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GENERAL54170
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8/24/2016 8:39:29 PM
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11/23/2007 9:15:28 PM
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DRMS Permit Index
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M1983194
IBM Index Class Name
General Documents
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NEWSPAPER ARTICLES
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D
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iii iiiiiiiiuiii iii <br />~ sss <br />~~ ~. <br />N4 ~'ec ~e~ins Produc~>~o~ I~iaTC~, ~t~~lns _ <br />~~; ~ahcol.lte ~~~e <br />An important page in Rio Blanco <br />Count}~s mininghistory was turned <br />this past week ae NaTec Resources, <br />inc. began producingnahcalite from <br />their solution mine on 's'iceance <br />Creak. <br />"it's working and it's working <br />according to our sp ~ci ~ i .ations,"said <br />company spokesman Glenn <br />Hobratschlc from the company~s of- <br />fs ce h eadquartera inHouston, Texas <br />last Friday. "We're not yet in full <br />commercial production but we did <br />take some tonnage crt this past <br />v~cc'.c." <br />?fcompany officials and investors <br />ar-: right, there aril] be Iota of com- <br />msrcial production in the years <br />el: cad for NaTec ea it is n~onee~r, <br />icchnology that 8Dp2a.'7 .'~I~ oe ~z <br />i. roriant weapon in the fight to <br />clsan up the environment. <br />c.'Vith literally hundreds of mi]- <br />~ ion s oftons of recoverable nahcolite <br />(:odium bicarbonate), NaTec is the <br />ri-st tc attempt commercial produc- <br />t i on o `t'n a mineral which is trapped <br />in ^0 ft. thick beds almost 1500 feet <br />below the surface. Using Horizontal <br />drilling techniques, the process of <br />removing the nahcolite is relatively <br />simple as hot water is injected and <br />ci-culated through the mineral-rich <br />^'s end then pumped back up to <br />;~~. -face. There the pregnant <br />i..ion:~-c~areted.~.^tht'~e~.vater <br />[continued from page 1] <br />Presently, NaTec has 18 employ- <br />ees hired while it will eventually <br />expand to between 30-35 as the <br />125,000 ton/year figure is reached. <br />.'he company is also in the final <br />stages offinalizing the contract with <br />a truckingfirm to move the mineral <br />from Piceance Creek down to a <br />loadout facility west of Rifle. Ac- <br />cordingto Hobratschk,"We'redown <br />to the short list of bidders now and <br />should announce this in the near <br />future." <br />NaTec isn't the only company <br />interested in supplying nacholite to <br />national and potentially interna- <br />tional markets as two other firms <br />are working with the Bureau of Land <br />biarngement to gain permission tc <br />mine. Dennison Resources, which <br />has b~.en bought out by Amarallia, <br />} a3 3tbmitted a mining plan which <br />~:~s deficient it certain technical <br />:reformation. t ccording to assistant <br />BLM area mcnager Bill Hill, "An <br />exploration plan has been approved <br />to drill three holes to better define <br />the nahcolite beds, but the company <br />hasn't moved ahead with this yet." <br />This work is expected to be done <br />later this spring when the ground <br />conditions improve. "Until we get <br />this data, we can't proceed with the <br />full EIS statement," said Hill of the <br />lease which is located across from <br />the Yellow Creek drainage. <br />?.4eAnwhile, just east and south of <br />the A iTec development, Yankee <br />Gulch Joint V entures i s applying for <br />a preference right lease permit which <br />is essentially a prospecting permit. <br />While the BLM originally denied <br />their application, ifthe company can <br />prove the nahcolite reserves, it would <br />then be entitled to a preference right <br />lease. <br />NaTec Joins German Firm <br />Meanwhile, NaTec Resources, <br />Inc. and CRSS Inc. announced this <br />past week an exclusive agreement <br />with Saarberg-Holter Umwelttch- <br />nik (S-H-U-), a German environ- <br />mentalcompany, to market S-H-U's <br />advanced flue gas desulphurization <br />(FGD) scrubber technology, equip- <br />ment and services in the United <br />States. <br />S-H-U's advanced technology ie <br />operatingcommercially onover 8000 <br />megawatts of utility generation <br />worldwide and has been favorably <br />evaluated and accepted by United <br />States utilities. The S-H-U FGD <br />process is a wet scrubing system <br />based on limestone. The byproduct <br />ofthe process is a high quality com- <br />mercial grade of marketable gyp- <br />sum. The agreement is subject to a <br />final approval by both Boards of <br />Directors. <br />Socrates Christopher, Chairman <br />and CEO of NaTec, stated, '°I'he <br />addition of S-H-U's advanced wet <br />scrubbing systems to our line of <br />products and services positions <br />NaTec as one of the elite 'clean air <br />companies' in the United States." <br />recycled back through the process <br />while the nahcolite is separated off <br />and dried. <br />While the project, which was origi- <br />nally estimated to cost $20 million, <br />is epected to eventually produce <br />125,000 tons of nahcolite a year, <br />according to Hobratsch]c, that fig- <br />ure will be considerably lower this <br />first year. <br />"We're projecting to produce '_~- <br />tween 20-24,000 tons thiscalenc:ar <br />year and most of that will be <br />weighted towards the end of 1991,` <br />stated Hobratsc ~?;. "It's a real cr't~- <br />cal year for us in terms of starL!n <br />but we're happy to h eve th a nl en : ip <br />and running." <br />:pia e iQaTec h as recent] y si gn aZ <br />cr.~ ~~,C:,~'wn a year contract rrit.: <br />a Wiscon sin power company for three <br />years, most of the initial tonnage : s <br />expected to be shipped to the refin- <br />ery in Fruits where it will be used to <br />help reduce emissions from that <br />facility. As nahcolite systems are <br />anywhere from a third to a quarter <br />as expensive to install compared to <br />conventional scrubber system e, <br />many believe that nancolite will be <br />in high demand as more erd more <br />coal-fired generating olnnts turn to <br />this type of technology now that clean <br />air legislation has been passed by <br />Congress. <br />[con±iaue^ on pogo 3] <br />
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