Re: Mine to Mill , Part two

Coke:
<>Not sure if I would completely agree with this at least not in the earlier days. One of the largest mills was the Arkansas Valley Smelter at Leadville and it was serviced by the D&RG Blue River and Ibex branches and the C&S narrow gauge. The Ibex mines were only about six miles from the mill. There was a large one at Salida that was serviced by mines on the Monarch, Calumet, and Orient branches which were not too far away. There was a small one at Gunnison to serve the Baldwin, Lake City, and Crested Butte branches.
Leadville Herald Democrat
November 11, 1898, Friday
The Rio Grande has its line completed up Evans gulch and will begin handling ore by the first of next week. Already a considerable amount of Ibex ore has been shipped over the new line, and other mines will be soon sending their minerals direct to the smelter.