The four mills in the area are designed to recover vanadium as well as uranium from the carnotite ores found in the district. The quantities of uranium that might be produced after March 31, 1962, may be affected by the industrial requirements for vanadium since the Commission has no commitment to purchase V2O5 after that date.

White Canyon-Monument Valley, southeastern Utah and northern Arizona Situation. Indicated and inferred reserves are estimated at 1,869,000 tons as of November 1, 1957, assaying 0.28 percent UsO8. Reserves of the Monument No. 2 mine of Vanadium Corporation of America, which contains high vanadium ores, are not included in this total. Monument No. 2 ore is being processed at the Durango mill.

The present mill capacity is 775 tons per day, of which 155 tons is available for custom ores.

Analysis of situation.-At the time the Mexican Hat mill contract was negotiated, the milling company controlled the only large ore reserve blocks on which a milling operation could be based. Two large deposits and numerous small deposits have been developed since then by other companies. At present independent mining companies control more than half of the known reserves.

Milling capacity is sufficient to permit the treatment by mid-1964 of all ores developed prior to November 1, 1957, at an economic mining rate if arrangements can be made to provide a larger percentage of the mill capacity for custom ores. Purchase of independent ores at a higher rate would extend the life of captive mines into the post-1962 period.

Wyoming

Situation.-Present mill capacity is inadequate to process the indicated and inferred ore reserves of central and northern Wyoming at a rate that will allow many of the mining companies to mine their ores economically. When mills now under construction are ni operation, milling capacity for the area will be approximately 1,845 tons per day, of which 654 tons per day is reserved for custom ore.

Indicated and inferred reserves in this district as of November 1, 1957, are estimated at 8,722,000 tons, of which 4,777,000 tons are controlled by independent producers. The grade is approximately 0.24 percent U3O8.

Analysis of situation.-A large part of the November 1957 reserves are comparatively low grade and shallow. Most of thees deposits will be mined by openpit methods that require the use of large excavating equipment. The pits must be operated at a large daily tonnage rate to achieve reasonable costs.

Several of the operators control more than one deposit. By scheduling mining operations from a limited number of pits, an even flow of ore to the mills could be maintained, and the deposits could be mined out in an orderly manner. The earliest dates by which the November 1957 ore reserves could be milled with the present milling capacity is shown in the following tabulation:

An additional 1,700 tons per day milling capacity is needed to allow mining operations in the district to be maintained at a reasonably economic rate and to provide for moderate adjustment in the scheduling of mine operations. Such addition would provide a market before December 1966 for the greater part of the reserves of November 1957.

APPENDIX 10

[Press release No. 139, April 2, 1958. From the offices of the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy]

JOINT COMMITTEE MAKES PUBLIC THE REPORT BY AEC ON DOMESTIC MINING AND MILLING PROBLEMS

Congressman Carl T. Durham, chairman of the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy, and Senator Albert Gore, chairman of the Subcommittee on Raw Materials, announced that they have received today from the AEC its report to the Joint Committee on domestic mining and milling problems, and that they are making it available to the public immediately, together with the AEC letter transmitting the report.

The report and letter will be distributed by the Joint Committee to all representatives of the uranium mining and milling industry who testified before the committee during the public hearings on February 24 and 25, 1958.

Any persons desiring to comment on the AEC report are requested to forward them in writing to the Joint Committee by April 25, 1958.

In connection with the report, Senator Gore said:

"Our subcommittee would be glad to receive any comments from members of the industry or of the public. After receiving such comments, the subcommittee will decide whether to hold any further public hearings, and whether legislation is necessary."