Show UTAH'S ENDLESS ASSET tw C Gate n Coal Town of Y 1 sv tf ts Ai f P I w P i r U S Fuel Coal Tipple Utah e By OTTO HERRES Vice President and GenI Manager United States Fuel Company TAlI Is fortunate In having U one ane of af the largest bituminous coal fields In the world En En- En Engineers estimate million tons available within forty years and six forty billion tons tans of present value for far mining after atter forty years Total Tatal production has been about tons About third oae-third comes carnes from seams at least 16 feet thIck Only 1 lo of the nations nation's de de- de deposits posits war worked ked are os as thick Utah's coals are notably free from impurities ties containing os as a rule less than 7 ash and 5 to 7 sulphur Palms and semitropical vegetation tion bordering a shallow inland sea millions of af years ago were burled under sediments and compressed Into coal The outcrops were first mentioned by topographic en In 1853 In 54 the Utah Legislature offered 1000 for fer the discovery of coal not nat less than 18 Inches thick within 40 miles of Salt Lake City The search was fruitless However two tiO Welsh mIners opened a coal caal bank at Wales In Sanpete County and shipped coke cake by ox ax team to Salt Lake In 1858 Commercial coal mining began with completion of the Union Paci- Paci Pacific fic railroad In 1869 In 1878 the RIO Grande Western was built intO the Carbon County field Large scale smelting operations swelled consumption in 1900 to a million tons From 1914 to 1920 the States State's output doubled reaching tons In the latter year rear The coal horizon extendIng from Crom the Wasatch mountains into Cola Colo rado rada is from fram to feet thick In alternating beds beds of sandstone and shale Workable beds vary from Crom 4 to 28 feet In thickness They differ greatly In dimensions and be- be become become come In places In certain certain tain Instances the coal has burned out for miles along the outcrop Twenty Utah companies shIp by rail rall Smaller properties at Coal Coal- Ville and elsewhere In eastern Utah bring the total to 40 Twelve mines averaging more mare than tons tonsa a year produce about three fourths or of the States Slates output Modern machinery plays an Im- Im Important Important part In 1935 88 of the coal mIned was cut by machines and 30 loaded mechanIcally Electric haulage is common camman and hoists and long surface tramways are often required Workers are safeguarded by the use of water sprays and sprInkling of ef coal ceal dust electric lighting rock rack dusting permissible explosives and protective tIve clothing Steel tipples and preparation plants costing some some- sometimes times n a quarter million dollars or ar armore more function in cleaning screen screen- Ing and shipping the cO coal at Many companies have built and maintain towns to lause their Depression drouth natural gas gag fuel oil hydroelectric competition and Increased efficiency in coal burning had cut Utah's coal pro pro- production In half by 1934 1931 Then an upturn was indicated Output for Cor 1936 was about tons tens worth warth at the mines about Of thIs It is estimated I was paid out aut In wages and salaries for equip equip- equipment equipment ment supplies and power tar for taxes and ond royalties for fer compensation and other insurance ance and the remainder for far mis mis- miscellaneous expenses The Industry as a whole has not shown a profit or paid dividends in recent years two Sixty cents of the coal caal dollar dallal It Is computed goes for far payrolls 15 2 cents to Utah business con con- concerns cerns for far supplies and power 7 cents for Car taxes and royalties and the rest for far Insurance maintenance maintenance ance replacements and interest Miners under a union agreement work 35 hours a week underground at wages ranging from fram to for far 7 hours The bulk of the coal sold Is used for far indus indus- industrial trial pur p u r p o 0 s e s and domestic stokers Markets are found in California IdahO Montana Mantana Nevada Oregon Utah Washington and to toa toa a lesser extent in Nebraska Kansas and Alaska About halt the tonnage is sold saId outsIde the state and brings money into Utah Ulah to apply on payrolls supplies freight and other ether local lacal expenses Coal mining and transportation Is s essentially a large volume low law cost cast operation and it may be as- as assumed assumed that when Pacific Coast consumption approaches that of the Atlantic seaboard Utah's ton ton- tonnages nages and freight rates will ap ap- proximate those thase on the East coast Before fuel oil prices dropped coal was taken by most western rail rail- railroads roads and many ships on the West coast Mines and smelters public utilities cement and beet sugar Industries and packing plants are arenow now naw large users Known supplies of af petroleum as measured In the life of ef a nation are extremely limited New wells are needed to maIntain a 12 year supply ahead Coal Ceal resources are sufficient for far centuries Low temperature carbonization or of coal probably will supply the country with some same petroleum sub sub- substitutes substitutes Hydrogenation of coal to gasoline has been successfully de de- de developed on a commercial scale Be Be- Be Because cause Utah coal is particularly suitable for such processes its pos pos pos- possibilities in this connection are most mast Interesting The future with its development for far processIng coal may make that mineral by far the most mast important of the many rich resources of oC Utah |