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OCI

Producer in Sweetwater county in Wyoming, United States with commodities Sodium Carbonate, Sodium, Oil Shale, Halite, Soda Ash
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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. Alteration
  9. Host and associated rocks
  10. Nearby scientific data
  11. Geologic structures
  12. Ore body information
  13. Controls for ore emplacement
  14. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  15. Mining district
  16. Ownership information
  17. Workings at the site
  18. Links to other databases
  19. Bibliographic references
  20. General comments
  21. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10107384
MRDS ID W031827
MAS/MILS ID 560370025
Record type Site
Current site name OCI
Alternate or previous names Big Island Mine, Stauffer Trona, Stauffer, Green River Stauffer Mine, Big Island Mine and Plant, Rhone Poulenc
Included sites Green River Trona District

Geographic coordinates

Point of reference Main Entrance
Geographic coordinates: -109.69194, 41.71778 (WGS84)
Location accuracy 250(meters)
Relative position 17 MILES NW OF THE TOWN OF GREEN RIVER, WY, 500 ft.

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Sweetwater(county)

Wyoming(state)

United States(country)

North America(continent)

Land(continent)

USGS map quadrangles

Stevens Flat(quadrangle 1:24,000 scale)

Rock Springs(quadrangle 1:100,000 scale)

Rock Springs(quadrangle 1:250,000 scale)

Hydrologic units (watersheds)

Upper Green-Slate(hydrologic unit)

Upper Green(hydrologic accounting unit)

Great Divide-Upper Green(hydrologic subregion)

Upper Colorado(hydrologic region)

Geographic areas

Country State County
United States Wyoming Sweetwater

Public Land Survey System information

Meridian Township Range Section Fraction State
6th Principal 020N 109W 22 SE4 Wyoming
6th Principal 020N 109W 15 NE4 of SE4 Wyoming

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Sodium Carbonate Primary
Sodium Primary
Oil Shale Tertiary
Halite Tertiary
Soda Ash Primary

Comments on the commodity information

  • TRONA BEDS GENERALLY OVER 90% PURE. HALITE IN BEDS LESSENS VALUE.

Materials information

Materials Type of material
Trona Ore
Halite Ore
Calcite Gangue
Dolomite Gangue
Gaylussite Gangue
Nahcolite Gangue
Oil Shale Unknown

Alteration

  • (Local) Trona May Be In Part A Diagenetic Product Of Reaction Between Evaporite Minerals And Na-Rich Water From The Weathering Of Andesitic Tuffs Of Green River Formation. Geochemical Studies (Parker, Et Al, 1971) Have Shown That The Green River Was Probably A Source Of Na-Rich Water. Solution Activity And Reorganization Of Material Is Evident Including Enlarged Grainsize And Secondary Redeposition Of Trona (Parker, Et Al, 1971).

Host and associated rocks

  • Host or associated Host
    Rock type Sedimentary Rock > Chemical Sediment > Evaporite
    Rock unit name Green River, Wilkins Peak Member: Trona And Evaporite Bearing Strata
    Rock description Green River, Wilkins Peak Member: Trona And Evaporite Bearing Strata
    Stratigraphic age (youngest) Eocene

Nearby scientific data

Main Entrance (1) -109.69194, 41.71778
ListMap

Economic information

Geologic structures

Type of structure Local
Structure description Rock Springs Uplift, East Of Trona Area, Stratigraphic High During Much Of Green River Fm. Depositional Period. It Created A Barrier Restricting Water Circulation And Aiding Evaporite Precipitation.
Type of structure Regional
Structure description Basin And Range Province; Green River Basin; East Of Overthrust Belt, South Of Wind River Mts.

Ore body information

  • General form CIRCULAR: TABULAR
    Dip 50 FT/MILE WESTWARD
    Thickness 4.27M
    Depth to top 240.79M
    Depth to bottom 252.98M

Controls for ore emplacement

  • Chemical Precipitation From Waters Of 15,000 Sq. Mi. Lake Gosiute During 1 Million Yr. Period Of Aridity And Restricted Circulation.

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Operation type Underground
Development status Producer
Commodity type Non-metallic
Deposit size Large
Significant Yes
Discovery year 1938
Discoverer Mountain Fuel Supply Co.
Year of first production 1962
Plant type Beneficiation (Mill)

Mining district

District name Green River Basin
District name Green River Trona District

Ownership information

  • Type Owner-Operator
    Owner Stauffer Chemical Co. of Wyo.
    Home office Wyoming
    Year 1978
  • Type Operator
    Owner Stauffer Chemical Co. 51% / Rocky Mt. Energy Co. 49%
  • Type Owner
    Owner Stauffer Chemical Co. 51% / Rocky Mtn. Energy Co. 49%
  • Type Unknown
    Owner OCI Wyoming, L.P.
    Year 1998
    First year 1996
  • Type Unknown
    Owner Rhone-Poulenc
    Last year 1996

Comments on the ownership information

  • Line 1 Owner-Operator is from deleted record 0560370025 (=newMRDS 10157533) for just Big Island Plant.
  • Line 4. Ownership OCI Wyoming from comparing map in Dyni and Jones (1998) to location given in this record.

Comments on the production information

  • REFINERY EXPANSION OF 1977 IS CONTINUING, ENDS 1980.

Workings at the site

  • Type of workings Underground
    Area 7511HA
    Overall depth 259.08M

Comments on the workings information

  • CONVENTIONAL COAL MINING EQUIPMENT AND ROOM AND PILLAR MINING ARE USED. 1971 REFINERY CAPACITY IS 1.75 MILLION TONS/YR OF ORE. UPPER AND LOWER BEDS ARE OF EQUAL RESERVES. TOGETHER RESERVES TOTAL "SEVERAL HUNDRED MILLION TONS," (PARKER, ET AL, 1971). LOWER BED IS MINED FIRST. MINE EMPLOYS 600 PEOPLE.

Comments on development

  • 1962 INITIAL CAPACITY WAS 200,000 T/YR SODA ASH. TWO EXPANSIONS RAISED THAT TO 1,000,000 T/YR SODA ASH BY 1971. MINE IS ON LAND LEASED FROM UNION PACIFIC RR.
  • Mining Magazine, January, 1989, p. 45, puts the ore production capacity between 1,000,000 and 3,000,000 tonnes/year. (From deleted record "Green River Stauffer Mine" [newMRDS 10085098, mrds W700627])

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    USBM MINERALS YEARBOOK 1978-79.

  • Deposit

    PARKER, R.B.,1971, CONTRIBUTIONS TO GEOLOGY, TRONA ISSUE, UNIV. OF WYOMING, V. 10, N. 1.

  • Reference

    Incomplete record 10279285 (0560370522) Stauffer Trona by South Dakota School of Mines and Technology WDW 23-nov-1983, USBM [sic] refreences WYO GEOL SURV OPEN FILES. Record deleted.

  • Deposit

    Mining Magazine, January 1989, p. 45.

  • Deposit

    Bradley, W.H., and Eugster, H.P., 1969, Geochemistry and paleolimnology of the trona deposits and associated authigenic minerals of the Green River Formation of Wyoming: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 496B, 71 p.

  • Deposit

    CAMERON ENGINEERS,WYO MINERAL IND REVIEW & FORECAST,1969. [from deleted MAS record 0560370025].

  • Deposit

    OCI Chemical Corp. website [http://www.ocichemical.com/oci/index.asp] last accessed 6/7/10.

General comments

Subject category Comment text
General Deleted duplicate record 10230686 (MAS 0560370027) reported by IFOC 18-nov-1983. References given as USGS PP-496B, 1969 MINOBRAS-WYO INDUSTIAL MINERALS 1975 UPDATE & REVISED BY MILS 10-79 USBM PROD TABULATIONS
Deposit TWO COMMERCIAL TRONA BEDS: UPPER AND LOWER BIG ISLAND BEDS AT 790 FT AND 830 FT.
Deposit PARKER, ET AL, 1971, (REF. 2) GIVES A COMPREHENSIVE REPORT OF THE GENESIS OF THE GREEN RIVER TRONA DEPOSITS, INCLUDING THE GEOCHEMISTRY, MINERALOGY, PALEOENVIRONMENT, AND THE MINING OF TRONA.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 1982-05-01 Sutphin, David M. U.S. Geological Survey
Reporter 1983-11-23 South Dakota School of Mines and Technology WDW U.S. Bureau of Mines
Reporter 1989-08-01 Beougher, Dee (Spanski, Gregory T.) U.S. Geological Survey
Reporter 1983-11-18 Intermountain Field Operations Center (IFOC) U.S. Bureau of Mines deleted record 0560370025
Editor 2010-06-07 Wilson, Anna B. U.S. Geological Survey

Beyond USGS

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

Current status (per MSHA)

StatusActive since 07/04/1976
MSHA mine ID4800154
Mine name (MSHA)Big Island Mine & Refinery
Current operatorSisecam Wyoming, LLC
Current controller (parent)Natural Resource Partners LP; Ciner Resources LP
Mine typeUnderground (Metal / non-metal)

MSHA cross-reference per the original MRDS record. Mine status and operator reflect MSHA's last published Mines export (February 2025); MSHA's public bulk feed has been unavailable since, so this may be out of date. See the Mine Data Retrieval System for current status.

Open MSHA's Mine Data Retrieval System for inspections, accidents, and violations for this mine.

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