THE MINERAL INDUSTRY OF ARKANSAS 131 
 
Table 12.—Primary barite sold or used by 
producers 
 
Year 
Short 
tons 
Value 
(thousands) 
1963           
1964           
1965           
236,077 
233,455 
249,233 
$2,161 
2,202 
2,379 
1966           
232,856 
2,266 
1967           
229,344 
2,266 
 ' Cement.—An overall 7 percent gain in cement shipments, including
masonry and portland types, was reported by two cement producers. Demand
for Arkansas cement increased substantially and led to the increased output
which established a value record. Shipments of cement to consumers in Arkansas,
however, decreased to 9.5 percent. Nearly equal parts of the cement output
was shipped by rail and truck to building material dealers, concrete product
manufacturers, ready-mix concrete companies, and highway construction companies.
About 70 percent of the output was used for highway construction and in ready-mix
concrete. For the second consecutive year, 94 percent of the cement transported
was shipped in bulk form. 
 
 Clays.—Total clay production dropped sharply in 1967, largely because
of decreased tonnage of fire clay and kaolin mined and processed. Fifteen
companies operated mines or plants in 18 counties. The U.S. Forest Service
produced clay for road construction. Two companies mined clay for refractory
and chemical uses from Pulaski and Saline Counties. Fire clays were produced
in Hot Spring and Miller Counties. Arkansas Cement Corp. and Ideal Cement
Co. used clay in cement manufacture. Three lightweight aggregate plants utilized
clays in Sebastian, Lonoke, and Crittenden Counties. S. & S. Co. closed
its lightweight aggregate plant at Fort Smith about midyear. Arkansas Lightweight
Aggregate Corp. acquired control of the lightweight aggregate plant that
was opened in 1966 at West Memphis. Plants for manufacture of brick, tile,
and sewer pipe were operated in six counties. Hot Spring, Lonoke, Johnson,
and Sebastian Counties accounted for 57 percent of the State's total clay
production. 
 Gypsum.—Gypsum mined and processed by Dulin Bauxite Co., Inc., at
Highland, in Pike County, was used as a retarder in cement. Dierks Forests,
Inc., produced gypsum in Howard County for use in wallbpard, related products,
and cement. Both companies utilized strip-mining methods to recover gypsum,
and practiced land reclamation to restore the mined-out land to useful purposes.

 
 Lime.—Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa) and Reynolds Metals Co.
were the principal producers of primary lime that was used in converting
bauxite to alumina in Saline County. The companies processed limestone that
was mined in Izard County. Rangaire Corp., Batesville White Lime Division,
quarried, crushed, and calcined limestone for lime in Independence County.
The lime output was used in chemical and industrial applications and for
coDs~ruction and soil stabilization. Three paper manufacturing companies
produced and used primary lime and regenerated lime in company operations.

 
 Phosphate Rock.—No phosphate rock was produced in the State in 1967.
Although resources and grade of phosphate rock in Van Buren County are adequate
to supply a phosphate rock industry on a small scale, the Peyton Creek Phosphate
Rock Mining Co. terminated its operations. Presumably, competition from other
sources caused the shutdown. 
 
 Sand and GraveL—The sustained growth record in sand and gravel output,
extending from 1962 to 1966, was broken in 1967 as output decreased about
11 percent compared with that of 1966. The lower production resulted from
decreased construction activity of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Arkansas
State Highway Department. The commodity was produced in 72 of the 75 counties
in the State. The number of sand and gravel operations, including commercial
and government-and-contractor suppliers, increased from 279 in 1966 to 313
in 1967. About 72 percent of the total output classified as commercial production
had a unit value of $1.29 per ton, about 5 cents under that of 1966. Governmentand-contractor
sand and gravel output had a unit value of 60 cents per ton, a decrease of
63 cents compared with 1966 figures; competition factors caused the