Vernal Express | 1955-02-17 | Page 25 | Anaconda-Laguna Lease Profitable to Indians, Too

anaconda laguna lease profitable to indians 7 too I 1 00 GRANTS N M when anaconda copper alining mining co wants ore it goes about finding it systematically ati cally in the company wanted to get into the uranium business bustness in the grants area one day early in 1152 1952 a company plane was making a radiometric radio metric survey over feretory terr ter etory tory east of grants using in 9 a delicate device for detection of radiation the instrument went on a clicking rampage over a mesa near the village of paguate Pa guate about five miles north of 0 f the heavily traveled aj U S highway 66 and the now famous Jack pile mine was discovered that mesa it was determined was on un the laguna reservation anaconda bid for and got the prospecting permit and now has 1440 acres under lease with the bonuses paid and the relatively small amount of ore tonnage removed the Jack pile already has paid the lagunas a total of records of united pueblos agency show the Jack pile mine Is a shipping ship met 0 operation P e ration the open pit method d from to feet of s sandstone and stone and overlie U e t the e ore pre body which is in the morrison formation this overburden is 13 being stripped away by heavy machinery to get at the ore how much ore has come out of the Jack pile to date is restricted information as is its value mining minin in g m men e n familiar with the operation tio n b however 0 wever figure that the ore is running from 3 to 4 percent in uranium oxide which is good in an operation involving large tonnage the ore Is shipped by train to anacondas mill at bluewater five miles northwest northa st of grants and about 50 mile from the mine there it is stockpiled stock piled pending completion of the second t da mill at tb th site the present resen t mill now is processing a different dyff different erent type of uranium ore a ii limestone ix bestone for which the mill is s suited aft c d the the second mill wil will process the sandstone ores exclusively estimates of what the laguna tribe is realizing now as the limited mining operations are about to be expanded vary from to monthly those persons who have access to the r figures agures say that somewhere in there is about right the lagunas also have received for oil and gas leases on acres taken up by two oil companies