Image provided by: Morrow County Museum; Heppner, OR
About Heppner gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1925-current | View Entire Issue (April 23, 1959)
IMIev Mining Day Oregon's Mineral Production Led by Nickel, Zirconium, Uranium, Gems Back in Oregon's territorial days, when people spoke of mining they were thinking of gold. California gold had captured the imagination of Oregon's normally conservative people-first upsetting Oregon's e conomy by attracting away thous ands who were building up the territory, and later strengthening it by providing markets for a swelling flood of Oregon products. Mean while, after 1852, placer mining was building up along Oregon streams; then came the successive rushes to Idaho and British Colum bia gold mines. Gold production in Oregon itself maintained a fairly high level until it fell into a precipitous de cline in 1942. In 19-10 the state's production had been close to $4, 000,000; now the annual output has fallen below $100,000. Oregon's out put of nickel is now many times as valuable as that of the one-time king of the "precious metals." Freezing of the price of gold at the 1934 level, together with in creased cost of production, is held responsible for the decline. I'ranium Most Valuable One of the potentially most val uable mineral resources of Oregon is uranium, which has been discov ered in several areas of the state, notably in Lake, Crook, and Har ney counties. Most advanced at pre sent are the deposits near Lakeview the first of which were discovered in 1954 after several years of pros pecting. Discoverer was John Roush. He staked many claims, all of which were regarded as of too low grade for profitable develop ment. The next year, however, another discovery was made, which is said to promise big returns. The discov erer was Walter Leehmann Jr., who had been prospecting in the Augur Creek region. He showed some bits of rock to Dan and Irma Tracy, who were out searching for semi precious gems. They in turn showed the speciments to Roush, who iden tified them as uranium ore. The find had been made inside the Fre mont National Forest, adjacent to property owned by Walter Leeh mann Sr., father of the man who made the discovery. The Leeh manns, the Tracys, and Roush formed a partnership to develop ihe claims, which they called the White King. The story of the find was told in the Lake County Examiner in its issue of July 14, 1955. ) The next week others made a discovery, which they called the Lucky Lass, near the White King. Uranium-hunting became a vo cation for some, an avocation for many. Texas men, including the Murchison group of Dallas, b e -came interested. The exploration area now includes Camp Creek, Thomas Creek, and Dairy Creek in addition to the original Augur Creek. Altogether, several thou sand uranium claims have been filed in Lake County. The Lakeview Mining Co. has been formed by the Thornburg Bros, of Grand Junction, Colo., the Richardson-Bass partnership of Ft. Worth, Texas, and the Murchisons. The Thornburgs had already leased the White King, Lucky Lass, and other claims nearby. The new con cern pushed exploration through '56 and 1957. Up to last December the company had spent $3,000,000 in ex ploration and mine development. The Lakeview Mining Co. now has close to 200 men and women in its employ, has contracted with the Atomic Energy Commission to take the output of its reducation plant at Lakeview. This reduction plant bleaches the uranium oxide by use of keroene and amine (ammonia) as a solvent. The processing final ly leaves the yellow cake of uran ium oxide. Marketing this product is no problem; the output is con tracted to the AEC. Only U.S. Nickel Mines The only nickel mine and smelter in the United States are situated in Oregon; this valuable metal is turn ed out a few miles from Riddle, in Douglas County. Establishment of this industry followed discovery of extensive deposits of low-grade garnierite nickel silicate high in the Douglas County hills. Ore is car ried from the deposits at the mountain-top along the largest tramway ever built--8800 feet long-to a smelter 2400 feet below the silicate bed The plant was built late in 1954 at a cost of $35,000,000. This is one of Oregon's largest indus trial enterprises. When the old Albany College, a struggling little Presbyterian school, moved away to Portland, about twenty years ago, to be come the thriving Lewis and Clark College, enterprising Albany men succeeded in bringing in the Northwest electrodevelopment lab oratory of the U. S. Bureau of Mines, which occupies the grounds and building vacated by the c o 1 -lege. Dr. E. J. Kroll of Corvallis, cue of the laboratory's mineralo gists, succeeded in perfecting an economically dependable process ol smelting and refining zirconium ore. Zirconium Ingots Produced The Bureau then erected a build ing and plant on the old college grounds to produce zirconium in gots, and soon the government was turning out many tons of the non conducting metal, which was used in the interior of the Nautilus, a-tomic-powered U. S. submarine, ana is now being used in similar craft under construction. All this resulted in the develop ment of a valuable new enterprise for Albany and Oregon. The new Oregon Metallurgical Co., managed by the former director of the elec trodevelopment laboratory, Steph en M. Shelton, who resigned to undertake the new work, has a large plant of its own on the out skirts of Albany, engaged profit ably in turning out titanium and zirconium for government and in dustrial uses. The Wa Chang Co., a large eastern concern, has taken over from the Bureau of Mines the building and plant in which the electrodevelopment laboratory pro duced zirconium. The laboratory, under Director Mark Wright, contin ues active in its experimental work with minerals and metals. Mercury Mining Oregon is one of only five states in the country that produce mer cury (quicksilver). One of the mines producing this liquid metal is in the Black Butte area about twenty miles southeast of Cottage Grove. Other deposits have been found in Malheui and Harney Counties. Production has been irregular at Black Butte in the last few years. Limonite iron deposits are among the resources of Columbia and Clackamas counties. Limonite for paint production is produced near Scappoose, in Columbia County. Oswego, in Clackamas, has an iron production history that ran for a quarter of a century up to about 1900. Oregon is rich in some other minerals, which have undergone more or less development. Among these are limestone, bauxite, sub bituminous coal, diatomine, pumice, silica, common clays used for brick. Limestone of high quality, found in large deposits of pre-Tertiary geological age, in the northwestern and southwestern parts of the state, is used primarily in making port land cement. Impure limestone is found in the northern Willamette valley. A lime-burning plant was constructed near Baker in 1957 us- -ing high-grade limestone trucked to the plant from a quarry ten miles distant. Probably few realize the magni tude of Oregon's output of semi precious gems. This is one of the leading states in that field of min erals. Oregon is famous for its agates collecting which is such a delightful pastime on Oregon's beautiful beaches and its interior ii'f'-C'., , 3t - t ' .3 7 :Lw4.a - 1 if, - - ...... ' '-"T I A;jL.kT U . -V- - ' MOVING DIRT WAS TEDIOUS In early day. A man with a team moved 20 cubic yards of earth in a day. Now a tractor-scraper handles 800. Horsedrawn rig (inset) is digging an eastern Oregon Irrigation canal (1900). The Caterpillar is building a Coast road. hills and for its petrified wood, its opal, jasper, and the "thunder eggs" of Eastern Oregon. The ag gregate value of these varieties of gems found in this state is esti mated at about a million dollars a year. AR-AID Trademark Registered The Simple Way Hear Better EAR-AID A scientific dtvict to ovir comt haarincj difficulty ariiing from partial cloiura of th 4jditory cnal which li in infriquont coma of daif nasi. EAR-AID MAY IE ESPECIALLY HELPFUL TO THOSE WHO ARE JUST A LITTLE HARD OF HEARING Weighs less than ounce No Batteries, Cords, Ear Buttons, Tubes. Not electrical, 'will not wear out. Phone CA 3-4552. Let in tnd you free 'mtornuttion with out obliiation. It could be "te most important thinf you do thm year. i ; OREGON HEARING CENTER I 417 SW Washington. Portland, Or. I fleet send free Information on ! EAR-AID. I I Nam...., I AJdrws Past on back of rest cord S 10.50 i i You'll hear it from owners everywhere. They're getting record breaking per formance from powered-up OREGON Chipper Chain . . . making more money with their saws because OREGON Chipper Chain is powered-up to match the speed and drive of today's saws . . . powered-up to cut longer and faster with less filing and mini mum repair. On your new or used sow, install powered-up OREGON Chip per Chain. You'll make more money with it. CoDV"t' 1959 by OMAX fftduitrivf, (fit Off G ON Saw Cho.n Oiv. Portland 27, Oitflon ...tlie fortune that Hides in your sugar bowl Every dip of your spoon into your White Satin sugar bowl is a dip into a sparkling sphere of Oregon economy! Those rolling plateaus of Eastern Oregon almost ignored by pioneers now produce a $10 Million crop of White Satin sugar beets with the World's record for highest yield per acre. White Satin's Nyssa Re finery payroll exceeds $1,200,000. Add to this the millions more spent with other Oregon firms for equipment and supplies, and, of course, taxes. It's a proud industry producing the highest quality sugar in the entire World ! White Satin sugar comes in fine and superfine granulated, powdered, brown, cube and picnic-patio packs. The next time at coffee when you dip into your sugar bowl, remember you are not only dipping out a spoonful of quick sugar energy, but you are sweet ening your coffee with Oregon jobs and industry. As every Orcgonian knows, White Satin is the sugar that really dots something for Oregon. So, next time say, "Pass me Oregon's White Satin Sugar, please!" Writ for FREE booklet Whit Satin Sugar from Sugar Best to Sugar Bowl. Quantity copies for Classroom Use. NFW RECIPEI "Oregon's Birth day Cake Frosting." Developed especially for 1939 Centennial. Ask your grocer for your copy or write us. Wf lite Satin Snow Whit . . . Satin Smooth Trie Only Sugar Grown and Refined in Oregon The Amalgamated Sugar Co., 2600 N. I. Columbia Blvd., Cortland, Oregon Refinery at Nyssa, Oregon
