Geology News - Earth Science Current Events

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The value of United States nonfuel minerals production increase by 18% between 2005 and 2006. The value of nonfuel minerals produced in 2005 was $54.6 billion compared to a 2006 production total of $64.4 billion. This impressive increase is a result of multiple factors.

1. Domestic demand for many commodities increased significantly and mines responded with increased production rates. Mine production of copper, gold, construction sand and gravel, lime, salt, and zinc all increased significantly.
2. Growth in mineral demand by developing economies in China, India and other countries resulted in an increase in exports.
3. The law of supply and demand - increases in demand for commodities usually causes an increase in price.

In addition to production increases, the value of domestically processed nonfuel mineral materials increased by 10% - from $493 billion in 2005 to $542 billion in 2006. Cement, pig iron and steel all had increases in processed production value.

USGS has published details on US nonfuel mineral production in their new Mineral Commodity Summaries 2007 report. If you are interested in reading the details, it can be obtained as a single large PDF file or as two-page summaries for individual commodities. Access to the Mineral Commodity Summaries.

Labels: Books-Publications, Minerals

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Map of the Oil Shale Basins in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah.

The Bureau of Land Management issued leases for five oil shale research projects. These are the first federal oil shale leases issued in over thirty years. Increasing demand for energy and increasing oil prices have spurred a renewal of interest in oil shale.

Oil shale is a rock that is rich in an organic material known as kerogen. If it is heated in the absence of air the kerogen will yield liquid oil. The Green River Formation, which underlies large portions of Wyoming, Utah and Colorado contains the world’s largest oil shale resource. According to BLM this deposit could contain over 800 billion barrels of recoverable oil - more equivalent oil than the Middle East. However, this resource has not been developed because the cost of extracting oil from the shale has historically been too high.

Oil Shale - Image by US DOE.

Recent increases in oil prices and demand have spurred a renewed interest in oil shale research. These new BLM leases grant rights to develop the oil shale on 160-acre tracts for a period of ten years. The leases can be extended in time and expanded to up to 5000 acres if specific commercial production levels have been met.

There are two different approaches to extracting oil from the shale. One process involves mining the shale, crushing it and running it through a heat treatment process. The other heats the shale while it is still in the ground and produces the oil through wells. This in-situ conversion is currently favored by many industry experts. Challenges which accompany the development of an oil shale resource include: greenhouse gas emissions, mined land reclamation, disposal of spent shale, and water use.

An interesting article: The Cautious U.S. Boom in Oil Shale can be found at the New York Times website.

Labels: Fossil-Fuels, Global-Warming, Minerals

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Mineral products are the secret to colorful Christmas lights! Image by Angela King.

Colored lights have been used as Christmas decorations for over one hundred years and billions of colorful Christmas lights are purchased every year. Each of these brightly colored bulbs is produced using a number of different minerals. The glass bulbs are made from quartz sand with small amounts of sodium carbonate, calcium oxide, magnesium oxide and aluminum oxide added. The metal fitting is often made of brass, an alloy of copper and zinc. The filament within the bulb is typically made of tungsten.

Colored lights are made by adding small amounts of special mineral materials to the glass or placing a thin mineral coating on the inside of the bulb. Yellow light can be produced using cadmium sulfide, ruby red from gold chloride, blue-violet from cobalt oxide, amethyst purple from manganese dioxide, violet from nickel oxide, yellow-amber from sulfur, and emerald green from chromic oxide. Fluorescent yellows and greens have been produced using uranium. These are just a few examples of the mineral materials that can be used to color the glass.

Sources: USGS, cmog.org

Labels: Minerals

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The first Canadian diamond mine came into production in 1998 and in less than ten years Canada is already one of the top producers of gem-quality diamonds. The first Canadian mine, the Ekati Mine, located near Lac de Gras in Northwest Territories, is owned by BHP Billiton, LTD and produces a few million carats of diamonds each year.

Canadian diamond production was 11.2 million carats in 2003, placing it as the fourth most productive nation, after Botswana (22.8 million), Australia (14.9 million) and Russia (12 million). This top producer ranking has been supported by only two mines - the Ekati Mine which produces about 5 million carats per year and the Diavik Mine (owned by Diavik Diamond Mines and Aber Diamond Mines), also located in Northwest Territories and designed to produce at a rate of about 7.5 million carats per year.


Production of Canadian Diamonds - 1998 to 2005 (estimated) - USGS data.

Canada's diamond production should continue to rise because three new diamond projects are moving toward production: 1) The Snap Lake Project, owned by De Beers, located in Northwest Territories and designed to produce about 1.5 million carats per year starting in 2007; 2) the Jericho Project, owned by Nunavut Tahera Diamond Corporation, located in Nunavut and designed to produce about 350,000 carats per year starting in 2006; and, 3) the Victor Project, owned by DeBeers, located in northern Ontario and designed to produce about 600,000 carats per year starting in 2008.


Map of Canadian Diamond Mines
It is very likely that additional discoveries will result in even greater Canadian diamond production. Today an estimated $200 million to $300 million dollars (US) per year is being spent on diamond prospecting in Canada. This is thought to be about one half of the worldwide diamond exploration expenditure. Over 100 companies are involved in this exploration effort which occurs in Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Saskatchewan, Quebec and Ontario.

A couple more great discoveries could advance Canada to the top worldwide producer of gem-quality diamonds.

Sources: USGS Minerals Yearbook, Canadian Minerals Yearbook

Labels: Diamonds, Minerals

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The definition of "mineral rights" might go to court in Tennessee. There, mineral rights owners have been denied access to one of their properties because the target of their intended mining is a sandstone. The surface rights owners claim that sandstone is not a "mineral" and they seem prepared to defend that position in court.

This new interest in sandstone production in Tennessee is related to a huge increase in dimension stone demand that has been building nationwide over the last few years.


(See an October 1, 2006 article on Dimension Stone Demand)
A couple of weaknesses in the surface owners' position is that coal is the typical "mineral" mined in this portion of Tennessee - and coal is not a mineral because it is made of organic material. The sandstone might actually be closer to the definition of a "mineral" than coal because it is made of mineral quartz grains.

Anyone can do a quick search of the web and find a number of documents authored by state and country governments that explain mineral rights for citizens. Rocks such as sandstone, limestone, and dimension stone are generally included as "mineral" commodities in those documents. Oil and natural gas are also often thrown into the mineral rights category as well.

http://www.deq.state.mi.us/documents/deq-ogs-land-oilandgas-mineral-rights.PDF
http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/MM/gym1.html
http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/agdex1124?opendocument

It will be interesting to see if this goes to court and how it plays out. This is a good example of how land buyers should be careful and how those who write documents that transfer "mineral rights" should specify any "minerals" that might be of future interest.

Read more details about the Tennessee mineral rights dispute at CNEWS.

Labels: Minerals

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Cell Phone Image by USGS

Cell phones are everywhere and nearly one billion new phones will be sold this year. Cell Phones have a very short life-span and most are retired within 18 months. What is happening to all of these used, broken or obsolete cell phones? Less than one percent of them are being recycled. Most are taking up space in desk drawers, however USGS believes that there is a good opportunity to recycle them.

A number of metals are used to manufacture the phones. Primary metals include: copper, iron, nickel, silver and zinc. Minor metals include: aluminum, gold, lead, manganese, palladium, platinum and tin. The scrap metal value of each phone is about 70 cents based upon the contained metal content (gold - 40 cents; palladium - 13 cents; silver - 6 cents; copper - 3 cents; and, platinum - 1 cent) - and the prices of many metals used in cell phones are rising rapidly. Considering that an estimated 130 million cell phones were retired in 2005, a scrap value of over $110 million worth of metals is going to waste!

Recovery and recycling of cell phones is in the early stages of development because they have only been recently recognized as a resource. However, if a procedure can be developed to recycle them, some money might be made and our use of virgin metals could be reduced.



Millions of Cell Phones Sold Annually - Image by USGS
Read the USGS factsheet on Recycled Cell Phones

Labels: Gold, Minerals

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Black Smoker - Image by NOAA

Rising prices for copper, zinc, manganese and other important metals are causing some mineral experts to turn their attention to ocean floor mining. Although ocean floor mining is still not a highly commercialized venture, shrinking land-based resources combined with higher metal prices and advancing technology are making it more attractive.

Black smoker deposits are rich in copper, manganese, nickel and gold. Manganese nodules are rich in manganese, nickel, copper and cobalt. Prices for these metals have shot up in the past few years as shown on the charts below.


Average Copper Prices - Domestic Producer Cathode - Image by Geology.com using data from USGS


Average Zinc Prices - Domestic Producer Cathode - Image by Geology.com using data from USGS


Average Manganese Prices - Domestic Producer Cathode - Image by Geology.com using data from USGS


Box core sample with a high density of manganese nodules - NOAA DOMES project image

In an interesting article at spiegel.de Gerald Traufetter quotes Peter Herzig, a pioneer in the area of ocean floor mining. The article discusses some of the history, logistics and potential of seafloor resources. The title is: Treasure at the Bottom of the Sea.

Labels: Minerals

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Image by NASA Mars Global Surveyor

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter was launched in August 2005 and placed itself into a Mars orbit position in March 2006. It is now braking and descending into operating position and is already returning a variety of data.

One of the main jobs of the Orbiter is to gather information about the geology of Mars. Shallow radar will look beneath the surface for the presence of liquid or frozen water, images will be returned to look for features such as ancient lakebeds, salt flats, and mineral deposits.

In the image at right (taken by Mars Global Surveyor) gullies originate at the base of a specific rock layer. These gullies may have formed when these rock layers released groundwater to the Martian surface in geologically recent times. The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter will take much higher resolution images. These images will be used to identify which areas of the planet's surface might be good candidates for scientific study and which might be hazardous to future missions which could carry humans.

Spectrometers on the Orbiter will scan the Martian surface, splitting visible and near-infrared light into hundreds of "colors" that identify minerals. This data can then be used to map the distribution of minerals.

Learn more about these geological studies and more at the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Homepage.

Labels: Astronomy-Planets, Minerals

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Image by Geology.com

Dimension stone is a term used for natural rock materials that are quarried to yield blocks or slabs that can be directly used in construction. It is used for a wide variety of purposes that range from monuments, building facing, curbing, flagging, stair treads, counter tops, roofing and much more. The demand for dimension stone in the United States is exploding and the market is largely being met by imported materials because US production is almost level.

The graph below shows how the apparent consumption of dimension stone has gone up about 25% per year for the past two years. This increase in demand is largely fueled by a growing interest in natural stone for residential construction, prestige architecture and institutional construction. A significant opportunity is open to domestic producers who will have a transportation advantage over imported materials in many US markets.


Image by Geology.com using USGS data.
Read more about dimension stone production and uses at the USGS Minerals Information Pages.

Labels: Minerals

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Dimension stone is a natural rock material that is produced in regularly-shaped blocks or thin slabs for use in construction and landscaping. The past few years have seen a sharp increase in the use of dimension stone within the United States.

Image by National Park Service	Image by USAid.gov
	Image by USAid.gov

Apparent consumption has grown steadily since 2001 as illustrated in the table below.

Year	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005
Domestic Production	263	254	268	281	285
Import for Consumption	1070	1190	1390	1790	2400

Leading producer states are Indiana, Vermont, Wisconsin, South Dakota and Georgia, while most imports are from Italy, India, Canada and Spain. Granite, limestone, sandstone, marble and slate are the primary rock types used.

The United States Geological Survey attributes the increase in dimension stone use to increasing interest from the new construction and refurbishment sectors where dimension stone is used for construction, flagging and curbing. The upward trend is expected to remain for at least the next five years.

Read more about Dimension Stone at the USGS website.

Labels: Minerals

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Bentonite production is rising rapidly at many locations in the United States. High fuel prices are driving extensive exploration for oil, natural gas and coal-bed methane. All of this drilling requires the use of bentonite as a drilling mud. This high density mud is circulated down the well to cool the drilling tools and deliver cuttings to the surface.

In addition, more and more people are choosing to keep pets indoors and this activity drives the demand for pet waste absorbents; bentonite can absorb water equivalent to several times its weight. Although drilling muds and pet waste absorbents are the two main uses for bentonite, it is also used in a wide variety of applications. These include: foundry sand, iron ore pelletizing, sealing and waterproofing, animal feed, cosmetics, and clarifying, decolorizing, and filtering liquids.


Image by USGSAn interesting article at Missoulian.com details the rising demand for Wyoming bentonite and the many ways that the mineral is used.

Labels: Minerals

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Visit the Würzburg Mineralogical Museum to see some of the best mineral photos on the web. Klaus-Peter Kelber has shared a gallery of very nice photos which include specimens of amethyst, apatite, apophyllite, aquamarine, aragonite, autunite, azurite, beryl, calcite, cerussite, coelestine, coronadite, descloizite, diamond, dioptase, duftite, elbaite, emerald, fluorite, gold, legrandite, loparite, malachite, natrolite, opal, phenacite, phosgenite, platinum, prousite, quartz, rhodochrosite, ruby, silver, smithsonite, sulfur, tarnowitzite, tourmaline, vanadinite and wulfenite.

Images by Klaus-Peter Kelber - used with permission.See the mineral photos at the Würzburg Mineralogical Museum website.

Labels: Minerals

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Art Crossman has given us permission to post his editable and printable mineral identification chart. This chart is a great tool for students and teachers and you can download it for modification and printing from this website.


Learn more and download Art's Mineral Identification Chart.

Labels: Minerals, Teaching-Science

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