Stauffer Chemical Phosphate Mine

Vernal, UT

(Associated names include The San Francisco Chemical Company, Mountain Copper Limited, Chevron Resources Company, J.R. Simplot Company, Farmland Industries, Simplot Phosphates)

Jobsite

Since 1958, the phosphate mine located north of Vernal, Utah, in the Uintah mountains has been mined for phosphates used in fertilizer products.  Initially mined by a joint venture between Stauffer Chemical Company and Mountain Copper Limited, Stauffer Chemical bought out Mountain Copper in 1968 and became the sole owner until the 1980s when it was sold to Chevron Resources Company.  Chevron sold the mine in the 1990s to FS Industries and is now owned by Simplot Phosphates, LLC, and employs roughly 144 workers.

Address or general location

12 miles north of Vernal, Utah

Detail

Over 40 years passed between the time Harry Ratcliffe staked his claim of the large phosphate deposit located north of Vernal, Utah, and the time development began in earnest in 1958 by the San Francisco Chemical Company (SFCC).  SFCC was a joint venture between Stauffer Chemical Company and Mountain Copper Limited.  In 1968, Stauffer bought Mountain Copper’s interest in the mine and became the sole owner of the mine until the 1980s when it was sold to Chevron Resources Company.  In the 1990s, Chevron exited the fertilizer business and sold the mine to FS Industries, a joint venture between Farmland Industries and J.R. Simplot.  In 2003, Simplot became the sole owner and renamed the mine as Simplot Phosphates, LLC.  The mine currently owns over 140 workers.