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Show Rio Algom Boosts Mill Production . . . A. , 1 U fill mniA - . c to t m -.f , ciHa i nrli ii Hi to 1 c 4T Rio Algom Corporation's Corpora-tion's mill i n the Lisbon area south of Moab is currently processing around ar-ound six hundred tons of ore per day, it was announced an-nounced Monday by Mer-vin Mer-vin D. Lawton, general manager, speaker at the noon luncheon meeting of the Moab Rotary Club. Mr. Lawton stated that the tonnage through the mill was well above the five hundred tons per day originally planned for the new milling facility. A combination of factors is responsible, he said. Ore coming from the 2,000-ft. deep mine is running through the milling process pro-cess much more smoothly smooth-ly than earlier flows, and some modifications have also been made by mill personnel to more efficiently effic-iently handle the ore flow. The operation has been running at full tilt for several weeks, following a period of ten days during dur-ing the Christmas holidays holi-days when the mine vas shut down fo r repairs to the shaft. Those repairs re-pairs were necessitated when a locomotive dropped drop-ped from the working level le-vel of the mine some eighty feet to the bottom of the production shaft, requiring the replacement replace-ment of all hoist rn"ps and considerable structural struc-tural steel in the shaft. The mill operated during that shut-down, utilizing an ore stockpile that had been lifted to the surface during the months preceding pre-ceding the accident. Mr. Lawton stated that it is the intention to rebuild re-build the surface stockpile stock-pile to provide for interruptions inter-ruptions in mining from time to time, but with the increased flow of ore through the mill over the original ratings, mine crews are keeping just ahead of the mill flows at present. All in all, Mr. Law-ton Law-ton stated, progress at the new operation is good. Production costs are still higher than hoped for, but should settle down in the coming months, he said. Most mining-milling operations experience higher-than-normal production pro-duction costs during their first year of operation, and the local one is no exception, he indicated. Mr. Lawton stated that water flows, encountered during development stages stag-es in tunnels leading from the bottom of the shaft, had been contained, and safeguards had been placed plac-ed force to give advance warnings, should other such tremendous water flows be encountered. "We are mining below several aquafer zones," Mr. Lawton said, and because be-cause of that "room and pillar" mining methods are being used rather than "long wall" methods which are more efficient from the standpoint of ore removal, but which involve the caving of formations for-mations from above to fill mined-out cavities. Rio Algom is still operating op-erating under temporary license from the Atomic Energy Commission, pending the approval of final environmental im pact statement reports. The reports have all been finished, Mr. Lawton said, and the Commission Commis-sion is now going through a period of time allocated for comments from out side individuals. Initial shipments of uranium ur-anium concentrate from the Rio Algom operation are going to Duke Power Company of Charlotte, N.C. |