Duval Sulfur

Duval Texas Sulfur diversified into potash production, which became its maj or business. In 195 0, the name of the company was changed to Duval Sulfur Potash to reflect the changing portfolio. In 1959, it also began producing copper and molybdenum. In 1953, United Gas and Pennzoil merged, and the semi-independent business became Duval Corporation ten years later. The Frasch mine at Culberson, TX, opened by Duval in 1969, was the second last Frasch mine to close (then owned by Freeport) in the U.S. in 1999. The sulfur removed from this single mine was valued at over 600 million. The name Duval disappeared in... 

While the name Gulf confused the situation of the early history of Freeport Sulfur and Texas Gulf Sulfur, a similar situation arose between Duval Texas Sulfur and Jefferson Lake Sulfur. The word eausing the confusion this time was the corporate use of United. In 1930, the United Gas Corporation had beeome the largest investor in Duval Sulfur five years earlier, the unrelated United Oil Gas Syndicate had been formed and would eventually become known as Jefferson Lake Sulfur ... 

One, the CLEAR process, was investigated by Duval Corporation near Tucson, Arizona (29). It involves leaching copper concentrated with a metal chloride solution, separation of the copper by electrolysis, and regeneration of the leach solution in a continuous process carried out in a closed system. Elemental sulfur is recovered. Not far from the Duval plant, Cypms Mines Corporation operated a process known as Cymet. Sulfide concentrates undergo a two-step chloride solution leaching and are crystallized to obtain cuprous chloride crystals. Elemental sulfur is removed during this stage of the process. 

Elemental sulfur precipitates and is recovered. Copper powder is produced by electrolyzing the resulting solution. Developed by G. E. Atwood and C. H. Curtis of Duval Corporation at Tucson, AZ. See also Cymet. 

Servigne, Y. and Duval, C., Paper chromatographic separation of mineral anions containing sulfur, Comput. Rend., 245, 1803, 1957 Chem. Abs., 52, 5207b, 1958. 

Table 4.5a. Frasch company summary - Duval Texas Sulfur. Production from 1932 to 1951 in tonnes...

From the late 1940 s until 1964, the president of the company was Eugene H. Walet Jr. (1901 - 1968). In 1955, Jefferson Lake Sulfur and Socony Mobil Oil opened a sour gas plant at Manderson, WY. By the later 1950 s, Jefferson Lake had also entered the recovered sulfur business in Canada. They were partners with Mobil Oil in the sour gas plant in Balzac, AB (outside of Calgary). The last Frasch mine opened by Jefferson Lake (Long Point, TX) was closed in 1982. Production during the Depression is presented in Table 4.6a and the major Frasch mines of Duval Texas Sulfur are listed in Table 4.6b. 

Sulexco reformed in June 1958. The new group included Freeport Sulfur, Texas Gulf Sulfur, Jefferson Lake Sulfur and Duval Texas Sulfur, and handled all exports outside of North America. Their new offices were situated at 375 Paik Avenue in New York City. The first president of the new Sulexco was Peter Black of Freeport Sulfur, until 1962 when Paul W. Douglas of Freeport Sulfur took the job. He was followed by Ernest A. Graupner (1908 - 1981), who had worked for Texas Gulf Sulfur, in 1966 until 1973. 

Trans-Atlantic movements fell into disfavor as Europe began obtaining most of its sulfur locally especially from France and later Poland. For example, the Marine Duval (scrapped in 2002) that had been carrying liquid sulfur across the Atlantic, was converted to Gulf service for Freeport Sulfur. 

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