American Gilsonite Vernal Utah News
Vernal Utah is one of the oldest places to produce American Gilsonite which has always interesting news
The annual charity golf tournament that is put on by the Uintah County Sheriff’s Office was a huge success again this year, and the employees of the American Gilsonite Company’s Bonanza mining site were overjoyed to take part in it
The local Special Olympics organization gained financially from the proceeds of the tournament
The event took place on May 6 at Dinaland Golf Course, which is found near Vernal, Utah
It served as the host venue for the event
The American Gilsonite Company participated in the competition by sending over two teams, each of which consisted of four personnel from the company
The Bonanza team also sponsored a hole that included a “nearest to the pin game” with a prize for the participant who came the closest to the goal
The winner of this competition was awarded the prize
In an effort to contribute to the construction of a better world, the Special Olympics were founded in 1968 with the objective of fostering an environment that encourages the acceptance and inclusion of all individuals
Through participation in athletics, individuals with intellectual impairments have the opportunity to discover new talents and capabilities, in addition to gaining skills and achieving success
Athletes have the potential to find joy, increased self-assurance, and a heightened sense of success not only on the playing field but also in everyday life
In addition to this, they inspire others in their local communities and further afield to extend their worldviews and become more sensitive to the vast array of human capabilities and potential that exists in the world
Each year, the Northeastern Utah Special Olympics are held during the month of May
This month is set aside specifically for this event
The local law enforcement and emergency response agencies make the torch run into a spectacular spectacle by escorting the Olympians down Highway 40 with flashing lights and screaming sirens
This adds to the overall excitement of the event
When everyone in the neighborhood gets together, there is guaranteed to be a fantastic time had by all
The American Gilsonite Company is overjoyed to be able to give back to the community by participating in such an important project
American Gilsonite Utah
The oil and gas sector is currently showing a growing interest in American Gilsonite, one of Utah’s oldest mined industrial minerals, which has led to a considerable increase in the resource’s development
The greatest Gilsonite deposits are found in the Uinta Basin of eastern Utah, which is also the only location where Gilsonite is commercially produced in substantial numbers
Gilsonite is utilized by businesses all over the world for a wide range of industrial applications
The oil and gas industry has emerged as a growth market for Gilsonite as a result of the increase of numerous applications in good drilling, along with other major uses for Gilsonite, such as ink and paint, performance additive for the foundry and asphalt industries, and ink and paint
The geologically intriguing and economically valuable rock known as Gilsonite has a wide range of applications that have evolved over time in response to changes in technology and business demands
The demand for Gilsonite has risen as a result of the current surge in oil and gas production, and its distinctive features are critical for many oilfield drilling fluid products
Gilsonite partially melts or deforms when combined with oil- and water-based drilling fluids, sealing off micro-fractures in the rock and coating the inside of the wellbore to create a solid filter cake that stops fluid loss
In addition to providing lubrication and sealing off and stabilizing problematic rock around the well bore, the dissolved Gilsonite also enhances drilling fluid viscosity, preventing the drill pipe from becoming stuck in the well
Due to its ability to plug and bind, Gilsonite is also utilized in cementing fluids as a lost circulation material and as a slurry density reducer in some specialized cementing fluids
In the Uinta Basin of Utah and Colorado, Gilsonite, a hydrocarbon bitumen that belongs to the asphaltite group, occurs as a swarm of subparallel, northwest-trending, nearly vertical, lateral, and vertically widespread veins
Gilsonite, which is housed in the Tertiary-aged (about 57 to 36 million years old) Wasatch, Green River, Uinta, and Duchesne River Formations, was produced from the Mahogany oil shale zone in the Parachute Creek Member of the Eocene Green River Formation
The veins, which are developed in two stages linked to the thermal maturity of the Mahogany oil shale, range in width from less than an inch to as much as 22 feet
Large amounts of hot water were released from oil shale rocks in the Uinta Basin due to high pressures, which hydro fractured the upper and lower strata
The underlying and supervening strata’s existing fractures were then forced open by the expulsion of viscous, liquid Gilsonite from the oil shale source beds
Later, the Gilsonite hardened within these fissures, most likely predominantly as a result of cooling
From Duchesne County in eastern Utah to Rio Blanco County in western Colorado, the Gilsonite veins are widely distributed throughout the Uinta Basin
Beginning in the late 1800s, mining for Gilsonite has a lengthy and interesting history
Gilsonite was found in Utah in the 1860s and is named for Samuel H
Gilson
Gilson wasn’t one of the material’s original discoverers, but his zealous development and marketing activities helped to associate the substance with him
The word Gilsonite was cemented in popular usage when an early mining firm adopted and registered the name
Gilsonite was first regularly shipped in 1888 from veins near Fort Duchesne
The majority of early Gilsonite mining was done in open pits using picks, shovels, and horse-powered hoists
In the Gilsonite field, mining has historically taken place at a number of veins and sites, although at the moment it is mostly focused on the largest known veins near Bonanza, Utah
The Cowboy, Independent, Little Bonanza, Wagon Hound, and Little Emma veins are mined legally in this region
All of the Gilsonite that is now produced from the Uinta Basin is extracted underground
The current mining process is divided into two main stages: (1) shafts are dug sporadically along the veins, and (2) drifts and slopes are laterally extended from the shafts
For the sake of reclamation and safety, the top 30 feet of the Gilsonite are not mined
Gilsonite’s peculiar form of occurrence in deep, vertical veins that are just 18 inches wide and the explosive dangers of its dust make Gilsonite mining labor-intensive
Since clients value product purity, the ore is still mined by hand using air-powered chipping hammers to delicately shatter the Gilsonite without contaminating it with broken wall rock
The fractured ore is airlifted to the surface from the bottom of the underground mined area, where it is dumped into a bag house next to the shaft headframe before being transported by truck to a processing facility
The only businesses that mine and process Gilsonite at their facilities in southeast Uintah County are American Gilsonite Company (AGC) and Ziegler Chemical and Mineral Company
AGC produced the majority of the 82,000 short tons of Gilsonite that were produced in 2012
Approximately $89 million worth of Gilsonite was produced in 2012, with an average price of $1085 per short-ton (as reported by the U
S
Office of Natural Resources Revenue)
Gilsonite sales to the oilfield market have surged by over 150% since 2009, and demand from the oilfield has greatly raised the value of Gilsonite
AGC has started an estimated $20 million investment program to establish new mines, investigate innovative mine development techniques, create strategic long-term reserves, and continue investing in health and safety in response to rising demand
A GC has established three additional mines in the previous 18 months and has five more actively under development, and it anticipates doubling its present production capacity in the near future to meet client demand
Millions of tons of the priceless resource still exist despite major portions of the original Gilsonite deposit’s 45 million short tons being mined
This resource is typically found in the thinner, farther-reaching, deeper portions of the veins, where mining is likely to be more expensive than it was in the past
Many of the more elusive veins, many of which were previously only dimly recognized, have been found and documented by recent mapping of the Gilsonite deposits in the Uinta Basin by the Utah Geological Survey (Special Study 141)
Gilsonite could be mined in the Uinta Basin for decades at the anticipated enhanced production rate, assuring a consistent supply of this rare and priceless Utah resource to international markets
American Gilsonite Vernal Utah
American Gilsonite mines belonging to the petitioner can be found in the vicinity of Bonanza, which is located in the Uintah Basin region of eastern Utah, roughly 50 miles southwest of Vernal, Utah
The petitioner is responsible for producing approximately 75% of the gilsonite that is consumed in the United States
Blasting is used to remove gilsonite from its veins after it has been located using geophysical methods
This blasting process results in the ore being split up into fragments of varying sizes
The Gilsonite has become mixed up with the rocks, weeds, wires, and other extraneous material that was there when it was first discovered
After being processed by a crusher, the mined rock is further screened and separated into three distinct sizes, namely the fine, the select, and the pulverized, depending on the requirements of the end user
(The Gilsonite is pulverized for around ten percent of the total
) After that, each size is kept in its own dedicated space
After being cleaned and sorted, the gilsonite is placed in secure bins before being loaded onto the petitioner’s trucks
These trucks have been specifically designed and constructed to transport the gilsonite in a clean and dry state all the way to Craig, Colorado, which is located 113 miles east of Bonanza, Utah
The closest usable railhead to Bonanza, Utah is located in Craig, and it serves as a shipping point
The petitioner operates a sacking facility in the city of Craig, in the state of Colorado
The ore is transferred from the truck into a closed hoist and then into close hoppers
After this, it is transferred into the bagging machines and finally into paper sacks with a capacity of one hundred pounds
After the sacks have been filled, they are placed on a conveyor, which then moves them directly into the railroad car so that they can be delivered to the appropriate consumer
The filled sacks are not kept at the sacking facility for any length of time beyond the probable exception of one or two days
The facility in Bonanza is informed of the demand for the various forms of the product, and the Gilsonite is processed at Bonanza appropriately
Orders for Gilsonite are sent to the Craig office to be handled
The industry that produces asphalt tiles buys both fine and lump forms of Gilsonite
Because of the nature of their business, it is essential for them to purchase the mineral in sacks after it has been cleaned and sorted
It is needed that the Gilsonite be clean and uniform in size when it is used in the ink and paint industries because this is how it was originally obtained from the petitioner
It is impossible to acquire it in any other way since doing so would be impractical
Because this is the form that the petitioner’s clients ask for the most, it is packaged in bags that hold one hundred pounds
The crude form of Gilsonite cannot be sold on the open market
Pulverized Gilsonite, also known as Gilsonite dust, is extremely flammable; hence, it must be placed in sacks before being transported
Petitioner manages a development known as The Bonanza Town site, which includes the leasing of around fifty homes as well as the operation of a school, a theater, and leisure and mess halls
The town site was established in 1938, and at that time, there was a dirt road heading into the town from Vernal, Utah
The journey from Vernal to the town took around four hours by car
Because a blacktop road was accessible during the relevant tax years, the amount of time required to drive from Vernal to Bonanza was cut down to around one hour
Roughly forty percent of the petitioner’s workforce currently resides within the town site
Between the years 1948 and 1951, each and every one of the homes was inhabited by an employee of the company
The employees of the petitioner take advantage of the possibility to live in the petitioner’s houses whenever those houses become available
At its inception, the town site was not intended to be a money-making enterprise
The petitioner was responsible for its operation and maintenance with the goal of luring a sufficient number of workers to the mining operation located in Bonanza
A charge of $2
50 per room, per month was applied to the rents
Since 1946, the petitioner has not built a single home, and the petitioner has no plans to build any more homes in the foreseeable future
American Gilsonite News
Another news about American Gilsonite is the extraction of uintaite ore and subsequent processing by American Gilsonite Company has earned the company the prestigious ISO 9001:2015 Certification
The international standard for quality management known as ISO 9001 is the one that has the widest acceptance worldwide
In order for American Gilsonite Company to become certified to the ISO 9001:2015 standard, the company was subjected to a rigorous audit that examined its quality management system, management review, product conformity control, and documentation
Verisys Registrars was the organization that carried out the audit, and the American Gilsonite Company was awarded accreditation in September of 2021
“We continue to demonstrate our ability and desire to incorporate a quality management system effectively and efficiently while continuously improving our products and services as well as our internal processes,” said Craig Mueller, President and CEO of American Gilsonite
“By achieving this level of certification, we continue to demonstrate our ability and desire to incorporate a quality management system
” “Although AGC has been producing uintaite for more than a century, this certification provides additional assurance to our clients regarding the quality and constant supply of our product
“
