Coulee City dispatch. [volume] (Coulee City, Wash.) 19??-19??, 1940-01-25
Cheap Power To
Bring Factories

|
industries in the Pacific Northwes
through use of low-cost Columbis
river power generated at such govern
nent owned plants as Bonneville an(
| Grand Coulee is both feasible an6
desirable, Paul J. Raver, Bonneville
Power Administrator, said in report
to Secretary Of the Interior Harold
! L. Ickes.
Such industries, the report said
could supply the local requirements Of
bar structurals, and other hot rolled
drawn and cast products manufactured
for distribution in the western market
The report indicated that in ad-
dition to local operations such indus
tries could we'll supply iron and steel
both for western merchant and naval
ship construction and western ordance
manufacture, as part of the national
defense program.
1t said in part:
Establishment in the Columbia
river area of q small iron and steel
plant with a rolling mill ito produce
finished iron and steel products for
the local market is believed to be
feasible att this time, especially in
view Of the availability of low-cost
power at such plants as Bonneville
and Grand Coulee.
"All raw materials required for
iron and steel production are avail.
able in or to the northwest, and can
be assembled at some point along the
Columbia river ON the federal power
transmission network now under con.
struction. If a plant were to be locatec
at a tidewater, site many more westl
ern sources of supply would be avail
able by water shipment BY tho same
means market outlets would be widen.
ed.'
Manufacturers using electric furn.
ace methods of ore reduction, the
report said, were already interested
by the large blocks of cheap power
becoming available on the Columbia
river. 1t pointed out that these furn-
aces did not require the high quality
coke demanded by the blast furnace
method.
Considerable reserve tonnages of
coking coal were reported present in
tho Pacific Northwest, particularly in
Pierce County. These coal reserves
were said ito be Within economic reach
and adequate to meet the requirments
of electric furnace operations even
though the coke might not be of
straight blast furnace quality. 1t wa.
pointed out, however, that tests have
shown certain Pierce County Goals to
be of suffict entEy good quality ito
permit blending for blast furnace coke
if desired.
The report emphasized that if Pac.
ific Coast steel production were ap.
preciably increased, new pig iron
capacity would be required to supply
it, Inasmuch as thousands of tons OF
scrap iron and steel have been shipped
| from this area to foreign countries
| the establishment of steel capacity t.
work up this metal would benefit thu
region to the extent of the addet
labor iavoivcd
New steel capacity would be Limited
by the available scrap supply unless
the plant were designed to use new
iron in its operations.
Feasibility of large operation
integrated with a pig iron plant, stee
works, rolling mill and castings plan
was subject to various uncertain
factors the report said
"Most of the uncertainties, however
would disappear, if a financial.
strong company, interested in estab
fishing a plant in this area woul'
consider installation of equipmen
for one or more of the heavy tonnag,
products required by Pacific markets
and now substantially supplied b.
rail or water shipments from the east,
it stated.
Il Possibilities of q western operation
to supply the tinplate market wer
also discussed.
| "With a tinplate market of severa
hundred thousand tons, only about !
per cent of which is supplied by
western steel mill, careful considers
ticn should be given to the possibht
of continuous strip mill for thi
products" it said. "However, it
| recopniZed that availability of th