Show J Jacla- Jacla eA Str s By Jack Wall One thing Janet Janet and 1 I learned Saturday l ay y in in an an n-aU n day all four OUe of cf Utah's copper operation is that nothing they do dois doIs dois is on en a small tale scale everything is large In fad fact the operation is isso isso so 10 large its it's hard to understand the to size sire of the operation unless put in In perspective with something else They told us us' us they mine 3 20 percent of 01 the nations nation's newly mined copper each year haul a record of tons in one day dayto to set a world record from the open pit mine which contains 1460 acres is 2 2 miles mUes wide at atthe atthe atthe the top and almost 44 mile deep from top to bottom And there are 57 benches in the mine where 89 trucks hauling from 65 to tons tom each and 62 locomotives and 37 37 shovels operate In 11 the mining operation alone alene over 2800 people are employed It is also to haul out over 28 tons tens of 01 waste rock for far every ton ten of ol ore rock in the mine The copper content of 01 the ore is pounds per ton ten of ol ore are We had to agree its it's quite a hole The big question I 1 kept pondering is how does an operation this size manage to still make a profit We were fascinated watching the huge trucks being loaded with tons tens of ol overburden rock with only about 6 scoops of 01 a huge shovel and add then dump their loads over a leaching dump The particular truck chosen choseD for lor a special demonstration had such a heavy load it could not dump until a dozer dug out outa a low spot at the to drive the rear tires into so the weight would to the rear of the tine truck Th The size sire of ol these loge huge trucks in almost lost last because of 01 the relative huge size of 01 everything else Until we saw a man walk walkup walkup walkup up up to a truck and realized he didn't even come to the center of ol the wheels we began to see seethe seethe seethe the size of ol a a truck capable of 01 haull hauling tons tens in ID one load Added to the complexity of mining concentrating smelting and refining relining the ore until it turns out into bars of 01 copper percent pure another new new problem has entered entered entered en en- the copper production picture This is the problem of 01 air pollution Much has already been done in iD the emission abatement program to control pollution and more is' is coming is has spent and will yet spend over in ID its control facilities in an effort to meet the requirements of 01 the Environment Protection Association we were told It is admirable that a company company company com com- pany would be willing to spend this much of its income to attempt attempt attempt at at- tempt a job that seems almost impossible Refining and smelting are dirty operations at their best and it is hard to see how these dirty operations can caD be cleaned up to meet the EPA specifications Again it appears to me that the consumer will have to pay the price of clean air doesn't come from nowhere someone has as to fo Increase Increase increase In In- crease production or raise the cost of the materials Im I'm afraid too often it is goi going tobe tobe to tobe be an n increase in the cost cast of 01 the products manufactures This has already been noticed in the shortages of 01 other manufactured materials such as petroleum products paper products electricity and other items We were able to more fully appreciate the problems of emission control at by the first hand first hand tour of their 1 operations i s a and d we will certainly be 00 more sympathetic with their problem It looks like to us they are doi doing a remarkable job controlling the natural pollution emissions in the manufacture of copper U If you think has problems problem me meeting its emission requirements Just wait walt until you get your blue slip this week from the Uintah County treasurer One look at the new reappraisal figure of your 1973 property taxes may also give you a pollution emission problem O Over fr pr property properly perty tax notices were mailed malted this week V 1 which will result in the collection of 01 about Vt million dollars more from property owners in Uintah County because of the states reappraisal reappraisal reappraisal reap reap- program of raising taxes near the 20 percent assessed v valuation figure Uintah real property valuation increased by nearly due to the project |