 One aim in building the line was to carry copper ore from the mines above Coniston; £20,000 of the £45,000 risk capital raised by the technically independent Coniston Railway came from the copper mine owners and lessees.In the event the mine had passed its zenith when the line opened.What few records survive show that the copper tonnage carried was much less than the slate tonnage and both were on an altogether smaller scale than iron ore traffic in the area outside the line.