Metate Asbestos Corp., Globe, Arizona

Metate Asbestos Corp. mined chrysotile in the Globe district of Gila County, Arizona, and the U.S. Bureau of Mines' Minerals Yearbook lists it among the district's active firms in 1951, 1952 and 1953.^1,3,4 Its own advertisement in Asbestos, the industry's trade journal, in 1958 called it a producer of "Arizona chrysotile crudes and filtration fibre," with mines and mill on the "San Carlos Indian Reservation, Gila County, Arizona."¹⁰ In 1952 Charles R. Neal, Charles R. Neal, Jr., R. A. McNabb and R. C. McNabb were listed for "Metate Asbestos Mines Co." among the charter members of the Arizona Asbestos Producers Association.²

The company's mine was called the Apache mine: in June 1952 Asbestos reported "a large strike on soft fibre at their Apache mine," worked "on a 23 degree incline," with "a considerable ore body at the 220 foot level."² In 1953 Jack L. Neal, secretary of the producers' association, wrote in the trade journal that the Apache mine lay "16 miles from Globe and 6 miles from Cutter siding on the Southern Pacific Railroad," that the company was running the mine and a crude mill "with eighteen men" on two shifts, and that a thirty-foot exploration tunnel at "the number 1 tunnel" had found "a very large ore body of very soft chrysotile fibre."⁵ The association's newsletter, as Asbestos printed it, said Metate was among "the first companies to sell to the government stock pile in Globe."¹¹

The Minerals Yearbook reported that in 1958 Metate began building a mill of "15-ton-per-day crude ore capacity," with equipment "of the type used in Canadian mills to separate the fibers of grades 4 through 7."¹² The mill began operating in 1959, when "some rejected material from former operations was processed at the Metate mill."¹³ The yearbooks list Metate as producing chrysotile in the Globe district each year from 1954 through 1958, and as reporting shipments from 1959 through 1963.^{6,7,8,9,12,13,14,15,16,17}

The documents report this mine producing asbestos fiber for sale.¹¹

Location

Year by year

Every statement about this mine in the documents, in each document's own words, by the year it is about.

1951

• Worked: “Metate Asbestos Corp., Globe (active)” (Metate Asbestos Corp.), p. 2¹

1952

• Worked: “Charles R. Neal ... Metate Asbestos Mines Co.” (Metate Asbestos Mines Co.), p. 50²
• Exploration: “a large strike on soft fibre at their Apache mine ... a considerable ore body at the 220 foot level” (Metate Asbestos Corporation), p. 58²
• Worked: “Metate Asbestos Corp., P. O. Box 1506, Globe (active)” (Metate Asbestos Corp.), p. 2³

1953

• Exploration: “drifted 75 feet in diabase and diamond drilled an additional 101 feet ... Project was terminated” (Metate Asbestos Corp.), said by Arizona Asbestos Producers Association (Newsletter, April 1953), as reported by Asbestos (magazine), p. 46¹¹
• Buyers: “the first companies to sell to the government stock pile in Globe” (Metate Asbestos Corp.), said by Arizona Asbestos Producers Association (Newsletter, April 1953), as reported by Asbestos (magazine), p. 46¹¹
• Workforce: “Apache mine and crude mill ... working a two shift operation with eighteen men” (Metate Asbestos Corporation), said by Jack L. Neal, Secretary, Arizona Asbestos Producers Association, as reported by Asbestos (magazine), p. 18⁵
• Description: “the Metate Asbestos Corporation Apache mine located 16 miles from Globe and 6 miles from Cutter siding” (Metate Asbestos Corporation), said by Jack L. Neal, Secretary, Arizona Asbestos Producers Association, as reported by Asbestos (magazine), p. 14⁵
• Exploration: “a very large ore body of very soft chrysotile fibre has been discovered” (Metate Asbestos Corporation), said by Jack L. Neal, Secretary, Arizona Asbestos Producers Association, as reported by Asbestos (magazine), p. 18⁵
• Worked: “Metate Asbestos Corp., P. O. Box 1506, Globe (active)” (Metate Asbestos Corp.), p. 2⁴

1954

• Worked: “Metate Asbestos Corp. (produced chrysotile in the Globe district)” (Metate Asbestos Corp.), p. 2⁶

1955

• Worked: “Metate Asbestos Corp. produced chrysotile in the Globe district” (Metate Asbestos Corp.), p. 2⁷
• Fiber: “chrysotile” (Metate Asbestos Corp.), p. 2⁷

1956

• Worked: “Metate Asbestos Corp. produced chrysotile in the Globe district” (Metate Asbestos Corp.), p. 2⁸
• Fiber: “chrysotile” (Metate Asbestos Corp.), p. 2⁸

1957

• Fiber: “chrysotile” (Metate Asbestos Corp.), p. 2⁹
• Worked: “Metate Asbestos Corp. produced chrysotile in the Globe district” (Metate Asbestos Corp.), p. 2⁹

1958

• Worked: “METATE ASBESTOS CORPORATION Producers of ARIZONA CHRYSOTILE CRUDES and FILTRATION FIBRE Mines & Mill: SAN CARLOS INDIAN RESERVATION GILA COUNTY, ARIZONA” (Metate Asbestos Corporation), said by Metate Asbestos Corporation, p. 48¹⁰
• Mill: “modern equipment of the type used in Canadian mills to separate the fibers of grades 4 through 7” (Metate Asbestos Corp.), p. 2¹²
• Mill: “began constructing new asbestos mills at Globe—... a 15-ton-per-day crude ore capacity” (Metate Asbestos Corp.), p. 2¹²
• Fiber: “chrysotile” (Metate Asbestos Corp.), p. 2¹²
• Worked: “Metate Asbestos Corp. produced chrysotile in the Globe district” (Metate Asbestos Corp.), p. 2¹²

1959

• Worked: “shipments were also made by two other firms, ... Metate Asbestos Corp.” (Metate Asbestos Corp.), p. 2¹³
• Mill: “The new mills of Jaquays Mining Corp. and Metate Asbestos Corp. began operating” (Metate Asbestos Corp.), p. 2¹³
• Mill: “some rejected material from former operations was processed at the Metate mill” (Metate Asbestos Corp.), p. 2¹³

1960

• Worked: “Metate Asbestos Corp. reported shipments of asbestos from mines in the Globe district” (Metate Asbestos Corp.), p. 2¹⁴

1961

• Worked: “Metate Asbestos Corp. reported shipments of asbestos from mines in the Globe district” (Metate Asbestos Corp.), p. 2¹⁵

1962

• Worked: “Shipments from mines in the Globe district ... were reported by ... Metate Asbestos Corp.” (Metate Asbestos Corp.), p. 2¹⁶

1963

• Worked: “Metate Asbestos Corp. reported shipments from mines in Gila County” (Metate Asbestos Corp.), p. 2¹⁷

Other names

Documents call this mine “Metate Asbestos Corp.”, “Apache mine (Metate Asbestos Corporation)”.

See also

• Asbestos exposure sites in Arizona
• All asbestos mines

References

1. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1951 (January 1, 1952), p. 2.
2. Asbestos Magazine, 1952, June 1952 (June 1, 1952), pp. 50, 58.
3. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1952 (January 1, 1953), p. 2.
4. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1953 (January 1, 1954), p. 2.
5. Asbestos Magazine, 1953, October 1953 (October 1, 1953), pp. 14, 18.
6. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1954 (January 1, 1955), p. 2.
7. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1955 (January 1, 1956), p. 2.
8. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1956 (January 1, 1957), p. 2.
9. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1957 (January 1, 1958), p. 2.
10. Asbestos Magazine, 1958, December 1958 (December 1, 1958), p. 48.
11. Asbestos Magazine, 1953, May 1953 (May 1, 1953), p. 46.
12. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1958 (January 1, 1959), p. 2.
13. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1959 (January 1, 1960), p. 2.
14. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1960 (January 1, 1961), p. 2.
15. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1961 (January 1, 1962), p. 2.
16. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1962 (January 1, 1963), p. 2.
17. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1963 (January 1, 1964), p. 2.