Fluorspar Mills in operation in the County in 1958

Fluorspar Mills in 1958

I think most all of us that have lived our lives in Crittenden County are always interested in reading the old history about our fluorspar mills and mines. They were so much a vital part of the history of our county. It is fortunate that our local paper, The Crittenden Press, reported on the happenings of these mills, by doing this we are lucky to have all this information to read about those days when Fluorspar was king in our county. This following article, written in 1958, was in the ending days of the great fluorspar era in our county. 

April 24, 1958. Fluorspar Mills

Several Companies Identified with Fluorspar

• The West Kentucky Fluorspar industry is represented by numerous companies who are active in Crittenden and Livingston Counties.

• The Calvert City Chemical Company is the largest producer with a mine in Livingston County and a mill at Mexico. The Kentucky Fluorspar Company, with office and plant facilities at Marion, prepares various grades of fluorspar and fluorbarite for the steel and ceramic industries.

• The Nancy Hanks fluorspar mine is located in Livingston County near Salem. The Delhi Fluorspar Company has office and plant at Marion where various grades of fluorspar are prepared for the general market.

• The Willis Crider operations at Mexico with office and processing plants there prepare fluorspar and barite for the general market.

• Mico Mining and Milling Co. has a plant in Crittenden County where barite is being prepared for the general market. This plant is located on Highway 91 North about 2 miles from the Cave-In-Rock ferry landing. Barite or barium sulfate is sometimes called heavy spar, and is used in drilling oil wells and for other industrial uses.
  

Fluorspar occurs naturally in veins or beds as crystalline calcium fluoride disseminated in vein rock commonly associated with calcite and silica. The crystals vary in color from whites, cream, yellow, blue and purplish. The crystals are cubic with octahedral cleavage and rare specimens are of semi-gem quality and clear specimens may be of optical quality.

Fluorspar is used by the steel companies as a flux in iron smelting, by the various ceramic industries for quality and opacity control, and the acid grades are used for the production of a wide range of important chemicals. The range of chemicals includes hydrofluoric acid, fixed dyes, refrigerants, propellants, insecticides and moth repellents, jet fuels, and other chemicals used by the aluminum processors and the Atomic Energy Commission.

• Calvert City Chemical Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Pennsalt Chemicals Corporation, is producing acid grade fluorspar for their hydro fluorite acid plant at Calvert City. Calvert City Chemical Company has a fluorspar mine at Dyers Hill in Livingston County which produces the ore requirements for the mill located at Mexico. The mill at Mexico recovers commercial quantities of lead and zinc concentrates as by-products as well as production of the acid grade fluorspar concentrate.

• Calvert City Chemical Company is an important factor in the local economy with a total payroll of about 75 men.

• The Kentucky Fluorspar Company was organized in the early 1900s by Judge Northern, C. S. Nunn, J. W. Blue and others. The company operated various mines in Crittenden County until about 1922, at which time they sold all of their mines to the United States Steel Corporation.

•  DELHI Fluorspar Corporation was organized in 1940 by H. F. McVay and Claud A Fletcher. At that time they were operating the Babb Mine, North of Salem, under the Delhi Foundry Sand Company, of Cincinnati, Ohio. Claud A. Fletcher became president of Delhi Fluorspar Corporation. The Corporation continued to mine, mill, grind, buy and sell fluorspar. Since the sale of the mine in 1944, the Corporation has continued to buy, process, and sell all grades and sizes of fluorspar.

• The REYNOLDS ALUMINUM Company has an exploration office at Salem. Mr. John W. Hook is resident geologist, and Mr. Tom Winans is assistant geologist. The office has a staff of six men who are active in their search for ore reserves. The company has been in the area for about five years and has acquired several fluorspar properties.

• J. Willis Crider Fluorspar Company purchased the current operation from Crider Brothers in 1951. Since that time the J. Willis Crider Fluorspar Company has been in continuous operating, buying, producing and selling gravel fluorspar. In 1955 the company purchased a new heavy media separation plant as an addition to the original mill in order to increase production. In 1957 the log washing plant was installed to wash and clean barite ores. At the present there is one shaft operating on fluorspar and stripping operations are going on for the barite ore. Properties owned and under lease for mining operations are located in Caldwell, Crittenden and Livingston County. Officers are J. Willis Crider, owner, and Billie Travis, superintendent.
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