Journal of the Western Slope
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~ MESA ST'-CA!..!T-'oE__ CO L EGE JOURNAL OF THE WESTERN SLOPE VOLUME 7, NO, 4 FALL 1992 .. _,... c... .. .-- ," UTAH M!!:W MEX ICO VR... HIUM MILLS 1ft I,.. FOUR CORNERS AREA .. __ "u o .. ,., ., .. ,.,,'" JOURNAL OF THE WESTERN SLOPE is published quarterly by two student organizations at Mesa State College: the Mesa State College Historical Society and the Alpha-Gamma-fpsilon Chapter of Phi Alpha Theta. Annual subscriptions are S I O. !Single copies are available by contacting the editors of the Journal.) Retailers are encouraged to write for prices. Mdress subscriptions and orders for back issues to: Mesa State College Journal of the W estern Slope P.O. Box 264 7 Grand Junction, CO 81 502 GUIOELINES FO R CONTRIBUTORS. The purpose of THE JOURNN.. OF THE WESTERN SlOPE i1 to encourage scholarly Study of COl()(ado's Western Slope. The primary goal i1 to preserve af'lCl re<:ord its history; however, articles on anlllropOlOgy. e<:onomics, government ~tural history, af'lClsociOlogy will be considered. Authorship Is open to anyone \o\Iho wishes to submit or1gi~1 and Kholarly rT1<1terial about the W estem Slope. The editors encourage !eitel'S of inquiry from prospective authors.. Send materials and leiters to THE JOURNAl OF THE wt:STERN SLOPE, Mesa College, P.O. Box 2647. Graf'lCl Junction, CO 81502. II Contributors must send two copies of articles. 00 NOT SEND THE ORIGINAL. EditOfS will not return manuscripts. Material should be typed, double sp.aced (including footnoteSl, and footnoted. The editors will give preference to submissions of about 25 pages. 21 Allow the editors bO days to r~ manuscripts. During lIlis time. the editors ask mat you not 'iUbmit the article to another publisher. 31 Footnotes should appear at the end of manuscripts. In THE JOURNAL OF THE wt:STERN SLOPE. ali footnotes will be published at the end of the appropriate anicle. FOf foolnote form, consult the UniversiTy of Chicago's most recent edition of A MaO! !al of Style• .~I 'Nt:enever p?s~ible, historical photographs should accompany manuscripl5, a~ With wntten perm~slO(l from the owner to publish me photos, Upon request the edl10fS wilt sef'lCl star'lClafd release forms to prospective contributors_ Send copies. not the origi~ I S, of photogsaphs. Pho!ogr<lphS will nO! be relulTled, 5) ~ copies, not the Ofig i ~ls, of graphs, chilru. and m<lps. SUCh material must be cle<'lf and SUItable fO!' reproduction These items will not be returned. b) AJ~hors SUbmitting articles whiCh include Ofal history or interviews must send the appropnate rele<lse rorm signed by the subject(s) of the interview(sl. Those needing rele<lse forms sl"lould >NIite lhe editOl'1_ 7) Misl5 wishing to submit cover drawings are <lsked to >NIite the editors befOfe sending materials ~use. dr~s must reli!te to articles publi5hed in lhe jour~1. Artists must grant pel'mlSslOD In wr!tJng before a drawing will be printed. Standard release forms are available from the editOl'1. ~'* MESA CT,,-,A:-,-T,--,E~_ COMEGE JOURNAL OF THE WESTERN SLOPE Edi torial Board Donald A. MacKendrick Frank Keller Paul Reddin Steven C. Schulte Editorial Staff Kristen Scott ....... .... ......................... Editor Diana Jones . .... ....... ... ....... Assistant Editor Marilyn McCoy ........ , .... , . , .... , , ....... Circulation Manager Martin Wenger ................ ...................... Indexer Mesa State College Historical Society and Phi Alpha Theta Kristen Scott ................ ...... .. .......... President Marvin Frohock .............. ................. Vice President Susan Nichols ....... ...• . .. • . ...• . ....... Secretary/Treasurer .. All material in theJOURNAL OFTHE WESTERN SLOPE is copyrighted by the Mesa State College Historical Society and. Alpha-Ganuna-EpsiIon Ol.apter of Phi Alpha 1heta. Printed on Recycled Paper by Precision Printing {) TIlE COVER: Cover map by M.L Heinrich BY ROBERT SULLENBERGER TABLE OF CONTENTS ________________________ i Introduction About the Author_______________________________ ii Acknowledqments'_______________________________ iii Editors Note iv Chapter One: Early Uranium Mining in the Four Corners Region 1 Chapter Two: working for U.S. Vanadium corporation in the 19408 21 Chapter Three: Vanadium Mills, Rifle, Slick Rock, Naturita, Monticello and Durango 46 Chapter Four: Uranium Activity in the 1950. and 1960s 65 INTRODUCTION The United States Vanadium Corporation (U.S.V.C.) hired Robert Sullenberger in 1940 for a uranium mining claim survey position near Egnar, Colorado on the Dolores River Canyon rim. Later, he worked in the company machine shop at their mill site in Uravan, Colorado. During the course of his employment with U.S.V.C., he acquired considerable insight on mining methods, uranium-vanadium ore refining processes, mill and mine equipment maintenance and new uranium mill construction. Numerous incidents in the early 1940s that occurred are lacking in previous publications. Most former Uravan employees have passed beyond the horizon and one objective in writing this narrative was to record s ome of the author's Uravan memories of working for U.S.V.C. at the beginning of World War II. A resurgence of activity occurred in the Four Corners regio n during the Uranium boom of the 1950s. With the discovery of several new uranium ore bodies, the demand for new uranium processing mills in Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico rose. Most of the Four Corners uranium mills no longer exist. Many have been dismantled, while others remain on a stand-by status awaiting direction from the United states Department of Energy to determine their future . Removal of radioactive tailings created by the mill operations began in 1977 and is expected to continue well into the twenty-first century. Excerpts from unclassified united States Depa.rtment of Energy's documents related to uranium mill site locations, ownership, history, dates of construction and closu.res, milling capacities and proposed tailings stabilization plans are also included in this document. i tC" ABOtrr TIlE AUTHOR In the early stages of World War II, United States mining companies experienced an acute shortage of lead, zinc, copper, and molybdenum miners and mill personnel trained in metal ref ioi09 processes. The United States Army I at the r equest of the Strategic Metals Production Board, initiated an intensive search through their records for soldiers experienced in mining and refining. Robert Sullenberger and 4,500 other soldiers were rounded up and shipped to Fort Douglas, Utah for assignment in the nation's metal mines. Mine representatives selected soldiers who possessed work experience needed by their companies. The Army then transferred them from active duty to the Enlisted Reserve Soldiers Miner corps. The Park City Utah Consolidated Hines company representatives chose sullenberger and two other f o rmer U.S.V.C. employees to work in their Judge Hine in Park City, Utah. After working several months as a mucker in the Park City lead mine, Sullenberger transferred to the Climax Molybdenum Company mine on Fremont Pass near Leadville, Colorado. Here he worked on the mine's underground maintenance crew. Many of the soldier miners became seriously injured in mine a ccidents, with some even losing their lives before the strategic war metal crisis ended. Moet men were recalled to active duty; however, some were discharged because of injuries suffe r ed in mine accidents . These unfortunate individuals received no disability pensions and none of the time they spent in the Soldiers Hiner corps counted towards their military service, nor did the Veterans Administration c alculate it for veteran's benefits after Wo rld War II. Sullenberger's recall to active duty became delayed since he suffered a serious l eg fracture incurred in the Climax Mine. ii • After his military discharge, sullenberger earned a degree in engineering at Utah State University. He worked for several years as a mechanical engineer in uranium and nuclear related industries before joining the faculty of Metropolitan State College in Denver, Colorado. During his tenure at Metropolitan State, the United states National Science Foundation selected sullenberger to serve as a Technical Education consultant for India's Polytechnic Colleges in New Delhi, India. In addition, he spent one year at the university of Petroleum and Minerals at Dhahran, Saudi Arabia as a visiting professor in their Mechanical Engineering Department. ACJQrfOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my gratitude to the Editorial Staff of the JOURNAL or THE WESTERN SLOPE for their interest in my manuscript and the time spent reviewing it. without their effort the document's publication would not have been possible. I also extend my appreciation to Mrs. Corinne Roring, a Monticello, Utah resident, for providing photographs and historical information on early mining activity in San Juan County, Utah. In addition, I owe thanks to the San Juan County Librarian, Vee Corrol, and the Mesa State College Reference Librarian, Mrs. Broadak, for their assistance in providing material used in this presentation. iii EDITORS NOT!: The editorial board of the JOURHAL OF THE WESTERN' SLOPB regrets the need to split this manuscript into two separate journals. To insure the integrity of the article, the quality of pictures, and to best serve our readers, this decision became necessary. The second segment of 100 YEARS OF URAHIUN ACTIVITY IN THE FOUR CORHZRS REGION discusses uranium mills in Grand Junction, Gunnison, Maybell, Blanding, on Indian reservations, and in the New Mexico area. please accept our apology for this unfortunate decision. The editor made several grammatical corrections in the quotes found in 100 YEARS OF URAlfIUN ACTIVITY IN THB FOUR COJUfBRS REGION to provide a clear, easy reading. We would like to take this opportunity to extend our appreciation to the subscribers of the JOURNAL OP THE WESTERN SLOPE for their continued support. The students and faculty here at Mesa State College depend upon your support and welcome any ideas you may have regarding our publication. Once again, thank you for your patronage.