September 1997

Climax, Colorado, is the site of a molybdenum mine perched at 10,000 feet in the Rocky Mountains. (Molybdenum is an ore with industrial applications as a lubricant or alloy.) Led by Jim Webster, the team collected a large boulder of mineralized granite which is shot through with veins of molybdenum-rich minerals. This sample helps demonstrate how elements important to humanity, such as aluminum, iron, salt, gold, etc. become concentrated in the Earth's crust.

Perched high in the Colorado Rockies, Climax Mine is the largest molybdenum mine in the world.

photo credit: Denis Finnin, © American Museum of Natural History