DIVISION of MINES and GEOLOGY for the Period Commencing October 1, 1948 and Ending September 30, 1950
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STATE OF WASHINGTON ARTHUR B. LANGLIE, ~overnor Department of Conservation and Development JACK V. ROGERS, Director BIENNIAL REPORT NO. 3 of the DIVISION OF MINES AND GEOLOGY For the Period Commencing October 1, 1948 and Ending September 30, 1950 by SHELDON L. GLOVER Supervisor OLYMPIA, WASH. STATE PRINTING PLANT 1951 DIVISION OF MINES AND GEOLOGY BmNNIAL REPORT NO. i SHELDON L. GLOVER, Supervisor GENERAL STATEMENT The following report applies to the organization and activities of the Di vision of Mines and Geology :for the period October 1, 1948 to September 30, 1950. The technical staff consisted of: Sheldon L. Glover, Supervisor, B. S. and M. S. in Geology, University of Washington, Registered Mining Engineer W. A.G. Bennett, B. S. and M. S. in Geology, State College of Washington, Ph. D., University of Chicago Grant M. Valentine, B. S. and M. S. in Geology, State College of Washing ton Marshall T. Huntting, B. S. and M. S. in Geology, State College of Wash ington, Registered Mining Engineer C. Phillips Purdy, Jr., S. B. in Geology, Harvard College, postgraduate in mining geology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Stephen H. Green, Mining Engineer, who was on leave of absence without pay during the early part of the biennium and then retired, and whose vacant position on the staff has not been filled Robert H. Stebbins, B. S. in Geology, Massachusetts Institute of Tech nology, who filled the position left vacant when Grant Valentine re signed toward the end of the biennium to enter the employ of the Shell Oil Company The clerical staff consisted of Dorothy Rinkenberger, B. A., State College of Washington, and an assistant-first Ruth Johnston; then Darlene Tilley; and, near the end of the biennium, Sandra Burdick. Temporary additions to the staff for special projects were George B. Rigg, Professor Emeritus, Botany Department, University of Washington, in charge of a peat investigation, and C. S. Leuthy, F. A, Nave, and E. M. Woodruff, field assistants. Activities, as usual, were confined almost exclusively to economic as pects of the state's mineral resources. During the biennium much information was gained through continued geologic investigations in the neld to supple ment the results of similar work conducted by the Division and its predecessor agencies since 1901. All this fund of data is readily available and is constantly used in answering inquiries regarding the mineral occurrences of the state questions involving: the kinds and varieties of metallic and industrial minerals, their locations, extent, and accessibility; uses to which the materials are adapted; markets; and sources of supplies for industry, both here and out-of state. [ 3 ) 4 Division of Mines and Geology STATUS OF MINERAL PRODUCTION IN WASHINGTON Mining during the biennium has been particularly active and has con tributed markedly to the wealth of the state. Just how important the industry is may best be realized by considering the mineral statistics for the past decade. The total production of all minerals and aggregates .from 1939 to 1948, in clusive, was approximately $353 million-far more than for any previous 10 years in the state's history. In fact, each year of that decade exceeded in value of production any year previous to that period since mining began in Wash ington. The average annual output during the 10 years was $351h million. Of this, the metallic minerals--chiefly gold, silver, copper, lead, and zinc-had an average annual value of about $7% million, or 23 percent of the total; while the industrial minerals--portland cement, coal, sand and gravel, stone, mag nesite, clay products, and other materials of lesser importance-had an average annual value of about $271h million, or 78 percent of the total. This relation ship between value of output of the metallic and the industrial minerals is not generally realized by those unconversant with the details of our mineral in dustry. 18 ao I " I "''40 -- rt < j ::Al /'\ I 0 'l) Cl 30 " I ... ~ 0 21 . I -"\ ( \J A I I\ / - V - -, <I''""' bl~V- ~ -<• .-~ 1\/ L.,,-----"' II 1'10 !920 .1'.t!I Ul3D ..UMO Value of Washington's mineral production, 1900-1948 Again considering production during the past decade, the average annual value for that period was exceeded not only during the war years of 1942-44, as would have been expected, but also during 1947 and 1948, when curtailed production certainly would have been expected. Actually, the 1947 production exceeded that of any previous year in the state's history, and the 1948 pro duction exceeded that of 1947 by $10lh million, reaching the phenomenal all time high of $501h million. Selected Mineral Production©-1941 through 1948 1942 1943 19" PRODUCT I 1941 Quantity Value Quantity Value Quantity Value . - . ............ · 1 $1,235,787 $1,021,735 $1,027,236 $1,197,149 Coal . ......... .. ....... ............ short tons I 1,841,274 6,478,074 1,953,209 7,549,362 l ,527 ,544 6,729,906 ·· ··1,524,lil·"' ········ 7,358,966 Coke . ........ .......................short tons 14,853 © Copper .......•• . ..........•.... ....... pounds 17,372,000 ·· · ·2:o-iii:soo · ·· · io:000:000 · ·· ·· i;iJ4s:200· 14,630,000 1,901,900 12,338,000 ·· ··1,665,680·········· Gold ..................... ........... troy ounces 84,176 2,946,160 75,396 2,638,860 65,24,4 2,283,540 47,277 1,654,695 Iron oro ......... .................. ... long tons '7,271 @ ll,851 @ 18,455 @ 8,695 © Lead ........ ............ .... ..... short tons 3,900 444, !M2 4 ,&"1 650,034 5,022 5,825 932,000 Lime . .......... ........ ..•• ......... short tons 62,309 656,362 55,864 623,766 @ ,,300 55,241 667,546 Mangunese ore ....... .............. short tons @ 10,660 @ 7,731 5,199 Peat ............................ ..... short tons ~ @ @ ® @ © Pumice ............................... short tons 700 7,862 788 ~8,705 t, Sand and gravel. ... .....•......... short tons ·5;583;285. 2,476,834 8,172,550 4,094,900 5,1.83,374 3,408,720 6.~.153 4,076,976 .... Silver ................ .... .......... troy ounces 402,030 285,888 369,038 262,427 370,440 268,424 321,608 228,699 ~.... Stono ................. ....... ....... short tons 2,148,970 1,757,873 1,965,820 1,809,757 2,081,810 2,499,550 2,538,690 2,756,332 Cl) Talc nod soapstone... .............. short tons 0 2,420 7 2,864 1,998 ll,822 3,288 34,103 .... 'J'nngsten ore (60% COIJC.) ........... short tons I @ @ ~3 56,289 4 6,712 5 © g Zinc ......................... ....... sbort tons 14,320 2,148,000 14,398 2,678,028 12,203 2,685,848 ll,904 2,nt,112 Mlscellnncous© ............................................... 8,024,090 12,328,271 16,068,680 13,187,787 .Q. 1 'l'otal. ......... ......................... • ...............L $28,506,SS2 l...... :··~~3 .............. 1 $37,593,000 , .............. , $36,483,000 ~ 1945 1940 1947 JJ).18 .... PRODUO'l' I I I ;:! ----------------! Qunntlty I Value Quantity J Voluc , Quantity J Value Qunntlty I Value ~ Cl) Cloy aod clay products ................................, . 31,541,714 . $2,448,594 ............. $2,112,000 $1,967,000 Coal . .................. ............ short toos 1,357,244 6,947,404 000,000 5,4()5,000 1 J,117,926 6,691,202 1,210,000 7,732,000 § Coke .. ...............................short tons . .. .. ........... ....... ................... .. ............ .............. .............. ............. p,. Copper .... ... ......................... pounds n,6-12,000 1,5TI,670 9,054,000 1,466,748 4,480,000 940,800 ll,830,000 2,458,610 Gold . .......•...................... troy ounces 57,860 2,0'.lii, 100 51,168 1,790,880 34,965 1,223,775 70,075 2,452,625 Iron ore ........ .... .... ............ long tons . .. .......... ................ Q 2,268 @ 5,364 @ ~ Lead .......................... ..... short tons 3,802 653,944 2,987 651,166 5,359 1,543,392 0 Lime ........ ......................... short tons @ © @ ; 7.147 2.r.020 Manganese ore ...................... short tons 6,99-l @ 1,424 a -0 Peat ..... .......... ..••............ short tons 824 903 @ a ~2,425 ~10,125 Pumice ........ ....... •.. ... ......... short tons 4,414 86,045 U,586 66,008 26,497 74,173 126,675 47,787 ~ Sand and gravel ..................... short tons 6,949,809 3,872,633 7,557,707 4,608,392 s,380,on 5,7001960 9,267,225 0,657,129 Silver .............................. troy ounces 2SJ,444 200,138 :IM,453 213,678 293,736 26o,881 375,881 340,146 Stone ................................ short tons 8,741,200 3,778,000 3,149,000 S,232,806 3,865,110 4,550,275 5,229,500 6,SS2,4~ 'l'alc and soapstone............ ..... abort tons 2,804 33,458 5,084 38,051 © @ © @ 'l'ungsten ore (60% cone.) .. ......... short tons 2 @ 1 @ .............. .............. .............. ........ ..... Zinc ............................. .... short tons U,693 2,689,39<! ll,829 2,764,276 18,800 3,339,000 12,638 3,861,708 Miscellaneous© ............................ , · ·... 7,955,505 . 10,345,402 . 18,4n,867 . • 16,539,907 1 1 1 1 1 Total.................................... $31,301,000 ·············· $33,076,000 •••••••••••••• $39,924,000 $50,498,000 (D Compiled by State Division of Mines and Geology from statistics of 0. S. Bureau of Mines, 11s published In llilnerals Yearbook, 1941 and Jator years!.Not included lo state total, In orde-r to avoid dupllcotlon. • Included In "miscellaneous." • Includes minerals Indicated by @ a·t,ove, also, In various years, the following: arsenlous oxide, dlatomlte, magnesite, magnesium, magne5Jum sulphate, mercury, portland cement, pulpstones, silica (Quartz), and other minerals. c:.,, 6 Division of Mines and Geology Total Mineral Production 1939-1948 Year Meta.Uic minerals Industrial m inerals Total 1939 .. ... ... ....... $ 6,739,467 $ 24,850,556 $ 31,590,023 1940 . ....... ... ...... 7,018,812 21,071,376 28,090,188 1941 ..... ............ 7,874,886 20,631,996 28,506,882 1942 ...... •.....•..... 8,172,609 27,486,934 35,659,543 1943 ..... .... .... , . 7,838.012 29,754,988 37,593,000 1944 .....•. .. ... • .... • .. 7,195,136 29,287,864 36,483,000 1945 ....