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Piceance Creek Basin Saline Deposits

Producer in Rio Blanco county in Colorado, United States with commodities Sodium, Calcium, Aluminum, Halite
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Sections on this page
  1. Identification information
  2. Geographic coordinates
  3. Site location context
  4. Geographic areas
  5. Public Land Survey System information
  6. Commodities
  7. Materials information
  8. Host and associated rocks
  9. Nearby scientific data
  10. Geologic structures
  11. Ore body information
  12. Controls for ore emplacement
  13. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  14. Mining district
  15. Land status
  16. Ownership information
  17. Links to other databases
  18. Bibliographic references
  19. General comments
  20. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10014059
MRDS ID D010676
Record type Site
Current site name Piceance Creek Basin Saline Deposits
Alternate or previous names Piceance Creek Basin Nahcolite and Dawsonite Deposits, Piceance Basin Saline Beds

Geographic coordinates

Geographic coordinates: -108.3604, 39.95691 (WGS84)
Elevation 1969
Relative position 5 TO 10 MILES N 47 W FROM RIFLE

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Rio Blanco(county)

Colorado(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Square S Ranch(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Douglas Pass(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Grand Junction(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Piceance-Yellow(hydrologic unit)

White-Yampa(hydrologic accounting unit)

White-Yampa(hydrologic subregion)

Upper Colorado(hydrologic region)

Federal lands

Bureau of Land Management(Bureau of Land Management CO)

Bureau of Land Management CO BLM(Type of land area)

BLM(Federal land areas administered by BLM)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Colorado Rio Blanco

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
6th Principal 001S;001S;001N;002S 097W;098W;098W;098W Colorado

Comments on the location information

  • IN PICEANCE CREEK AND YELLOW CREEK DRAINAGES IN AND AROUND CENTER OF PICEANCE CREEK BASIN. TOWNSHIPS LISTED ARE FOR THICKEST KNOWN INTERVALS OF NAHCOLITE- AND DAWSONITE-BEARING ROCKS. DEPOSITS ALSO EXTEND INTO TIN/R97W, TIN/R99W, TIS/R99W, T2S/R96W, T2S/R97W, T2S/R96W, T3S/R97W, T3S/R98W. ELEV AND LAT-LONG GIVEN ARE FOR APPROXIMATE THICKEST PARTS OF DEPOSIT IN C E2 T1S, R98W. ; INFO FROM LAND.ST :1976
  • Deleted duplicate record 10119432 (MAS 0081030001) gave location as 01S, 98W, Sec. 4. WGS84 coordinates as 39.99917, -108.39958.

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Sodium Primary
Calcium Primary
Aluminum Critical Tertiary
Halite Tertiary

Comments on the commodity information

  • Deleted duplicate record 10119432 (MAS 0081030001) listed ONLY Tertiary commodities: Aluminum, Calcium, Feldspar, Oil Shale, Silica, Sodium, Dolomite. Presence of Co (Cobalt) is unlikely. This was probably a typo and was intended to be Ca (Calcium).

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Dawsonite Ore
Nahcolite Ore
Halite Gangue

Comments on the analytical data

  • From 10119432 (from MAS 0081030001): "COM.7 IS KEROGEN LISTED UNDER OILSHALE. 75% EST. & ANALYSIS AFTER NIELSEN, 1969, BASED ON SALINE BED 50% EST. & GRADE AFTER BEARD, ETC BASED ON PARACHUTE CREEK M 4.7% DAWSONITE ENTERED AS 1.6% AL203 IN GRADE-QUANTITY MATRI"

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Clastic Sedimentary Rock > Shale > Oil Shale
    Rock unit name Parachute Creek Member Of Green River Formation
    Rock description Parachute Creek Member Of Green River Formation
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Eocene
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Eocene

Nearby scientific data

(1) -108.3604, 39.95691
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Regional
Structure description Piceance Creek Basin, White River Uplift
Type of structure Local
Structure description Piceance Creek Dome, Red Wash Syncline, Hunter Creek Syncline

Ore body information

  • General form IRREGULAR
    Thickness 335.28M
    Length 48279M
    Width 32186M
    Depth to top 411.48M
    Depth to bottom 746.76M
  • General form IRREGULAR
  • General form IRREGULAR

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Depocenter Of Stratigraphic/Structural Basin

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Development status Producer
Commodity type Both
Deposit size Large
Significant No
Discovery year 1947

Mining district

District name Piceance Creek Basin

Land status

Ownership category Federal

Ownership information

  • Type Owner
    Owner White River Nahcolite Minerals (Owned By Natec Resources Inc. (50%) North American Chemical Co. (50
  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner Natural Soda Inc.
    Year 2011

Comments on the workings information

  • CORE HOLES; ACCESS VIA USBM DEEP SHAFT

Comments on development

  • SMALL AMOUNT OF-NAHCOLITE PRODUCED IN 1970S FOR EXPERIMENTAL TESTING AND DEMONSTRATION SO2 CONTROL AT COAL-FIRED POWER PLANT. NA PREFERENCE-RIGHT LEASES FIRST REQUESTED IN 1966 BY KAISER ALUMINUM, BUT WAS DENIED AND VENTURE DROPPED. SIMILAR RESULTS FOR YANKEE GULCH JOINT VENTURE(NORTHWESTERN MUTUAL AND CLEVELAN CLIFFS IRON CO.). MORE RECENT VENTURES THAT FAILED EITHER TO GOVT NONACTION OR GENERAL ECONOMIC PROBLEMS WITH OIL SHALE INDUSTRY INCLUDED SUPERIOR OIL, MULTI-MINERAL CO. SUBSIDIARY OF CHARTER OIL). LATEST EXPL/DEVEL. VENTURES INCLUDE NATRONA RESOURCES/MULTI-MINERAL. DENVER (1983) AND INDUSTRIAL RESOURCES. INC., LAKEWOOD (1983). PRINCIPAL NAHCOLITE USES INCLUDE SO2 POLLUTION CONTROL, SODA ASH FOR CONTAINER GLASS AND INSULATING BUILDING MATERIALS. PRINCIPAL DAWSONITE USE IS DOMESTIC SOURCE OF ALUMINA. ECONOMIC RECOVERY OF EITHER OR BOTH SALINES MAY DEPEND ON COPRODUCT SHALE OIL RECOVERY. DEPOSITS CONSTITUTE WORLD'S LARGEST AND RICHEST SUCH SALINE RESOURCES.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    BEARD, T.N., AND OTHERS, 1974, NAHCOLITE AND DAWSONITE RESOURCES IN THE GREEN RIVER FORMATION, PICEANCE CREEK BASIN, COLORADO, IN MURRAY, D.K., ED., ENERGY RESOURCES OF THE PICEANCE CREEK BASIN, COLORADO: RMAG 25TH FIELD CONF. GUIDEBOOK, P. 101-109.

  • Deposit

    DYNI, J.R., 1974, STRATIGRAPHY AND NAHCOLITE RESOURCES OF THE SALINE FACIES OF THE GREEN RIVER FORMATION IN NORTHWEST COLORADO, IN MURRAY, D.K., ED., ENERGY RESOURCES OF THE PICEANCE CREEK BASIN, COLORADO: RMAG 25TH FIELD CONF. GUIDEBOOK, P. 111-122.

  • Deposit

    FARRIS, C.B., 1980, MARKET POTENTIAL OF THE GREEN RIVER NAHCOLITE/DAWSONITE IN COLORADO, IN SCHWOCHOW, S.D., ED., PROCEEDINGS OF THE FIFTEENTH FORUM ON GEOLOGY OF INDUSTRIAL MINERALS: CGS RESOURCE SER. 8, P. 96-104.

  • Deposit

    FARRIS, C.B., AND MAINS, C.J., 1978, DAWSONITE AND NAHCOLITE SURVEY, VOLUME 1--RESERVES, TECHNOLOGY, ECONOMICS, AND MARKET ASSESMENT: COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES RESEARCH INST. (DOE DIV. INDUS. ENERGY CONSERV. CONTRACT NO. EC-77-S-07-1683).

  • Deposit

    HITE, R.J., AND DYNI, J.R., 1967, POTENTIAL RESOURCES OF DAWSONITE AND NAHCOLITE IN THE PICEANCE CREEK BASIN, NORTHWEST COLORADO: COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES QUART., V. 62, NO. 3, P. 25-38.

  • Deposit

    NIELSEN, IRVIN, 1980, DEVELOPMENT OF NAHCOLITE-RICH OIL SHALES, IN SCHWOCHOW, S.D., ED., PROCEEDINGS OF THE FIFTEENTH FORUM ON GEOLOGY OF INDUSTRIAL MINERALS: CGS RESOURCE SER. 8, P. 89-95.

  • Deposit

    SMITH, J.W., AND MILTON, C., 1966, DAWSONITE IN THE GREEN RIVER FORMATION OF COLORADO: ECON. GEOLOGY, V. 61, P.1029-1042.

  • Deposit

    YOUNG, N.B., AND SMITH, J.W., 1970, DAWSONITE AND NAHCOLITE ANALYSES OF GREEN RIVER FORMATION OIL-SHALE SECTION, PICEANCE CREEK BASIN, COLORADO: USBM RI-7445.

  • Deposit

    CASHION, W.B., 1973, GEOLOGIC AND STRUCTURE MAP OF THE GRAND JUNCTION QUADRANGLE, COLORADO AND UTAH: USGS MAP I-736.

  • Deposit

    ROWLEY, P.D., AND OTHERS, 1979, GEOLOGIC MAP OF THE VERNAL 1X2 QUADRANGLE, COLORADO, UTAH, AND WYOMING, USGS MAP MF-1163.

  • Deposit

    INDUSTRIAL MINERALS, 1993, WORLD OF MINERALS- USA: NO. 304, P. 17.

  • Reserve-Resource

    FARRIS, 1980; BEARD AND OTHERS, 1974; INDUSTRIAL MINERALS, 1993.

  • Deposit

    The Denver Post, 2011, Colo. baking soda maker doubling its capacity: Denver Post, Sept. 6, 2011.

Comments on the references

  • Deleted duplicate record 10119432 (MAS 0081030001) gave additional 3 references [commas added by ABW for clarity]:
    NIELSON, PICEANCE MINERAL SUITE, EMJ 1/69
    SMITH, OIL SHALE MINING, MINING ENGINEERING 10/74
    SMITH, RELATIONSHIP BET. DENSITY & OIL YIELD FOR OIL SHALES.

General comments

Subject category Comment text
Deposit NAHCOLITE, DAWSONITE, AND HALITE OCCUR IN THICK INTERVAL IN LOWER PARACHUTE CREEK MEMBER OF GREEN RIVER FM. DAWSONITE INTERVAL THICKER AND MORE LATERALLY EXTENSIVE THAN NAHCOLITE AND CONSISTS OF MINUTE CRYSTALS DISSEMINATED IN OIL SHALE MATRIX, COMPRISING UP TO 25% OF DEPOSIT. CENTRAL THICKEST PART OF INTERVAL ESTIMATED TO CONTAIN AT LEAST 5 WT%. DAWSONITE HAS APPARENTLY NOT BEEN EXTENSIVELY DISSOLVED BY GROUND WATER, AND PRESENT EXTENT REPRESENTS ORIGINAL DEPOSITIONAL PATTERN. TOP OF ABUNDANT DAWSONITE ZONE MARKED BY UPPER HALITE. NAHCOLITE INTERVAL THINS AWAY FROM BASIN DEPOSITIONAL CENTER DUE TO DEPOSITIONAL THINNING AND TO POST-DEPOSITIONAL LEACHING. OVERLYING NAHCOLITE SECTION IS LEACHED ZONE CHARACTERIZED BY SOLUTION CAVITIES, OPEN FRACTURES, BRECCIA ZONES, POROUS AND EARTHY MARLSTONE. LEACHED ZONE IS STRATIGRAPHICALLY HIGHEST AT BASIN DEPOSITONAL CENTER. IN LOWER PARACHUTE CREEK MBR NAHCOLITE OCCURS AS NODULES AND RADIATING MASSES SURROUNDED BY OIL SHALE. BEDDED FORMS INCLUDE
Deposit 1) WHITE COARSE CRYSTALLINE VARIETY; 2) BROWN MICROCRYSTALLINE TYPE; 3) CRYSTAL MUSH, UP TO 0.5-INCH CRYSTALS IN OIL SHALE MATRIX. INTERVAL CONTAINS SEVERAL THICK UNITS OF INTERBEDDED NAHCOLITE AND HALITE. THICKNESS AND DEPTHS REPORTED ABOVE APPROXIMATED FROM BEARD AND OTHER' (1974) CROSS-SECTION. MAXIMUM LENGTH AND WIDTH APPROXIMATED FROM BEARD AND OTHERS' (1974) ISOPACH MAP OF DAWSONITE-BEARING INTERVAL (300-FT)CONTOUR ON SOUTH TO 500-FT CONTOUR ON NORTH; 300-FT CONTOUR ON WEST TO 60-FT CONTOUR ON WEST TO 600-FT CONTOUR LIMIT OF RESOURCE EVALUATION ON EAST.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 01-JUN-83 Schwochow, Stephen D. Colorado Geological Survey
Updater 01-AUG-93 Orris, Greta J. U.S. Geological Survey
Editor 07-SEP-11 Wilson, Anna B U.S. Geological Survey Merged duplicate record 10119432 (from MAS 0081030001) and corrected erroneous info and location.
Reporter 14-OCT-94 Fitzpatrick U.S. Bureau of Mines = 10119432 (from MAS 0081030001)

Beyond USGS

Supplemental information added by qvyshift.com. Not part of the original USGS MRDS record.

Maps centered on this site

Authoritative Colorado resources

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