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Show ' J OP U LIBRARY CITY I METAL PRICES 15c Lead (per lb. Gold (per oz.).... $34.91 25 24.2c Copper Zinc (per lb.) 17.5c Silver (per oz.) new mined. 82.75c Features Alining, Oil, Financial Salt Lake City, June VOL. 23, NO. 23 Production and Profit Increase At Day Mines Salmon Mine Region Gets Attention 6, 1952 One Year S25C Good Year Seen for Metal Mines NEW OIL DISCOVERIES POSE BIG MOVING JOB Day Mines, Inc., operating ini the Coeur dAlene district of SALMON, Ida. Representa- Idaho, milled 64,549 dry tons of tives of the Defense Minerals ore during the first quarter of Procuremepit Administration, 1952 and earned a net operating Bureau of Mines and U. S. Geo- profit of $338,035, a recent letter logical Survey inspected several mines in this area recently, Howard Sims, president of the Mineral Resources Development Association of Central Idaho, reported. According to Ronald Burke of the Recorder-Heralmines in the Leadore area were inspected Tuesday and mines in the Salmon river area were visited Wednesday. The federal mining' team is in this area to check the possibility of installing a mill processing ores mined here, or setting up a stockpile of strategic metals. A meeting of the federal men and the small mine operators of Lemhi, Custer, Butte and Blaine County area was held at Mac-kawith a large group of miners attending, Mr. Sims said. The Mineral Resources Association has been promoting the establishment of a mill in this d, y, area, and recently sent Mr. Sims and Harvey Beverland of Mac-kato Washington, D. C., in an effort to speed up action on the matter. Attending1, the Mackay session from here were Mr. Sims, Ferrill Terry, George' Elmo 'Shoup, Heb St Clair, Don y Shu-lenberge- r, R. P. Stevens, Fred to stockholdes reveals. This represents an increase in both production and profit over the corresponding period of 1951 when 59,189 tons of ore were milled and net operating profit totaled $320,839. However, the recent softening of metal prices .shown by the drop in the lead price will materially affect the companys operating profit, unless the condition is of a temporary nature, S. F. Heit-felsecretary-treasure- r, states. Net profit before income taxes and depletion was $268,935 for the first quarter of this year as compared with $228,339 in the like period of 1951. Exploration and development have been resumed at the Galena (Vulcan Silver-Lead- ) property during the second quarter, following the completion of surface installations and shaft d, during the first part ments. in Reported South Dakota on in Hearing Discovery of uranium Craven Canyon, about 10 miles north of Edgemont, S. D., last October has resulted in a rush over a wide of area in the vicinity. More and more uranium prospectors, with many of them equipped modand counters other Geiger devices, ern uranium-huntinare converging upon the area and, with the weather becoming favorable, it is believed Edgemont will be a beehive of activseveral months, ity for the next are staked and as new claims work assessment required the locaon earlier done is by law claim-stakin- g g tions. U. S. Vanadium Corporation, first major company in the field, has for some time been making field tests. It has shipped several tons of sample uranium-bearinore to its processing plant are at Rifle, Colo., and reports disthat some very favorable g coveries have been proven in limited pockets. The survey is being expanded, with wagon drills and a diamond drill being used in making the deeper teste. Amu the great atretchea of Williaton Basin country, crude oil lines may some day be laid by crews like this. The machine it wrapping this pipe noth asphalted fabric to protect the stCel from corrosion. of the quarter, the letter says. Other exploration projects, including the Independence, Na tional and Sterling, are going ahead on schedule. The companys labor contract with the Mine, Mill and Smelter Works Union has been opened for negotiations on all Issues, but no list of demands has been received from the union at the time the letter was written. The lower metal prices may have some bearing in this connection, it is pointed out. Copper Sulfate Walsh-Heal- y Act Postponed IndefiSAN FRANCISCO nite postponement of the hearing scheduled fbr June 10 in Washington, D. C., on revision of the regulations of the Walsh-Heale- y Public Contracts Acts was announced here today by by John R. Dille, regional director of file U. S. Department of Labors Wage and. Hour and Public Contracts Divisions. The act applies to all contracts for furnishing materials and supplies, including defense goods ,to the government if the contract exceeds $10,000. Director Dille said Secretary of Labor Maurice J. Tobin believed further study should be undertaken in the Department of Labor to explore the possibility of relieving prime contractors of liability for the act of their secondary contractors in those Instances in which the act is applicable to 'the seconday contractor. metal-producin- g companies in 1952 was predicted recently by Clinton H. Crane, chairman of the board of St Joseph Lead Company, at the annual meeting of stockholders. The prediction, he said, was based largely on the fact that "governments, while talking deflation, are acting to promote Inflation. He cited the recent relaxing of controls on credit buying as an inflationary move. It is my belief we have no deflation this year and earnings of the metal firms should be sustained, he stated. The recent decline in the price of lead and the easier supply situation in zinc he described as healthy. Lead and zinc prices have been out of line with the general commodity index and distinctly so with respect to copper, he declared. Replying to a stockholders question as to what prices for these metals would have to prevail for St. Joe to get out of the excess profits tax brackets, he indicated a price of around 15 cents for both" metals. St. Joe President Andrew Fletcher also voiced optimism on the companys future outlook because business is still good In the United States and big users of lead, such as the storage battery industry and the gasoline industry, continue to make heavy demands for the nt Brough and Ed Peron. Action planned by the inspecting team has not yet been released, but all seemed favorably impressed with the resources shown in this area, Mr. Sims stated. Production o copper sulfate Strategic ore found here in- declined 3 per cent in April, but clude copper, lead, zinc, cobalt, continued substantially above manganese, and others, and shipments, which rose 16 per present high freight rates and cent, according to file Bureau distance, from smelters has of Mines, U. S. Department of made it exceedingly difficult for the Interior. Stocks gained 14 small mine operators to develop cent to the per highest level their claims. since some tim$ in 1948. At the rate of shipments in April, however, they were sufficient Rush for nearly a months require Uranium A good year for v metal 15-ce- nt Transportation Vital Item In Success of Oil Field NOTE: Recent oil dlacoverle in Montana and North Dakota have aroused wide Interest in this area as a potential source of crude oil. Since oQ Is a newcomer to the family, of natural resources hens, we have planned a series of articles. In cot laboratlon with the Exploration and Production Department of Shell Oil Company. This article Is the sixth In a series of seven. When the first successful oil well was announced in the Montana part of the Williston Basin, many people expected a forest of derricks to rise on the open range and a flood of petroleum to begin flowing from the new fields. Instead, the original wells were shut in for a while. best interests of conservaMany wondered why. The the tion. unreason is that oil is no good And whenever they find oil, less it can be made into prodface a formidable they ucts; it can be made into prodon Page 2 ucts only by a refinery, and the nearest refinery is many miles from the Williston Basin. So, production of oil had to be held up until the oil men provided a practical means of moving it. J Big as it is, transportation is not the hardest problem the oil men have tackled in the Williston Basin. Stretching through A new form, designed to simeastern Montana, part of the Daacross the kotas and continuing plify the filing of an application border into Saskatchewan and for government aid in an exAlberta, this vast underground ploration project, has been isgeological basin raised its first sued by ttie Defense Minerals obstacle by defying all prospec- Exploration Administration. tors for more than two decades. The new application is a sine Ihe oil men had no sooner gle sheet, form. It resolved that problem by finding places the old form, oil than they faced several MF-10and the four-pagform, new ones; they are now hard MF-10- 0 Technical (General at work on them. Geologists Dat) which formerly were used and seismic crews are making by the DMEA. a more determined and detailed This revision of the application form is the latest step takstudy of the area for the purpose of defining the actual oil- en by DMEA to facilitate parbearing parts of the Basin. Ad- ticipation on ills program o aid ditional wells are being drilled. and promote the discovery or Studies are being made in or- development of additional deder to find the best method of posits of metals and minerals getting the oil without losing critically needed for the nationtoo much underground pressure; al defense. to develop the new reserves in C. O. Mittendorf, Acting Ad-- trans-Continue- . Applications For Mine Aid Simplified two-pag- two-she- 3, Undoubtedly, marginal mining properties will have a difficult time making both meet at the level, especially in view of the increased production costs over the past two years, and will result in some curtailment of domestic production, he pointed out. et e d Montana Phosphate Montana Phosphate Prod- ucts Company of Garrison Mont., last week offered $8 as acre bonus for a phosphate lease on 520 acres of government-owneland six miles northeasl of Gold Creek, in Powell Coun ty. A minimum bonus of $5 ai acre was required. Montaru Phosphate was bidder Under such leases the government receives a royalty on am phosphate production from th ground and also charges a rental starting at 25 cents an acre th Five Survey first year and reaching $1 ar acre in the fourth year. ministrator of the DMEA points out that the new fotrn as revised, provide! for information essential ii processing the application and together with a possible fieli examination of the applicant! property, will aid Tn drafting ai exploration project contract. Compared with the old pre cedure, Mr. Mittendorf explains preparing an application by us of the revised form should b easier for the applicant Hi makes it clear, however, tha an applicant must answer al questions completely and mus supply all the information rc quested before an applicatiw can be processed. The new form contains on! seven questions, WITH APPRf PRIATE SUBDIVISIONS, an Is designed to fit the new cor d the-onl- y (MF-103- ), tract form recently issued |