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Show 4 u. S. J BUHfciAU 'MK. U. I OF MINES rl . OF- Tl U i 1 u. - - V CITY SALT LAKI VALLES SMELTER PRICES SAMe LEAD,' per COPPER . ... , , U.743c WESTERN MINERAL SIFRYEX Hti .COLD ............. n. HAC ...... SILVER (per m. new mind) SILVER (per pot) v VOL.14, NO. b Inttrl inlutlrln U.M SAD 7t.SU IIASc A Features Mining, Oil, Financial Salt Lake City, Utah, March 12, 1943 11 Scrugham Named To Mining Post V -- f; - m . IT TAKES BOTH War Bonds and Taxes -- To Win Hit Wat $2.00 Year, $1.00, 6 Mos. Prepared by Bertrand L. Johnson and K. G. Warner, Nonmetal Economics Division, Oliver Bowles, Chief; Economies and Statistics Service. Production of phosphate rock from the great reserves In WASHINGTON, D. C. Senator James E. Murray, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business, announced today the appointment of Senator James G. Ft Scrugham, Nevada, as chairman of. the committees newly created subcommittee on mining. Senator CL Douglass Eu 'V, Delaware, will serve. with the Nevada Senator as the only other member of the subcommittee. In making the appointment, Chairman Murray expressed pei sonal satisfaction in having avail-able for the subcommittee chain xjnanship a committee member so familiar as Senator Scrugham not only with the problems of the smaller mine operator but also Vith the problems involved in the development of critical, and stra-jy- 'j tegic minerals for war.. Senator Murray and Senator 'Scrugham have been active in ' pushing the appointment of .a rWar Minerals Director. As' a their activity War. Prone tton. Board Chairman' Donald M.-- . Nelson recently appointed Howard I. Young as War Minerals Coordinator. This is regarded by the committee as a step in the right direction. Senator Murray In a letter to Senator Scrugham, pointed out some of the deficiencies in the Nations minerals and metals pro-giaand said he deemed it pep linent and proper for the Scrugham subcommittee to inquire into and' make recommendations,, including legislation, with reference to. the following points: The extent to which small plants are hindered in their efforts to participate in war production by insufficient supplies of strategic metals and minerals, . including base metals; reasons why small mines capable of producing such metals and minerals have not expanded their production; facts behind the inability ofsmall mine operators to get their properties into production; examination and further investigation into inquiries to Federal agencies as to causes for existing shortages of critical metals and minerals; and measures to Increase "finding, development, production and expansion of these metals and minerals in a manner constructive to the aiding of the war program. William C. Broadgate, of Phoenix, Arizona, technical consultant for the Senate Small Business Committee, will work closely with the subcommittee on mining. Mr. Broadgate has been pioneering in the minerals and metals work of the committee for the past several months. Senator Murray has also arranged for Senator Scrugham to have the full cooperation ct the committees research staff in carrying out his new non-ferro- id Phosphate Output In West Gains Nevada Senator Heads New Sub Committee re-jL'p- mini nl I the aaiDlnr pit f Utah the HnL pf (III putstaadlng la rarrird rach week. us the Western States has been steadily increasing in recent years. The quantity sold or used annually has about doubled in the last five years, reaching a record total of 265,665 long tons in 1942, as reported by the producers to the Bureau of Mines, over'. 60,009 tons greater than in 1941, and with a value exceeding a million dollars for the first time. The production in 1912 came from Idaho, Montana and Utah, as in 1911. Record Breaking Number Of Cranes Go To Geneva Plant Idaho rock sold or used reach-ed a new high in 1912 (114,079 long tons) exceeding the former record of 99.0S8 tons made in 1940. Two companies were active in this state In 1942. Much the larger was the producer, the Anaconda Copper Mining Company, which operated its No. 3 mine at Conda, -County. Most of the production from this property In 1942 was shipped to Anaconda, Montana, for conversion to Smaller quantities were utilized for the preparation of phosphate chemicals, for direct application to the soil, and for animal feeds. Some was exported. The Conda phosphate rock carries a small percentage of vanadium, which is recovered as a byproduct of tbe operations at Anaronda. The other company in Idaho, The Tefon Phosphate Company, Boise, IdaH from shipped phonhate rock Montpelier, Idaho. In February 1942. from its holdings near that long-establishe- d Caribou- GENEVA. ber of The num- largest cranes, and crews ever brought together on one construction project are being assembled at the $150,000,000 Geneva Steel plant near Provo, Utah, It was- announced today by steel-erectin- g - Columbia Steel Company, U. S., Steel subsidiary. .Another U. S. Steel subsidiary, American Bridge Company, contractor at the Geneva steel-erectin- g works, already has moved locomotive cranes capable of lifting pieces of steel in one operation to the site. Priorities permitting, this largest steel' erecting crew will be GO-to- n able to put In place between tlu ee and four thousand tons of steel per week. In designing the Wests largest steel mill, the amount of steel have which ordinarily would been used was cut by approxid by substituting mately other materials, particularly concrete. Seen above are the three stoves of the blast furnace No. 1 of the huge Geneva plant, development of which has been one of the outstanding events in the Wests outstanding industrial development during the year. one-thir- Mines Bureau Lists a. r- - m ns AT . Yearbook, 1941 (This preprint is a chapter 1941. from Minerals Yearbook, volume, The complete covering all mineral commodities, will be withheld from general distribution during the war in accord-- ' ance with government censorship prerequirements. The preprints consent data on production, sumption, exports, and imports for the commodities mentioned.) Metals: Gold and silver, by Chas. W. Henderson and C. E. Needham, 42 pp. 5 figs. 10 cents. FREE PUBLICATIONS Limited editions of the following publications are now available for free distribution by the Information Division, U. S. Bureau of Mines, Washington, D. C. Only one copy of any publication can be sent to the person applying, because of the limited editions. Applicants will confer a favor by requesting only those publications actually needed. Reports Of Investigations 3GG5 Active list of permissible explosives and blasting devices approved prior to June 30, 1942, by J. E. Tiffany and Z. C. Gaug ler. 23 pp. Includes 194 brand names of permissible explosives and blasting devices now on active list 3GG8 Mineral dressing of Oresands. 1. Concentrabeach gon tion of chromite, zircon, garnet, and llmenite, by John Dasher, u -- 1 r- - S. aration, cleaning surfaces, magnetic separation' of electrostatic black-san- d concentrates and tareble concentrates, . composite zircon . and of separation sults, and garnet, and recommends treatment. 3GG9 Annual report of the Explosives Division, fiscal year 1942, by Wilbert J. Huff. 43 pp. 27 figs. Contains chapters, on inflammability of gases and vapors; gases and explosions in underground conduits; investigation of causes, behavior, and control of mine fires; investigation of hazards in use of Diesel locomotives; investiexplosives; gation of liquid-oxyge- n methods for determining poisonous gase3 from explosives; mechanism of igniton of firedamp by blasting; explosives; cushioned stemming of Cr.rdox; explosives control; chemical and physical tests on explosives and blasting and devices. chemical studies; work. general 3G70 Moisture losses in sampling coal, by H. M. Cooper, N. H. Snyder, and R. F. Abernethy. 14 pp. Gives result of experiments made with special moisture samples taken at 21 mines, the moisture content of which, was compared with that of regular tipple Consecutive crushings samples. were made of the same sample to determine the moisture losses. 3G71 Carbonization of Bevier-be- d coal from Kansas and production of blue water gas from the resulting coke, by W. W. Odell. 21 pp. Series of tests was made on coal from strip mine in Bevier bed near Pittsburg. Kans., to determine behavior and usefulness of coking coal in manufacture of coke and subsequent generation of water gas. Tests established that coke. can be made from this or coal either in Curran-Knowle- s of oven. Because propKoppers erties of coke ash, coke cannot be recommended for use in making water gas in generators having mechanical grates. 3G73 metal Stemming in mines. Progress Report 5. Comparison of dust and gases produc- . high-sulfu- r, high-volati- - Its sales have shown a in recent years Increase sharp from 44,384 long tons in 1939 to a new high record of 150.402 tons in 1942 15 000 tons over 1941. Montana in 1942 had three producers. The largest of these the Montana Phosphate Products Company, of Trail, British Columbia operated the Anderson mine and several Federal leases in Powell County, exporting most of the mined phosphate rock to the Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company of Canada, at Trail. The other producers were the Mineral Hill ' Mining Company. Butte. Montana, which mined and shipped from its mine near Avon, Powell County, and L. II. Skeeis, who shipped a small quantity of phosphate rock from Maxville, Montana. The Northwestern Improvement Company, St. Paul, Minn., former lessee from the . ...... Magnesium Is Rated Most Vital Of all the metals in the war program, the demand ,4or and the production of magnesium have increased the most. The 1939 production was 3.350 tons the war program now provides for nearly 100 times that amount. That was the Interesting statement made last week in Mining and Metallurgy by the WPB magnesium production chief, Philip Danforth Wilson. It means that despite the tremendous increases in the production and demand for tungsten, copper, and all the other strategic minerals, magnesium has topped the list. Magnesiums war uses are many and vital. It is needed for flares, tracer bullets, incendiary bombs, ; and airplane parts. Its production unlike .other, minerals is. from,' different. - sources ami is brought about by various meth- ods. . In Nevada the magnesium boom Is,, as everyone knows, taking place at BMI near Las Yegas. There, by a method originated by the Germans, the plentiful magnesite is calcined, then converted to the chloride and then reduced to metal electrolytically. The BMI plant, has been shipping magnesium since August At the start of the war, the big-gest producer of magnesium was the Dow Chemical Company, which was getting the metal from Michigan brine wells, and from Texas sea water, and it is still turning out more magnesium than any other concern. Another producer is the Ford . Motor Company, which is getting the metal from powdered dolomite, which is calcined and mixed with ferrosilicon. The mixture is then made into briquettes and charged Into furnaces, where it ' is heated under vacuum. . . : , . . Iron Ore Production Falls Off For January, 43 (Prepared by Norwood B. Mel-ch- 1,253,734 tons; while Minnesota and Edward J. Lange' un- produced only 4G8,G42 tons. Under the supervision of Thomas IL derground mines are virtually unMiller, Chief, Metal Economics D- hampered by winter conditions. ivision, Economics and Statistics Alabama, the second largest producer by underground methods, Service.) Mineral Market Reports, M.M.S. mined 800,479 tons; while New No.' 1039. York and Pennsylvania totaled Production of usable iron ore 252,959 tons and Wisconsin totaled in the United States in January 128,828 tons. Because of large-scal- e totaled 3.214 043 net tons, a deoperacrease of four per cent from the tions and rail transportation, Ala3,352,559 tons produced in Decem- bama during the winter months a statement by is able to ship more than any ber, according-itthe Bureau f Mines. U- S. De- other state. During January shipments of 807.152 tons were repartment ofwthe ' Interior. decreahag from 1.G96JLG0 ported from mines in that state. tons in December to 1,360.478 tons New York and Pennsylvania in January, a decline of 20 per shipped a combined total of 207,-21-3 tons during the same period. cent It is to be noted that these figures illustrate the effect of win- The industry in the Lake Superior ter weather .on open-pi- t mining District being dependent on waand transportation of ter transportation, shipped a operations ores, since winter activity this comparatively small amount of year, as in other, years, is far be- ore during the month. low the normal summer rate. During the last quarter of 1942 However, during the month a total of 1,090,000 tons of ore stocks at mines increased from was reported for use in steel 4,078,622 tons to 5,934,000 tons, a making furnaces. This total inrise of 45 per cent. Most of these cludes direct mine shipping ores stocks yrere at mines in the Lake and sorted lump, as well as concentrates and sinter produced at Superior District. Michigan, whose production is mines. Some of this ore is used chiefly from underground mines, in steel furnaces as charge ore led ail states in production durSee PHOSPHATE Or Page 2 ing, the month, with a total of er . o - Shipments le See IRON On Page 2 .... Place, Montana was' the largest phosphate rock producer of the western states group in 1941 and 1942. Copies of the following sales Foster. Fraas, and Alton Gabriel, publications of the Bureau of 19 pp. 1 fig. Describes deposits Mines issued during January may and separations 'desired and gives be obtained at the price indicated, the results of experiments on hyfrom the Superintendent of Docu- draulic tabling, electrostatic sep- ments. Government Printing Office, Washington,' D. C. 'Orders for these publications should be sent direct to the Superintendent pf Documents and NOT to the Bureau of Mines. Remittances should be included with the order in cash, postal money order, or coupons sold by the Suin perintendent of Documents sheets of 20 for $1 Stamps are not acceptable. The Superintendent of - Documents is an official of the Government Printing Office an entirely separate organization from .the Bureau of Mines, and in an entirely separate section of the city. Preprint From Minerals suoer-phosphat- f ' s A . . A |