Pub. 6 2016 Issue 2

24 AT THE CENTER OF UTAH INDUSTRY year. After producing hundreds of thousands of dollars in gold, silver, and lead, the property was sold for $120,000 in 1871. The richest period of Utah County’s mineral history began with the construction of the Ironton blast furnace in 1923-24. The operation became the property of U.S. Steel Corp. in 1930. A huge boost to the mining industry occurred in 1879, when the Utah Central Railroad reached Salt Lake fromPromontory Point to the north along the Idaho border. Once the rail line arrived in Salt Lake, it didn’t take long for connecting lines to reach the dozens of mining camps in the surrounding mountains. Gold, silver, copper, lead, and zinc mining were expanded with deposits found in the Tintic and other Juab County districts in the 1870s. In 1878, the railroad reached the Eureka District, and ores were shipped to such points as Swansea, Wales and Baltimore, Maryland for smelting. By 1899, there were 18 producing operations, and Eureka became a thriving community. In 1869, John Kemple discovered the first silver ore in Washington County when he found a piece of silver float near Harrisburg that assayed at $17,000! This discovery eventually led to the establishment of the Silver Reef District in 1874. A big rush was on in 1876, when many producing mines were developed. Five different reduction mills were built in the district in 1877-78, with a total output of close to $4 million. In Millard County, the first mining operations began in 1872, when the Detroit District was organized. Some rich surface ores were found that added to the gold, silver, and copper production of Utah. At first the ores were shipped to Chicago and even Wales, but in 1888 a small blast furnace was constructed at Hot Springs, 11 miles from Abraham. The plant burned down several years later, after producing 130,000 pounds of copper. In the following years, other districts were established in Millard County as more and more deposits of gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, and sand and gravel were discovered. In 1885, a prospector named Sam Gilson discovered what he would call Gilsonite, a rare, tar-like material found only in Utah. Gilsonite not only makes fine lacquers, paints, varnishes, and printing inks, but it was found to be an excellent sealing material for beer barrels. As early as 1876, Uintah County also had producing copper, gold, and silver mines, but today Gilsonite and phosphate are the major mining commodities in the Uintah Basin. In 1948, the federal government announced a $10,000 premium for significant discoveries of uranium to meet defense needs, and guaranteed $3.50 a pound for high-grade ore. Deposits had been found near Marysville in 1947, but in the summer of 1952, geologist Charles A. Steen discovered the first major producer, the Mi Vida Mine 40 miles southeast of Moab. He later sold his holdings to the Atlas Corporation. Government support continued for all uraniumproducers until 1971, when the Atomic Energy Commission declared that no further stockpiles were needed. DuringWorldWar II, vanadic oxide mines operated in San Juan County with the support of the federal government to meet needs for vanadium, a rare mineral used to strengthen steel. Mineral deposits are so broadly distributed across Utah that there aremining districts in 24 of our 29 counties. With economic viability these resources will add to the strength and wealth of the state for many years to come and the mining industry will continue to be the foundation of the Utah economy. X TREASURE continued from page 25 New machinery such as the “Long Wall” 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.