Intrepid Potash Mine Wendover, Utah
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Intrepid Potash Mine Wendover, Utah A study to estimate the volume and area of salt within the Intrepid holding ponds. This is an accumulative volume resulting from potash mining by several compa- nies since 1917. Accumulation area includes surface and subsurface hydrology mining of the entire Salduro Marsh/Bonneville Salt Flats, north and south of the Union Pacific Rail Road and I-80. Private, state and Federal lands are involved. Today Intrepid has ten Federal leases north of I-80 issued to mining since 1963 as well as the private land known since 1917 as the Salduro Loop. These private lands are adjacent to the historical site and protected as an Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) known as the Bonneville International Raceway, administered by the BLM. Radar image from German satellite Terra SAR-X, June 23, 2009 from 319 Miles above Earth Prepared in cooperation with The Utah Alliance to Save the Salt by Greg Peek Castle Rock, Colorado November 2015 Intrepid Potash Mine Wendover, Utah Floating Island Bonneville International Raceway Federal Lease Collection Ditch Existing Access Road to Raceway Salduro Loop Primary Pond 6 Wendover, Utah Primary Pond 5 Wendover Airport Runway 8 / 26 Primary Pond North Ripening 4 North Pond Primary Pond and 4 South South Ripening Pond Nevada Utah State Line Distance, East - West Approx. 20 Miles Identification of Significant Landmarks of the Bonneville Salt Flats Methodology: Image used is from the German Terra SAR-X satellite, a radar image taken June 23, 2009 from 319 mile orbit altitude. Image was manipulated in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator to export to a CAD file. Using AutoCad lines were traced around the perimeter of each of the identified ponds. Each image used in- cluded Wendover Airport Runway 8/26 which is 8000 feet long. The drawings were scaled against the runway length to come up with accurate dimensions if feet. It is believed that the traced lines are within 100 feet or less of the exact locations, resulting in a potential error within approximately ± 5%. Revised 11/27/2015 Page 2 Intrepid Potash Mine Wendover, Utah Primary Pond 4 North (Retired ?) Area: 921 Acres. Note that this pond size was reported by W.W. White III of the BLM in his May, 2003 report. Wendover Airport Runway 8/26 length: 8000 Feet. Shown for scaling reference only, not in actual location. Primary Pond 4 South (Retired ?) Estimated Area: 5541 Acres. Ponds 4N & 4S combined are estimated to be an estimated 10 Square Miles. Primary Pond Primary Pond 4 North 4 South Sq. Ft. of Surface Area 40,118,760 241,365,336 Perimeter - Feet 26406 95,168 Perimeter - Miles 5.0 18 Acres 921 5,541 Sq. Miles 1.44 8.66 Halite lbs/Cu Ft 110 110 Pounds in Pond 4,413,063,600 26,550,186,960 Tons @ 1 Ft. Depth 1 2,206,532 13,275,093 Tons of Halite@ Depth in Feet 2 4,413,064 26,550,187 3 6,619,595 39,825,280 4 8,826,127 53,100,374 5 11,032,659 66,375,467 Combined 4 North & 4 South 6,462.0 Acres 10 Sq. Miles Page 3 Intrepid Potash Mine Wendover, Utah Wendover Airport Run- way 8/26 length: 8000 Feet. Shown for scaling reference only, not in actual location. Primary Pond 5 ( Retired) Primary Pond PP5 Sq. Ft. of Surface Area 360,273,818 Perimeter - Feet 91,260 Perimeter - Miles 17 Acres 8,271 Sq. Miles 13 Halite lbs/Cu Ft 110 Pounds in Pond 39,630,119,960 Tons @ 1 Ft. Depth 1 19,815,060 Tons of Halite@ Depth in Feet 2 39,630,120 3 59,445,180 4 79,260,240 5 99,075,300 Page 4 Intrepid Potash Mine Wendover, Utah Wendover Airport Runway 8/26 length: 8000 Feet. Shown for scaling reference only, not in actual location. Primary Pond 6 Primary Pond PP6 Sq. Ft. of Surface Area 346,674,426 Perimeter - Feet 73,442 Perimeter - Miles 14 Acres 7,959 Sq. Miles 12 Halite lbs/Cu Ft 110 Pounds in Pond 38,134,186,860 Tons @ 1 Ft. Depth 1 19,067,093 Tons of Halite@ Depth in Feet 2 38,134,187 3 57,201,280 4 76,268,374 5 95,335,467 Page 5 Intrepid Potash Mine Wendover, Utah Wendover Airport Runway 8/26 length: 8000 Feet. Shown for scaling reference only, not in actual location. North Ripening Pond South Ripening Pond North South Ripening Pond Ripening Pond Sq. Ft. of Surface Area 8,035,135 8,356,493 Acres 184 192 Sq. Miles 0.29 0.30 Page 6 Intrepid Potash Mine Wendover, Utah Summary Data Surface Area and Tonnage of Halite in Identified Ponds Primary Pond Primary Pond Primary Pond Primary Pond 4 South 4 North PP5 PP6 Sq. Ft. of Surface Area 241,365,336 589,440 360,273,818 346,674,426 Acres 5,541 921 8,271 7,959 Sq. Miles 8.66 1.44 12.92 12 Halite lbs/Cu Ft 110 110 110 110 Pounds in Pond 26,550,186,960 64,838,400 39,630,119,960 38,134,186,860 Tons @ 1 Ft. Depth 13,275,093 32,419 19,815,060 19,067,093 Total Tons of Halite using only 1 foot of depth of Ponds 4, 5 & 6 52,189,666 Tons Square Miles of Surface Area of Ponds 4 & 5 combined. 23.02 Square Miles 1 Ft Thick Page 7 Intrepid Potash Mine Wendover, Utah References and Conclusions Ref: A Gregory C. Lines, Hydrology and Surface Morphology of the Bonneville Salt Flats and Pilot Valley Playa, Utah, Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 2057 at 98-103 (1979) (prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management) The demise of salt from the North side of I-80 has been reported for many years and was noted in Turk (1969, p 18) and suggested that replacement was possible, " An apparent source is the salt that is stored in the abandoned evaporation ponds on Kaiser's (now Intrepid) property. Turk reports that when a pond system is filled with salt to a depth of 4 - 5 feet, leakage from the ponds becomes excessive, and a new pond system must be constructed. Lallman and Wadsworth (1976, p.9) report that 5 - 6 inches of halite are deposited annually on the pond floors as the brine is concentrated for the removal of potash. Ref: B W.W. White III, P.G., U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Replenishment of Salt to the Bonneville Salt Flats: Results of the 5-Year Experimental Salt Laydown Project, 2003 “The Salt Laydown-Project demonstrated that the sodium-chloride salt in the brine removed from BSF for min- eral extraction can be replenished.” In the 5 Year Reilly / BLM pumping program from 1997 - 2002 there were 6.2 million tons of sodium chloride returned to the North side of I-80 ( +2 million net tons) resulting in an increased salt crust area of approximately 5 square miles and a nominal increase in crust thickness. Conclusions: Utilizing only 54 million tons or 1 foot of depth of the bedded salt deposits in ponds 4 & 5, which is a 900% in- crease over the 6.2 million tons pumped in the 5 year period there could be a theoretical increase in the salt crust of 9.6" and many square miles of surface area increase. Comparing the tonnage pumped between 1997 and 2002 to the available tonnage in ponds 4 & 5 it becomes obvious that the prior pumping program was grossly insufficient and that a plan to increase the volume returned must be put in place. Based on the above published reports, it is believed that these charts showing volume of available halite in Ponds 4N, 4S, 5 and 6 have the potential to replace approximately 200 million tons of halite to the north side of I-80 and the Bonneville International Raceway area, 100 times the net amount returned in the 5 year Experi- mental Salt Laydown Project. Page 8.