Show trona deposits at green AA river newest major chemical product huge covered hopper trucks roll down out of southwestern wyoming through craig rifle and grand junction day after day destined for ore refining plants an on the colorado river plateau each Is carrying a load of soda ash a major refining chemical and the intermountain bests newest major chemical product soda ash the refined form of trona has been a basic chemical of americas industries long before trona in mining mg started a few years back at westvaco 20 miles west est of the railroad center of green river but it was with the exception of comparatively minor brine evaporation operations produced by synthesis today the greater reater portion is still produced gy by synthesis but near green river rail rall carloads a month plus the truck haul away to amel uranium reduction plants and oil refineries go to the industry of the nation besides contributing to the production of A power soda ash contributes to the production of steam power railroads power companies and municipalities employ it in softening water for boiler boder use diesel power on railroad is affected as refineries use soda ash in the making of petroleum products it has long been a basic chemical in glass making and is used in plastics and detergents in n wyoming intermountain chemical company mines and pro duces tor for West westvaco yaco chlor alkali division of food machinery chemical corporation cop oration soda ash directly from the ore according to FMC officials this is the only operation of the kind 1 in the world in the late the mountain fuel supply di covered the deposit while drilling for gas and oil the well was a duster but the trona was further explored by the union pacific railroad starting in 1940 with the end ot of the war the chlorine products company later to be absorbed by food machinery started mining and marketing troba trona as the first known large d deposit of the mineral in ore form was wag developed in the summer of 1953 west vaco baco chlorine completed a 20 million dollar mine and refining plant for the production of soda ash from the trona intermountain intel mountain chemical was formed to carry on the production and a year later in 1954 the property hit top capa tapa citha rate of tons of refined product per year to give the west a new force in the chemical field CA romano of green river resident manager in december 1954 announced completion of a new drilling a i which had been conducted to determine outer reaches of the deposit depth of which averages about 1600 feet underground the outer edges were not discovered but be he estimated the known supply to be sufficient to supply united states industrial du needs at present rate for the next two and a half centuries should ail all other sources fail although diesel forced coal mines to shutdown in the rock springs area the new product has maintained steady employment for persons at the plant besides the population needed to care for them another result has been the addition of an additional road switching crew on the railroad working our of green river the he annual payroll Is presently presently present lj placed at 2 million at the plant and mine |