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Show The Western Mineral Survey, Salt Lake City, Utah Page 4 Am. Gilsonite To Develop Pipeline, Build Huge Plant ' ' s , shafts between the rock walls (Continued from Page 1) the plant will handle more than which enclose the Gilsonite fis600 tons of Gilsonite daily and sure. Drifts will be cut into the Gilsonite in both directions employ 125 persons. the shafts. They will be Initial plans for the project were announced last year follow- driven, starting at a depth of 50 ing several years of research and feet and continuing at 200 to 300 pilot plant development by Amer- foot vertical intervals, on a rising ican Gilsonite Company and work- grade of about 2 degrees. These drifts will be cut in two ing in cooperation with universities and research institutions ways, depending on the nature of throughout the country and the he ore in the vein; by jets of California Research Corporation, water under a pressure of about a subsidiary of Standard Oil Com- 2,000 psi, and by a toothed, rodrill. Thee pany of California. American Gil- tary sonite Company is a joint affiliate jet nozzles are mounted on a of Barber Oil Corporation and -tired, chassis Califorof Oil a Standard holding Company hydraulically operated be-we- hydro-mechanic- July 6. 1956 en al rubber- air-power- ed stream jumbo. A water of will wash the broken Long History cut Efforts to unlock the properties Gilsonite down a of Gilsonite and process it com- in the floor of the drift . to the mercially date back to 1884 when shaft. The mechanical drills are it was discovered in eastern Utah also jumbo mounted and, as where virtually all the known de- they cut a swath through the posits are located. As the princi- ore, a stream of water issuing pal producer, American Gilsonite firom the teeth on the drill keeps Company estimates its current re- the ore wet and washes it into the serves at 16 million tons. At the bottom of the shaft, the During 1954, after years of research and the expenditure of water and Gilsonite under in more than $1,000,000 to find a size will be seperated from the few larger chunks of ore. The suitable process, a single-drua with latter is lifted to the surface in delayed coking pilot plant feed capacity of about 100 tons conventional buckets while the slurry containing per day was operated at Bonanza. Gilsonite-wate- r This plant produced sufficient the finer material is pumped to quantities of coke and distillates the surface. When the initial and commercial test applications drifts are completed, the jumbos will be returned to the shaft, lowof the coke. ered about 10 feet, and put to extensive other These and pilot to work cutting another drift. plant experiments, according The Gilsonite-wate- r Mr. Goodner, have indicated that slurry will commercial manufacture can con- be pumped through a $2,000,000 vert Gilsonite into a high-grad- e pipeline to the Gilsonite, Coloelectrode coke of exceptional pur- rado, processing plant 70 miles BIRDSEYE VIEW Of American Gilsonite Co. struction. Heavy dotted line marks pipeline ity, which would find a ready away. It will be operated from a market in the manufacture of pipeline pump station at Bonanza, route for transporting Gilsonite ore in a slurry, mines in Uintah Basin, Utah showing two of the aluminum and in the specialty without an intermediate pump stafrom mines to the refinery which opens in 1957. principal veins and refinery now under con carbon fields. Tests also indicated tion. The pipeline will cross two susthat the coproduct gasoline is of canyons over specially-bui- lt excellent quality, far ahead of the pension bridges: one 600 feet to 550 tons daily. The new plant is expected to sonite Company plant is one of The dried ore will be melted have a salutary effect on the the few, highly stable manufacoutput of other refineries in the long over the White River; the area, with very high octane rat- other 700 feet long over Evacua- and heated to 450 degrees F and economy of the Grand Valley in turing enterprises in the area. ings capable of meeting anticipat- tion Wash Canyon. Except where charged to the delayed coker. The western Colorado. The Grand Val-e- y Why Grand Valley? ed future requirements for many it crosses the canyons, the line overhead from the coker will be is principally an agricultural Mr. Goodner said the Grand will be buried beneath the frost- fractionated, and the gasoline region although Grand Junction, Valley was chosen as a plant site years. line. fraction processed in a two-stag- e Gilsonite its largest city, is in the midst of owing to several factors:, it has is An interesting aspect of this catalytic reformer. Theheat from a uranium boom an dis headquar-er- s railroad facilities (the mines at The raw material, Gilsonite, for the Atomic Energy Com- Bonanza have none), it is sizeable a black, solid hydrocarbon with a pipeline, according to Mr. Good- the bottoms of the fractionator to melt the be used will been has content. incoming ore procurement divi- enough to offer a suitable marmissions is It resin that ner, it will follow the high used largely in making asphalt route of one of the most unusual Gilsonite ore before it is sent to sion and numerous uranium min- ket for the gasoline byproduct, the coker. floor tile, storage battery boxes, railroads in American history. ing, refining and allied com- and it offers the shortest pipereformer The as an operaand This varnishes catalytic named Uintah the panies. Hence, the American Gil line haul from the mines. inks, paints, railroad, insulation for hot underground Railroad, was built by the pre- tion will be unusual in that it will after Samuel decessor company of American not produce enough hydrogen to pipes. It is named ' H. Gilson, a prospector and ex- Gilsonite Company The Barber satisfy its own requirements. Hywho firs Old the of West, to transport drogen will be produced from the Asphalt Company plorer Gilsonite the Gilsonite deposits from the mines to rail process gas, to make up the deexploited some 70 years ago. Technically facilities in Mack, Colorado, about ficiency caused by the high olefin an asphaltite, but different from 20 miles northwest of Grand Junc- content of the coker naphtha. The gasoline, after reforming asphalt, it is believed to have tion. It operated from 1904 to be finished and blended for will or e from 1937. railbeen formed It was a narrow-guagpertoleum of millions crude oil many years road, constructed over the rugged marketing in Western Colorado, ago. terrain, .carved .mostly .out .of now served from distant refin vertioccurs in nearly Gilsonite mountain sides, passing over cries. The coke will be calcined cal fissures that vary in depth shaiP' grades to come through from 100 feet to more than 1,500 Baxter Pass, Colorado, over the and shipped in covered hopper feet. The fissures vary from a few Book Cliff Mountains. In getting bottom cars primarily to markets inches up to 22 feet in width. Ore over the pass, the track and bed in the northwestern part of States. Pipeline water will for the manufacture of coke and had to increase their elevation from be extracted will and used for process clarified be six in feet trackmiles of gasoline by 2,000 veins that are greater than 6 feet age. One mile had a 5 per cent cooling. in width. grade, while five miles required Pipeline River a 8 Original Feature per cent grade. An interesting aspect of the Among the original features of coking operation is the water con this pioneering operation, Mr. When the Gilsonite-wate- r slurry ditions, Mr. Goodner revealed. In Goodner pointed out, in addition to the laying of the pipeline over reaches the processing plant, it this case, water for the mining and and pipeline operations is taken the mountans, will be the intro- will go through to a from the. White River in Utah, wet new processes melting produce duction of mining comthe feed for opthen is piped over the mountains the liquid subsequent methods developed by erations. a a into the Grand Valley in Colorado four Using the last coker, delayed years. pany over refractionator and where it is returned to the Coloand transportcatalytic Cutting, breaking convert the the will River. Subsequently, the rado former, plant ing the Gilsonite by hydraulic 5( into brittle Gilsonite Colorado solid, the . .flows., south into -- Utah, explomeans will eliminate . 3b where the Green River joins up Gilsonite coke, dust (weight) percent green sion hazards from 15 minand it. with percent percent Until gasoline now, Normally, water from in confined areas. usee Btu which be will 1,400 White the River flows into the gas by ing has been accomplished hand-pickin- g as fuel. The initial Green output and River, so. that by passing 1 plant mechanical tons 250 of coke be will daily through the pipeline, its journey methods. The to is designed permit to the Colorado is shortened by Enclose Fissure plant so to as coke a deliver output up several hundred miles. The company is sinking vertical nia. low-pressu- re ch V-notc- h. m . . the-Unite- -- 7-1- De-wateri- ng |