NP OAL FIP EY TOE TM ATM TT EP bid. At that point, Utah was ready to negotiate with the AEC for long-term purchase contracts and for the construction of a 750-ton mill. Discussions with the AEC yielded a contract to produce one thousand pounds of “yellow cake” per processing mill per year, later increased to two million pounds. Yellow cake, an oxide of uranium (U*O*) produced after lengthy refining, is a raw material for fueling nuclear reactors. Littlefield estimated a price tag of $10 million to get the venture into full operation, and had great confidence in the project; but as chief financial officer, he needed assurance that the costly venture would not become an overwhelming burden. Consequently, he moved the Lucky Mc’s financing off Utah’s balance sheet, because “by this time we were already beginning to become fairly heavy borrowers; and since we were only going to own 60 percent of it, I was trying to obtain the money on a basis that would not require Utah’s guarantee.” This arrangement shielded Utah financially in case the project turned sour. To find a likely investor, Littlefield 78 mem near a pee re UTAH INTERNATIONAL: A BIOGRAPHY OF A BUSINESS SER 200 contacted Gene Witter, a cofounder in 1924 of the investment firm Ne ee As Utah Construction erected administration and communal buildings at the Lucky Mc operation near Riverton, Wyoming, an increasing number of residential trailers gathered nearby.