Show Background Report Came Come to 10 Farm Form Stayed to Father Uranium Industry in SE Utah s Mining was the farthest thing from Howard W. W Balsley's mind when he first came to Moab Valley In the early part of the century Had he been told then that he would father the nations nation's na Lions tion's biggest uranium boom he would have been more surprised than the old timers timers tim tim- ers who remember the Immaculately immaculately Im im- groomed young Pennsylvanian brushing the red sand from Moab streets off his spats Mr Balsley came west to check on his sizeable investment investment in in- vestment in the Valley City Irrigation Project porth north of Moab Shortly after he arrived arrived arrived ar ar- ar- ar rived a flash flood washed out the Hie Valley City Dam taking the farm and orchard orchard ard project and Mr Balsley's Baisley's savings with it By that time however the spirit of hope that maintained maintained maintained main main- Moab Valley for many many ma ma- ny years had gotten to the young man from Pittsburg He stayed to help It grow Varied Career To make a living in the sparsely settled frontier town Mr Balsley embarked on a many career which has won him a permanent permanent perm perm- I anent place in the historical archives of the valley lIe He was vas the first secretary for the La Sal National Forest Forest For For- est when the U U. S. S Forest Service Ice blazed Its way into tire the lives of early day Southeastern Southeastern Southeastern South South- eastern Utah stockmen who did not particularly take to having the government nos nos- F- F f 7 y pv I Ir r y x r d i yI t k kw w Howard Balsley local uranium Industrialist Indus Indus- manipulates Electroscope an early day y assaying device for uranium ore T The Instrument later replaced by ing into their business HC Ile was Grand county Clerk Recorder and Auditor Auditor Auditor Audi Audi- tor for 13 years and work work- portable portable geiger gelger counters counter Intrigued host host of modern geologists geologists' and engineerS at atthe the first AIME Symposium held In Moab J i a number of years ag ago ed in Moab's Moah's first bank When he first arrived however he hired out as a farm laborer on the old Judge Bartlett ranch where the Allen Memorial hospital Is now located He received 1 per day and boarded him him- self These activities however financed what was to be the occupation that carved his nitch In inthe the world uranIum uranium uranium uran uran- ium mining Early U Ore Interest Mr Balsley had long had hada a romantic interest in the yellow ellow ore in which Madame Curie Curle had discovered the healing power of radium He began prospecting in 1912 I Isome some of his first location I notices were found by prospectors prospectors pros pros- in the boom but didn't devote full time timeto to his mine ventures until 1936 He laughs at the term new ne Industry In connection lion tion with uranium He had I prospected and mined for almost half a century In SE Utah before the atomic bomb uncorked the profitable profitable profit profit- able side of the Industry Mr Balsley's first shipments ship ments of ore were used as asa asa asa a coloring agent for ceramics ics By 1934 he had entered enter enter- entered ed into a contract with Vitro Manufacturing Co of Pittsburg Pittsburg Pitts- Pitts burg for ore specified to contain 1 l' l per cent of uranium uranium ur ur- ur 5 per cent vanadium He was paid for both tooth elements elements elements ele ele- ele- ele ments however During these years he seven warehouses spa spaced ed over the area where he collected collected collected col col- col- col ore from many mines enough to ship 54 carI car car- I loads The first mining ventures ventures were spasmodic Just as he hew w was s going good in in 1920 pitchblende was discovered in South Sout Africa and the domestic do do- domestic do market was destroy destroy- ed Vanadium Interest After the uranium markets market's markets market's markets market's mar mar- ket's decline he developed a thriving vanadium market Then the Vanadium Corporation Corporation Corporation Corpor Corpor- of America acquired the lucrative Andes Mountain Mountain Moun Moun- tain property and he was out of business again He shipped his first uranium uranium ur ur- ur ore from Brumley R Hedges Hedge's Blue Goose mine Some of this went to Madame Madame Ma Ma- dame Curies Curie's laboratory in Paris He struck his dream mine in the early when he staked grub his partner Charles Snell to locate the Yellow Circle on top of Blue Hill HIlI in upper Moab Valley This mine has been worked out 30 times over the years and is still pro pro- d The Yellow Circle The mine proved to be one of those fabulous finds of ofa ofa ofa a lifetime When Snell sold his interests he carved out the large circle of uranium I ore which gave the mine its name and presented It to Mr Balsley's wife Jessie It still lies in the garden gamen of the Balsley home nome in Moab Snell came to Balsley another an other time for tor a grubstake He lie wanted to explore Lis Ids bon Mr Balsley went along along along al al- ong with him and a few weeks later received a mysterious mysterious mysterious mys mys- 27 check from the San Juan County Clerk When Snell appeared he explained the money He hadn't located any pay dirt but had run into a den of wolf pups and collected the bounty Since he was hu hutIng hut huat- it- it ing on Balsley's grubstake he ne insisted on sharing the bounty money Mr paisley Balsley sal said there were many reasons why Snell didn't locate the Lis Us Lisbon Lisbon bon uranium which Charles Steen eventually called Ml n Vida In those days they had no gel geiger gel counters He lie Hei i did own an Electroscope I but it was wali and couldn't be used In the fiend field It was an accurate in instrument In strument however he said lie He operated without this during his early day ventures ventures ven ven- tures because of the ex ex- expense pense involved in owning one They cost 75 and in those days that was a months month's months month's months month's mon mon- th's wages At the first AIME UranIum Uranium Uranium Uran Uran- ium Symposium held in Moab Mr Balsley demonstrated demonstrated demon demon- the Instrument and It st stole le the show Most of the modern geologists and engineers had hm never seen one Only In the tho Morrion Another reason for Snells Snell's failure to discover Lisbon uranium dep deposits was na because because because be be- cause of the belief that the mineral was wa's found o only y inthe In Inthe the Morrison formation formati n. n and was all yellow in color It was years before prospectors prospectors prospectors tors conceded the points Mr Balsley also shipped ore to to the first uranium mill min minin millin in the world built bunt in hi 1899 by two Frenchmen followIng following following follow follow- ing a visit by M Madame d ine Curie Curle The mill was located on the Dolores river at atan at an an area called SU Slick k R Rock k In hi C Cola Colo lo rado The vanadium content of f ore milled w was was was' s' s flushed d dinto into the river Mr Balsley said saldat at on one one time he Jie attempted attempt attempt- attempt attempt- ed to talk them into sav saving g the vanadium but they were n not t interested Theirs was wasa w was wasa s sa r r. r a uranium min mill There was a timeto tb fo cor come n ti tithe when hen the vanadium vanadium- was pay dirt and uranium was culled out After the war Mr Balsley instigated the famous court case which for forced ed 2 2 companies companies' to make retroactive payments for uranium uranium uranium ur ur- ur- ur ore purchased from producers It netted handsome hand hand- handsome some some oin returns to hundreds of miners in n the area Balsley was appraised oi of of the use of uranium prior to tot t tie the e explosion of the atomic bomb in 1945 He had shipped shipped shipped ship ship- ped much ore which was used Jn ln making the bomb to the Vitro Corporation o Early Eary Problems There were more problems problems problems lems than profit for sure sure In the early mining business in Southeastern Utah All drilling was done by hand and ore ore was hauled to the railroad on pack horses and wagon teams There were no nomine nomine nomine mine roads In 15 he had 24 men working the Yellow Circle when a deep snow fell The men ran out of food and Balsley traveled to Green River for for- fora a bobsled to h haul ul supplies to the the- mine It took 4 horses to pull the sled Mr Balsley has walked l lover over most of the mining country in Jn Southeastern Utah Utah Utah Ut Ut- ah and watched the Industry industry indus Indus- try grow to its present pro pro portions No one was more surprised than he when it turned out to be big business business business busi ness Future Very Bright The mining future in the Moab area area is very bright he says But it will wilt never again reach the exciting wildcat proportions of the boom days in the It is no poor mans man's game now h he notes In early days mining location of ore depended on finding an outcropping Future Future Future Fu Fu- ture mines must be found through extensive drilling programs Nonetheless ore Mill stilt remains in the hills hUIs he heIs heis heis is confident The supply has not even been tapped yet |