Document GKy4kB8b1bMZzZx4vr113DEGN

FILE NAME: RT Vanderbilt (RTV) DATE: 1975 Mar 20 DOC#: RTV212 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: J-M Confidential Memo RE - An Assessment of the J-M Position with Talc To:-'-p. A-. Martinson - -2W' From: "R,, S , Lamar 2W. Oatn: March 20 , 19 75 Copies.- : J, M, Fletcher .- 2S n. R. Keefe - '2W J, M. Sharratt. ~ 2S Subject: AN ASSESSMENT OF THE. J.-M POSITION WITH TALC Three years since J-M! s. entry into .the acquisition- of Desert Minerals for-an appraisal.of .our position. broken down into eightsections as the.-tale business with Company is time enough, Thisassessment is follows: jU . The Effects of Labeling.: Cur position here- has been tne .o^hlyaacceptai> 1e. action- J-M could take. According ;t6;yt'h;eT^'e'finitio a/p'art-. of -the law', oiir 'Ca'li;6rpii%Mt "all: contain asbestos in the '''Nb'ypT.ay.on words 'will change0 this, 'fact,'.' _ ' the -.uiiiquely ,high.brig.htne id relatively low aci-'d'-.soltiMiO':.'';6n.ten-t'-of.:'.G~2 'amf-.G-2'talc-, ores., we- co'ulidyh'fri^ of ':'the critical markets,, in spite !of 'labeling. "I fl0 .w:seriously doubt our v.-ability to do. this. .ThbE'f-aTc-asbestos" problem Lis qu: 55 fferent from the- ''asbestos-asbestos1'-.^p'robI-'In many ./applications for asbestos-* there'.are no accept able substitutes. With our asbestos-containing'talc * . there are numerous -possihil it.ie:sh.for/subs titution : (a) Non-asbestos containing/ltaikrsLf'rom-both Pfizer, and Cyprus from Montana sources and' (b) Other'extender 'pigments such''as kaolin and calcium`carbonate (in'paints ,.:or:example , and in paper filling uses)., We see -..this:;-typoyof -.substitution -being made and Tong-es/faMis^^ Dese.ftalc, products . evaporating' in .the process- CRMC-ELS-004680 A `. .Martinson. ' . Page' Two . Tr eh se p,Re ;c . t T" t;oV . al an bd ee lribn igl t : m u sPt p sbi.e-ti-ocni:c. l iTb -ehreai tr e/pV o y a dp ret irdni tdyi^o iV1 h s ; ' tthheeyi;r ctaencnhonticbea-,l thdiisr emc tiosirn,fohrams ead , P.hvSDlivm./iTnhomminpesroanl,pJgy. .Kant d.t;hce6nm'uosmirie;gnlto.uVrsa-n dweirthb'il-tth eisi r mdiselceiasdioinngVnttshte-uirt.e^rfp!uasbteolr.aers Utoltliambaetle.-ly , th e tr u th w ill out., and. th ey w i l i be fo rc ed .tPafliczse.r 1sWpioths itailoln'aissb. etshteo ss-acmoen twa iinthin gt h teailrc sC allaibfoe lrendi'a, befara pg preliaetde r t'oV. aaluseh easntod-se-mfrpehea' sitsa,l eins . th eI -smearrikoeut s wly ill q us'eatsi'tSi;ofynv;v-'tt-hhee.-.-,-tc a p a c ity o f th::Me sseo.-, a.Isnb e-ssotmoes.:--farpe ep litcaaltcios n tso, . tsh-eti.tu-abseb:e'sdtuoasl.-i't.yfrpeew .itsael.e s-.-F.aorr.e e,xjaumstp..1ne;o,t. ina .scueriatma bicl-e wsaulbl -." fteiw1-,e'-,;ija-'aihna-y-j,'pxaTs-mbaer.skt'eot sf-of rre etr etma lcoslitithc at.t-aslhco)w- ththeer'e 'saamree a- 'bforromWiniig.-caonldor.f-:i r-diuneg t'o.p .rhoipgehr.tiierosn/ c PoenrtiheonrtwV.oo-dG'-fli rFeisrest,o .w hite .due- 'to" very low iro n ' co n ten t.; \ I(faesvbe'ersthtoeslre- fsrseye )i t b ui ssfian e sfsa cot f thboa tth thCeyp;MruosptaInna-d, u.tsatlrcia.l Mdoilnderuramlss. a-nd* P f iz e r is booming-, 'w hiTew e-' are '-"-in th e : 'mQgurajaaildniltnatgiyn:oapHcecireatptiotoarnbicleawXilqtyfuycSa^tlaeiltl-yec.q'f.to-i-rymevinai'mrnigoi;n-uihnsatg-.u.rsee.sq0-u.1 iraeTdhhi-igstho-' 'otyyepre-;';d2'f$-::ryse.ea-lrescit:ia.vte'th:-em.inGinrga/n'wthaasm dMonien'e-.su' cPcreospsefur l qiyu a-flairt-y .'B;snhddi;--.s.uilneiaf-obrTm-iet-'y: m-: a.orkf e-tos.r.e.-w.wereereb-u.sielltd-omon, tihf ise vfeoru, npdraotbiolenm s. 6 quality . " .y V' ' wT'haeS,V-utinhi;q:;ut'ehe-yhpigah|;''.i:?b-..prirgohp etnrteys-s m--'.aofinCtayinc leed-Fainl d (a95g%ooGd., Ea..n)d' .fp.xr-1olf-xlnia'.gb. le Wmit^ha't-thkee't.'ybder rieglhoptnede-s(sfo..r0ft;hciusrr.epnrto dquucat-liinty p aper -wCey'-calore- FgiloVindgi:p:ptionmg-;a iasn...t laoiwn -at hs i'sS'9b u, stihn ee sres ..'-is Cnloayswayand ..aorteh e'br e-infiglleursse,d..at h a lf the- p ric e o f 'Cyclo-.'Fi 1 can an d CRMC-ELS-004681 ; Martinson Pone Three Other-quality considerations rq 1a ti,1 g to h igh .ac id soluble contentand i.mproper grind have caused' an ot out .paper industry business until vi-rt.ua) ly nothing remains. .Markets: At one time, (less than three years ago) siTeaUT'e markets for .De.sertalc products existed in paper.,- paint\ plas.tics j and ceramics., BothDT-Sl ah-d-`l)T"57 were the mo; usuu 1 1 1j.etS' in `i-i talc ilied' po 1yp ropylenc . .-1'/e this -businessprior to labeling'.because of t-remolif.e' content. Mridn) our paint and- paper-accounts have been lest.ffor th same reason and labeling -has accelerated this loss. Labeling, 'plus the loss o. oper- quality., has been disastercus, Ceramic sales .of-:.bT-51 have been difficult to maintain. High' -acid;- so-!lu.b:l'e-ian4%iwate.r;:soluble contents of. G-.1 .ore'..have -resulted:..in' .'catting slip- gelation and .rheologicn 1 p rob 1ein5, .The h i-gh -acid So`i-ub le 'cont ent ,of cur reht qua 1-ity G~ I and G.2 ore ,nas :ncreasee' the n j i.vrp V| A >n T fj yf. uw lb- Cyo1u~-S-utu and cvc1-O Fi 1 in paper annii ca11ons tp;yth-el,:.pq,int-^ ad:.;^rcpoXf-b,ri.gh tne ss,:-a " "J~:" ebuidiribt-;afford; .to use-, dur -.products . :I c a n ..fore'se-:;,nd.;.,mark`_t:s- -that an be under present 'conditions rebuii Hew;,Tedhn;bi'Ogy,.iFivith 'flotat 1on wi ll ;... .;uce the ' t^ir^"i^c:ivcqh't^eh.tv o'f;.;G*:2;.;ore. to 1es$ tban. 11 b ut .w ill hot remove' all./''of' the: tf.omoli te, In such .a wet process aeid/-Teachirig wili =increas;e b vightnc ss -*s:evora 1 points '.H-iM-S./'-CQui'd'-.-.-px^ Ref used to' remove even 'par-amagnef ic-'^mater ial';.t.6 improve brig ht ness still further h ' ' Hewly.developed'-.-.sail'd'.or. attritor mill in'g -procedures' can';grind -down to" a maximum^-part ici e. sp of under . 2 microns, but. 1 believe that ;a1'1 .of those new techniques' are a was re of .time as' long--as wo have ' io'--label.-; .Also* 'the ...relativd.ly hlghmining. costs at: Warm Spring's ? uplus '-the-.absence -of ;adequate w ate f "for _th s'e w et p r'oces sin g'metho ds 'm ake$ t.h.e development 6f other sources more attractive.' CRMC-ELS-004682 Martinson Pane Pour -Penhorw'ood : Based on detailed Testing, v?b-feel. certain that l-ver.HorWood tale can be developed as a .major source fer pitch control and should-b e directly competitive with Mistron Vapor (Cyprus Inc.ustr.ial- Min er a'ls Montana talc). Other- markets may he deve loped for Penhorwood ..in -plastics filling elastomer .reinforcement and`paint. 'Although- in this 3a lte r uco,- the relatively low' brightness of -Penhorwood- is going to be difficult- iv .toovercome. . If -higher bright liess. grades could be developed from the same mining area, addi tional markets would become avail-able. In paint-uses, wet color uniformity is a major, considera tion and m u s t be-maintained-with-Penhorwood talc or any -other, extender pigment. 'Analyses ,cf Penhorwood core samples suggest that-' this may become a major problem i fi Other .Worldwide Talc. Source's With the worldwide, HeFTre~Ti the mst a.t use of 'tremolitic or asbestos containing ;talcs sources -for- .sbestos-free- talc- will s.re1v ;h er.otie Tuore v a.IuabTe Ma io r..son rces fo r th is of ore; exist in France;,. ItalilSpaihy Tiidia Red China and other parts of the world. . Cenex ally b oth-e-s:e deposit's.-a r e "s:`eTec tive ly m ihe &\ Only EinntaTc and. Johnson-'and' Johnso: flotation'- to'.sparte-Talc 'products y -q''iltv-We'-'w^il-ydb the:, same at Pert industty..'mustamb'vel-in 1thxsodireel ion mnaabl' to Wrgfcgrading are depict using WTO iod, and the iepos i ts Ta l c .producing)areas in California., Nevada, and Montana have'-.been.- t-horouglrlyh-ix not .systematically and pro'fe.s.sionaliy -ex^Ipr.ed-y,'- It' is unlikely that new' largescaletalc-'mih.in-g-;-pro.p.'e'r'ties could be developed . Howe ver ;this'.-p"o.s'-sih iTi ty sho uId be -expore.d-'-but ;bnly for;asbestos-ifreeimaterials. . There would appear to be .-an.opportunity .for good', geological work.' . CRMC-ELS-004683 Conclusions and' Recommendations a. Labeling, plus a general -decline in 'qua 1i.ty,.bas caused a disasteroiis loss in -J-If talc business. ' Some of this business might, be regained" in spite of-.labeling, providing we could. re-establish '-prior 'high qualify standards -in.both our mining ' and;, milling ..of these'products, Hcfever, the effects of .labeling will .-always ..place. us- -in a serious -. ' competitive position. . The' economic viability of such an operation.is also highly questionable. b. Until Penhorwood is -in '.operation, we should ' .. 'try. to hold onto as much''of our existing talc business- as possible. Such a holding action will be difficult, expensive, and disheartening, but should :be-done. Penhorwoodwill not-replace all. exis ting' markets for .Grantham-.talc because of -, .darker color .and' other differences.' ' . .Co ' Beyond the-development'of Penhorwood; J-M should .- - attempt to .develop;.'.on .a-worldwide- scale, other asbestos- 'free' ;';so'Urce-s .:forytalc-'mineral,. Jn-es.e -will- most -surely become'.more..-.valuable with .time. ` It--w.ou.ld.- behuitipr;tiih'a.t'e, .indeed, if we were .to let pur poof performance' with 'Grantham- tale interfere - ..withJ-M- '.deveiopmeht.:of- other w o t . ride talc ' .sources--\undpT-y'in'ofev'..,desi-rable-cone ns-, ' CRMC-ELS-004684