The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1919-12-25
IDAHO PHOSPHATE LAND
A VALUABLE RES0U0CE
DEPOSITS WORTH BILLIONS FOR
ENRicHING POOR AND
WORN OUT SOIL.

Idaho phosphate resources exceed
those of amy other state in the union
The available resources in two south
eastern counties run into billions OF
tons. For their development it Is es-
sential that specific mineral leasing
policy should be developed by the
state of Idaho, says the Boise States
man.
These are statements made by r.
~ Bell, state mine inspector, in his
first public statement relative to the
unique situation introduced a week
ago by the Western Phosphate Min
ing Manufacturing company, when
its application to the state land board
for permission to tunnel beneath a
section of state school land brought
lite mineral policy
Sees Definite Progress.
Referring to the particular case
mentioned above, Mr. Bell says of the
general phosphate situation:
Il visited these operations few
days before j left Idaho for the east,
late in November, and was gratified
at the rapid development now being
made in that feature of the states
varied mineral resources. The prop
erty Of the Western Phosphate Min
ing & Manufacturing company, re-
Gently referred to in the Statesman,
Is situated i'm Paris canyon, three
miles south of Paris, the county seat
of Bear Lake county. This Is the
on am adjoining school section, and in
my Judgment should be given the
first preference and consideration in
such mineral lease on the land in
volved by reason of the vigorous
manner in which 1t has undertaken
the introduction of this mineral to
proper markets and the development
OF dts own deposits which have been
actively operated with expanding out
put for the past two years. This COM
pany has been shipping crude phos-
phate mineral during the past year at
the rate of about 1000 tons per month.
Substantial capital has recently been
interested IN the enterprise, in its
more thorough development, which is
designed to afford a shipping capacity
of 500 tons a day within the next few
months, and for which there seems to
have developed broad market to the
east as well as the west
Lays Three-Mile Spur.
''rhis company is now constructing
a 3-mile railway spur, for which the
capital has been raised and deposited
In the bank. ii is also building a
mill for the treatment of the mineral,
to put 1t in more marketable form,
with an initial capacity of $50 tons
per day, and designed for another
unit of the same capacity. A $500
foot main double track working tun-
mel is being driven from three head
ings and making 600 feet per month.
The deposit on this companys prop
erty is a vein feet wide, of very
high grade rock phosphate mineral
that has already been opened with an
adit 900 feet long to a face depth Of
400 feet, and discloses an extensive
of this desirable soil fertiliz-
ing mineral, presenting the nucleus
Of what promises ultimately to be-
come the most important mining and |
manufacturing industry in the state
These operations have materially |
stimulated other interest and activity
In the same field,
Waterloo Big Shipper.
ION the opposite side of the Bear
river valley, 3 miles east of Mont
pelier, the Waterloo mine, under the
of Joseph ], Taylor has
been actively operating since the mid h
lie of summer, shipping 1900 tons of
high grade rock phosphate per month.
Near Soda Springs the transfer of
mother property to new ownership, h;
I'm reliably advised, will shortly in !,
olive the construction of emile 1
ailway spur from that point for the 4
AShSPOi totich VI u iiNdi utSoulNt Va
Phosphate mineral in the extension of
he Idaho field in that direction, and
ther projects of the same nature are
n immediate prospect,
Sings Its Praise for Years.
Il have advocated the potential i'm !,
ortance of this particular mineral =
esource to the state repeatedly for :,
ne past 10 years, and protested sew
raj years ago the acceptance by the .
lat of block grazing land selections in .
MS big phosphate reserve for its =
altered school sections of like char
cter in the forest reserve in which 7,
lie government proposed to give the :,
ate the surface grazing rights and >,
tain the mineral rights in this phos-
hate area, as figured the day would
'me when the mineral rights would
-ove as valuable a leasing revenue
source to the state as are the oil n,
Id iron ore leasing royalties of Wyo- 81
ing and Minnesota. OF
Looks for Federal Help.
I'm the proposed federal leasing bill nj
Nv in conference before the national at
gislature covering Oil, coal, phos- m
Iate and similar natural resources, w
e division of ROYALTIES proposed on hi