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Show I Ry Alenif Nielston .Cirnotilf lmlustry on Up- Sivs Thurber." This 'nounoed an article that went mv, "Much interest Is Kg shown in the carnotlte injusin.'11 should soon be Kflft-(fd in higher Pris-'-Mr. Thurber is "...promm-jjdy "...promm-jjdy identified with the mining nd nulling of uranium jvuudium ores throughout astern Colorado and eastern ltd-" Hcidlines of newspapers, pjguines and trade journals jiprrss the same optimism todiy hen referring to ptniura. Many people would y surprised to learn the quoted headline was written in jjnuiry 1930. Many of us fought the mining of uranium rtsn't really of any consequence conse-quence until the appearance of ieitomicbomb in the 1940's. Ittact, a casual observer could lexically assume that uranium wasn't of any Importance to Southeastern Utah until Charlie Char-lie Steen's strike in the 1950's set otf a prospecting and claim staking crae. Inlcrent fur a Uii( Time It has been only since I9fi0 that uranium became a vital part of Utah's economy in general and an economic mainstay of Grand and San Juan counties in particular. But even a casual reading of The Times-Independent and its predecessor, the Grand Valley Times will show the faith many local people had in the eventual importance of this rare mineral. One article in The Times-Independent dated May 11. W.W said, "Most of the carnotite ores, carrying both uranium and vanadium, mined in the United States comes from the territory in the vicinity of Moub, in both Utah and Colorado." It goes on to point out that the U. S. had to import uranium from outside the country to meet national needs in that and preceding years. Today the uranium industry in Grand and San Juun counties is a major economic factor instead of a way for a few people to eke out a living as it was in the 19.10's and 19-IO's. While many giant oil companies are now getting involved in the exploration, mining and milling of uranium, uran-ium, they are Johnny-come-latelys when compared to our own Atlas Minerals. Although Atlas is a New York based corporation, the company contribution con-tribution to the economy and well being of Moab justifies the "home-owned" attitude many citizens feel toward the company. Admittedly our benevolent and proprietary attitude contrasts con-trasts with the condemnation of the mining industry by many "armchair experts" frm coast to coast. The popular : i j ; . , ' Although plant facilities such as pipes, thickener tanks and water tanks are designed for , maximum efficiency, It's Interesting to note that almost accidental artistic symmetry that Is the result. , ,v . ...... v. ."V ...O - r ; --LET Vfirr1 -a" r- ' --Tl I il ii :: :'. 1 . iK ;: rv-f r w. .-. I'... v - - .. n-v,,;?rl L ;mm: y ; - available for all of us to do so? Compound the problem of the individual's effort to do this with an absolute ban on cutting down trees for a house; an absolute ban on extracting any minerals to manufacture tools he would need; an absolute ban on fires because the smoke would cause air pollution; and finally a prohibition prohibi-tion against using any feature of the country for other than viewing or other recreational use! Far fetched? Perhaps! But in many ways these theoretical bans resemble what some people propose for mining and other industries. We've strayed a little from the original purpose of this article which was to recognize the contribution of the mining industry and Atlas Minerals in particular to the well being of Grand and San Juan counties. This diversion was to emphasize empha-size that benefits from the mining industry enjoyed by county residents were not and are not acquired by wishful thinking. Both materia and aesthetic demands must be met, and ways to reconcile the two aren't always easy. Many BeneGu Some of the benefits from mining include thousands of persons employed by Atlas Minerals alone over the years. These include independent miners who are able to sell their product to the mill, miners who draw their wages directly from Atlas, mill workers, office workers and truck drivers to haul ore. Service industries such as gas stations, grocery stores and utility companies are also j . j IV "ore than seven and one half million tons of ore have been processed by the V Atls Mill in Moab since 1956. The ore stockpnea nere gives promise ot many trend in many places is directed to promoting an environment. ilist Utopia where everything to do with industry must Jje downgraded or entirely eradicated. KcNcurch Could Surprise Atlas is but one company subjected to charges of "raping "rap-ing the land" or selling out the environment for the "profit motive." A little research into company policies and expenditure expendi-ture of funds to reduce environmental impact could surprise many of those people who are so critical of mining operations and the so called profit motive. There have been errors in judgment in the past and undoubtedly there will be errors in judgment in the future which will adversely affect some portion of the environment to a greater or lesser degree. But error isn't confined to the industry alone. For one example, consider the much touted catalytic converter convert-er required on all new cars through the EPA's well intentioned recommendations. It seems it's possible those converters may be causing more problems than they solved. At any rate one will find that for the most part companies such as Atlas operate with an eye towards practical and necessary production pro-duction combined with efforts to maintain aesthetic values. It should be kept in mind that without mining operations to recover natural resources (and minerals are a natural resource just as scenic beauty is) we wouldn't have many things that even the most devout conservationist uses and considers necessary. For example we wouldn't have cars, trucks, electricity (or even kerosene lamps), refrigeration, refrig-eration, medical equipment and communications equipment. equip-ment. Those are just a few items that different people would rate into different degrees of importance. The very size and complexity of our society makes the use of the above named items necessary. For those who would counter that we don't really need those things if we lived like the early settlers of the country, that is to say off the land, let's point out that is just what we are doing. Unlike frontier days when a man could just pack up and move with little regard to outside help, we are now a nation interdependent on each other. And even the frontiersman frontiers-man used tools made from raw material taken from the earth. A Little Different Now How many of our two hundred million plus U. S. citizens could be entirely self sufficient to the point of producing his own tools to build a house or raise food even if there was land The front of the Atlas mill hasn't changed much over the years. This belies the many Improvements that have been made at various times. One new addition under construction now will more years of production. beneficiaries. Each service industry must hire three people to meet the needs of just the one mining and milling operation. To get down to specific employment figures, fig-ures, there are from 20 to 30 independent miners and their employees who ship ore to the mill. Atlas employs 53 miners for their own operations as well as 94 mill hands and office workers. The Atlas payroll alone contributes heavily to the local economy but even more is introduced into the community through payments to the independent miners. Fiscal impact isn't limited to salaries alone. Our municipal services such as schools, sheriff's department, hospital, library, fire department and road maintenance are paid for with tax dollars. Taxes paid to Grand County in 1974 exceeded exceed-ed $85,000. That will buy a lot of books or fill in a lot of chuckholes. That's a Lot of Ore Tax and salary dollars paid by Atlas are the result of processing more than seven and one half million tons of ore since 1956. That's fifteen billion pounds, or more zeros than most people outside the federal government are used to dealing with. But that already processed ore is in the past. With an optimistic eye to the future Atlas is constructing a new circuit to process complex ores. This new leaching system will make it possible to extract vanadium and copper in addition to uranium. Bill Badger, General Plant Superintendent, stated the new system will be on stream, operating at perhaps 75 capacity, by October 1975. Completion is expected by January or February 1976. Besides making the milling process more profitable and thus benefitting the county with more tax dollars, there will be an additional 20 to 30 jobs available when the new system is in operation. . With the forward looking attitude of the Aflas people we can reasonably expect many more years of a mutually beneficial relationship between be-tween an important industry and our community. enable Atlas to process vanadium and copper as well as the uranium it mills now. |
