Gross sales from mining operations in Utah should total about $1.9 billion in 1990, or slightly higher than the figure for last year, says a University of Utah professor of mining engineering.
Charles W. Berry said metal prices may soften somewhat after 1990, but he expects Utah's metal mines, through increased efficiencies, to remain competitive in the world market.He foresees 1990 gross sales of $1 billion from metals, $500 million from coal and $400 million from industrial minerals.
In an article published in the January 1990 Economic Outlook special issue of Utah Business magazine, Berry said all segments of Utah mining activity should continue to show improvement as the decade of the '90s begins.
Kennecott, for example, is reaping the benefits of its $400 million modernization program, said Berry, noting the company's newly announced plans for further expansion.
Kennecott should produce about 540 million pounds of refined copper per year from its newly modernized Bingham Canyon open pit mine and mill and nearby smelter-refinery when the next expansion is completed.
Kennecott announced on Jan. 3, 1990, that it would enlarge facilities at its Bingham Canyon mine at a cost of $227 million. In addition to boosting copper production to 540 million pounds annually, the expansion is expected to improve gold and molybdenite recovery.
The expansion will increase Kennecott's Copperton concentrator capacity by about 25 percent. The Bingham plant's current production of 325,000 troy ounces of gold is expected to climb to 370,000 ounces after the upcoming expansion. The mine now also produces about 2.5 million ounces of silver, eight million pounds of molybdenum concentrate and about 660,000 tons of sulfuric acid.
Kennecott has also begun operations at its gold surface mining-dump leaching operations at Barney's Canyon near the Bingham open-pit mine. The operation has a rated annual capacity of 80,000 ounces of gold. Tenneco Minerals has also started producing gold at its new Goldstrike mine northwest of St. George. Barrick's Mercur gold surface mine is operating at full capacity, producing 115,000 ounces of gold annually.
Like Kennecott, many other Utah mining operators are attempting to remain competitive in the new decade by lowering their costs through improved mineral engineering and management techniques.
Berry describes the outlook for Utah coal as cautiously optimistic. Demand could increase because of the high quality of Utah coal, especially considering its relatively clean burning quality.
With 1990 coal production projected at 20 million tons, gross sales could reach $500 million.
Utah coal operators have been aggressively improving productivity, especially in longwall operations, Berry said. The resulting cost reduction allows Utah companies to compete better in coal markets outside Utah.
Utah is exporting high-quality coal to Taiwan, and there is potential for future shipments to Japan, Korea and other Far East markets.
The price of copper should remain above $1 per pound through most of 1990. Berry notes, however, that two large copper mines in South America are scheduled to begin operation in the early 1990s, which could result in lower copper prices because of increased supply.
The article notes that Utah is endowed with a variety of industrial minerals.
These (minerals) include Chevron's phosphate operation in Vernal and its gilsonite mine in Bonanza, south of Vernal; the production of potassium and sodium salts from evaporative ponds on the shores of the Great Salt Lake, in Wendover, and from underground solution mining in Moab.
Operators include Great Salt Lake Minerals and Chemicals Corp., Morton Salt Co., Reilly Wendover, Sol-Aire Salt and Chemical Co., American Salt Co. and Moab Salt, Inc.
Crushed stone and sand and gravel mining are also important to the state's economy, with more than $100 million in annual sales.
Ideal Basic Industries and Ash Grove Cement Co. produce cement from limestone operations in Utah; Geneva Steel produces limestone flux at its Keigley Quarry near Payson; and Georgia-Pacific Corp. and USG Corp. mine gypsum in Sevier County for their wallboard plants.