Residents of this town, 13 miles southwest of Climax, eye that possibility with hope - and anxiety.

The mine's owner tentatively has agreed to reopen the mine in 2009, a move that could create 300 jobs or more. A final decision is expected in coming months.

A jump in the price of molybdenum, a metal for hardening steel, has raised the specter that Climax, dormant for a dozen years, could be profitable once more.

But reopening the molybdenum mine isn't assured. And Leadville residents are reluctant to bet their future on Climax, as this boom-and-bust town has in the past."

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