672 MINERALS YEARBOOK, 1967 
 
 Mercury.—Production rose 35 percent over that of the previous year.
The Black Butte Mining Inc., Black Butte mine (Lane County) and the Jackson
Mountain Mining Co., Glass Butte mine (Lake County) accounted for 93 percent
of the total output. Other producers, in descending order of production,
were Alcona Mining, Inc., Elkhead mine (Douglas County), Canyon Creek Mercury
Mines Canyon Creek mine (Grant County), Tooley, Quant & Brewer Mercury
Queen mine (Wheeler County), and Fitzpatrick and Inman Doodle Bug mine (Jackson
County). Robert Lyman continued to retort Alaskan cinnabar concentrate at
a plant in Benton CounW. 
 
 Nickel.—.Production of nickel contained in ore by Hanna Mining Co.,
Douglas County, was 15,287 tons (1,084,208 tons of ore averaging 1.41 percent
nickel), an Increase of 1.7 percent over that of the previous year. Ferronickel
production, by the subsidiary Hanna Nickel Smelting Co., Riddle plant, was
25,978 tons containing 13,036 tons of nickel. Electric energy consumption
was 7.5 percent greater than that of the previous year.1° 
 
 Titanium.—Oregon Metallurgical Corp., Albany, began to construct a
titanium ingot-melting complex that was to double the existing 6,000-ton
annual ingot capacity. The new plant unit, with completion expected by early
1969, was des;igned to produce ingots up to 36 inches in diameter weighing
20,000 pounds. Further developments in prospect included the production of
titanium tetrachloride and a magnesium recovery plant. Magnesium is used
in reducing titanium tetrachloride to titanium metal sponge. In addition
to magnesium metal, liquid chlorine, also used in the process, was to be
recovered. 
 Rem Metals Corp., Albany, began construction on a $1 .5-million precision
casting plant for titanium, zirconium, and columbium metal. 
 TiLINE, Inc., Albany, began site preparation for a casting plant where castings,
shaped around a preformed titanium lining, were to be produced. 
 
 Uranium.—Gulf Oil Corp., Nuclear 
Fuels Division, applied for a lease to 
82,644 acres of State land in Malheur 
(43,452 acres), Harney (12,905 acres), 
Grant (400 acres), Lake (2,662 acres), 
Crook (11,316 acres), and Wheeler (11,- 
909 acres) Counties for the purpose of uranium exploration. Ground exploration
was to be preceded by aerial reconnaissance. The State Land Board proposed
a lease contract calling for annual payments of 25 cents an acre for the
first 2 years, then escalating the annual payments to 50 cents for the third
and fourth years, and to $3 per acre thereafter. A 5- to 10percent royalty
would be assessed against production revenue. It was expected that Gulf would
seek exploration rights to other lands adjacent to the leared State land.

 The White King and Lucky Lass properties, Lake County, were examined by
Western Nuclear, Inc. 
 
 Zirconium.—Teledyne, Inc., purchased the Albany plant of Wah Chang
Corp.; the company name was changed to Wah Chang Albany Corp. Plans were
announced to raise zirconium production from 1,000 tons to 1,750 tons per
year.. The expansion was to include pollution control measures that would
meet State water-pollution standards. 
 
MINERAL FUELS 
 
 Asphalt.—Union Oil Co. of California started constructing a $1-million
asphalt refinery near its Portland marketing termtinal. Completion of the
facility was scheduled for late spring of 1968. 
 
 Carbon.—Carbon fly ash from a number of boiler plants in the Eugene-Springfield
area was used by the Kingsford Co. to produce charcoal briquets. The firm,
headquartered in Louisville, Ky., plans to serve the 11 Western States from
its new $1.2-million Springfield plant. Productive utilization of carbonaceous
fly ash has helped to solve an air-pollution problem. 
 
 Natural Gas.—William G. Craig, Tacoma, Wash., acquired leases, for
a natural gas test, on more than 4,000 acres in the Buena Vista area south
of Salem. The test site, on a farm 1 mile north of Buena Vista, was near
a 3,600-foot dry hole drilled in 1933 by the Portland Gas & Coke Co.
The test hole drilling was recessed after it reached 1,560 feet. 
 
 Peat.—Wes Cruikshank continued to develop and exploit a peat bog near
Enterprise, Wallowa County. 
 
10 Bonneville Power Administration, Branch 
of Customer Service.