Show WEST BUYS UTAH SALT 1 j 1 V. V v r I r l of s- s Co 3 rt o. o 11 r i 1 p Self Salt N r E z h I Gre Great vy t Salt Lake e v By I. I A. A CLAYTON JR ALT like gold occurs almost S SALT everywhere In In waters of at the sea In the earths earth's strata In rocks yet rocks yet Its profitable extraction is la rare Utah Is one of the places where It occurs In abundance comprises com corn an Important resource and supports Orts a major Industry The Great Salt lake Is the center conter cen con ter o of one of ol the tho worlds world's greatest deposits with enough salt to supply supply sup sup- ply Vly future generations for thousands thou sands of years The saline content of its water varies from 15 to 25 26 and the brine is so dense that the human body floats easily on its surface It contains no life So easily is salt obtained from the lake that there has been little incentive to exploit the numerous umer us beds and domes In other parts of Utah Salt production is one of ot the states state's oldest industries The first settlers gathered the crystals left by evaporation In the natural basins around the lake In 1860 and after dams were built to Impound im Im Irn pound the water As the demand Increased production tion was organized and much cap capital capi tal invested The Inland Salt Company Com Corn pany was formed In 1889 It was succeeded In 1899 by the Inland Crystal Salt company which In 1927 bec became me the Royal Crystal Salt company The Salt Lake Chemical Company Compan a subsidiary of ot the Diamond Match company began operations on the southern shore of ot the tho lake In 1916 primarily to produce potash for tor war pur pur- pur- pur poses The Morton Salt company took over that property In 1918 and has hIlS operated it since as a salt Balt plant Whether the salt In the lake originated through evaporation or volcanic action or both Is la In dis The lake averaging only 15 feet toot In depth Its proportion of ot salt varies from year to year ear with the rainfall Though sodium chloride common salt Is the sole commercial com corn mercial product of the lake steps are under way to recover sodium sulphate whose proportion Is next to the sodium chloride and find thus establish a new Industry In m Utah Variation In the density at which different chemicals precipitate permits per mits selective concentration segregation segre gation gatlon of ot salt of the highest purity and the removal l of magnesium I calcium and other unwanted ele ele- ele ments Duri During the evaporation season from April to September mid brine is pumped at ct the rate of gal gal- Ions lons a minute 24 hours a day from tram the lake Into a flume From settling ponds it passes after five or six I days to concentrating ponds of ot acres acrea each The saturated brine flows lows by gravity to 20 crystallizing ponds each of ot 10 acres area Here Hera the salt crystals form and the bitterns bitterns bitterns bit terns other chemicals In tion are run off ott before beCore they reach reach- the tho saturation stage tage A permanent permanent- floor loor of ot salt is maintained lI in- in each pond In the late fall after a a pond has haa been thoroughly drained ordinary ordinary nary plows drawn by tractors loosen the new salt from the the- floor With scrapers and conveyor It la Is Is- Is stacked by a railroad siding and weathered until until- needed at the mill An average annual crop Js Ja about four tour Inches of salt The mill has haa a capacity of at tons ions a season From a receiving storage bin the salt through a rotating kiln drier heated to deg and to a cooler from which it goes to the tho stock bin Various Various- sets of ot rolls rolla crush and size lt It into 2 nIno nine sizes each o ot oe which h occupies cc p s t a se separate arate bin Thence It Is j fed fed d aut automatically cal y int Into sacks sack an and p pack ages agea for tor marketing The The territory served by Utah's salt Industry extends from Denver Colorado to Washington Oregon and part of CalifornIa covering the Black Hills in South D Dakota kota and and- the Rocky Mount Mountain in st states ites It It gives st steady ady employment to more more tha than ve people pIe with a R payroll of ot more than and a year spends further amounts mounts for th the supplies pow power r and nd fuel tt it re re reF quires The bulk of oC the output j going t to other states brings brings' mu much ll h new m money n y Into Utah L Lo Local aI s salt lt I companies pay the railroads about bout one half million dollars a year for for- forT T transI transportation I w S Salt lt Is pressed Into blocks some some- sometimes times Umes with the addition ot of o phate for tor livestock f tea e e d I 1 ng smoked It Is used used forthe forthe complete sugar cure of ot meat and with w Iodine it i is recommended by the by-the- the the- 0 medical profession for for- forthe the or pre pran n of at goiter Over 40 40 of ot of the school children of ot Utah are i.- i. said to be afflicted with this thyroid deficiency A s special cial kind of ot salt Is Iodized for animals Since the early days of ot Utah salt has been mined In Sevier and Sanpete counties where the mineral min mm eral occurs In IIi b beds d overlain verl ln with ten feet teet or more of ot earth This salt is la recovered by stripping or quarry mining Some salt wu obtained from the real great salt bed bad nt aL Wendover mi miles es west of Salt Salt Lake City but commercial production production tion is la no longer maintained there 0 Intricate selling problems I and and the restrictions Imposed by freight rates constantly confront th the e In Industry Industry in In- in Utah On their s solution i tJ n and friendly consideration at h hI home I depends depends' an important m market for for or l labor abor and source e of t r revenue t |