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Show SUN ADVOCATE & HELPER JOURNAL Thursday, January 2, 1975 PAGEt 58 years of mining arbon Fuel th rives t A team of six horses delivered the high grade, low sulpher bituminous coal from Hardscrabble Canyon about three miles east of Martin, into Carbon County and Uintah Basin communities over a half a century ago. The winding, narrow canyon road leading to the mine was nearly impassable during the bleak winter months. Teamsters camped overnight at the mine before the two day trek with coal to the Uintah Basin. Today continuous miners replace hand loading and crude conveyer systems and diesel trucks haul coal from the mine now known as the Carbon Fuel Co., owned by Braztah Corp., a subsidiary of McCulloch 00 Corp., to a stockpile at Castle Gate where it is loaded into railroad cars for delivery to the Indiana and Michigan Electric II MMlhllljUljlLWlW.IHIWMIlW a ' I Mi Since the Hiawatha company didn't have a patent, the name "Carbon Fuel Company, producers of Carbon King Coal" was given to the Diamantis' Hardscrabble Canyon operation. A motto of the Carbon Fuel Co., has been "The Safe Way Is The Best Way". The mine was considered one of the safest in Carbon County and was known throughout the coal industry for its orderliness, cleanliness, safety, good condition of equipment and the good moral among workers. One employe Louis' Vuksinick of Spring Glen was dubbed by Jim Diamanti as "Mr. Carbon Fuel" for his dedication to the family mine during the years. But a major explosion December 16, 1963 at 11:55 a.m. killed nine miners, the total work force in the west side section of the Carbon Fuel Mine. The victims were Victor Fossat, 47, Benjamine Valdez, 39, Gerald Nielsen, 43, and Benino Montoya, 40, all of Helper; Archie Alonzo Larsen, 40, Mike Ardohain, 38, and Heino Linn, 38 all of Price ; Andy Juvan, 42, of Spring Glen and John Senechal, Jr., 32, of Kenilworth. "Apparently from as near as we could tell the roof may have broke behind them (the victims) and released this gas that came over the working men between the period of gas checks which could have amounted to 5 or 10 minutes. "And from all indications of that time, it looked like a shuttle car had gone to the loader head.to dump and possibly had created a spark by hitting the tail piece. The spark may have ignited this accumulation of gas," said Chris. The men were not burned. "I could walk up to every man and recognize him" Chris said. Chris had left the west section 30 minutes before the explosion occured. He was called to check a belt "jam-up- " in another section of the mine. In 1961 approximately 30 men were employed at Carbon Fuel. Approximately 150 men are presently I I Co. From 1954 through 1973 a total of 4,164,000 tons of coal were produced at Carbon Fuel. A recent contract with Indiana and Michigan in June of 1974 for 140,000,000 tons over 25 years prohibits domestic sale of the coal. But a history of the Hardscrabble mining area is not complete without mentioning the John G. and George Diamanti families who in 1916 leased property in Hardscrabble Canyon from Helper Coal Company and mined the Castle Gate Sub. 1 coal seam. Stockholders in Helper Coal Company included George Diamanti, William H. Lawley, a principal stockholder in Independent Coke & Coal and Pete Jouflas, whose son Chris was mayor of Helper for 18 years until January of A. '... 4 ? '' ..".'4 . 1974. The Diamanti brothers John and George cut, drilled and loaded by hand the coal which was hauled to the mine entrance by burrows and later by hoists. Lump coal was demanded for domestic purposes and coal less than 1M inches was discarded. John soon quit mining and started a sheep business. During the Depression years (about 1930) he again started mining in the Hardscrabble Canyon. This time John and his sons Steve, Jim and Chris, all of whom recently completed high school, secured a lease to operate the Sub II seam (low coal about four feet thick or less) and formed the Hardscrabble Coal Co. During World War II another Diamanti son, Lee, joined the family operation. In 1945 the family moved their mining operation south across the canyon from the Sub II seam which they had mined out. In 1950 the operation was moved east. Afterwards, high coal seam property became available when Kaiser Steel purchased Utah Fuel Co. Hardscrabble Canyon property was acquired by Salt Lake attorney James White as a bonus for legal work. The Diamantis' later purchased the land from White. In the meantime, Claude P. Heiner, now a Salt Lake coal consultant, core drilled in the Hardscrabble Canyon area without success. "We just happened to be just right in the middle (between Heiner's property) and found enough area to go through," said Chris Diamanti, underground superintendent at Carbon Fuel until he left in 1963 because of poor health, in an interview at his home recently. Chris suffered two broken legs when he was invloved in an accident at Carbon Fuel in 1961. That seam (high coal) was mined until the operation was moved further down the canyon about three years ago when the present operation was started in the Castle Gate Sub II seam, south of the earlier developed Sub II seam. ft 1' V JIM rket ercw. I J'S John G. Diamanti it r -- Jk '4 Chris Diamanti employed with a total of 1,000 expected to be working in the future Chris said. Superintendent of the mine is Boyd Harvey of Price. Underground superintendent is Antone Skrinner of Spring Glen. From 1957 through 1959, the mine produced 90 per cent of its coal for export to the West Coast and Western Asia. Carbon Fuel Company, which utilizes modern mining methods and equipment, has an exclusive patent on a face duster apparatus protecting a miner when rock dust is mixed with coal dust. (Mr. Diamanti, who died in 1964, was first properties in Hardscrabble Canyon. In his later years, until his death, he enjoyed bowling both as a spectator and to develop coal participant.) Present mining at Carbon Fuel is branching out into all of the previously mined seams. Plans call for mining in the Spring Canyon area and northeast of the present Carbon Fuel operation. According to Jim Diamanti, president of Carbon Fuel Company, men and material will enter into the No. 4 and 5 mines at Spring Canyon. Coal will be conveyed underground from the Carbon Fuel mines to McCulloch Oil's Castle Gate coal preparation and stockpile i - ,4 'fc ' ?r O facilities. The family changed the name of the company from the Hardscrabble Coal Co., to the Carbon Fuel Co., when the Carbon Fuel Co. which operated the Rains mine disbanned. Steve Diamanti had gone to Salt Lake and patented "Carbon King Coal" a name suggested by Helper jeweler Bob Neilson. At the time, the Hiawatha operation was called "King Coal" and claimed the name the Diamantis' selected infringed on their name. STANDING near their Hardscrabble Coal Co., mining operation in the 1930's are (left to right) John Diamanti, now deceased, and his son Jim. Jim Diamanti rr ?f .ir? ' and we wish to welcome visitors for Statehood Day. , jJV: ;: - J Visit our Mining Museum in the 'J (J I f f Helper City Auditorium and experience the food and hospitality of our people. ' m A Progressive City Then fef fr r A f gJMrVince Bonza v Sv1 r" ""n. Wayr I3S33SE y 'S, "i jf . .Frank Scavo Councilman . S V. v . nM p. IftO E 1 Hi fef) Councilman i I ' A (Charles Ghirardelli Ernest Gardner Councilman - Joe Rolando Tl Councilman llliiW ' . - M Mary Rebol Councilwoman mwm ' .CL s ' r " ,m tip ; ." s rJ fAnrrogressive n Helper City Corp. i City Now! ULS - . |