Raw Materials Activities of the Manhattan Project on the Colorado Plateau
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NtHlRMWable Resourcel. Vol. 6. No. I, 1997 Raw Materials Activities of the Manhattan Project on the Colorado Plateau WUIiam L Chenoweth1,l R«eived Oct.r 22. 1996: accepted Nov __r 20. /996 The Manhattan Project was a highly secret project during World War U to develop the atomic bomb, and included the acquisition of raw materials. It was carried out by the Army's Corps of Engineers Manhattan Engineer DistricL In the United States, 2.698,000 pounds of uranium oxide were acquiml at various vanadium mills on the Colorado Plateau, mainly from the treatmeDt of tailings. Geologic investigations conducted by a contractor, Union Mines Develop ment Corporation, laid the ground work for the exploration activities of the Atomic Energy Commission which succeeded the Manhanan Engineer District in 1947. KEY WORDS: Uranium; Manbalran project; Coiondo pi ..... INTRODUcnON The name was taken from District Engineer, Colo nel James C. Marshall's office, in New York City Soon after the United Slates dropped atomic (Jones, 1958). In mid-August of 1943 the headquaners bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan on August of MED was transferred to Oak Ridge, Tennessee, 6 and 9, 1945, the public became aware of atomic and Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth D. Nichols was made energy and the Manhattan Project. The Manhattan District Engineer (Jones, 1958). Brigadier General Project was the code name used by the Anny's Corps Leslie R. Groves in Washington, D.C., was responsible of Engineers for the development of atomic weapons for the entire project and the procurement of the necessary raw materials The names of places such as Oak Ridge, Tennes during World War n. It was carried out under the see; Los Alamos, New Mexico; and Hanford, Washing d.ircaion of the Corps' Manhattan Engineer District ton, that were associated with the project became well (MED). known. The raw materials activities of the undertaking Prior to the establishment of MEn, the nation's were largely overlooked. This brief historical review atomic researcb program was undertaken by the Offlce summarizes those activities on the Colorado Plateau. of Scientific Research and Development With the entry of the United States into World War n, the work was assigned to the Corps of Engineers on June 19, 1942 (Jones, 1958). The Corps immediately began URANIUM PROCUREMENT plans to form a new district to carry on the work. DSM (Development of Substitute Materials) was fust Raw materials for the project were critical. In proposed as the name for the new district (Jones, 1958). 1942 the largest available sources of uranium were the To many, DSM seemed likely to arouse attention and Shinkolobwe Mine in the Belgium Congo (now Zaire) curiosity, and instead the Manhattan Engineer District and the Eldorado Mine at Port Radium on Great Bear was established on August 13, 1942. Lake, Northwest Territories, Canada. In the United States, uranium was known to occur in the carnotite I Consulting Ocoqist. Grand Junction. Colorado SIB. deposits in the Salt Wash Member of the Morrison Z Correspondeac:e should be directed to William L. Chenoweth. Fonnation on the Colorado Plateau. 33 34 Chenoweth These deposits, principally in southwestern Colo to contact Blair Burwell, General Manager of U.S. rado and southeastern Utah, had been mined for radium Vanadium Corporation (USV). Burwell informed from about 1910 to 1926. with some uranium and Leahy the Anny and USV were to build tailings treat vanadium recovered as byproducts. Since 1936 the ment plants at Durango and Uravan, Colorado, and same deposits had been mined for vanadium. At the acquire land at Grand Junction for a uranium refinery Naturita and Uravan. Colorado vanadium mills. large (P.C. Leahy, personal communication. 1993). Also tonnages of tailings containing low concentrations of with his orders was a letter from General Groves stating uranium were stockpiled. "to whom it may concern-if this officer asks for help. Due to the uncertainty of foreign supplies and the please assist." need for vanadium for war armaments, the federal A 55.71 acre tract of land was leased between government fonned the Metals Reserve Company in the Gunnison River and the Denver and Rio Grande December 1941. Metal Reserve's objective was to Western Railroad, two miles south of the city. The site acquire five million pounds of vanadium for the War was a gravel pit with a railroad spur line and contained Production Board's stockpile. Metal Reserve, which a log cabin. On this site, MED contracted with USV was part of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation to build and operate a small uranium refinery on a cost (RFC), began an ore-purchasing program, increasing plus-fixed fee basis. The Steams-Roger Manufacturing the base price paid for vanadium ore. At Durango, Company of Denver, Colorado, designed and built the Colorado, Metals Reserve spent S95,()()() to equip an refinery. The log cabin became the refinery's office. abandoned lead smelter for the production of 1.5 mil A plan of the Grand Junction refinery is shown in lion pounds of vanadium oxide (V 2005) per year. At figure 1. Monticello, Utah, Metals Reserve took over the opera The purpose of the refinery was to further concen tion of a vanadium mill (Metals Reserve Company, trate uranium and to remove vanadium from the green 1943). sludge which was received from tailing treatment plants at Durango and Uravan. A low grade uranium concentrate from the refinery was shipped to Tona Sources of Uranium wanda, New York for further processing into black oxide (Hewlett and Anderson, 1962). The flowsheets In September 1942, MED created a Materials of the tailings plants and the refinery are shown in Section to oversee the procurement of uranium. Lieu figure 2. tenant Colonel Thomas T. Crenshaw was in charge of On August 14, 1943, the War Department pur the Section. In August 1943. the Madison Square Area chased the Grand Junction site. A Mr. L. H. Hall was Office was formed to carry on this function. Colonel paid $10,500 for the property, which was to be used Crenshaw was transferred to Oak Ridge and Lieutenant for Project X, according to the deed in the Mesa Colonel John C. Ruhoffwas appointed Area Engineer. County Courthouse. In early 1945. he was succeeded by Major Wilber E. The Grand Junction plant operated from 1943 to Kelley (Jones. 1958). 1946. The green sludge shipped to the refinery from A survey of the vanadium activities on the Colo Durango and Uravan came from the processing of rado Plateau by Materials Section personnel in Decem some three million tons of tailings. The Grand Junction ber 1942, led to contracts with the two largest refinery recovered more vanadium from the green vanadium producers. United States Vanadium Corpo sludge than the entire Metals Reserve program actually ration and Vanadium Corporation of America, and with purchased (P. C. Leahy personal communication, the Metals Reserve Company. The uranium-producing 1993). The acquisition of land along the Gunnison activities of these organizations are discussed in the River and the establishment of an office in Grand following section by geographic locality. Junction in 1943 by the federal government would have a great economic impact on the city for many years afterward. Grand Junction, Colorado Uravan. Colorado On March 23. 1943. Second Lieutenant Philip C. Leahy arrived in Grand Junction to establish the The mill at Uravan had operated since about 1914, Colorado Area Engineer Office. Leahy's orders were first for radium. and then for vanadium processing. It Raw Materials Activities of the Manhattan Project on the Colorado Plateau 3S c::::a a =F 0 OG ICO t e q ", ... ~ Buildini 8 I Fit_ eM Pnc:ipitatian 2 Uri" 3 Fusion Furnace 4 Boiler 5 Raaater 6 Laboratar, 1 Lavatory 8 Acid Pump 9 Fu" Oil Pump IZC 10 SodoAlh II loI_Anna 12 onstorate 13 Sludge and Soda Ash Bin 14 Warehouse and ChClngl 15 Office '4 16 Stara91 A OuatChamber I StaraoeTank , C RldCaklBin ClQ 0 Settling Tank E FUll Oil Storote Tanks ~ F Acid Starap Tonks CC? G Seal.. FIpn 1. Map of the Orand Junction refinery. from AEC files. was acquired by United States Vanadium Corporation bide and Carbon Corporation, a major contractor to (USV) in 1928 from Standard Chemical Company MEn at Oak Ridge. Tennessee. Late in 1943 the Linde (Hutf~ 1929). refinery was enlarged to process low-grade Belgium In 1939, prior to the establishment of MED, USV Congo ores until the end of 1944 (Hewlett and Ander built a small pilot plant at the Uravan mill which could son, 1962). produce a ~ uranium oxide (U30a) sludge from the In order to increase production, MEn contracted treatment of tailings (Merritt, 1945). Late in 1942, with USV to build and operate, at their own expense, MED contracted with the Linde Air Products Company a uranium-vanadium sludge plant. This plant would to build a pilot refinery at Tonawanda, New York, Rplace the pilot plant in mid-I943. Feed for the plant and to produce black uranium oxide from the Uravan would be stockpiled tailings and tailings from the cur sludge (Merritt. 1945). MEn would purchase the rent USV vanadium operations (Manhattan District sludge on a unit price basis as received at Tonawanda. Engineers, 1948a). Also at Uravan. the MED con Both USV and Linde were subsidiaries of Union Car- tracted with USV to c:onstn1Ct and operate a uranium- 36 Chenoweth ..... _Dica....... _Uaa __ and..,..._nl_In_tlo_D-.J.-..-----to- .... SoUda to Waste llaat ~--4-___ t----..... --t FUtrate to Waste ----------~------~ Dry Uraaima-Vaaaclbma Coacntrate to GraacI .JUIICUaa P1aat t--.....-.aur Low Grade Sodium Dluranate Concentrate Al\IIDUIa to Waste NaClOw -..--11--....... RaSa. Beat Precipitation &DCI Filtration t--------t FIltrate to Waste Figure 2.