Borax was also pursuing other mineral interests at this time. The company had acquired a molybdenum deposit site in Alaska during the mids, and attempted during the s to reach an agreement with the U. Forest Service for environmentally acceptable methods of mining it. More successful was the company's joint venture with Santa Fe Pacific Corporation to operate the Trinity silver mine in Lovelock, Nevada.
The short-duration project commenced in early , and depleted the ore in only two years. The company was also looking for gold mining opportunities in Nevada during this time. Borax sold its consumer products division to Greyhound Corp. The new owners continued to use the 20 Mule Team trademark on containers of Borateem bleach, Boraxo powdered hand soap, and Borax cleanser. Borax would continue to use the 20 Mule Team name when marketing its own industrial products.
Also during the year Ian L. White-Thomson was elected president of U. Borax announced plans for a new, ,square-foot headquarters and research facility in Valencia, California. The new building would consolidate existing operations in Los Angeles and Anaheim, placing them closer to the Boron, California mine site.
Since the early s the company had been improving its efficiency and increasingly using automation at its plant, as well as upgrading equipment. Consequently, production increased 20 percent while the number of employees dropped, reaching less than half the total of 2, by The company continued to seek new sources of borax, with its primary mine at Boron projected to have about 40 years of reserves left. Borax was also actively researching new methods of improving its product, and seeking new uses for borax derivatives.
These included environmentally safer methods of manufacturing paper, and a safe-to-humans termite pesticide. Borax sold its U. Silica division to D. The move was due in part to the company's desire to shift its focus to the international borax market, in particular Russia and China.
Three regional offices were subsequently opened in the latter country. By this time the company was shipping its products to some 80 countries around the globe.
Borax celebrated the th anniversary of F. Always aware of its history, U. Borax refurbished a set of original 20 mule team wagons the following year. Today the twenty mule teams are only a fond memory, but you may see two of the last remaining wagons here in Death Valley. Imagine a conversation with a Twenty Mule Team muleskinner Last updated: February 28, Contact the Park Mailing Address: P.
Stay Connected. And with that, the California borax-mining boom began. It made some men rich including a leader of the San Francisco vigilantes , gave birth to a long-running radio and television show featuring, among others, a man who would become president and left the country with the persisting image of mule team wagons trudging across the desert. It occurs naturally in deposits produced by the repeated evaporation of seasonal lakes.
Borax had been known since ancient times. The Egyptians used it in mummification, and Marco Polo reportedly brought some back from his Far East travels in the 13th century. In the late s boron compounds were a household staple, used in medicines, food additives and household cleaners. Winters had been lucky. Winters recalled having seen the same crystals at Furnace Creek, and when Spiller left, he traveled there with Rosie to test them as Spiller had demonstrated.
After staking his claim, Winters quietly sent samples to William T. Cottonball lay in shimmering masses on the ancient desert floor and could be harvested with a shovel. The challenge lay in transporting the ore out of the desolate wasteland for processing into a growing array of industrial and household uses, such as laundry applications.
HERITAGE The Borax twenty mule team is one of the most memorable icons of the American West, and of the pioneers who transformed its mineral wealth into a foundation of modern industry throughout the world. Today, that twenty mule team is the proud symbol of a visionary company that remains the global supplier of choice for customers seeking outstanding products, value and service.
The saga of the twenty mule team began more than a century ago in the arid deserts of California's Death Valley. But the same spirit of enterprise, innovation and service that gave rise to the world-famous "Twenty Mules of Death Valley" continues on to this day at Borax facilities worldwide.
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