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{{Short description|Program of the Manhattan Project to convert uranium ores into feed materials}}
{{good article}}
{{use American English|date=April 2025}}
{{use dmy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{main|Manhattan Project}}
[[File:Uranium processing.png|thumb|right|upright=1.3|Chart describing the processing of uranium]]
The '''Manhattan Project feed materials program''' located and procured [[uranium ore]]s, and refined and processed them into feed materials for use in the [[Manhattan Project]]'s [[isotope enrichment]] plants at the [[Clinton Engineer Works]] in [[Oak Ridge, Tennessee]], and its [[nuclear reactor]]s at the [[Hanford Engineer Works]] in [[Washington state]]. The [[highly enriched uranium]] product of the enrichment plants and the [[plutonium]] from the reactors was used to make [[atomic bomb]]s.
The original goal of the feed materials program in 1942 was to acquire approximately {{convert|1,700|ST|t|order=flip}} of [[triuranium octoxide]] ({{chem2|U3O8}}) (black oxide). By the time of the dissolution of the Manhattan District on 1 January 1947, it had acquired about {{convert|10,000|ST|order=flip}},
Beyond their immediate wartime needs, the American and British governments attempted to control as much of the world's uranium deposits as possible. They created the [[Combined Development Trust]] in June 1944, with the director of the Manhattan Project, [[Major General (United States)|Major General]] [[Leslie R. Groves Jr.]] as its chairman. The Combined Development Trust procured uranium and [[thorium#Occurrence|thorium ores]] on international markets. A special account not subject to the usual auditing and controls was used to hold Trust monies. Between 1944 and his resignation from the Trust in 1947, Groves deposited a total of $37.5 million (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|37.5|1944|r=2}} million in {{Inflation/year|US}}). In 1944, the Combined Development Trust purchased {{convert|3440000|lb|kg}} of uranium oxide ore from the Belgian Congo.
The raw ore was dissolved in [[nitric acid]] to produce [[uranyl nitrate]], which was reduced to highly pure [[uranium dioxide]]. By July 1942, [[Mallinckrodt]] was producing a ton of
== Background ==
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|align=center
|File:Torbernite-Malachite-69239.jpg |[[Torbernite]] from the [[Shinkolobwe]] mine in the Congo
|File:Blenda smolista2.jpg |[[Pitchblende]] from
|File:Carnotite-Vanoxite-sea16a.jpg |[[Carnotite]] from [[Uravan
|File:Autunite-20885.jpg |[[Autunite]] from [[Spokane County]], Washington, US
}}
A major deposit was found at [[Shinkolobwe]] in what was then the [[Belgian Congo]] in 1915, and extraction was begun by a Belgian mining company, [[Union Minière du Haut-Katanga]], after the First World War. The first batch of uranium ore arrived in Belgium in December 1921.
The high grade of the ore from the mine—65% or more [[triuranium octoxide]]) ({{chem2|U3O8}}), known as black oxide, when most sites considered 0.03% to be good—enabled the company to dominate the market. Even the 2,000 tonnes of tailings from the mine considered too poor to bother processing contained up to 20% uranium ore.{{sfn|Manhattan District|1947a|pp=S4–S5}}{{sfn|Nichols|1987|p=47}}<ref>{{cite news |date=4 August 2020 |first=Frank |last=Swain |title=The forgotten mine that built the atomic bomb |publisher=BBC |url=https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200803-the-forgotten-mine-that-built-the-atomic-bomb |access-date=19 February 2025 |archive-date=30 January 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250130075136/https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200803-the-forgotten-mine-that-built-the-atomic-bomb |url-status=live }}</ref> Black oxide was mainly used
The [[discovery of nuclear fission]] by chemists [[Otto Hahn]] and [[Fritz Strassmann]] in December 1938, and its subsequent explanation, verification and naming by physicists [[Lise Meitner]] and [[Otto Frisch]], opened up the possibility of uranium becoming an important new source of energy.{{sfn|Hewlett|Anderson|1962|pp=10–11}} In nature, uranium has three [[isotope]]s: [[uranium-238]], which accounts for 99.28 per cent; [[uranium-235]], 0.71 per cent; and [[uranium-234]], less than 0.001 per cent.{{sfn|Jones|1985|pp=8–9}} In Britain, in June 1939, Frisch and [[Rudolf Peierls]] investigated the [[critical mass]] of uranium-235,{{sfn|Rhodes|1986|pp=322–325}} and found that it was small enough to be carried by contemporary bombers, making an [[atomic bomb]] possible. Their March 1940 [[Frisch–Peierls memorandum]] initiated [[Tube Alloys]], the British atomic bomb project.{{sfn|Hewlett|Anderson|1962|pp=39–42}}
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====The US Army takes over====
Events began to move swiftly once the Army became involved. On 15 September 1942, Ruhoff secured Sengier's approval for the release of {{convert|100|ST|t}} of ore, which was shipped to Eldorado's refinery at [[Port Hope, Ontario]], for testing of the oxide content.{{sfn|Jones|1985|p=79}} Nichols met with Sengier in the latter's office at [[Cunard Building (New York City)|25 Broadway]] on 18 September,{{sfn|Norris|2002|p=326}} and the two men reached an eight-sentence agreement that Nichols recorded on a yellow [[legal pad]], giving Sengier a [[carbon copy]]. Under this agreement, the United States agreed to buy the ore in storage on Staten Island and was granted prior rights to purchase the {{convert|3,000|ST|t}} in the Belgian Congo, which would be shipped, stored and refined at the US government's expense. African Metals would retain ownership of the radium in the ore. At a meeting on 23 September, they agreed on a price: USD{{convert|1.60|$/lb}} (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|{{convert|1.60|/lb|order=flip|disp=number}}|1942}}/kg in {{Inflation/year|US}}), of which $1
[[File:Bowling Green NYC Feb 2020 07.jpg|thumb|right|upright|[[Cunard Building (New York City)|Cunard Building]] at 25 Broadway, where Sengier had his office]]
The ore in Staten Island was transferred to the [[Seneca Army Depot|Seneca Ordnance Depot]] in [[Romulus, New York]], for safe keeping. Meanwhile, arrangements were made to ship the ore from the Belgian Congo. The Shinkolobwe mine had been closed since 1937, and had fallen into disrepair and flooded. The [[United States Army Corps of Engineers]] restored the mine, expanded the aerodromes in [[Léopoldville]] and [[Elisabethville]], improved railroads and built a port in [[Matadi]], Congo's single outlet to the sea. The army also secured the remaining ore in Shinkolobwe, which was shipped to the United States: 950 tons of approximately 70% ore and 160 tons of 20% ore.{{sfn|Williams|2016|pp=1–6}} As the port of Lobito in [[Portugal during World War II|neutral Angola]] was considered a security risk, all uranium transported by sea from the last week of January 1943 was routed through Matadi in sealed barrels marked "Special Cobalt." The uranium was first sent north by train from Shinkolobwe to the [[railhead]] at Port-Francqui (now [[Ilebo]]) on the Kasai River. From there, the sealed barrels were loaded onto barges to be transported to Léopoldville (now known as [[Kinshasa]]), where they were taken by train to Matadi.{{sfn|Williams|2016|pp=1–6}}
Sengier thought it would be safer for the ore to be shipped in
In August 1943, [[Winston Churchill]] and [[Franklin Roosevelt]] negotiated the [[Quebec Agreement]], which merged the British and American atomic bomb projects,{{sfn|Gowing|1964|pp=168–173}}{{sfn|Bernstein|1976|pp=216–217}} and established the [[Combined Policy Committee]] to coordinate their efforts.{{sfn|Jones|1985|p=296}} In turn, the Combined Policy Committee created the [[Combined Development Trust]] on 13 June 1944 to procure uranium and [[thorium#Occurrence|thorium ores]] on international markets.{{sfn|Helmreich|1986|p=16}} Groves was appointed its chairman, with Sir [[Charles Jocelyn Hambro|Charles Hambro]], the head of the British Raw Materials Mission in Washington, [[Frank Godbould Lee|Frank Lee]] from the [[HM Treasury|Treasury]] delegation as the British trustees, and George Bateman, a deputy minister and a member of the [[Combined Production and Resources Board]], representing Canada.{{sfn|Gowing|1964|p=301}}{{sfn|Jones|1985|p=299}} A special account not subject to the usual auditing and controls was used to hold Trust monies. Between 1944 and his resignation from the Trust at the end of 1947, Groves deposited a total of $37.5 million (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|37.5|1944|r=2}} million in {{Inflation/year|US}}).{{sfn|Jones|1985|pp=90, 299–306}}
In the autumn of 1943, Groves
====Post-war====
▲Groves tried to have the Shinkolobwe mine re-opened and its output sold to the United States.{{sfn|Hewlett|Anderson|1962|pp=285–286}} Sengier reported that the mine could yield another {{convert|10,000|ST|t|order=flip}} of ore containing 50 to 60 per cent oxide, but restarting production required new equipment, electricity to pump out the flooded mine, and assembling a workforce, which would take 18 to 20 months.{{sfn|Helmreich|1986|p=18}} Mine repairs and dewatering cost about $350,000 and another $200,000 was required to divert electricity away from copper mines.{{sfn|Helmreich|1986|p=35}} As 30 per cent of the stock in Union Minière were held by British shareholders and the [[Belgian Government in Exile]] was in London, the British took the lead in negotiations.{{sfn|Hewlett|Anderson|1962|pp=285–286}} Negotiations took much longer than anticipated, but Sir [[John Anderson, 1st Viscount Waverley|John Anderson]] and Ambassador [[John Winant]] hammered out a deal in May 1944 with Sengier and the Belgian Government in Exile for the mine to be reopened and {{convert|1720|ST}} of ore to be purchased, and the contract was signed until 25 September 1944.{{sfn|Helmreich|1986|pp=36–37}} The agreement between the United States, the United Kingdom, and Belgium lasted ten years and continued after the war. The uranium agreements in part explain Belgium's relative ease in rebuilding its economy after the war, as the country had no debt with the major financial powers.<ref>{{cite journal |last =Helmreich |first =J. |date =1990 |title =The Negotiation of the Belgian Uranium Export Tax of 1951 |journal=[[Revue Belge de Philologie et d'Histoire]] |volume=68 |issue =2 |pages =320–351 |doi =10.3406/rbph.1990.3713}}</ref>
[[File:BOILER and PROCESS BUILDINGS, SOUTHWEST OBLIQUE - Middlesex Sampling Plant, Process Building, 239 Mountain Avenue, Middlesex, Middlesex County, NJ HAER NJ,12-MIDSX,1A-6.tif|thumb|left|Boiler and process buildings, [[Middlesex Sampling Plant]]]]
During the war, all uranium from the Congo had gone to the United States, as had that captured in Europe by the [[Alsos Mission]], although some of it
At the Combined Policy Committee meeting on 31 July 1946, the financial arrangements were adjusted. Previously, the two countries had split the costs equally; henceforth each would pay for only what they received.{{sfn|Gowing|Arnold|1974|pp=102–103}} Britain was therefore able to secure the uranium it needed for [[High Explosive Research]], its own nuclear weapons program, without having to outbid the United States, and paid for it in [[pound sterling|sterling]]. Meanwhile, because the adjustment applied retrospectively to VJ-Day, it received reimbursement for the supplies allocated to Britain but given to the United States, thus easing Britain's dollar shortage.{{sfn|Gowing|Arnold|1974|pp=102–103}}{{sfn|Gowing|Arnold|1974|p=356}} Although Union Minière would have preferred payment in dollars, it had to accept half in sterling.{{sfn|Helmreich|1986|p=117}}
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====Eldorado mine====
{{main|Eldorado Mine (Northwest Territories)}}
[[File:Gilbert Labine examining uranium ore at the Eldorado Mine located at Great Bear Lake, Northwest Territories.jpg|thumb|right|[[Gilbert LaBine]] examines uranium ore at the [[Eldorado Mine (Northwest Territories)|Eldorado Mine]] ]]▼
After the Belgian Congo, the next most important source of uranium ore was Canada. Canadian ore came from the [[Eldorado Mine (Northwest Territories)|Eldorado Mine]] in the [[Great Bear Lake]] area, not far south of the [[Arctic Circle]].{{sfn|Jones|1985|pp=310–311}}{{sfn|Hewlett|Anderson|1962|pp=85–86}} In May 1930, [[Gilbert LaBine]] went prospecting in the area. LaBine was the managing director of Eldorado Gold Mines, a firm he co-founded in January 1926 with his brother Charlie, but which no longer had any gold mines.{{sfn|Bothwell|1984|pp=17–19}}
▲[[File:Gilbert Labine examining uranium ore at the Eldorado Mine located at Great Bear Lake, Northwest Territories.jpg|thumb|right|[[Gilbert LaBine]] examines uranium ore at the [[Eldorado Mine (Northwest Territories)|Eldorado Mine]] ]]
On 16 May, LaBine found pitchblende near the shores of Echo Bay at a mine site that became [[Port Radium]].{{sfn|Bothwell|1984|pp=23–25}}<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Science: Radium |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |url=https://time.com/archive/6757353/science-radium/ |access-date=25 February 2025 }}</ref> Eldorado also established a processing plant at Port Hope, Ontario, the only facility of its kind in North America. To run it, LaBine hired Marcel Pochon, a French chemist who had learned how to refine radium under [[Pierre Curie]], who was working at the recently closed [[South Terras mine]] in Cornwall.{{sfn|Bothwell|1984|pp=55–57}}<ref>{{cite web |title=How Canada supplied uranium for the Manhattan Project |publisher=CBC Documentaries |url=https://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/how-canada-supplied-uranium-for-the-manhattan-project-1.7402051 |access-date=25 February 2025 |archive-date=11 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250211161617/https://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/how-canada-supplied-uranium-for-the-manhattan-project-1.7402051 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=Science: Radium |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,758086-2,00.html |access-date=25 February 2025 |url-access=subscription |archive-date=10 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231010121538/https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,758086-2,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Ore was mined at Port Radium and shipped via [[Great Bear River|Great Bear]], [[Mackenzie River|Mackenzie]] and [[Slave River]]s to [[Waterways, Alberta]], and thence by rail to Port Hope.{{sfn|Bothwell|1984|pp=11–15}}<ref name="Macleans">{{cite magazine |title=Port Radium's Eldorado - The Mine that Shook the World |first=Ronald A. |last=Keith |magazine=Maclean's Magazine |date=15 November 1945 |via=Republic of Mining |url=https://republicofmining.com/2016/09/14/port-radiums-eldorado-the-mine-that-shook-the-world-by-ronald-a-keith-macleans-magazine-november-15-1945/ |access-date=26 February 2025}}</ref>
In 1936, Eldorado Gold Mines took over [[Marine Transportation Services|Northern Transportation Company Limited]] (NTCL). Its flagships were the ''[[Radium Queen (ship)|Radium Queen]]'' and ''[[Radium King]]'' both commissioned in 1937.{{sfn|Van Wyck|2010|p=31}}<ref>{{Cite news |date=15 April 1937 |title=Radium King's en route - Eldorado subsidiary ship leaves for west by train |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Gi8rAAAAIBAJ&sjid=qZgFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4583,2000389&dq=radium-king&hl=en |newspaper=The Montreal Gazette |volume=CLXVI |issue=90}}</ref> The two [[Tugboat|tugboats]] pulled or pushed, depending on the conditions, ore [[scow]]s named ''Radium One'' to ''Radium Twelve''.{{sfn|Bothwell|1984|pp=66–67}}<ref>{{cite news |title=Discouraging Difficulties Overcome by Eldorado Pioneers |newspaper=[[Edmonton Bulletin]] |date=11 December 1945 |page=16 |via=newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-edmonton-bulletin/113391751/ |access-date=26 February 2025}}</ref> Great Bear Lake is only navigable between early July and early October, being icebound the rest of the year,{{sfn|Bothwell|1984|pp=11, 41}} but mining activity continued year-round, sustained by the [[Eldorado Radium Silver Express]], which flew personnel and supplies to the mine and transported ores back by air.{{sfn|Manhattan District|1947a|p=3.1}}{{sfn|Bothwell|1984|pp=368–375}}<ref name="CnsBulletin2005">{{cite journal |author=Arsenault |first=Jim E. |date=December 2005 |title=The Eldorado Radium Silver Express |url=https://cns-snc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Vol26_No4_2005.pdf |journal=Canadian Nuclear Society Bulletin |issn= 0714-7074 |volume=26 |issue=4 |pages=47–49 |access-date=16 August 2025}}</ref>
Competition from Union Minière was fierce and served to drive the price of radium down from CAD$70 per milligram in 1930 ({{Inflation|CA|70|1930|fmt=eq}}) to CAD$21 per milligram in 1937 ({{Inflation|CA|21|1937|fmt=eq}}). Boris Pregel negotiated a cartel deal with Union Minière under which each company gained exclusive access to its home market and split the rest of the world 60:40 in Union Minière's favor. The outbreak of war in September 1939 blocked access to hard-won European markets, especially Germany, a major customer for ceramic-grade uranium. Union Minière lost its refinery at [[Olen, Belgium|Olen]] when Belgium was overrun, forcing it to use Eldorado's mill at Port Hope.{{sfn|Bothwell|1984|pp=71–75}} With sufficient stocks on hand for five years of operations, Eldorado closed the mine in June 1940.{{sfn|Manhattan District|1947a|p=3.1}}{{sfn|Bothwell|1984|pp=102–107}}▼
▲Competition from Union Minière was fierce and served to drive the price of radium down from CAD$70 per milligram in 1930 ({{Inflation|CA|70|1930|fmt=eq}}) to CAD$21 per milligram in 1937 ({{Inflation|CA|21|1937|fmt=eq}}). Boris Pregel negotiated a cartel deal with Union Minière under which each company gained exclusive access to its home market and split the rest of the world 60:40 in Union Minière's favor. The outbreak of war in September 1939 blocked access to hard-won European markets, especially Germany, a major customer for ceramic-grade uranium. Union Minière lost its refinery at [[Olen, Belgium|Olen]] when Belgium was overrun, forcing it to use Eldorado's mill at Port Hope.{{sfn|Bothwell|1984|pp=71–75}} With sufficient stocks on hand for five years of operations, Eldorado closed the mine in June 1940.{{sfn|Manhattan District|1947a|p=3.1}}{{sfn|Bothwell|1984|pp=102–107}}
[[File:Port Radium uranian mine entrance in 1947.png|thumb|left|Entrance to the uranium mine at Port Radium in the Northwest Territories in 1947]]
On 15 June 1942, [[Malcolm MacDonald]], the [[List of high commissioners of the United Kingdom to Canada|United Kingdom high commissioner to Canada]], [[George Paget Thomson]] from the [[University of London]] and [[Michael Perrin]] from Tube Alloys met with [[Mackenzie King]], the [[Prime Minister of Canada]], and briefed him on the atomic bomb project. A subsequent meeting was arranged that same day at which the trio met with [[C. D. Howe]], the [[Department of Munitions and Supply|Minister for Munitions and Supply]] and [[Jack Mackenzie|C. J. Mackenzie]], the president of the [[National Research Council Canada]]. The British had noticed how uranium prices had been rising and feared that Pregel would attempt to corner the market, and they urged that Eldorado be brought under government control. Mackenzie proposed to effect this through secret purchase of the stock.{{sfn|Bothwell|1984|pp=119–121}} Howe then met with Gilbert LaBine, who agreed to sell his 1,000,303 shares at CDN$1.25 per share ({{Inflation|CA|1.25|1942|fmt=eq}}). This was a good deal for LaBine; the stock was trading at 40 cents a share at the time, but the stock only amounted to a quarter of the company's four million shares.{{sfn|Bothwell|1984|pp=123–124}}
Complex negotiations followed between the Americans, British and Canadians regarding patent rights, export controls, and the exchange of scientific information, but the purchase was approved when Churchill and Roosevelt met at the [[Second Washington Conference]] in June 1942.{{sfn|Hewlett|Anderson|1962|pp=85–86}} Over the next eighteen months, LaBine and John Proctor from the [[Imperial Bank of Canada]] criss-crossed North America buying up stock in
Shortly after the nationalization of Eldorado Gold Mines, the Canadian government initiated an investigation into the company's historical management practices and operations that yielded evidence suggesting fraudulent activities.<ref name=":0">{{Cite magazine |last=Sylvain |first=Lumbroso |last2=Wentzell |first2=Tyler |date=2 January 2024 |title=Unearthing a Nuclear Scandal |url=https://thewalrus.ca/unearthing-a-nuclear-scandal/ |access-date=26 April 2025 |magazine=[[The Walrus]] }}</ref> As a result, in February 1946, Marcel Pochon, financial director Carl French, and Boris Pregel were charged with criminal conspiracy and fraud. They were alleged to have misappropriated and significant funds from Eldorado through a network of secretly controlled companies.<ref>{{Cite news |date=12 February 1946 |title=Uranium To Forefront In Spy Ring Inquiry |url=https://princealbertlibrary.ca/padh/1946/February/Feb%2019,1946.pdf |newspaper=[[Prince Albert Daily Herald]] |pages=1, 8 |access-date=26 April 2025 }}</ref> However, the criminal proceedings against Pochon, French, and Pregel were discontinued. This decision was reportedly driven by the Canadian government's desire to avoid public disclosure of potentially sensitive wartime transactions. Terms of any settlement reached with Eldorado remained confidential.<ref name=":0" /> Related scrutiny also brought to light reports that Pregel, operating with U.S. government authorization, had facilitated the sale of {{convert|500|lb|kg|abbr=in|order=flip}} of uranium oxide to the Soviet Union during the war period. This transaction indicated that the distribution of Canadian uranium was not solely confined to the Manhattan Project.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Mining: Uranium Unlimited? |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |issue=11 |date=13 March 1950 |pp=83–84 |url=https://time.com/vault/issue/1950-03-13/page/87/ |access-date=26 April 2025}}</ref>
====Production====
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Ed Bolger, who had been the mine superintendent from 1939 to 1940, led the effort to reactivate the mine in April 1942. He arrived by air with an advance party of 25 and supplies, flown in by [[Canadian Pacific Air Lines]]. Some ore had been abandoned on the docks when the mine was closed, and could be shipped immediately, but reactivation was complicated. The mine had filled with water that had to be pumped out, and the water had rotted the timbers. One [[raise (mining)|raise]] was filled with helium. In order to thaw out the rock, electric heaters were brought in and ventilation was reduced, but this exposed the miner workers to a build up of radon gas. Bolger sought out the richest deposits and worked them first; in one [[vein (geology)|vein]], the oxide content was as high as 5%, but monthly production consistently fell short of targets, falling from a high of {{convert|80,000|ST|t|order=flip}} in August 1943 to {{convert|18,454|ST|t|order=flip}} in December.{{sfn|Bothwell|1984|pp=102–107}}{{sfn|Hewlett|Anderson|1962|p=85}}
[[File:Radium Queen at the Fort Fitzgerald docks, July 1, 1937.jpg|thumb|left|The ''Radium Queen'' at the dock in July 1937]]
Each season, some {{convert|1,200|to|1,400|ST|t|order=flip}} of freight was delivered to Port Radium by water, along with {{convert|2,500|to|3,000|ST|t|order=flip}} of oil for the diesel generators from [[Norman Wells]] on the Mackenzie River. Shipping supplies by water from Waterways cost {{convert|0.05|$/lb|order=flip}} (equivalent to ${{Inflation|CA|{{convert|0.05|/lb|order=flip|disp=number}}|1943}}/kg in {{Inflation/year|CA}}), while air freight from [[Edmonton]] cost {{convert|0.70|$/lb|order=flip}} (equivalent to ${{Inflation|CA|{{convert|0.70|/lb|order=flip|disp=number}}|1943}}/kg in {{Inflation/year|CA}}).<ref name="Macleans"/> LaBine asked the Americans to expedite the delivery of two new [[Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar]] aircraft to Canadian Pacific.{{sfn|Bothwell|1984|pp=102–107}} United States and Canadian military aircraft were used to move ore from Port Radium to Waterways. In 1943, {{convert|300|ST|t|order=flip}} of ore was moved by air.{{sfn|Hewlett|Anderson|1962|p=291}} He was also able to get some personnel released from the Canadian armed forces. By 1944, Eldorado had a work force of 230.{{sfn|Bothwell|1984|pp=102–107}}
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By 1 January 1947, approximately {{convert|379,671|ST|t|order=flip}} of ore tailings had been purchased, yielding about {{convert|1,349|ST|t|order=flip}} of black oxide. Of this, {{convert|891|ST|t|order=flip}} came from USV, {{convert|230|ST|t|order=flip}} from VCA, {{convert|135|ST|t|order=flip}} from the Metals Reserve Company, {{convert|26|ST|t|order=flip}} from the [[Vitro Manufacturing Company]] and {{convert|67|ST|t|order=flip}} from other sources. The total cost of procurement from American sources approximately USD$2,072,330 ({{Inflation|US|2,072,330|1947|fmt=eq}}).{{sfn|Manhattan District|1947a|pp=4.1–4.3}}{{sfn|Jones|1985|pp=310–311}}
To conserve uranium, the [[War Production Board]] prohibited the sale or purchase of uranium compounds for use in ceramics on 26 January 1943. In August, the use of uranium in the photography was restricted to essential military and industrial applications. The Madison Square Area bought up all available stocks. This amounted to {{convert|270|ST|t|order=flip}} of black oxide recoverable from uranium salts, at a cost of USD$1,056,130 ({{Inflation|US|1,056,130|1947|fmt=eq}}).{{sfn|Manhattan District|1947a|pp=5.1–5.3}}
=== Europe ===
{{main|Alsos Mission}}
The Alsos Mission was the Manhattan Project's [[scientific intelligence]] mission that operated in Europe. It was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel [[Boris Pash]], with [[Samuel Goudsmit]] as his scientific deputy. It moved with the advance of the Allied armies (and sometimes ahead of them).{{sfn|Groves|1962|pp=207–208}} In September 1944, after the liberation [[Antwerp]], the mission secured the corporate headquarters of Union Minière
[[File:Alsos mealtime.jpg|thumb|left|Personnel of the [[Alsos Mission]] in Germany. [[Boris Pash]] is in the center, wearing a helmet.]]
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Eldorado's Port Hope refinery was located on the shores of [[Lake Ontario]] in buildings originally built in 1847 as part of a grain terminal.{{sfn|Arsenault|2008|p=45}} When production started in January 1933,{{sfn|Pochon|1937|p=362}} there were just 25 employees; this rose to 287 in 1943.{{sfn|Arsenault|2008|pp=46–47}} To cope with the increased demands of the Manhattan Project, a new building was added, and production was converted from a batch to a continuous process.{{sfn|Arsenault|2008|p=45}} Its commercial process was designed to process black oxide. Before the war, Port Hope had a capacity of {{convert|30|ST|t|order=flip}} per month. This was increased to {{convert|150|ST|t|order=flip}} per month.{{sfn|Manhattan District|1947a|pp=7.1–7.3}}
Ore arrived from Port Radium after having already undergone some gravity and water separation that increased the percentage of black oxide to 35–50%. At Port Hope, the concentrate was crushed and a magnet used to remove iron. It was then heated to {{convert|1100|F|C|order=flip}} to remove [[sulfide]]s and [[carbonate]]s by decomposition and [[arsenic]] and [[antimony]] by volatilisation. It was then re-roasted with salt ({{chem2|NaCl}}) to form uranium chloride ({{chem2|UCl4}}). This was treated with [[sulfuric acid]] ({{chem2|H2SO4}}) and sodium carbonate ({{chem2|NaCO3}}) to form sodium [[uranyl carbonate]] ({{chem2|Na4UO2(CO3)3}}), which was decomposed with sulfuric acid. [[Caustic soda]] ({{chem2|NaOH}}) was then added to create [[sodium diuranate]] (soda salt) ({{chem2|Na2U2O7}}). Boiling removed excess hydrogen sulfide ({{chem2|H2S}}), and [[ammonium hydroxide]] ({{chem2|NH4OH}}) was added to form [[ammonium diuranate]] ({{chem2|(NH4)2U2O7}}), to facilitate removal of the silver content. The ammonium diuranite was
Purity was a major problem. The Manhattan District disliked impurities, particularly [[rare earth element]]s like [[gadolinium]] because they could be [[neutron poison]]s. But higher purity required repeated ammonium hydroxide baths, which were time consuming and expensive. Rather than aiming for 99% purity, it was better to settle for 97% and let [[Mallinckrodt]] deal with the problem in [[St Louis]].{{sfn|Bothwell|1984|pp=114–115}} By 1 January 1947, Eldorado had produced approximately {{convert|1,832|ST|t|order=flip}} of black oxide from African ore at a cost of $2,528,560 ({{Inflation|US|2,528,560|1947|fmt=eq}}), the average processing cost was therefore approximately $0.69 per pound ({{Inflation|US|0.69|1947|fmt=eq}}). In addition to the African ores, Port Hope also produced {{convert|847|ST|t|order=flip}} of black oxide from Canadian ores.{{sfn|Manhattan District|1947a|pp=7.1–7.3}}
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The next step in the refining process was the conversion of black oxide into orange oxide ({{chem2|UO3}}) and then into brown oxide ({{chem2|UO2}}).{{sfn|Manhattan District|1947a|pp=8.1–8.4}} On 17 April 1942,{{sfn|Fleishman-Hillard|1967|p=18}} [[Arthur Compton]], the head of the Manhattan Project's Metallurgical Project,{{sfn|Compton|1956|pp=82–83}} along with [[Frank Spedding]] and [[Norman Hilberry]],{{sfn|Ruhoff|Fain|1962|p=4}} met with Edward Mallinckrodt Sr., the chairman of the board of Mallinckrodt,<ref>{{cite journal |title=Edward Mallinckrodt, Jr. 1878–1967 |journal=[[Radiology (journal)|Radiology]] |date=1 March 1967 |volume=88 |issue=3 |page=594 |doi=10.1148/88.3.594 }}</ref> and inquired whether his company could produce the extremely pure uranium compounds that the Manhattan Project required. It was known that [[uranyl nitrate]] ({{chem2| UO2(NO3)2}}), was soluble in [[diethyl ether|ether]] ({{chem2|(CH3CH2)2O}}), and this could be used to remove impurities.{{sfn|Ruhoff|Fain|1962|p=4}} This process had never been attempted on a commercial scale, but it had been demonstrated in the laboratory by [[Eugène-Melchior Péligot]] a century before. What had also been amply demonstrated in the laboratory was that ether was erratic, explosive and dangerous to work with.{{sfn|Fleishman-Hillard|1967|pp=18–19}}{{sfn|Compton|1956|p=93}}
Mallinckrodt agreed to undertake the work for $15,000 ({{Inflation|US|15,000|1942|fmt=eq}}).{{sfn|Ruhoff|Fain|1962|p=4}}{{sfn|Fleishman-Hillard|1967|p=20}} A [[pilot plant]] was set up in the alley between Mallinckrodt buildings 25 and K in downtown St. Louis.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Singer-Vine |first1=Jeremy |last2=Emshwiller |first2=John R. |last3=Parmar |first3=Neil |last4=Scott |first4=Charity |title=St. Louis Downtown Site — St. Louis, Mo. — Waste Lands America's forgotten nuclear legacy |url=https://www.wsj.com/graphics/waste-lands/site/438-st-louis-downtown-site/ |access-date=2025-04-23 |website=The Wall Street Journal}}</ref> The pilot plant produced its first uranyl nitrate on 16 May, and samples were sent to the [[University of Chicago]], [[Princeton University]] and the [[National Bureau of Standards]] for testing.{{sfn|Ruhoff|Fain|1962|pp=7–8}}{{sfn|Fleishman-Hillard|1967|p=20}}
The production process involved adding black oxide to {{convert|1,000|USgal|L|adj=on|order=flip}} stainless steel tanks of hot concentrated nitric acid to produce a solution of uranyl nitrate. This was filtered through a stainless steel filter press and then concentrated in {{convert|300|USgal|L|adj=on|order=flip}} pots heated by steam coils to {{convert|248|F|C|order=flip}}, the [[boiling point]] of uranyl nitrate. The molten uranyl nitrate was cooled to {{convert|176|F|C|order=flip}} and then pumped into ether that had been chilled to {{convert|0|C}} in an ice water [[heat exchanger]]. The purified material was washed with distilled water and then boiled to remove the ether, producing orange oxide.{{sfn|Fleishman-Hillard|1967|p=20}}{{sfn|Ruhoff|Fain|1962|pp=7–8}} This was then reduced to brown oxide by heating in a hydrogen atmosphere.{{sfn|Manhattan District|1947a|pp=8.1–8.4}} The production plant was established in two empty buildings: the dissolving and filtering was conducted in Building 51 and the ether extraction and aqueous re-extraction in Building 52. The plant operated around the clock,{{sfn|Fleishman-Hillard|1967|p=20}}{{sfn|Ruhoff|Fain|1962|pp=7–8}} and by July it was producing a ton of brown oxide each day, six days a week, at a unit price of {{convert|1.56|$/lb|2|order=flip}} (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|{{convert|1.56|/lb|order=flip|disp=number}}|1942}}/kg in {{Inflation/year|US}}).{{sfn|Manhattan District|1947a|pp=8.1–8.4}}
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As various improvements were incorporated into the process, the plant's capacity rose from its designed capacity of {{convert|52|ST|t|order=flip}} per month to {{convert|165|ST|t|order=flip}} per month. At the same time, the cost of brown oxide fell from {{convert|1.11|to|0.70|$/lb|2|order=flip}} (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|{{convert|1.11|/lb|order=flip|disp=number}}|1942}}/kg to ${{Inflation|US|{{convert|0.70|/lb|order=flip|disp=number}}|1942}}/kg in {{Inflation/year|US}}), so Mallinckrodt refunded $332,000 ({{Inflation|US|332,000|1942|fmt=eq}}) to the government.{{sfn|Manhattan District|1947a|pp=8.1–8.4}} The Mallinckrodt plant closed in May 1946, by which time it had produced {{convert|4,190|ST|t|order=flip}} of brown and orange oxide at a cost of $4,745,250 ({{Inflation|US|4,745,250|1942|fmt=eq}}). In May 1945, Mallinckrodt decided to build a new brown oxide plant. Construction commenced on 15 June 1945, and was completed on 15 June 1946. Between then and 1 January 1947, it produced {{convert|507|ST|t|order=flip}} of brown and orange oxide at a unit cost of {{convert|0.82|$/lb|2|order=flip}} (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|{{convert|0.82|/lb|order=flip|disp=number}}|1942}}/kg in {{Inflation/year|US}}).{{sfn|Manhattan District|1947a|pp=8.1–8.4}}
Other brown oxide plants were operated by Linde in Tonawanda,<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Singer-Vine |first1=Jeremy |last2=Emshwiller |first2=John R. |last3=Parmar |first3=Neil |last4=Scott |first4=Charity |title=Linde Air Products, Ceramics Plant — Tonawanda, N.Y. — Waste Lands America's forgotten nuclear legacy |url=https://www.wsj.com/graphics/waste-lands/site/246-linde-air-products-ceramics-plant/ |access-date=2025-04-23 |website=The Wall Street Journal}}</ref> and DuPont in [[Deepwater, New Jersey]],<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Singer-Vine |first1=Jeremy |last2=Emshwiller |first2=John R. |last3=Parmar |first3=Neil |last4=Scott |first4=Charity |title=DuPont Deepwater Works — Deepwater, N.J. — Waste Lands America's forgotten nuclear legacy |url=https://www.wsj.com/graphics/waste-lands/site/141-dupont-deepwater-works/ |access-date=2025-04-23 |website=The Wall Street Journal}}</ref> using the process devised by Mallinckrodt, but only Mallinckrodt also shipped orange oxide.{{sfn|Manhattan District|1947a|pp=8.1–8.4}} Production commenced at Deepwater in June 1943, and by 1 January 1947 it had produced {{convert|1,970|ST|t|order=flip}} of brown oxide.{{sfn|Manhattan District|1947a|pp=8.4–8.7}} Much of the Deepwater feed was recovered scrap material. This was converted into a [[uranyl peroxide]] ({{chem2|UO4}}) that could be fed into the brown oxide process as if it were black oxide.{{sfn|Reed|2014|p=471}} Production commenced at Tonawanda in August 1943 and it produced {{convert|300|ST|t|order=flip}} of brown oxide before being closed in early 1944. Mallinckrodt was already producing {{convert|110|ST|t|order=flip}} of brown oxide per month or the Manhattan Project's requirement for {{convert|160|ST|t|order=flip}} and Union Carbide wanted to use the facilities for nickel compounds production for the [[K-25]] project.{{sfn|Manhattan District|1947a|pp=8.4–8.7}}
=== Green salt and uranium hexafluoride ===
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Mallinckrodt established a green salt plant in a building adjacent to its property at St. Louis, rented from the Sash & Door Company. Here, the process used graphite boxes within steel [[retort]]s. Production commenced in April 1943, and by 1 January 1947, it had produced {{convert|2,926|ST|t}} of green salt. The initial unit price was {{convert|0.97|$/lb|2|order=flip}}, but through a series of improvements, this was brought down to {{convert|0.28|$/lb|2|order=flip}}.{{sfn|Manhattan District|1947a|pp=9.1–9.3}} Linde built and operated a green salt plant under a cost-plus-fixed-fee contract. Production began in October 1943 and continued until 1 July 1946, by which time {{convert|2,926|ST|t}} had been produced.{{sfn|Manhattan District|1947a|pp=9.5–9.6}}{{sfn|Hewlett|Anderson|1962|p=293}}
Harshaw also operated a green salt plant in Cleveland, Ohio.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Krouse |first=Peter |date=2021-11-12 |title=Harshaw Chemical site in Cleveland, once used to process uranium for atomic bombs, could be cleaned up starting in 2023, Army Corps says |url=https://www.cleveland.com/news/2021/11/harshaw-chemical-site-in-cleveland-once-used-to-process-uranium-for-atomic-bombs-could-be-cleaned-up-in-2023-army-corps-says.html |access-date=2025-04-22 |website=cleveland |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Harshaw Departments |url=https://www.theharshawgang.org/pb/wp_847f3e0e/wp_847f3e0e.html |access-date=2025-04-22 |website=www.theharshawgang.org}}</ref> It too, had a pilot plant, which was expanded in capacity in early 1943 to {{convert|25|ST|t}} per month. Its process initially used magnesium trays inside steel tubes lined with magnesium; this was later changed to nickel trays and steel tubes. By 1 January 1947, it had produced {{convert|2,926|ST|t}} of green salt. The initial unit price was {{convert|0.92|$/lb|2|order=flip}}, which was brought down to {{convert|0.48|$/lb|2|order=flip}} for the final batch produced on 21 July 1944. At this point, the plant continued production, but all its output went into producing [[uranium hexafluoride]] ({{chem2|UF6}}).{{sfn|Manhattan District|1947a|pp=9.4–9.5}}
The S-50 and K-25 plants used this as feed, as it was the only known compound of uranium sufficiently [[Volatility (chemistry)|volatile]] to be used in the [[gaseous diffusion]] process.{{sfn|Jones|1985|p=152}} Harshaw built and operated the large-scale plant for the production of hexafluoride after winning a competitive bid against DuPont. Hexafluoride was produced though the reaction of green salt with fluorine. Payment was on a unit price basis; the contract initially called for the plant to produce {{convert|87.5|ST|t|order=flip}} at a rate of {{convert|5.5|ST|t|order=flip}} per week during 1944. The cost of production was {{convert|1.35|$/lb|2|order=flip}} from brown salt and {{convert|0.95|$/lb|2|order=flip}} from green salt. By 1 January 1945, {{convert|1,615|ST|t|order=flip}} had been delivered.{{sfn|Manhattan District|1947a|pp=9.6–9.8}}
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Before the war, the only uranium metal available commercially was produced by the [[Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company]], using a photochemical process. Brown oxide was reacted with [[potassium fluoride]] in large vats on the roof of Westinghouse's plant in [[Bloomfield, New Jersey]].{{sfn|Hewlett|Anderson|1962|pp=65–66}} This produced ingots the size of a [[Quarter (United States coin)|quarter]] that were sold for around $20 per gram. [[Edward Creutz]], the head of the Metallurgical Laboratory's group responsible for fabricating the uranium, wanted a metal sphere the size of an orange for his experiments. With Westinghouse's process, this would have cost $200,000 ({{Inflation|US|200,000|1942|fmt=eq}}) and taken a year to produce.{{sfn|Compton|1956|pp=90–91}}
The hydride or "hydramet" process was developed by Peter P. Alexander, at Metal Hydrides, which used [[calcium hydride]] ({{chem2|CaH2}}) as the [[reducing agent]].{{sfn|Alexander|1943|p=3}}{{sfn|Wilhelm|1960|p=59}}<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Adams |first=David L. |date=March 1996 |title=Metal Hydrides and the Dawn of the Atomic Age |url=https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ed073p205 |journal=Journal of Chemical Education |language=en |volume=73 |issue=3 |pages=205 |doi=10.1021/ed073p205 |bibcode=1996JChEd..73..205A |issn=0021-9584|url-access=subscription }}</ref> By this means the Metal Hydrides plant in Beverly, Massachusetts,<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Singer-Vine |first1=Jeremy |last2=Emshwiller |first2=John R. |last3=Parmar |first3=Neil |last4=Scott |first4=Charity |title=Ventron Corporation — Beverly, Mass. — Waste Lands America's forgotten nuclear legacy |url=https://www.wsj.com/graphics/waste-lands/site/67-ventron-corporation/ |access-date=2025-04-23 |website=The Wall Street Journal}}</ref> managed to produce a few pounds of uranium metal. Unfortunately, the calcium hydride used contained unacceptable amounts of [[boron]], a neutron poison, making the metal unsuitable for use in a reactor. Some months would pass before Clement J. Rodden from the National Bureau of Standards and Union Carbide found a means to produce sufficiently pure calcium hydride.{{sfn|Hewlett|Anderson|1962|pp=65–66}}{{sfn|Manhattan District|1947e|pp=12.9–12.10}} Meal Hydrides managed to produce {{convert|41|ST|t|order=flip}} of metal by the time operations were suspended on 31 August 1943. It then started reprocessing scrap uranium metal, and produced {{convert|1,090|ST|t|order=flip}} at a cost of $0.33 per pound.{{sfn|Manhattan District|1947a|pp=10.7–10.7}}
At the [[Ames Project]] at [[Iowa State College]], Frank Spedding and [[Harley Wilhelm]] began looking for ways to create the uranium metal. At the time, it was produced in the form of a powder, and was highly [[pyrophoric]]. It could be pressed and [[sintered]] and stored in cans, but to be useful, it needed to be melted and cast. Casting presented difficulty because uranium corroded [[crucible]]s of beryllium, magnesia and graphite. To produce uranium metal, they tried reducing uranium oxide with hydrogen, but this did not work. While most of the neighboring elements on the [[periodic table]] can be reduced to form pure metal and [[slag]], uranium did not behave this way.{{sfn|Payne|1992|pp=66–67}} (At the time it was mistakenly believed that uranium belonged under [[chromium]], [[molybdenum]] and [[tungsten]] in the periodic table.{{sfn|Wilhelm|1960|p=60}}) In June 1942 they tried reducing the uranium with carbon in a hydrogen atmosphere, with only moderate success. They then tried aluminium, magnesium and calcium, all of which were unsuccessful. The following month the Ames team found that molten uranium could be cast in a graphite container.{{sfn|Payne|1992|pp=66–67}} Although graphite was known to react with uranium, this could be managed because the carbide formed only where the two touched.{{sfn|Corbett|2001|pp=15–16}}
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Mallinckrodt established a uranium metal plant on the second floor of the building containing the green salt plant using the Ames Process. Production commenced in July 1943 and {{convert|1,364|ST|t|order=flip}} of metal was produced by 1 January 1947, at a cost of $2,773,750 ({{Inflation|US|2,773,750|1947|fmt=eq}}). The unit price contracted for the first {{convert|90|ST|t|order=flip}} was $4.17 a pound, but Mallinckrodt found that it could produce it for substantially less, and voluntarily refunded $2.20 a pound to the government. By 1 January 1947, the price had fallen to $0.71 per pound.{{sfn|Manhattan District|1947a|pp=10.2–10.3}}
The Electro-Metallurgical Company in [[Niagara Falls, New York]], (a division of [[Union Carbide]]) built an Ames Process uranium metal plant on its property under a cost-plus-fixed-fee contract at a cost of $234,300 ({{Inflation|US|234,300|1943|fmt=eq}}). The plant operated from April 1943 to
==Other minerals==
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Due to its neutron-absorbing properties, [[boron-10]] found multiple uses at the [[Los Alamos Laboratory]],{{sfn|Manhattan District|1947c|p=VIII-19}} which raised a requirement for boron in both its natural form and enriched in the boron-10 isotope.{{sfn|Manhattan District|1947d|p=7.1}} This led to two lines of research at the Manhattan Project's [[SAM Laboratories]] at [[Columbia University]] in New York City: one aimed at developing a means of reducing boron compounds, and one at separating boron isotopes using an [[isotope fractionation]] process. Harshaw was awarded the contract to supply [[boron trifluoride]] ({{chem2|BF3}}), at least 97% pure. A total of {{convert|92,450|lb|kg|order=flip}} was supplied by 1 March 1946 for $72,770 ({{Inflation|US|72,770|1946|fmt=eq}}).{{sfn|Manhattan District|1947d|pp=7.2-7.7}}
Once the research into isotope separation had progressed sufficiently, the contract for the isotope separation was awarded to the [[Standard Oil Company of Indiana]], since fractionation was a common practice in the oil industry. While both boron trifluoride and [[dimethyl ether]] were gases at room temperature, their complex was a liquid. The [[American Cyanamid Company]] was awarded the contract for processing the boron trifluoride/dimeythl ether complex. The schedule called for the production of a kilogram of boron as soon as possible, five kilograms by 15 September 1944, and five kilograms per month thereafter. The plant in [[Stamford, Connecticut]], was ready on 7 July 1944.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Singer-Vine |first1=Jeremy |last2=Emshwiller |first2=John R. |last3=Parmar |first3=Neil |last4=Scott |first4=Charity |title=American Cyanamid Co — Stamford, Conn. — Waste Lands America's forgotten nuclear legacy |url=https://www.wsj.com/graphics/waste-lands/site/25-american-cyanamid-co/ |access-date=2025-04-23 |website=The Wall Street Journal}}</ref> Production ceased on 30 June 1946, by which time Cyanamid had delivered {{convert|504|lb|order=flip}} of crystalline boron-10, {{convert|850|lb|order=flip}} of calcium fluoride-boron trifluoride complex enriched in the boron-10 isotope, and {{convert|242|lb|order=flip}} of calcium fluoride-boron trifluoride complex enriched in the boron-11 isotope.{{sfn|Manhattan District|1947d|pp=7.2-7.7}}
===Graphite===
[[Graphite]] was chosen as a [[neutron moderator]] in the Manhattan Project's nuclear reactors, as [[heavy water]], while a superior moderator, was not yet available in the necessary quantities and would take too much time to produce.{{sfn|Compton|1956|pp=98–100}} At first, it appeared that procurement of graphite would not be a problem, as hundreds of tons were produced in the United States every year. The problem was purity.{{sfn|Smyth|1945|pp=40–41}} The graphite obtained by the Columbia University in 1941 had been manufactured by the US Graphite Company in [[Saginaw, Michigan]]. While it was of high purity for a commercial product, it contained 2 parts per million of boron, a neutron poison.{{sfn|Smyth|1945|pp=69–70}}
Scientists at the National Bureau of Standards found that the boron in commercial graphite came from the foundry [[coke (fuel)|coke]] used in its production, which contained 15 times as much boron as petroleum-based coke. By substituting [[petroleum coke]] and altering some of the production steps, the [[National Carbon Company]] in New York and the Speer Carbon Company in [[St. Marys, Pennsylvania]], were able to make graphite that absorbed 20% fewer neutrons, which was sufficient to meet the Metallurgical Laboratory's stringent standards.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Singer-Vine |first1=Jeremy |last2=Emshwiller |first2=John R. |last3=Parmar |first3=Neil |last4=Scott |first4=Charity |title=National Carbon Co. — New York, N.Y. — Waste Lands America's forgotten nuclear legacy |url=https://www.wsj.com/graphics/waste-lands/site/305-national-carbon-co/ |access-date=2025-04-23 |website=The Wall Street Journal}}</ref>{{sfn|Compton|1956|pp=97–98}}{{sfn|Jones|1985|pp=65–66}}{{sfn|Manhattan District|1947e|pp=12.7–12.9}}
===Polonium===
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The conclusion was that the best source of uranium was the Belgian Congo, followed by Canada, the United States and Sweden. The survey rated Czechoslovakia, Portugal and South Africa as "fair", and Australia, Brazil, Madagascar and the United Kingdom as "poor". For thorium, the best sources were considered to be Brazil and India, with Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Korea and the United States regarded as "fair".{{sfn|Manhattan District|1947b|pp=S1–S4 }}
{{Clear}}
==Notes==
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{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book |last=Alexander |first=Peter P. |year=1943 |title=The Production of Uranium Metal by Metal Hydrides Incorporated |___location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=United States Atomic Energy Commission |doi=10.2172/4357577 |osti=4357577 |url=https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc173093/ |archive-date=23 January 2025 |access-date=5 March 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250123112911/https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc173093/ |url-status=live }}
* {{cite journal |last=Arsenault |first=
* {{cite book |last1=Beck |first1=Alfred M. |last2=Bortz |first2=Abe |last3=Lynch |first3=Charles |last4=Mayo |first4=Lida |last5=Weld |first5=Ralph F. |series=United States Army in World War II: The Technical Services |title=The Corps of Engineers: The War Against Germany |year=1985 |___location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=United States Army Center of Military History |oclc=455982008 |url=http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/010/10-22/CMH_Pub_10-22.pdf |access-date=20 December 2016 |archive-date=16 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181016023948/https://history.army.mil/html/books/010/10-22/CMH_Pub_10-22.pdf |url-status=dead }}
* {{cite journal |last=Bernstein |first=Barton J. |title=The Uneasy Alliance: Roosevelt, Churchill, and the Atomic Bomb, 1940–1945 |publisher=University of Utah |date=June 1976 |journal=The Western Political Quarterly |pages=202–230 |volume= 29 |issue= 2 |jstor=448105|doi=10.2307/448105}}
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* {{cite book |last=Compton |first=Arthur |author-link=Arthur Compton |year=1956 |title=Atomic Quest |url=https://archive.org/details/atomicquestperso0000comp |url-access=registration |___location=New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |oclc=173307 }}
* {{cite journal |last=Corbett |first=John D. |title=Frank Harold Spedding 1902–1982 |url=http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=10269&page=300%E2%80%93326 |journal=Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences |publisher=National Academy of Sciences |volume=80 |year=2001 |author-link=John Corbett (chemist) |access-date=June 6, 2015 |isbn=978-0-309-08281-5 |archive-date=5 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120405232844/http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=10269&page=300%E2%80%93326 |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |last= Cotta Vaz |first=Mark |title=Pan Am at War: How the Airline Secretly Helped America Fight World War II |date=2018 |publisher=Skyhorse Publishing Company, Incorporated |others=John H. Hill |isbn=978-1-5107-2950-6 |___location=New York }}
* {{cite book |last=Dahlkamp |first=Franz J. |title=Uranium Ore Deposits |publisher=Springer-Verlag |___location=Berlin |year=1993 |isbn=978-3-540-53264-4 |oclc=23213888 }}
* {{cite report |author=Fleishman-Hillard |title=Fuel for the Atomic Age: Completion Report on St. Louis-Area Uranium Processing Operations, 1942–1967 |date=1 January 1967 |doi=10.2172/4137766 |osti=4137766 |___location=St. Louis, Missouri }}
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* {{cite book |last=Groves |first=Leslie |author-link=Leslie Groves |title=Now it Can be Told: The Story of the Manhattan Project |url=https://archive.org/details/nowitcanbetolds00grov |url-access=registration |___location=New York |publisher=Harper & Row |year=1962 |oclc=537684 }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Harris |first1=John |title=The Magic Key: E = mc<sup>2</sup> |date=June 1962 |journal=Mallinckrodt Uranium Division News |volume=7 |issue=3 and 4 |pages=25–31 |access-date=18 February 2025 |url=https://ahf.nuclearmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/The%20Mallinckrodt%20Chemical%20Works%20Story.pdf |archive-date=2 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240802063201/https://ahf.nuclearmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/The%20Mallinckrodt%20Chemical%20Works%20Story.pdf |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |last=Helmreich |first=
*{{cite journal |last =Helmreich |first =Jonathan E. |date =1990 |title =The Negotiation of the Belgian Uranium Export Tax of 1951 |journal=[[Revue Belge de Philologie et d'Histoire]] |volume=68 |issue =2 |pages =320–351 |doi =10.3406/rbph.1990.3713}}
* {{cite book |last1=Hoddeson |first1=Lillian |author-link=Lillian Hoddeson |first2=Paul W. |last2=Henriksen |first3=Roger A. |last3=Meade |first4=Catherine L. |last4=Westfall |author-link4=Catherine Westfall |title=Critical Assembly: A Technical History of Los Alamos During the Oppenheimer Years, 1943–1945 |___location=New York |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1993 |isbn=0-521-44132-3 |oclc=26764320 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/criticalassembly0000unse }}
* {{cite book |last1=Hewlett |first1=Richard G. |author-link=Richard G. Hewlett |last2=Anderson |first2=Oscar E. |title=The New World, 1939–1946 |___location=University Park |publisher=Pennsylvania State University Press |year=1962 |url=https://www.governmentattic.org/5docs/TheNewWorld1939-1946.pdf |access-date=26 March 2013 |oclc=637004643 |archive-date=26 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190926065049/https://www.governmentattic.org/5docs/TheNewWorld1939-1946.pdf |url-status=live }}
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* {{cite book |last=Scalia |first=Joseph M. |title=Germany's Last Mission to Japan: The Failed Voyage of U-234 |publisher=Naval Institute Press |year=2000 |isbn=1-55750-811-9 |oclc=42290880 |url=https://archive.org/details/germanyslastmiss0000scal }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Seaborg |first1=G. T. |author-link1=Glenn Seaborg |first2=J. W. |last2=Gofman |author-link2=John Gofman |first3=R. W. |last3=Stoughton |title=Nuclear Properties of U233: A New Fissionable Isotope of Uranium |journal=[[Physical Review]] |issn=0031-899X |volume=71 |page=378 |date=15 March 1947 |issue=6 |doi=10.1103/PhysRev.71.378.2 }}
* {{cite book |last=Sims |first=Gordon H.E. |title=A History of the Atomic Energy Control Board |publisher=Ministere of Supply and Services Canada |___location=Ottawa |date=July 1980 |isbn=0-660-10812-7 |url=https://inis.iaea.org/records/89cdh-6pb20/files/14762380.pdf |access-date=16 August 2025}}
* {{cite book |last=Smyth |first=Henry DeWolf |author-link=Henry DeWolf Smyth |title=Atomic Energy for Military Purposes: the Official Report on the Development of the Atomic Bomb under the Auspices of the United States Government, 1940–1945 |___location=Princeton, New Jersey |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=1945 |oclc=770285|title-link=Smyth Report}}
* {{cite book |last=Vanthemsche |first=Guy |title=Belgium and the Congo, 1885-1980 |date=2012 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |___location=Cambridge |isbn=978-0-521-19421-1 |oclc=801193141 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Van Wyck |first=Peter |title=Highway of the Atom |date=2010 |___location=Montreal |publisher=MQUP |isbn=978-0-7735-3783-5 |oclc=630475325 }}
* {{cite book |last=Villa |first=Brian L. |title=The Second World War as a National Experience: Canada |contribution=Chapter 11: Alliance Politics and Atomic Collaboration, 1941–1943 |publisher=The Canadian Committee for the History of the Second World War, Department of National Defence |year=1981 |editor-first=Aster |editor-last=Sidney |editor-link=Sidney Aster |oclc=11646807 |url=http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/UN/Canada/Natl_Exp/index.html |access-date=8 December 2014 |archive-date=17 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210917040749/http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/UN/Canada/Natl_Exp/index.html |url-status=live }}
* {{cite journal |last=Wilhelm |first=H. A. |author-link=Harley A. Wilhelm |title=Development of Uranium Metal Production in America |journal=[[Journal of Chemical Education]] |issn=0021-9584 |date=February 1, 1960 |volume=37 |issue=2 |pages=56–68 |doi=10.1021/ed037p56 |bibcode=1960JChEd..37...56W |osti=4732659 }}
* {{cite book |
▲*{{cite book| last = Williams |first = Susan |authorlink = Susan Williams (historian) |date = 2016 |title = Spies in the Congo: America's Atomic Mission in World War II |___location = New York |publisher = [[Hachette Book Group|Hachette]] |isbn = 978-1-61039-655-4 }}
{{refend}}
{{Manhattan Project|state=open}}
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[[Category:History of the Manhattan Project]]
[[Category:Uranium mining]]
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