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Show U-Search Becomes More Costly as Field Narrows ' m The days when a geiger counter and a little luck were all that was needed to find uranium ore are just about over. Geologists figure most of the areas on the Colorado Plateau easily accessible by Jeep or truck were staked out last summer. And now uranium prospecting is moving Into the realm of big business, requiring airplanes and well, organized scientific searching parties. More and more the demand Is for technical experience in mineral hunting. This new phase of prospecting; spurred on perhaps by the government's guaranteed ore purchasing program which will continue until 1962 unless ended by Congress, has attracted many long-established mining companies and oil firms Into the field. One oil firm staked out over 150 claims recently In some of the roughest regions of Colorado and Arizona. In Montrose county, Colorado they have claims In the Davis Mesa group, and they have another south of Glenwood Springs. Near Flagstaff, Arizona, the company staked claims in the Shadow Mountain group. And all of the prospecting done so far by this one company has required only about 50 hours flying time In small aircraft. According to one prospector, it is possible to obtain readings on scintillometers which narrow down the search to about one square mile. From then on, the search is by foot, trudging over mountains and around canon rims to remote areas where uranium deposits are suspected. Sometimes there Is disappointment, too, when a not-too-careful study of maps has resulted in leading ground searchers to already stak-ed-out claims. Too, hunting uranium Is an expensive proposition. If by air, it is necessary to use a scintillometer which costs all the way from $500 to $2,000. Once the search Is on the ground., there is a $135 geiger counter to be ' used, or even a 24 geiger tube nucliometer which costs as much as $445. Expenses don't stop once the" claim is staked and the record filed at the county courthouse. The government insists that at least $100 a year be spent on each 20.2 acre claim, and that money cannot be marked off as geological expenses such as incurred when buying geiger counters. It must be spent in actual drilling or improvements such as road building. Then, In Colorado, there is an old state law dating back to terrV torial days making it even rougher on shoestring operators. This law requires that a pit at least 10 feet wide and 10 feet deep must be dug on each claim, just as it was In the days of the silver and gold rush. Wyoming recently changed Us mining laws to require only the drilling of small cor holes In or-der to secure samples. That leaves only Colorado on the Colorado Plateau with the antiquated "pit law." But uranium seekers are not discouraged because of the "pit law." If they find a uranium deposit, they are most willing to dig a hole In order to extract it from Mother Earth's bosom. |
