THE MINERAL INDUSTRY OF TEXAS 771 
 
cent. By the end of the year, produccr stocks had declined more than 53 percent.

 Five companies produced sulfur from 10 Frasch operations in Brazoria, Fort
Bend, Jefferson, Liberty, Matagorda, Pecos, and Wharton Counties. New Frasch
operations reporting production in 1967 were the Hooker Chemical Co. plant
at Freeport (Bryan Mound salt dome) in Brazoria County and the Duval Corp.
plant at Fort Stockton in Pecos County. Phelan Sulphur Co. began operations
at a Frasch plant late in 1966 at the Nash salt dome in Fort Bend County.

 
Table 27.—Sulfur produced and shipped from Frasch mines 
 
(Thous 
and long tons and thousand dollars) 
Year 
Shipments 
Production — 
 
Quantity Value 
 1968 2,413 2,550 $50,109 
 1964 2,489 3,802 65,780 
 1965 2,534 3,674 83,282 
 1966 2,916 8,703 96,820 
 1967 2,956 3,448 111,981 
 
 
 
 No major discoveries of native sulfur were reported as a result of exploration
along the Texas gulf coast and in the Gulf of Mexico. Much attention, however,
was focused on the sulfur deposits of the west Texas Permian Basin. In Pecos
County, Duval Corp., after a period of trial pro. duction at its pilot Frasch
plant, was expanding its operation to 500-ton-per-day. Sinclair Oil &
Gas Co. announced plans for the construction of a Frasch pilot plant about
4 miles southeast of the Duval plant in Pecos County. In December, The University
of Texas at Austin held a sulfur-lease sale on lands in Pecos County. Bonus
bids, received for sulfur leases on 15 tracts of land containing slightly
more than 10,000 acres, totaled $766,124.43. Successful bidders included
Arnax Petrol~um Corp., Bear Creek Mining Co., Duval Corp., Jefferson Lake
Sulphur Co., Pan American Petroleum Corp., and Texas Gulf Sulphur Co. 
 Sulfur activities also extended into additional portions of the Permian
Basin, including Culberson, Reeves, and Tom Green Counties. Plans to develop
a new source of elemental sulfur were revealed in August when Elcor Chemical
Corp. of Midland announced plans to construct a plant in Culberson County,
about 35 miles northeast of Van Horn. The facility, which 
would have a capacity of 1,000 long tons of sulfur per day, would be used
to extract sulfur from surface deposits of gypsum. 
 In addition to Frasch sulfur production, sulfur was recovered from sour
gas at 37 plants in 20 counties during 1967. Shipmenus of recovered sulfur
amounted to 674,483 long tons valued at $21,714,822. During 1967, production
was reported for the first time from three recovery plants located in Brazoria,
Ector, and Pecos Counties. 
 
 Talc and Soapstone.—Four companies mined crude talc at five operations
in the Allasnoore area of Hudspeth County. One' of the companies also mined
crude soapstone at an open pit in Gillespie County. Total talc and soapstone
output was 11 percent less than that of 1966. A talc grinding mill was operated
by Pioneer Talc in Allamoore and by United Sierra Division of Cyprus Mines
Corp. in Llano. Ground material was used in ceramic products, paint, insecticides,
roofing, textiles, and for other purposes. 
 
 Vermiculite.—Crude vermiculite was mined in Liano County by Perlite
Producers, Inc., and exfoliated at the company plant in Llano. Three other
exfoliating plants, located in Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio processed
vermiculite mined outside of Texas. The processed material was used in plaster,
as aggregate in concrete, as soil conditioner, for roof deck, and for miscellaneous
purposes. 
 
METALS 
 
 Metal mining in 1967 was limited to iron, mercury, and uranium, with magnesium
metal being recovered by chemical methods from gulf sea water. An important
metals extractive industry processed ores, concentrates, and smelter residues
from other States and from foreign countries. The primary metals production
was supplemented by metals recovered from scrap. A new iron mine began production
in Cass County in 1967; another firm planned to construct a plant in Scurry
County to recover magnesium metal from brines. 
 
 Aluminum and Bauxite.—Bauxite ores from Surinam, Dominican Republic,
and Jamaica were processed at the Point Comfort alumina plant of Aluminum
Company of America (Alcoa) and at the Sherwin