Carborundum Co. v. Commissioner

70 T.C. 59, 1978 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 134
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedApril 26, 1978
DocketDocket Nos. 7289-74, 2338-75, 2339-75
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 70 T.C. 59 (Carborundum Co. v. Commissioner) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Tax Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Carborundum Co. v. Commissioner, 70 T.C. 59, 1978 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 134 (tax 1978).

Opinion

Wiles, Judge:

Respondent determined the following deficiencies in petitioner’s Federal income taxes:

Year Deficiency Year Deficiency
1963.$39,250.00 1966.$57,861.10
1964. 43,986.00 1967.57,350.31
1965. 42,753.00 1968.54,991.38

Various issues have been settled and one issue has been severed for independent briefing and opinion. The only issue currently presented for our decision is what steps in processing the mineral “Seneca Standard” tripoli are mining processes for purposes of calculating petitioner’s allowable depletion deduction under section 611.2

FINDINGS OF FACT

Some of the facts have been stipulated and are found accordingly.

Petitioner, the Carborundum Co., is a Delaware corporation with its principal offices in Niagara Falls, N. Y. Petitioner timely filed consolidated Féderal income tax returns for the years in question with the District Director of Internal Revenue, Buffalo, N. Y.

Carborundum is engaged directly and through subsidiaries in the manufacture and sale of a diversified line of products that includes abrasive materials. One such mineral, “Seneca Standard” tripoli, is extracted from deposits near Seneca, Mo. “Seneca Standard” tripoli is a form of silica that varies from 90 to 98 percent silicon dioxide (SÍO2), and contains fractional percentages of iron, alumina, and quartz. One outstanding characteristic of “Seneca Standard” that distinguishes it from other forms of tripoli such as rotten-stone and amorphous silica, is the physical structure of the individual particle. It is soft, porous, has a fiber structure with no sharp edges, and an average size of less than 0.01 millimeters. Even the most minute particle never has a sharp or jagged edge. “Seneca Standard” also has a high absorption rate. The crude stone can absorb up to 35 percent water and the powdered material can absorb up to 52 percent water. The absorption of oil varies from 40 to 52 percent, depending on the fineness of the material.

The major use of “Seneca Standard” tripoli is in buffing compounds. Because of its physical properties, “Seneca Standard” may be bound firmly by stearic acid, tallow, paraffin, petrolatum, and oils, with which it is mixed in various formulas. When used in a buffing compound, the particles break down at the proper rate as pressure is applied and give maximum buffing results with a minimum of resistance.

Deposits of “Seneca Standard” are discovered through core drilling. After a deposit is discovered, the overburden, ranging from 8 to 15 feet in depth, is stripped from the mineral deposit. The surface of the exposed mineral is then cleaned to prevent contamination by earth or clay. Next, holes are drilled into the mineral, they are chambered with dynamite, and shot with black powder. The broken material, containing 20 to 35 percent moisture, is loaded onto trucks and taken to open-air drying sheds for curing. These drying sheds are “pole barn” structures, having roofs, but no siding. These structures allow the prevailing winds to draw moisture from the exposed mineral. During the outdoor drying process, which might last from 6 to 12 months, the moisture content of “Seneca Standard” tripoli is reduced from approximately 35 percent to as low as 10 percent.

After the “Seneca Standard” is cured through air drying, the mineral is trucked to petitioner’s processing mill for further treatment. The first step in processing occurs when the crude mineral is dumped through a grate into a jaw crusher for primary crushing. The material leaving the jaw crusher has a particle size no larger than one and a half inches. The crushed material is then fed by bucket elevator into one of four holding tanks. Next, the crude “Seneca Standard” is fed from the holding tanks into an 80-foot indirect fired rotary dryer. This dryer, with a temperature of approximately 2,800 to 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit, reduces the moisture content of “Seneca Standard” tripoli to approximately 1 percent. There is no change in chemical composition or physical properties other than the extraction of moisture as a result of drying. From the dryer, the ore drops into a secondary crushing unit, referred to as the hammer mill. In the hammer mill “Seneca Standard” tripoli is reduced in particle size to no larger than one-quarter inch. Following crushing in the hammer mill, the material is taken by bucket elevator to a tube mill. The tube mill, a fine grinding unit, is lined with large adamant silica stone and contains smaller tumbling adamant silica stones that act as grinding media. The parties have stipulated that the process “Seneca Standard” tripoli is subjected to in the tube mill is “fine pulverization” as that term is defined in section 1.613-4(g)(6)(v), Income Tax Regs. The tube mill is the final stage of grinding.

From the tube mill, the fine pulverized “Seneca Standard” tripoli is separated into three different grades of powdered material. The three different grades are referred to as once ground, double ground, and air floated. Separation occurs by passing the two finer grades — the air floated and double ground — through Raymond air separators. Once ground, the coarsest grade produced is classified by using a Tyler Hummer screen. After separating the particles of “Seneca Standard” tripoli according to size by passing the material through classification screens, the “Seneca Standard” is then fed into a packing machine where it is packed into large four- or five-ply paper bags which, when filled, weigh 101 pounds. These bags are then sealed, stenciled with identification symbols, stacked on wooden or cardboard pallets, and then loaded into railroad cars for shipment.

Processing “Seneca Standard” tripoli is a closed-circuit operation from the time the mineral is fed into the jaw crusher until it is packed into paper bags. Throughout this process nothing is added to the material and there is no change in composition or physical properties, other than the removal of all but approximately 1 percent of the moisture content.

Petitioner controls 98 percent of the domestic and foreign market of “Seneca Standard” tripoli. Consequently, there are no representative field prices for the mineral in any condition other than the finished product shipped in paper bags. Although large blocks of “Seneca Standard” were used in water filtration during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, since 1920 there has been no market for “Seneca Standard” in block form.

Respondent, in his notice of deficiency, allowed certain processes to qualify as mining processes for the purpose of determining petitioner’s depletion allowance. Those processes considered by respondent as mining processes are: stripping the overburden, blasting, loading the rough material onto trucks, hauling to open-air drying sheds and drying, crushing in the jaw crusher, drying in the gas-fired rotary furnace, grinding in the hammer mill, and loading the sacks into boxcars. Those processes respondent considered manufacturing processes, not mining processes, are fine pulverization in the tube mill, separating and classifying into grades of fineness, and sacking (including labor costs in mechanically filling the bags).

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Ideal Basic Industries, Inc. v. Commissioner
82 T.C. No. 28 (U.S. Tax Court, 1984)
Carborundum Co. v. Commissioner
70 T.C. 59 (U.S. Tax Court, 1978)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
70 T.C. 59, 1978 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 134, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/carborundum-co-v-commissioner-tax-1978.