OCR Text |
Show Page 4 Friday. Maich 1. 1957 THE WESTERN MINERAL SURVEY U-O-re Up-Gradi- Process ng Announced By H.O. English The quest means commercial ended last for a practical, low-co- st of utilizing below ores uranium grade week- a3 Mountain Mesa Uranium Corp. publicly sponsored the demonstration of the new upgrading process developed by Tripp Research of Dallas, Texas. With uranium industry officials and representatives of finance watching, actual field samples of uranium ore containing les3 than .05, per cent U3 08 were upgraded to'produce concentrates containing nine times the U3 08 content of the original ore. The successful completion of the three day demonstration runs was announced today by H. O. English, Mountain Mesa president, and confirmed by Ralph Thurston, independent consulting geologist of Lander, Wyo. The pilot runs were held Feb. 13, 14 and 15, and climaxed over two years of study on the process. According to Thurston, the process could have a dramatic effect on the entire uranium industry, with special emphasis on the Big Indian Wash area of Utah. Overnight, ores of less than .1 per cent U3 08 previously unacceptable under the established government purchase program have taken on - commercial significance. Huge deposits of these ores that were discarded or in the initial search for the magic atomic age metal will have to be revalued in the light of the new process. Conservative estimates that a process of this type would increase the commercially economic reserves of uranium ore in the Big Indian Wash area by approximately three to four times, and possibly six of seven times for the entire uranium producing by-pass- areas: English explained that the pilot tests were conducted in specially designed equipment capable of treating 1000 pounds of one per hour. This equipment is a prototype of that planned for a com mercial plant. To further stimulate actual operating conditions, low grade uranium ore was trucked to Dallas for the tests from the Big Indian Wash Mining district of Southeastern Utah. The new upgrading of benefi-ciatin-g process, English continued, was developed for use on Mountain Mesas Cal Uranium ore body in Big Indian Wash area of Utah, by Dr. Maurice Tripp of the Tripp Research Corp. to utilize the large low-grad- deposits present in e Solvent Extraction: The New Look In Uranium Recovery DENVER Uranium Stocks The following list of uranium stocks are -- ose of companies currently producin' uranium and listed as shippers to the Atomic Energy Commission and companies which, while not listed as shippers by AEC, have an Income In other mineral fields Wednesday, February 27 ad- pilot plant study recently completed. Vitro built and operated a 10 GPM pilot plant at is uranium mill in Salt Lake to facilitate the e design and construction of a out to uranium turn plant concentrate with SX techniques using dodecyl phosphoric acid in ing phosphate precipitation and kerosene as the solvent. The unit other techniques for uranium re- provided extreme flexibility at covery used on the Colorado Pla- low installation cost. Feed rates teau and is likely to replace more. on the order of 40 GPM were atSolvents are used in some cases tained. The pilot operation was also inin the purification of crude ura- strumental in ironing out the nium concentrates to produce high strip of the uranium bearing orgrade uranium products suitable ganic solvent. It was discovered in the study that aging of the for conversion to reactor-gradwhen loaded with urauranium metal. However, until re- solvent nium has a detrimental effect on cently SX has been restricted to hydrochloric acid stripping of the those products encountered after solvent. Vitro also found that the uranium has been recovered contamination with titanium and thorium reduced the uranium from the raw ore. level and also caused stripping to Today, SX offers a new method be more difficult. of processing sulfate leach liquors. Both these effects have been It provided a means of circum- successfully overcome by miniventing the older, more costly and mizing the storage time of the inefficient precipitation methods. pregnant liquors and removing It is generally considered to be the contaminants by periodic somewhat cheaper from a produc- treatments with dilute hydroflour-i- c tion standpoint than ion exchange. acid. One uranium producer, Vitro SX will replace phosphate preUranium Company of Salt Lake City, a division of Vitro Corpora- cipitation process at Vitros mill tion of America, will change over under a $1,200,000 expansion proto SX next year as a result of a gram started in December, 1956. The construction propect is being handled by the Refinery Engineering Co. of Tulsa, Okla. another Vitro division. Solvent extraction, a process used extensively in the chemical and petroleum industries, may provide some of the answers in the next few years for producers of uranium concentrates. The process is already replac- dition to the commercial level ores. This property has been labeled as having the fifth largest ore body on the fabulous Colorado Plateau. The new process will increase the known commercial reserves of Cal by two to three times. Mr.. English specifically stated that the process will not be a competitor to existing uranium mills, but will be used as an adjunct to present milling facilities. The Tripp Process differs radically from previous attempts to beneficiate these ores, English said. High recovery is achieved through the conversion of the uraniferous minerals occuring in the host rock to a new synthetic uranium compound. A distinct physical property 'of this single synthetic compound allows it to be readily separated from the gangue with less than 5 per cent loss. Too, the grade of the final concentrate can be predetermined and controlled, as can recovery rate to make the best economic U3e of a particular ore or ore deposit. We are assured, English continued, that the Thursday, February 27, 19.77 West Toledo . from the upgrading plant should The Wilbert Is listed Information below derived Basin Oil demand a price of not less than from sources regarded as reliable, not Wllliston Yankee Cons but believed to the be correct. schedules guaranteed, Zuma Ur. St Oil by present pricing Sales AEC not only because of its high- Listed Stocks Big Hill 1000 at ,03 ft also but U3 concentration er 08 Bristol Silver 3000 at Banner Mining full-scal- e Salt Lake Stock Exchange te through the fact that the fine degree of grinding given the ore during the upgrading treatment, and the elimination of approximately 90 per cent of the waste material will simplify the final milling of the ores. Lime content of the output product is negligible. sub-concentra- te Plans are now being laid, English said, for the construction of a million dollar upgrading plant to be built on the Cal property. The contemplated 1000 ton per day plant would treat ores from the Cal body as well as other producing mines in the area. Cost wise, English said, the picture is very encouraging. Preliminary figures show that direct operating expenses of such a plant would only be about 55 cents per ton of raw ore treated. A 50 pound sample of the ore concentrate- is currently being prepared for study and testing for the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission for amendbility tests for milling purposes. Cal Uranium is a subsidiary of - - Big Hill 2000 at .26 Gas Company Seeks New Fuel Source .27: The Mountain Fuel Supply Co. is broadening its exploration program in 'hopes of finding additional gas at a cost less than that which the utility buys, W. T, Eureka Standard 150 at- .16 Grand Deposit 7000 at .01ft Nightingale, president of the comh 0111000 at, .04; 1000 at .03ft pany says. North Standard 1000 at .01ft Rico Argentine 200 at 4.75 The executive said the company Bllver Standard 1000 at .02 ft; 10,000 at .02ft has. nine geologists working in South Standard 2500 at .21; 2500 at .22 Tlntlc Lead 2000 at .04 ft western Wyoming, Utah and parts n 0112000 at .04 West Aoledo 1000 ot .09 of Colorado, in addition to geoCurb Sales physical instrument crews. The Prosper Oil 1000 at .06 Silver Standard 5000 at .02 ft; 2000 at men are working areas tributary .02ft to the present pipeline system. South Standard 500 at .22; 500 at .22 Central Standard Bonansa Oil St Mng. Bristol Silver 2000 at .03ft Colb. Rexall 300 at .38; 3500 at .37 Cons. Eureka 700 at .65; 500 at .65 Combined Metals 3000 at 7 Croff 0111000 at .06 Dragon 400 at 1.10; 300 at 1.10 Empire Mines 1000 at .07 ft Eureka Mines 1000 at .04 Cardiff Central Std Chief Cons Chief Cons. Pfd. . Chief Cons. Warrants 08 . - Nev.-Ta- Colb. Rexall Combined Metals . . Comet Coaln Commonwealth Lead . Cons. Eureka Trans-Unio- Dragon. E. Crown Point . East Standard Corp. East Utah Mines Empire Eureka Lilly Cons. Eureka Mines Eureka Standard URANIUM QUOTES Gold Chain Great Horn Indian REPORTS ON CORONADO SAHARA COMSTOCK I Lenora Little May Oil Magnolia Uran. Majestic OH & Mng. . . Mammoth Miller Hill Mono Kearsarge Moscow Mt. States Dev Mountain View Mountain Mesa Uranium Corp. of Nalldrlver h Oil dc Mng. Park Casper, Wyo. The company also New New Quincy has extensive holdings through- No. Am. Res. Corp. .. North Lily out the Gas Hills area of Fre- No. Standard Park Bingham mont County, Wyo. Nev.-Ta- FROM UTAH'S MINES -A BETTER UTAH The 1956 assessment of mining property in our state was 27.5 of the total assessed value of all property in Utah. As a result, taxes paid by mining were an The important factor In governmental financing. In helpmining industry is proud of the part it plays services other and government ing to support education the people of Utah. for communities better mean that UTAH MINING ASSOCIATION" all "From the earth comes an abundant life for Park Nelson Park Premier Piute Uran. Corp. Plutus Prince Cons. Prosper Oil ft Mng. Rico Argentine . . . Royston Coaln Silver King West . Silver Shield Silver Standard ... Sioux Mines So. Iron Blossom .. South Standard Sundance Oil ... Tlntlc Central .. Tlntlc Lead Tlntlc Standard n Trans-Unio- Oil CROMER BROKERAGE CO. Utah Cons. Sug. Com Sug. Pfd. . Utah-Wy- o. Cons. Oil Victor Cons Western Alloys Utah-IdahUtah-Idah- o o Suite . TWX 02 ft .02ft SU-1- 80 3-- 4 Salt Lake Stock Exchange Building, 39 Exchange Place Telephone EL Salt Lake City, Utah 14 |