That affiant attaches to this affidavit and makes a part hereof a blue print plat showing said homestead and conflicting shale placer claims and also showing various mining workings thereon. That since the submission of testimony to said hearing, the following workings have been excavated upon said claims upon oil-bearing shale beds, which are indicated upon said attached plat as follows, to wit: On F. D. No. 7 placer, excavations Nos. 19, 20, and 21, situate upon the ground in conflict with said Summers homestead, done as assessment work for the fiscal years ending June 30, 1924, and June 30, 1925; that one of said excavations had been previously commenced before the men working thereon had been driven therefrom by said Summers, and after said Summers departed from the vicinity that work was completed. On J. D. No. 3 placer, workings Nos. 9 and 10 upon the area in conflict with said homestead. On J. D. No. 2 placer, workings Nos. 5 and 7 upon said homestead conflict. On J. D. No. 3 placer, workings Nos. 9 and 10 upon the area in conflict with said homestead. On J. D. No. 5 placer, workings Nos. 15 and 16 upon area in conflict with said homestead. That the showings in said excavations are corroborative of the showings previously secured in earlier workings described the testimony submitted at said hearing, and tend to show with all reasonable certainty the existence in said claims, and on the land in conflict with said homestead, of oil-bearing shale of economic value. That in addition to said new excavations, which so corroborate the earlier testimony, this entire vicinity since the date of said hearing in this case, has been made the subject of careful personal examination and study by Mr. G. M. Kintz, mineral examiner of the General Land office; that Mr. Kintz has made detailed examination of work performed upon these claims and in the immediate vicinity, and if consistent with the policy of the Interior Department, affiant would request that Mr. Kintz be called by the Government as a witness, if a new trial is ordered in this case, for the purpose of submitting testimony of a dis nterested Government official to show what he has actually found upon the ground. If the Secretary will remand this case with instructions that leave be granted to submit further testimony, it is the intent of affiant to further demonsrate the existence of oil shales in this land, of economic value, by further sampling to be accompanied by precise assays showing actual oil contents, accompanied by positive evidence as to the precise points from which each sample is taken. That affiant also files herewith as a part of this affidavit, a topographic and property plat, entitled, "Oil Shale Area District of De Beque, Colo., showing escarpment.' As the record shows, the area here involved is in secs. 1, 2, and 3, T. 5 S., R. 97 W., indicated by the marginal note-“ Summers contest" at the top of the plat. Affiant calls attention to the escarpment lying a short distance to the east and a short distance to the south, and a short distance to the south and west of the land involved, which escarpment is that of the famous Book Cliffs; that aside from actual disclosures of oil shales upon the land involved, it is known as a matter of geology that the entire formation carrying numerous beds of oil shale extends from one escarpment to the other and through the land involved, these shale formations being even more uniform in their continuity than are coal-bearing formations. That in the immediate vicinity of the land involved numerous oil shale placer claims have been patented, many of which claims comprise "back lands,” i.e., lands not containing the escarpment or face of Book Cliffs. That affiant files herewith a panorama photograph, taken from a point in sec. 25, T. 5 S., R. 96 W., the center of the picture looking northerly through the middle fork of Parachute Creek, the canyon on the left side of the picture being the left fork of Parachute Creek. Affiant files this photograph for the purpose of showing the rugged character of the land, the height of the canyon walls or escarpment, the continuity of formation, and asks attention to the elevation of the canyon walls as contrasted with the size of the horse shown in the middle foreground. Said photograph is marked "J. D. F. 1.” Affiant further files a photograph marked "J. D. F. 2," taken from a point in sec. 13, T. 6 S., R. 98 W., the canyon at the right side of the picture being that shown by the plat to be immediately south of the property of J. W. Hess, the view covering a scope of about 2 miles. This photograph is likewise filed to show continuity of formation and character of the escarpment. That affiant files herewith photograph marked "J. D. F. 3," showing pack train of Mineral Examiner Kintz en route to camp in September, 1924, on a trail along the face of Book Cliffs. Photograph marked "J. D. F. 4," herewith submitted, shows camp used by Mineral Examiner Kintz during his work in this immediate vicinity. Small kodak photograph "J. D. F. 5." shows Mineral Examiner Kintz and affiant on the trail, indicating the character of the country. Small kodak photograph "J. D. F. 6" shows Mineral Examiner Kintz and affiant examining an assessment working or excavation. Affiant submits small kodak photograph "J. D. F. 7" and calls attention to the point marked X," showing outcropping in center background, on which were excavated holes 19, 20, and 21, mentioned in the earlier portion of this affidavit as excavated upon the homestead conflict since the first hearing. Affiant files large photograph "J. D. F. 8," showing the end of the canyon in sec. 9, T. 5 S., R. 96 W., lying east of the land involved, being the nearest escarpment east of the land here involved. That owing to the elevation of the vicinity of the land involved, affiant requests that if the case is remanded for the purpose of permitting submission of further testimony, such instructions be given as will permit the new trial to occur during the coming summer, in order that witnesses may be taken upon and over the ground to qualify themselves to give testimony of the definite character desired by the department; that in all probability it would be impracticable to do any work upon these claims prior to the middle of May. As bearing upon the matter of affiant's good faith, and that of the Standard Shale Products Co., affiant's neighbor, affiant further states that title to this land is sought for the sole purpose of shale production and to secure material for operation of shale production plants. No effort is being made to sell any shares or stock to the public. So far as affiant is concerned, it is his desire to retain control of shale property, which he now holds under the mining law, with view to its development, for the purposes mentioned; that affiant has devoted years to the shale industry and hopes to assist in bringing that industry to a point of economic importance. J. D. FREEMAN. Subscribed and sworn to before me this 7th day of Mar., 1925. HERMAN C. GAUSS, Notary Public. My commission expires June 12, 1928. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, GENERAL LAND OFFICE, Washington, February 4, 1931. I hereby certify that the annexed copy of letter, filed under Denver 032575, formerly Glenwood Springs 018827, is a true and literal exemplification of the original on file in this office. In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name and caused the seal of this office to be affixed, at the city of Washington, on the day and year above written. THOMAS C. HAVELL, Assistant Commissioner of the General Land Office. WASHINGTON, D. C., February 26, 1925. Standard Shales Products Co. v. George L. Summers. Glenwood Springs 018826. Our file, 504. Honorable SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR. SIR: With our letter of yesterday, we filed certain affidavits in connection with the above-described consolidated case, and stated that other affidavits were expected and would be filed immediately upon their receipts. 46780-31-9 We now file herewith affidavit of Mr. J. B. Jenson, with accompanying exhibits received by this morning's mail. We may say that these papers were mailed at Salt Lake City, February 22, 1925, and were sent by air mail. Asking that they be considered with the other papers in the case, we remain, Very respectfully, CONSAUL & HELTMAN, Attorneys for Standard Shales Product Co, et al. STATE OF UTAH, County of Salt Lake, 88: J. B. Jenson, of Salt Lake City, Utah, being first duly sworn, deposes and says that he is a mining engineer specializing in oil shales and hydrocarbons, and that he has personally examined the property of the Standard Shale Products Co., and particularly the Triumph claims Nos. 21 and 22, located in Garfield County, Colo. That he knows it to be a fact that the upper and final ledge or measure, of the first or upper member of the oil-shale deposits of the Green River formation, does exist on these two claims and the adjacent claims, the same being exposed continuously along the road at the upper portion of the hill shown to the left on the photo containing the Summers cabin and constituting one of the exhibits in the Summers homestead case. That this measure which is found regularly, throughout the entire Uinta Basin within approximately 50 feet immediately below the Tower sandstone or cap rock, does never exist as far as his observation goes except where the second and third underlying member also exist and that the shale engineer usually first seeks this measure commonly known as the black-warty shale in order to obtain his horizon or position in the shale measure, it varies in thickness from a few inches to approximately 21⁄2 feet and assays usually about 70 gallons to the ton. That he has examined the escarpment in many hundreds of places in the Green River deposits in the Uinta Basin and has never found the black warty shales without the other regular members also existing in their sequence and comprising both lean and rich shales. These examinations have been made on escarpments over practically the entire Uinta Basin which comprises the lake bottom sediments containing the petroleum laid down in Eocene times on the bottom of the Uinta Lake, and which area as at present disclosed extends from Rifle, Colo., on the east to Juab, Utah, on the west and some distance beyond Green River, Wyo., on the north. That this black warty shale is considered positive proof the underlying measures just as much so as if a complete book might be cut into a number of sections and in which case the various leaves bear their regular relation to each other in the different sections. Reference is made to a photo engraving page 1 of Commercial and Engineering Aspects of the New Oil Shale Industry of the Western Slope, copy of which is appended hereto. The foreground shows a portion of the upper member and a portion of the lower member of the shale members while the escarpment on the opposite side of the gulch to the left shows all three members, upper, middle and lower, reaching approximately one-half of the distance downward through the picture. The black warty shale and the shales referred to in the evidence exist in the rolling hills to the left in the background, these hills containing many measures though thinner than those exposed in the escarpment, but, nevertheless, reaching a thickness of several feet of commercially valuable shales. Almost without an exception there is an increase in oil yield as the penetration of the escarpment or exposure is affected. This holds true on the claims in question as far as we are able to judge. The rolling hills shown in the background are identical with those of the land in question, the arroyos reaching a depth of from 50 to 100 feet and in which the assays contained in the evidence of the case were obtained. That the black warty ledge is considered positive proof of the underlying members and it of itself on account of its high yield is considered a commercially valuable measure; that it is easily mined and retorted and owing to its richness requires less thickness of ledge to be commercially profitable than the leaner members. Also that he has personally taken samples of the leaner measures assay certificates of one of which is attached hereto in substantiation of his testi mony given at Glenwood Springs, and which is considered to be fully of commercial value. Leaner shales than this are at present being worked profitably. Its value is indicated in the calculation sheet appended thereto, and that he with other geologists deemed these facts important as they do warrant a prudent person in spending money for the development of the claims. J. B. JENSON. Subscribed and sworn to before me, this 21st day of February, A. D. 1925, and I hereby certify that the foregoing affidavit was read to the said J. B. Jenson previous to his name being subscribed thereto; and that deponent is a respectable person to whose affidavit full faith and credit should be given. IRMA M. JENSON, Notary Public, Salt Lake City, Utah. My commission expires October 29, 1927. R. H. OFFICER & Co., INDUSTRIAL AND METALLURGICAL ASSAYERS AND CHEMISTS, Subject: Oil-shale analysis. CERTIFICATE STANDARD SHALE PRODUCTS Co., San Francisco, Calif. GENTLEMEN: Herewith find analysis of oil shale submitted to us by Mr. J. B. Jensen. Sample No. 2: Oil distillate (250 pounds 33.3 gallons). Ammonium sulphate (2.4 pounds per ton). Total Specific gravity of crude oil at 60° F., 0.901; 25.4°, B. Per cent 12.50 11.88 12 75.50 100.00 W. L. HANSON. Workable shale of the character shown by the officer certificates, requires 20 cubic feet in place to the ton and a ledge, therefore, which is 20 feet thick contains 1 ton for each square foot of surface, or 43,560 tons. A 5-foot measure contains one-fourth of that amount or, as in this case 10,890 tons. Sample of this shale assay yielded as follows: 33.3 gallons per ton, petroil specific gravity, 0.901, 25.4° B., which produced on cracking: 40 per cent shalene (13.3 gallons). 16 per cent lubricant (5.3 gallons) Dry coke and paint residium_-_ Total value__ In accordnace with sheet given formerly, cost of production in a 100-ton capacity plant is $4.67 per ton_. Net ton value___ On account of pioneering conditions of the industry, deduct for unforseen and emergency, 30 per cent__ Net ton value_____. Net value of 10,890 tons per acre $2.66 2.76 .40 5.82 4. 67 1.15 .34 . 89 8, 692. 10 DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, GENERAL LAND OFFICE, Washington, February 4, 1931. I hereby certify that the annexed copy of page one of a pamphlet "Commercial and Engineering Aspects of the New Oil-Shale Industry of the Western Slope" by J. B. Jenson, filed under Denver 032575, formerly Glenwood Springs 018827, is a true and literal exemplification of so much of said pamphlet on file in this office as it purports to represent. In testimony whereofo I have hereunto subscribed my name and caused the seal of this office to be affixed, at the city of Washington, on the day and year above written. [SEAL.] THOS. C. HAVELL, Assistant Commissioner of the General Land Office. PRACTICAL ASPECT OF OIL-YIELDING SHALE DEPOSITS OF WESTERN SLOPE (By J. B. Jenson, mining engineer and oil-shale specialist, Salt Lake City, Utah) I have been asked by the Salt Lake Mining Review to briefly describe in a series of articles the marvelous deposits of oil-yielding shales of the western slope of this continent, and particularly as to those deposits now included in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming, comprising the original deposits of the Great Uinta Basin before its segregation into the Green River Basin, the Uinta Basin, the De Beque, and Soldier Summit fields. I am also invited to discuss the comemrcial aspects of profitably mining and treating these deposits of oilyielding shales because of the world-wide attention which now is being attracted to them and because of the work which I have done in the field during the past few years, and the attention I have given to the practical side of this new commercial industry, the potentialities, of which can be hardly comprehended at the moment. These fields constitute to-day what is known to be the greatest deposits of oil-yielding shales in the world and when their possibilities are compared with those of the deposits of Scotland, France, Australia, and Norfolk, England, these latter fields melt into insignificance. Senator WALSH of Montana. The fact is, only one side of the question was discussed at that meeting of December 1, 1926. Mr. FINNEY. It was a general hearing. Senator WALSH of Montana. That is correct. There was a published notice asking anybody who wanted to be heard to come. As a matter of fact, no one did come except those who were arguing in favor of a more liberal construction of the law. Mr. FINNEY. That is correct. Senator WALSH of Montana. And likewise, geologists came who presented to your committee the facts in relation to the geology of the section. Mr. FINNEY. They did. Senator WALSH of Montana. And that was all in support of the contention for a more liberal application of the rule? Mr. FINNEY. I hardly think that is correct. I assume that those gelogists were telling us the truth and were giving us information as to the geology of the region. Senator WALSH of Montana. Exactly, but no one gave any information contradictory to the information given to the committee. Senator GLENN. I believe you stated the other day that there was a published notice, and the hearing was free to anybody that desired to come. Mr. FINNEY. It was. Senator GLENN. Did you subpoena anybody or notify anybody to come except by giving the notice? Mr. FINNEY. No, sir. |