Climax Mine served the deeper levels of the mine until it was converted to an open pit.