Sign in or register
for additional privileges

Primero- Colorado Fuel and Iron's Model Town

Blake Hatton, Abbie Specht, Authors

You appear to be using an older verion of Internet Explorer. For the best experience please upgrade your IE version or switch to a another web browser.

Primero Industry


The tipple at Primero. The mule barn is visible.


Primero was first and foremost a coal mine, and it provided work for the many people who lived in the town.  Primero was one of the more productive mines that CF&I ran, producing over 8,000,000 tons of soft, bituminous coal over the course of its life.  Bituminous coal has a high bitumen content and is used for making coke.  Coke is a fuel used in the steel-making process, where raw coal is heated in a high-temperature oven without oxygen to remove impurities, allowing it to burn hotter.  Bituminous coal, however, produces high amounts of gasses that without proper mine ventilation will cause explosions.  Primero suffered two such explosions, one in 1907 and the other in 1910.

On top of the mining facilities, which included boiler houses, various shops, and the tipple, Primero had a lumber treating mill, a mule barn, and a feed barn.
Comment on this page
 

Discussion of "Primero Industry"

Add your voice to this discussion.

Checking your signed in status ...