Pub. 6 2016 Issue 2

22 AT THE CENTER OF UTAH INDUSTRY THE TREASURE HOUSE OF THE NATION O f the hundreds of known economic minerals, 75 are found in Utah, and several have helped make this state a major mineral producer on the national and world scale. Copper, coal, gold, silver, uranium, iron, lead, zinc, molybdenum, phosphate, salt, potash, beryllium, and Gilsonite head the list. In about 1862, President Abraham Lincoln declared, “Utah will yet become the Treasure House of the nation.” More than 150 years later, Lincoln’s vision is a reality. Pioneer settlers began harvesting salt from the Great Salt Lake in 1847. Early on, stone, clay, sand, gravel, and cement were used to build homes businesses, various buildings and churches. The Territorial Legislature in 1854 offered a $1,000 reward for the first commercial coal deposit within 40 miles of Salt Lake City, but it went unclaimed until 1868 when the first coal for heating was shipped by wagon fromCoalville in Summit County at a hefty $40 a ton. Coal had been discovered in Carbon County in 1849, but the distance made it impractical for wagon haulage to Salt Lake. The arrival of the Union Pacific Railroad failed to lower the price of Coalville coal, and it was not until the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad was built through Carbon County in 1883 that major production began there. This broke up the UP monopoly and made coal available in Utah cities at a more reasonable price. The arrival of the D&RG brought about the development of several mines. The quality and quantity makes Utah coal the backbone of electrical generation, even today. Newmachinery such as the “LongWall” and the “Continuous Miner” has greatly increased coal mining efficiency and productivity. Today, most Utah coal stays in Utah for electricity production, but also is shipped as far as the Pacific Rim. Iron ore deposits were found near Cedar City in 1849, where the Pioneer Iron Company built a crude foundry. While their