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Show KENNECOTT NOTES JXPANSION In order to better meet customer cus-tomer demands in a highly competitive com-petitive copper market, Utah Copper Division, Kennecott Cop-pper Cop-pper Corporation, by the end of 1955, has spent $1,800,000 to expand ex-pand casting facilities of its copper cop-per refinery at Garfield. The expansion enables Utah Copper to produce more varied shapes of salable copper. The project included the construction of an 80 by 208 foot brick, reinforced re-inforced concrete and steel addition addi-tion and the installation of a vertical casting wheel and facilities. facili-ties. The refinery expansion was one of several expansion and improvement im-provement projects carried out during the vear which amounted to a total of $5,306,500. Although crippled by a 47-day strike that cut copper production by an estimated 70,000,000 pounds Utah Copper Division experienced experienc-ed an increase in copper production produc-tion over 1954. The world's biggest big-gest producer of copper turned out 408,200,000 pounds of copper in 1955, compared to 423,066,857 pounds produced in 1954. The strilw intensified the world-wide . copper shortage, sending copper prices to an all-time all-time high. This, in turn, aggravated aggra-vated the current problem of substitution of copper by fabricators fabri-cators seeking a less expensive and more stable and reliable source of useaible metals or materials. ma-terials. Frank R. Milliken, vice president presi-dent of Kennecott Copper Corporation, Cor-poration, in an address before the State Economic Development Conference in Salt Lake City pointed to the problem facing the copper industry. He said the "principle factor" which will tend to retard the expansion of copper demand "is the substitution for copper in some of its present uses by other metals and other materials." Other major improvement expenditures ex-penditures included $3,500,000 for five 7-yard shovels, four electric locomotives, and fifty 40-yard 40-yard dump cars needed to step up waste removal at the mine; improvements in the flotation department at the mill, $1,600,-000; $1,600,-000; expanded facilities at the Research Center on the University Univer-sity of Utah campus, $81,500; and miscellaneous $45,000. In addition to copper, Utah Copper Division produced 24,-987,000 24,-987,000 pounds of molybdenite, vital in the production of Steel. A total of 22,297,572 pounds was produced in 1954. Copper ore mined and milled during the past year amounted to 27,780,000 tons. This was compared com-pared to 24.079,400 tons mined and milled during the previous year. To reach copper ore, 50,-458,000 50,-458,000 tons of waste material were removed last year, compared compar-ed to 35,856,641 in 1954. Other projects completed included in-cluded the piping of coarse tail-. tail-. ings from the Magna and Arthur Mills to the northeast section of the eight-mile square tailings pond where it is used to seal and raise the dike wall. A 12-inch pipe, four and a half miles long, was laid along the south and east dikes. It is anticipated that the dike area will be completely circled cir-cled and controlled by this method me-thod during the coming year. Projects to further reduce dust from the tailings pond were carried car-ried out by the company. A system sys-tem of huge sprays covering the dust problem areas has proved very effective. Kennecott has spent nearly V million dollars on tailings pond projects for dust abatement. Over 3,000 feet of ' light weight pipe will replace heavy iron pipe and will greatly facilitate movement of the spray system to meet the ever shifting tailings area. |