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Show Friday, September ,20, 1957 THE WESTERN MINERAL SURVEY Pace 2 Phillips to Sell To U.S. Commission U-O- re Radon Doubles Estimate For Uranium Reserves Mining The U. S. Atomic Energy Com- mitted to the Commission in Febmission and Phillips Petroleum ruary 1957. Construction of the new mill is Company, ol Bartlesville, Oklacontract a lor homa, today signed expected to commence soon with the sale of uranium concentrates completion scheduled about mld-195It is estimated that the plant (U308) to the Commission. The contract will result in the con- will cost approximately $9,500,-00This is the fourth contract struction and operation by Phila of new uranium entered into in recent months inprocessing lips mill in McKinley County, New volving construction of a mill to Mexico having a capacity of about treat Ambrosia Lake ores. The Phillips' mill will be the 1,725 tons of uranium ore per day. acsixth uranium processing plant to Phillips began exploration tivities in the Ambrosia Lake be located in New Mexico to treat Area in 1955 and by early 1956 ores produced in that State. The had blocked out a sufficient ore site of the new mill is in McKinsupply to interest the company in ley County, about 25 miles north proposing a mill operation. At of the town of Grants. Ores treatthat time the Commission was ad- ed in the plant will. include ores vised by the company of its in- from properties owned or con8. 0. Hi-Lit- es TIME magazine predicted tariffs on lead and zinc will be increased 100 to 200 per cent to give depressed, domestic producers a lift. It said the U. S. Tariff Commission is expected to recommend doubling of the duty on lead to 2.55 cents and tripling the zinc tariff to 2.1 cents. TIIE EMERGENCY Lead Zinc Committee said the Tariff Commission would be petitioned by October 1 to impose the maximum import duty of 2.1 cents a pound on slab zinc, compared to the present duty of .7c a lb. Based on -- 30 per cent increase in mining costs since 1954, the industry will terest in submitting a proposal for trolled by Phillips, as well as a ask that toe peril point be set at a milling operation. Preliminary certain amount of amenable ore 17c a pound on lead and 14c on talks were commenced in August purchased from independent mine zinc. The duties would take ef1956, and a formal proposal sub- - operators of the area. fect when prices fall below those a levels. SPEAKERS at the American Mining Congress convention in Salt Lake City hammered home that toe mining industry is sick, that American miners must not be Advantage gained in using Ger- neer, and James A. Dowd, Chief, destroyed on the altar of friendly man coal planers for mining cer- Mining and Preparation Section, relations with any particular foreign power, and that toe only real tain beds in the United States are Region V, Pittsburgh, outline is more protection from solution told in a Bureau of Mines report that permit successful foreign imports built up by Amjust released by Department of adoption of planer mining. tax money and produced erican the Interior. are: conclusions their Among by cheaper labor . . . Senator Introduced to the ) said he was coal) Watkins Longwall (of mining industry of this country by the with can be that Elsenhower President convinced adapted planers Bureau in 1951, the planers are lead-zin-c coal to some thin of toe the concluded that has mining now used in several States. This latest report by the Bureau sum- beds, with increased rates of pro- industry can be protected without compared destroying toe foreign trade promarizes their operation in five duction per man-shiin the gram. He said he was optimistic conventional mining Pennwjth mines in West Virginia and same beds. through tariff commission sylvania. Amerithick "In executive and a action, an adequate beds, mining The machines operate by can with worked out this can be solution produchigh equipment plowing action in which a planer, tive can be capacity ordinarily year. equipped with cutting blades, rips A HIGHER PRICE for domesticathe coal down as it travels hori- used more advantageously than silver was urged by lly-mined minplaners." zontally across the face. This "Modified R. I. A unof a 5355, copy spokesman for Hecla Mining ing method does not require German With is Longwall Mining Company. He said the U. S. Treasdercutting of the coal face nor of Coal Planers. OperaSummary ury should decrease its seigniorblasting necessary. Broken coal can be Coal at tions Five Mines," age profit on silver and pay toe falls into a conveyor that paralthe obtained is lels the path of the planer and by writing producer 99.59c an ounce instead Bureau toe present 90.5c, in partial .transof Section, taken to a transfer point for 4800 of Street, Forbes Mines, recognition of toe increased costs portation from the mine. foe Should Pa. It A. 13, of mining silver and toe base Pittsburgh Authors of the report, W. title. number and identified metals with which it is associby Haley, supervising mining engiated." A RETURN to toe Gold StanBureau of Mines ReDorfs dard was urged by AMC delegates but Dr. Franz Pick, publisher of Picks World Currency Report, said gold stocks are not large enough to permit it. The U. S. Production and imports of lead and 25 percent, respectively, monetary policy has done a pertotaled 105,300 tons in June and whereas secondary recovery of fect j o b of debasing gold, he 89,800 tons were consumed, ac- lead and lead consumption each charged. He predicted tht a re4 percent. Mine produc- cession of unpredictable intensity cording to the Bureau of Mines, decreasedrecoverable lead in June will occur when the present tion of United States Department of the 11 tons, totaled 26,400 percent un- shrinkage of toe dollars value has Interior. Primary refiners proder May production. run its course and that toe govduced 43,600 tons of refined lead of antimo-niarefiners' ernment then will increase the production l Primary and 4,400 tons of lead in was lead tons refined of re43,600 gold price. lead; secondary . smelters GOLCONDA had toe best six claimed 29,300 tons; and 28,000 about 1,000 tons under May pro0 to fell but months in its history, with net inshipments tons of lead in pigs and bars were duction, d month-entons, thereby raising come of nearly $40,000 or 2c a imported. In the first half of 1957 the tons to stocks a share 55,400 share vs. $24,485 or some gains and some declines lead refined of for Look in toe first half of 1956. were reported compared with the highest inventory since the January the firm to repeat next month like period of 1956; refinery pro- at producer plants im- 31, 1955. Antimonial lead produc- lc a toare dividend (totalling and mine production duction, to 4,500 $20,000) it paid in May. ports of pig lead increased 1, 2 tion dropped from 6,900 30 were tons and stocks on June Mines Bureau Describes Planer In Report on Use in Many States con-ditio- coal-minin- ns g (R-Utah- ft that Publica-tions-Distributi- on Lead Production, Imports Listed . 34,-30- lc lower than on June 1. WESTERN MINERAL slightly e Smelters' receipts of scrap dropped 16 percent below SURVEY May to total 42,800 tons. Of this NEWS - CIRCULATION total 50 percent was battery-leaPlums DC 421 Church Btraet plates and 26 percent was drosser 1402 Cnrtla St.. Denver Alpine and residues. Consumptionto of0 ADVRRTXaXNQ scrap decreased 6 percent EM Box 2608 tons and stocks at smelter Salt Lake City, Utah 2402 Curtla St.. Denver plants were 10 percent lower at ALplne Entered aa eecond clan matter at Ba! the end of the month. Lake City, Utah, under Act .of March 2. 1879. Imports of lead in June totaled Subscription ratei: $5.00 for two yean; 49,500 tons or an increase of 43 13.00 for one year. Piets mention Western Mineral Survey percent over May imports. Pigs when writing to advertisers. Advertising and bars, chiefly from Australia, rates on application. Yugoslavia and Mexico, accounted for 56 percent of the total; ore ...Editor and concentrates, principally from U M. wttJSouth Africa, Peru, and Australia, 41 percent; and reclaimed mefor AH news appearing In the Western 3 Mineral Survey Is obtained from sources tal and scrap for the remaining neUevsd to be reliable but no responsibility per cent. Lead imported in the d for accuracy of statements. Is 1957 was 7 percent Reproduction of any material from this first half of publication must have written permission higher than in the first half of from the publisher. lead-bas- d 47,-40- 1956. Vitro Signs . . . (Continued from Page 1) mum 10,000 tons of ore per month during toe life of toe agreement. Jen also received an option to increase shipments to 12,000 tons notice. Value a month on a of toe ore concerned could amount to around $38,000 if toe maximum amounts of ore are shipped. This contract is a good deal for 30-da- y both parties. It provides Vitro with a large supply of high quality ore for processing, and gives Jen a steady market for its ore. The mill here just recently completed a $2 million expansion program which includes the changeover to toe new, more efficient solvent extraction method of processing U-or- The Radon Mine in San Juan bounty, Utahs Big Indian uranium district, has virtually twice as much ore as originally believed, it was reported recently by R. W. Neyman, president of Rado-roc- k than 500,000 tons of uranium ore, averaging 0.68 per cent uranium oxide. Such ore grade would bring value of toe ore to around $62 a ton and make toe ore body worth more than 30 million dollars in Resources, Inc. The ore survey was made by place. Hecla Mining Co., which operates 1955, Hecla estimated ore in toe property for Radorock on a toeInRadon totalled 200,000 tons of shared profit basis. .70 per cent U308 or better grade. Mr. Neyman said that Radorock This new ore reserve has resulted in agreement among prin- also has initiated an independent of the survey of ore reserves. This surcipals for a basis of merger of Radorock into vey is proceeding and will conand with Hidden Splendor Mining tinue, he said. Co., a newly organized, publicly Neyman said that since 1955 held firm controlled by Atlas noMr. for reserve deter, core Corp., headed by financiar Floyd minationdrilling carried on at been had B. Odium. mine which is served the 700-foshaft. It was announced only a few by a weeks ago in connection with toe The reason, he said, was due to five-firof drilling costs. merger that one-sixt-h a share of toe new Hidden Splen"Instead, it was determined that dor would be traded for one share the most desirable method of asof Radorock. certaining ore reserves would be of underground dein connection in toe process Hecla then startwith this merger will be initiat- velopment work. ed its survey and Radorocks sured," Mr. Neyman said recently. The proposed merger must have vey followed. Radorock, which is 52.6 per cent approval of toe Securities Ex- controlled by Federal Uranium change Commission. Lake City, has been of Salt Corp., rate of 5,000 tons at Hecla . Mr. Neyman said that producing ore from toe mine. inof monthly Mining Co. has unofficially at $350,000 is valued reThe mine output formed Radorock that basis. sales on more ore at serves now are estimated ot three-compartme- nt m "Re-negotiatio- ns Outlook for US Metals Seen Not Very Bright .The outlook for toe strategic metals in this country isnt what even the best optimist would call bright. S. H. Williston, vice president of toe Cordero Mining Co., Palo Alto, Calif., and chairman of toe strategic Minerals Committee, American Mining Congress, gave the whole picture at one of the sessions of the American Mining Congress convention in Salt Lake. Mr. Williamson said toe situation facing all of the strategic metals is similar to the situation now facing copper, lead and zinc. Over toe last 17 years, the American producer has lost SO per cent of toe United States market to foreign producers. "Now that stockpiles are filled, foreign excess capacity encouraged by our own government, feels entitled to take over toe balance of the American market and, without some form of import control, will probably have their own way," Mr. Williston said. Sen. Arthur V. Watkins, (R., Utah), who was sitting in on toe conversation came in for praise by Mr. Williston for his fight for toe mining industry as did all the western governors and most of toe western congressmen. On toe subject of tungsten, Mr. Williston said he noted that about last January, toe United States was toe largest producer of tungsten in toe world, but now, through toe policy of making friends and influencing people in foreign mining, tone isnt any production. Most of toe U.S. mines have shut down, lock stock and barrel. . The genial mining man used his own production as an example of what the United States producer is facing and a lot of people have wondered how a mineral mined half way around toe world can be shipped here to compete with domestic metals in the way of price competition. In his companys own mine toe which produces mercury firm pays the miners around $24 per day. Incidentally, most of toe miners are from toe Basque area of Spain. Spain, which is a big producer, uses Basques in their mines, but toe workers receive the equivalent of 60c per day. Italy pays mercury miners around $2 per day. Turkey, which is this country's main source of prime chrome, pays its miners around 50c a day, while toe miner in this country receives about $20 per day. But there is one good reason why chrome is imported from Turkey. That country sits right smack between Russia and Syria. Utahn to Assume Post With USS Appointment of former Utahn David L. Joto Bigler to toe post of assistant district director of public relations, District, United States Steel Corporation, was announced today by A. R. McQuiddy, recently appointed director of public relations for this district. Utah-Intermoun-ta- A in resident of toe Salt Lake City area, Mr. Bigler will take over the duties of this new position on October 1. For toe past three years, he has worked as field representative in U. S. Steels Cleveland District public relations office. long-tim- e Mr. Bigler was born in Provo, Utah, and is a graduate of toe University of Utah, where he received a BA. degree in journalism. At the university he was editor-in-chiof toe Daily Utah Chronicle, and was a member of Owl & Key, senior mens honors ary society, and Kappa Sigma social fraternity. ef |