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<br />001606 <br /> <br />Mining and smelting have been important industries on bot~ slopes <br /> <br /> <br />since the gold rush of 1859-1861. One of the most valuable minerals <br /> <br /> <br />developed is molybdenum; a large portion of tha national and world <br /> <br /> <br />supply is producsd near Leadville. AnDual coal production of nearly <br /> <br /> <br />3,000,000 tons comprises over 40 percent of the total State production. <br /> <br /> <br />Coal reserves are estimated at 23 billion tons. Other important prod- <br /> <br /> <br />ucts of the mining and smelting industry include the precious metals, <br /> <br /> <br />gold and silver, and strategic metals such as lead and zinc. Gold min- <br /> <br /> <br />ing has been revived in the vicinity of Aspen since the end of World <br /> <br /> <br />~lar II, and that area is expected to become one of the most important <br /> <br /> <br />sources of gold in the entire State. Many other metals and nonmetal. <br /> <br /> <br />such as flu<o,rspar, mica, tungsten, feldspar, manganese, pstroleum, <br />ceramic clays, and others ara produced in smeller quantities. Much <br /> <br /> <br />of the ore is mined, concentrated, smelted, and shipped out of the re- <br /> <br /> <br />gion for further procsssing. The value of mining products in 1939 <br /> <br /> <br />amounts to $27,487,000 on the Eastern Slope and $94,000 on the Western <br /> <br /> <br />Slope. <br /> <br /> <br />Most of the manufacturing and processing industries are located on <br /> <br /> <br />the Eastern Slope. They include such varied businesses as: steel <br /> <br /> <br />mills, iron foundries; agricultural processing plants for meat, sugar <br /> <br /> <br />beets, grain, and dairy producte; breweries; cement plants; oil refin- <br /> <br /> <br />eries; brick and tile plants; and the manufacturing of various small <br /> <br /> <br />articles. In 1939, 259 manufacturing establishments on the Eastern <br /> <br /> <br />Slope produced commodities valued in excess of $53.000,000 of which <br /> <br /> <br />$22,000,000 represented the value added by manufacture. Below the <br /> <br /> <br />diversion area in the Colorado River Basin, new industriee are being <br /> <br />17 <br />