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Show . March 19, 1943 The Western Mineral Survey, Salt Lake City, Utah' Record For Production OfFlurospar Established In U. S. In 942 New All-Tim- e Despite labor and other difficulties, production arid, shipments of fluorspar in 1942 were 8 and 12 per cent greater than in 1941, , the previous record year, accord-- : ing to final 1942 figures made ' public today, by the Bureau of Mines, United States Department of the Interior. Production of fluorspar totaled 337,000 short tons in 1942, com-- . with 313,000 tons in 1941. paredIllinois-Kentucky The district ac--. 79 for counted per. cent of the total in 1942, as compared with 86 per cent in 1941. Shipments, from mines in 1942, amounting to 300,316 short tons, were 12 per cent greater than in 1941 (the previous record year) and 37 per cent more than the of' fluorspar, but much larger 1942 tons shipped in 1918 of World War I. Shipments from Illinois, New .Mexico and Utah established new highs; those for Illinois (161,949 tons) exceeded by 263,817 in quantities were used in the production of hydrofluoric acid, which is essential in the manufacture of artificial cryolite and aluminum fluoride, aluminum raw materials. The glass industry ranks third in importance as a consumer of fluorspar, but it used less-- than in 1941. The enamel industry, which formerly ranked fourth, dropped to sixth place in 1942. Publication- of foreign trade statistics was suspended beginning October 1, 1941, and as a result, import and export data for 1942 cannot be released, f' The following ' tables show, for 1941 and 1942, details of shipments of fluorspar by states and uses, and consumption by - cent the previous high tons) attained in 1917. The movement from Kentucky In 1942 was 6 per cent under the e record made in 1941. Shipments by river, or river-rai(79,049 tons) also made a new record. Of the 1942 shipments, 63 per cent moved to steel plants (67 per cent in 1941), 24 per cent to hydrofluoric acid plants (16 per cent in 1941), 6 percent to glass and enamel plants (10 per cent in 1941), and 7 per cent to other industries. Including exports (7 per cent in 1941). Steel mills, the bureau reported, are the principal consumers Fluorspar shipped from mines in the United States, 1941 -1942, by states 3.4 per (156,676 - all-tim- l - 1941 - Valu- e- Investigation Holds Interest I. SPOKANE, Wash. Western are matching with The loss of working. time in lninS men Merest the preliminary war industries because of strikes U"1 of the Smith discussions last year totaled 2,095,294 Con- I in proposed days, according to the National tavestigrtlon hail a as it step to- War Labor Board. There were gross. They ward reeumlnS development ot 33 BtrIkesInvolvIng' 569,801 1'western resources much needed workers in war industries during effort. But it is be- war the in Ihe year. In both war and non- in some eastern pub-attacked there were about I ing some na- even ucations and 3.000 strikes Involving 825,000 em-- 1 tional columnists as by. merely an and causing a loss of 4,565,-- tempt to smear Roosevelt i 00 man-dayI The phase of the. proposed In Although government officials I vestigatlon that Interests mine regard these figures with concern, operators is that of Rep. Boren of they, point out that the average I Oklahoma, who wants the Smith monthly number of strikes in 1942 I committee to investigate, the of that curities and exchange commis-durin- g only about the preceding five years of I sion preparatory to an effort to eace-anthat strikes caused a I limit its powers sharply, oss of ..only six days for each! Several years ago the annual 10.000 days worked, states the convention of the Northwest issue of The Guaranty I ing Association asked Congress Survey, published by the Guaran-- 1 to conduct a widespread investi-t- y Trust Company of New York, gallon of the SEC, which was The number of new workers em-- 1 charged with preventing the in industry during the last! nancing of mineral development wo years has nearly equaled the 1 and with freezing capital already number of men added to the arm-- 1 Invested by " means of stop or-e- d or regulations that prevent services, according to the timates of the National Industrial I 1 companies from completing Conference Board. In 1942 alone, I the projects they had already sixty-fiv- e civilian workers were Starte; The SEC sent several emissaries added for every hundred men western mine conventions from joining the fighting forces. Al- its headquarters, then in Wash-wer- e together, about 58,650,000 persons at work or in uniform at the lon- - ft0 convince mining men that reforms were coming, and close of last year. Tliis total is slightly below that wtSSS? for November, The Survey con-IS- " ivJCn2?ii forais tinues, mainly because of a sea- Sovment-ThSeveral changes and modifica- the were afterward made, em-P f ,wo.rkers' hw suggestions that Sought were out id the Spokane Iarg! r68 6111 I conference.. But mining men season, have complained that the changes lTthfrnrfaioa9 ,holy number incraaf were more in form than in ccntinued sentlals and that later rules have to war plant personnel. I made it virtually impossible for The number engaged in non-farto even inform mining properties I 1942 k Piaced their oWn shareholders about the ani at 49.8 million, as against 43.2 need of additional capital, million a year earlier and 38.7 million at the close of 1940. Wage Policy Maintained On the same day the Presidents order instituting the week was Issued, James F. Brynes, Eco-- 1 nomic Stabilization Director, Department has made nounced that, in so far as it is available a minimum of, 1.000.-within the power of the govern-- 1 000,000 troy ounces (about 347-ment, wake increases in excess of 000 avoirdupois tons) of silver the amounts permissible under I that 0811 be loaned to the De-th- e Little. Steel" formula will be fense Plant Corporation, to except in limited and 1 place C0PPr conductors. Where special cases to correct patently I tese conductors are in sufficient gross Inequities and to rectify I quantity and in concentrated ,so thatprotection against substandard wages. The Little Steel" formula permits thft.Is pfac?ble sILvi wage Increases sufficient to com- - of nSn so-call- 5. at-ploy- es s. se-w- as one-fourt- h . 1942 Value Strikes Slow Down War Plants , Min-curre- nt . ed - es-le- rs Fluorspar shipped from mines in the United States, 1941-194- 1941 2, by uses 194- 2- e I m 48-ho- ur u aj ry V 4 1 ly son Coal and Coke Company. Research scientists in the iron and steel industry long have known that the output of pig iron per blast furnace could be increased by the use of coke of uniform quality, structure and size A great deal of information has been accumulated by the steel companies concerning the best methods for achieving this objective. The companies have generously made this information available to Bureau of Mines investigators so that it can be used on a nation-wid- e scale to Improve . blast furnace coke and pig iron output. Coke factors found to be pig iron production, as cited in the teachnical paper, include a growing tendency to a higher ash content, higher sulfur content, lack of uniformity and similar undesirable characteristics. Several other difficulties must be overcome by the coke industry, among them the limited availability of some preferred coking coals, delay in obtaining new equipment, repair parts and replacements; miscellaneous vari .ations introduced in the coking process and in handling the coke, ami poor and variable quality of some beehive coke. The experience of coke operators who have made progress in solving these problems is being channeled through the Coke Production Committee and technicians of the Bureau of Mines, functioning as a "clearing house,1 to make this information available to the entire industry. The exchange of information also wil make available experience on the most efficient methods of storing coal, crushing processes, control of the bulk density of coal charges and coal charging methods. Although by product coke ovens furnished 95 per cent of the coke consumed by blast furnaces in 1941, beehive coke ovens increased their output tremendously in 1941 and 1942 to fill the increasing wartime demands for metal lurgical coke. Much of the bee re-tardi- 'r hive coke has been high in ash and sulfur. Trained Bureau of Mines engineers have been sent to the beehive field to aid operators in increasing the quality and uniformity of beehive coke by eleminat-in- g mines producing high ash and high sulfur coaL By utilizing a truck equipped as a laboratory, they have been able to make rapid tests to determine the quality of the coal being charged into the beehive ovens. Among the programs suggestions for reducing the ash and sulfur contents of coal, some of which have already been applied with considerable success, are those calling for greater care in mining so that "dirty" coal will not be loaded with the better grade material; construction of new cleaning plants; conducting research aimed to improve methods of removing sulfur in coal cleaning plants and coke ovens, and developing mining methods for the separate loading of metallurgical Million Plus Paid For N.M. Oil Land of of manufacture- 1941 toSMay,mi942 - and installation. Board rejected Mr. Colwell points out that the increases most acute lack is in the high forisn non o the ,big grades, but that capacity for tic Refining Co., extensive New f Into converting common zinc Mexico operators, recently paid contrary to the I high-grad- e is being constructed. f th,bPa1 ,The over all shortage of zinc, the American Liberty Oil Co. of De- proposed most acute in the although for 25 cash $1,113,000 Dallas, Tex., in9rease retroac- - I grader;, he says, is still a high tlJat an, gen-- e 1, be granted in eral producing wells and 1,000 acres of shortage of metal independ-tb- e I leases situated in Lea County, tHional ent of grade. Further restrictions between v- ages in are possible In the consumption New Mexico, and in the neigh- relationship g the industry and I of zinc and when maximum Yoakum of and counties those In steel plants. The board conservation and substitution boring Ector in the West Texas Permian declared that the general rela-- measures are put Into effect; tionship between wages and there may be sufficient zinc for Basin fields. as is existed on Septem- - j the copper available." The majority of the producing prices, ber 15, has been adopted by the Among the common metals, properties are said to be located Congress and is not subject . to lead, according to Mr. Colwell is in the Wasson poll of Southern modifications by the National plentiful and is finding more and War Labor Board. Yoakum County, Tex., which As. a war more uses. Also certain steels, northeast of Hobbs, N. M., and agency proceeding under the act not alloy steels, nor steels used Congress and the Executive j for construction, but certain just east of the New Mexico state of order of the President, the other steel products and cast line. d NWLB is to stabilize iron are available as t the September 15, for many of the moresubstitutes wages critical I level. metals. Furthermore," he adds. MINERAL 1942, WESTERN The majority of the board be--1 even a steel in Group I (the coal. and lieves that it is consistent with I most critical group) is usually SURVEY the stabilization act to permit to be preferred from the wage increases up- to 15 servation angle to a nonferous Pend 'Oreille Mine I metal from TEL EAST 1ST SOUTH 4 cent in average straight-tim- e the same group, as second class matter at over rates To Pay Higher Wage SaltEntered the January, cause of the tremendously great-194Lake City, Utah under Act of levels in exceptional cases er total availability. For A pay in- March 3, 1679. Rates S2 WALLACE, Ida. a year groups of workers have not I stance, if it were technically Subscription crease of $1 a shift for 100 em- United States; S2.50 foreign; $1.00 for hourly wage increases I sible to replace 100 per cent of six months. of amount. that Most employees, our aluminum .with steel, the Mine Oreille the Pend of Mineral ployes Please mention Western however, according to the board, I added requirement of steel would writing to advertisers. and Metals Co. has been author- Surrey whenrate have already received increases I be only between 1 and 2 par cent ized by the nonferrous metals in excess of 15 per cent and In-- 1 of the total amount produced. The commission of the WPB. JOHN R. TALMAGE, Managing Editor deed in excess of 20 per cent." comparatively small amounts of The increase, retroactive to m All the news of the development stabili2-- 1 steel used in place of other the reaffirmed Despite bewas ' seem granted May 16, 1942, the intsrmountain Section, published by terials to a be more the a of of policy government, cause of wage inequalities be- The Western Mineral Surrey. has been made for a I nuisance to the steel industry All news appearing in the Western demand tween the Washington mine and Survey is obtained from wage increase of $2 a day in the I than actually, to consume any nearby Idaho mines, which were Mineral sources believed to be reliable but no bituminous coal industry upon critical part of Its tremendous granted a $1 increase previously, responsibility is assumed for accuracy the expiration of the present con-- I volume production, of statements. it was said. tract at the end of March. Morel than 400,000 mine workers are ) that under the Little Steel" affected, in addition .to I mula the mine workers not only an indefinite number of workers I could ot .ain on increase but In other industries where wage I might have to give back some-trenmight be influenced by the I thing." In the spring of 1941 Mines n outcome of the miners demands. 1 the miners were granted an L. Lewis, President of the I crease in their basic wage rate Felt Building; Salt Lake City United Mine Workers, has con-- ! from $6 to 37 a day, a rise of ceded, according to press reports, ' nearly 17 per cent. ALBUQUERQUE, N. M. Atlan- - . . meat-packin- 1 1 duty-boun- con-gener- al - 22-2- be-ur- ly 1, in-whe- re . pos-receiv- ed . ma-atk- for-dlrec- tly W. F. SNYDER & SONS . ds in-Joh- I . I |