Book Description

Although there can be no formula into which the details of a mineral deposit are fitted and its exploitability determined, an evaluation of the various cost factors which should be considered in the development of mineral deposits is of value in planning such development. The major cost factors which must be considered are geology, as reflected in exploration costs, mining costs, and the indirect costs assessed by topography; transportation, which in the case of mineral development often includes the cost of building facilities in addition to the cost of moving material over existing facilities; markets, which control areas of possible development and grade of ore which is developable through their influence on price; power, which is of particular importance in the electrometallurgical production of aluminum and elemental phosphorus in the Pacific Northwest; and government policy, federal, state and local, which through assistance and restrictions controls the atmosphere in which mineral development takes place. Other factors such as climate, water supply, and labor must also be considered, and in individual cases may determine whether or not a property can be developed. An evaluation of these various factors is presented as a guide in working out the exploitability of mineral deposits. To test the validity of the criteria which are set up, several mineral deposits in Southern Idaho are evaluated in terms of them, and the effect of the various factors on mineral development in the state is considered. Each of the cost factors influences mineral development in Southern Idaho to a greater or lesser degree. Each mineral development takes place under a different combination of such influences. Thus cobalt, with a ready market and government support and aid, is being developed, while lead and zinc, with relatively low prices, are currently depressed. The most important mineral development in Southern Idaho is phosphate, production of which has increased tenfold since 1945. The opening of phosphate mines and the building of phosphate processing plants in Southern Idaho is the largest mineral development the area has seen, and promises to become the largest industrial development in the state. Development of fluorspar, barite and pumice in Southern Idaho is also significant, but the scale of development does not approach that of phosphate.