The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia
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Iron Mountain (113.384W
37.612N) is the location of a deposit of somewhat low-grade iron ore in southern Utah. The ore took the form of magnetite veins in quartz monzonite but was heavily contaminated with phosphorus in the form of apatite. The ore was first reported in 1826 and Brigham Young sent colonists from Salt Lake City to refine the ore in 1850. Nearby small coal fields provided
the necessary carbon for reduction, though the phosphorus content made
smelting difficult. During the time frame of the Pacific War, most of
the ore went to the Geneva Steel plant, which was opened in Orem in 1943 with federal funding. Production was in the neighborhood of three million tons per year.
References
Mindat.org (2013-1-15; accessed 2014-1-19)
Palladon Ventures (2005; accessed 2014-1-19)
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