Potash in New Mexico

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led to the depositionof potassiumsalts, some Potashin NewMexico of the most soluble (and nearly the last) minerals to be depositedfrom evaporating byGeorge S. Austin,Deputy Director, New Mexico Bureau of Mines& MineralResources, Socorro, NM seawater. Carlsbadmining district New Mexico containsthe nation's largest ment began setting minimum prices and The potashminerals were concentrated in a potash known concentrationof reserves.In cutting back production. These actions re- small area on the west side of the Permian production 1978, in the state totaled 1.92 sulted in market prices high enough to con- Basin.Today, this area-known as the Carls- million metric tons of concentrate-about85 tinue mining the lower grade Carlsbad ores. bad mining district-is astride the Capitan percent (United pro- of the domestic States) Double-digit inflation of the 1970's, however, reef, a prominent geologic structure that percent duction-or 3l of the domestic wiped out much of the profit. By mid-1970's separatesthe DelawareBasin from the north- (Singleton, pro- demand 1978).Potash is the com- New Mexico's deposits were near the low westernshelf in the westernpart of the Per- (in mon term for compoundscontaining the ele- fit levels terms of constant dollars) of the mian Basin.The Capitanreef is exposedat the ment potassium.Natural potassium-bearing problems early 1960's. To compound the of surfacein the mountainssouthwest of Carls- greatest compoundsof importanceare the sol- costs and profits, the ores mined today are bad. In the vicinityof the potashmines, this (KCl) ublemineral salts, especially sylvite and lower grade and contain larger amounts of in- reef, shownin fig. 3 (the CapitanLimestone), (KrSO. . langbeinite 2MgSo,), the dominant soluble clays that tend to require additional is deeplyburied beneaththe Ochoanevapor- potash ore mineralsin the United States.The chemical treatment in the mills, thereby in- ites.Ochoan rocks include the Castile, Salado, principal (about percent) use 95 of soluble creasingprocessing costs. and RustlerFormation, primarily a sequence potash mineralsis in manufacturedfertilizers. Thick sections of salt and other evaporite of marine evaporites.The McNutt potash Potassiumis essentialto plant metabolism- minerals in the Permian Basin of west Texas zone. the middle memberof the SaladoFor- no alternativeexists. Nor can potash be re- and southeastern New Mexico (fig. 2) were mation, containsll potashore zones(fig. ). cycled. The lst, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 7th, and l0th zones potassium The contentof fertilizersis com- have proved concentrationsof potash, the monly reported in percent of K'O, even greatesttonnages being produced from the lst present. thoughan oxide is not For example, andlOth. the mineral sylvitecontains about 52 percent The surfacerelief in the Carlsbaddistrict potassium by weight;however, in converting averagesa few hundred feet. The surfaceis percent, to the KzO equivalent sylviteis rated characterizedby dunefields as well ascollapse percent. at 63.17 In other words, every 1,000 featurestypical of karst or sinkholetopog- pure lbs of sylvitecontains about 630 lbs of raphy. The soilshave developed under mixed KzO (or about 524 lbs of elementalpotas- shrubsand grassescommon to the semiarid sium). Langbeinite, the other principal continental climate of the southern High domesticore mineralof potassium,is ratedat Plainsprovince. Most of the soilshave devel- percent 22.69 K,O equivalent.Although con- oped calichesand gypsum and have been tainingless potassium, the langbeinite product workedby thewind. The Carlsbad mining dis- is also low in chloride ion for which some trict has no cities or towns; other than the plants have low tolerance.In addition, both structuresrelating to potashmining, only oil- the magnesiumand sulfateions in langbeinite well sitesand a few ranchesdot the landscape. aid in conditioninghighly leached soil. The sparselyvegetated land is capableof sup- Potash from U.S. mines-chiefly in the portingonly a few headof cattleper section. Carlsbad mining district-supplied the nation's needsfor many yearsuntil 1962,when imports, primarily from Canada, increased Identificationof potashlands dramatically.Since then, domestic production F.i..j Area underlainby TheConservation Division of theU.S. Geo- IlE has remainedfairly constant while imports Ochoanevaporites logical Surveyreceives all drill-hole informa- have continuedto increaseand now account FICURE 2-RectoNeL TNDEXMAP tion for federaland stateland in the Carlsbad for morethan two-thirdsof the potashused in mining district. The U.S. GeologicalSurvey the United States(fig. l). Canadianimports hasdefined the Carlsbad enclave (fig. 5) as the come principally from the province of Sas- depositedin a shallowbut subsidingbasin dur- land within the district containing minable katchewan;in 1970the Saskatchewangovern- ing Ochoan(Late Permian)time about 250- quantitiesof potash. Minable quantitiesare 225 million years ago. During the Ochoan, definedas bedsat least4 ft thick containingat marine waterswithin the basin were replen- leastl0 percentK:O assylvite or at least4 per- 60 ished,and dissolvedsolids in the water were cent KzO as langbeinite.All drill-hole in- being continually concentratedby evapora- formation is confidentialand can be released tion. Continued evaporation/concentrationonly by the companiesinvolved. The informa-

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New Mexico Geology February1980 tion, however, is used to prepare open-file maps showing the boundariesof the enclave, F mined-out areas, and barren zones. These z maps are updated annually with new drilling l and mining data. Although each of the I I ore zones is fairly continuous within the enclave,minable concentrations of potash-bearing minerals are restricted to certain smaller areas. Jones and Madsen (1968) have shown the variability of the 5th ore zone in the district; apparentlythe other ore zones have equal variability in minable concentrations.Barren zones within the enclave have resulted either from non- deposition or removal of potash minerals within the Permian sea. later mobilization of the valuableminerals, or both. Thus, drilling programs are used extensivelyby companies searchingfor potash. Both chemicalanalyses of the cores and geophysicallogging of the drill holesserve to identify areasof concentra- tion of the valuablepotash minerals. (obondoried)l{ Mining and milling All minesin the Carlsbaddistrict are underground with vertical shafts varying in depth from 650 to 1,750ft. To the westof the district

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FICURE 5-CenLsslo TNCLAvEINcLUDINC MTNES AND MILLS

the soluble potash minerals have been re- on the east side of the I ih ore zone moved by solution;

i,lorker bed No | 7 district the beds dip about l' to the east, are deeplyburied, and are of lower grade. Shafts are either drilled with large-diameter drilling Morker bed No I I machinesor drilled and blasted with conventional shaft-sinkingequipment. Ground water Morker bed No i I is scarce, therefore not commonly a problem lOlh ore zone in sinkingshafts. The ore zones are nearly flat lying; the lVorker bed No l2O 9lh ore zone potash ore is mined with slightly modified Morker bed No l2l Room z ^^^ conventional coal-mining equipment. ft Morker bed No 22 and pillar workings are commonly 5-6/z

8lh ore zone high; as much as 70 percent of the ore is o removed during the first stage of mining. | 2to Some operations also use a second stage- J union Anhyarrre pillars from a z robbing the during withdrawal j mine, allowing overlying rock to 7lh ore zone section of 6lh ore zone settle slowly. In this manner, as much as 92 5lh ore zone percent of the ore may be removed. Subsi- dence fractures have been observedin the land surface above workings that have collapsed at ) Morker bed No 123 r lSJl-'Jio.ti/SlLfiJ_oj'.1|,:.o*",,,*,," .,.u,, depths of 1,000 ft or more. With few excep- I ixB tions only a single ore zone is worked in a I Morler bed No t24 given mine. Even in multilevel mines, how- W) ,otrno. r, zonesare seldom worked if 4lh Ore zone r / /,/,/) ever, overlying ore underlying ore zoneshave been mined. 3 rd ore zone N 2nd ore zone ANHYOR]TE N\\ Other occurrences Morker bed No 125 In a well drilled in Lincoln County, 10-15 ft of tsl ore zone f___l ,o.,-. aND.HALY HALTTE mi northwest of Carrizozo, nearly 2,000 halite has been reported in the Yeso Forma-

Morker bed No 126 t==t tion (Lower Permian). Although the well log srarv, sANoY HALrE l-.----l also indicates limestone, sandstone,shale, and FIGURE 4-ColulrNen sEcrroN THRoucH McNurr porASH zoNE anhydrite are present in the interval, potash- (after Jones, Bowles, and Bell, 1960). bearing salts are not mentioned.

February1980 New Mexico Geology The Paradox Member of the Hermosa For- Zeller Peak named in Big Hatchet Mountains (Pennsylvanian) is recognized in the name Zeller Peak for mation In September, 1979, the U.S. Board of Geographic Names approved the northwest New Mexico. Mountains of Hidalgo subsurfaceof extreme the prominent peak 2 mi north of Big HatchJt Peak in the Big Hatchet the mineralogy of the salts, a detailed geologic Information on county, New Mexico (fig. l) in honor-of Robert A. zeller, Jr', who compiled quality, is not available, framework for the their or thickness -up of these rugged mountains and established the basic stratigraphic potash salts are produced from this Memoir l6 and Cir- although region. Zeller, whose work on the Big Hatchet area has been published in Paradox Basin of southeastern killed in March 1970 interval in the cular 146 of the New Mexico Bureau Jf Min.r and Mineral Resources,was A' Wengard later Utah. when the aircraft he was piloting crashed in southeasternArizona' sherman to br. Zeller for the 2lst field conference guidebook of the New Summary prepared a memorial tribute Mexico Geological Society (1970). The demand for fertilizers and potassium will increase in accordance with projected in- creases in world food needs. Although the United States has only about 4 percent of the world's known potash resources,the deposits near Carlsbad occur at minable depths in a sparsely populated area, and in a concentra- tion that can be mined profitably even though lower in grade than Canadian deposits. Other concentrations of potash salts in the United Animos States occur in Arizona, California, Utah, Michigan, and North Dakota, but none match the New Mexico depositsin volume and grade. The potash industry of southeastern New Mexico is assured of continued production in the foreseeablefuture.

References Adams,S. S., 1975,Potash, ln Industrialminerals androcks (4th ed.): American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers, p. 963-990 Alto, B. R., andFulton, R. S., 1965,The potash industry, in Mineral and water resourcesof New Mexico:New MexicoBureau of Minesand Min- eralResources, Bull. 87,p. 306-309 Jones,C. L., Bowles,G. C., andBell, K. G., 1960, Experimentaldrill-hole logging in potashdeposits of the Carlsbaddistrict, New Mexico:U.S. Geo- logicalSurvey, Open-file Rept., 22 p. FICURE l-Atnral vrEw NoRrHwESrop Zpr-r-BnPEax (er-Ev 7,313 rr) tN NORTHERNPARr oF BIc HarcHnr Jones,C. L., andMadsen, B. M., 1968,Evaporite MouNrnrNs (photo by Robert A. Zeller, Jr., published in Bureau Memoir 16). Zeller's line of measured geologyof the Fifth ore zone,Carlsbad district, section for the Mescal Canyon section includes Precambrian granite (p€; elev. approximately 5,10Of0' (Dp)' southeasternNew Mexico: U.S. GeologicalSur- Bliss Formation (Oeb), Ei Paso Formarion (Oep) and Montoya Dolomite (Om), Percha Shale (lPPh) vey,Bull. 1252-8,21p. Escabrosa Limestone and Paradise Formation (Mp), and the lower Horquilla Limestone at top of Singleton,R. H., 1978,Potash: U.S. Bureauof peak. This stratigraphic section, discoveredand describedin detail by Zeller, composesthe most complete Mines,Mineral Commodity Profiles 11,27 p. tl and best a*porad-ruaaarrionof lower Paleozoic rocks in southwesternNew Mexico. fl

Searchorganized lorthousands ofabandoned New Mexico mines materials) alongside picturesquemountain streamsor highwaYs. of historic A search has been launched for New Mex- Thus, Baker states, "the act provided a means Other goals include collection is listed on the ico's'orphan,'or abandoned mines, estimated to solve old problems and tale care of the or- data. Madrid, for example, Sites' Baker and at more than 500 sites for coal alone and phan mines through taxing current coal pro- Federal Register of Historic historic value perhaps another 3,000 sites where other duction." his crew are concerned that the minerals were once extracted. The project, These mines, found started by the State Energy and Minerals and once a source of wt Department with a contract to the New Mex- a focus for local comn ico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources,is enjoy the status of thc a result of federal legislation. A section of the centrated for the mos Surface Mining Act of 1977 passed by Con- half of the state, the cr gress provides the means for obtaining fund- in the San Juan Basin ing to support this work. This money, accord- lup, White Oaks and ing to Don Baker, project coordinator for have had coal mines," New Mexico Energy Secretary Larry Kehoe been burning continu( and Emery Arnold, director of the Division of turn of century. These Mining and Minerals with the Department of fully studied." Energy and Minerals, is derived from a tax on Other aspects of tht extracted coal based on a formula calling for and scheduled to run 35 cents a ton on surface-mined coal, 15 cents total funding of $226,970,.embraceassessing Tech. -condensedfromtheAlbuquerqueJournal for underground coal, and l0 cents a ton for the potential for remining and for evaluating 'gob ! lower grades of coal such as lignite and peat. esthitic impacts such as piles' (waste

New Mexico Ceology February1980