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Sevier Playa Potash Project Resource Report Geology and Minerals

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Sevier Playa Potash Project Resource Report Geology and Minerals Sevier Playa Potash Project Resource Report Geology and Minerals Prepared For: Bureau of Land Management Fillmore Field Office Prepared By: ENValue Castle Rock, Colorado October 2018 THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK Sevier Playa Potash Project Resource Report: Geology and Minerals Table of Contents 1.0 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 1 2.0 Proposed Action and Alternatives ................................................................................................... 1 2.1 Standard Mitigation Measures / Best Management Practices ................................................... 1 2.2 Supplemental Plans ................................................................................................................... 1 2.3 Proposed Action ........................................................................................................................ 2 2.3.1 Mining Project .................................................................................................................... 3 2.3.2 Rights-of-Way .................................................................................................................... 5 2.3.3 Mineral Materials ................................................................................................................ 7 2.3.4 Construction ........................................................................................................................ 7 2.3.5 Operation and Maintenance ................................................................................................ 7 2.3.6 Decommissioning and Reclamation ................................................................................... 8 2.4 Alternatives ............................................................................................................................... 8 3.0 Analysis Area ................................................................................................................................... 9 4.0 Regulatory Framework .................................................................................................................. 10 5.0 Methods ......................................................................................................................................... 10 6.0 Affected Environment .................................................................................................................... 10 6.1 Regional Geology .................................................................................................................... 13 6.1.1 Sevier Lake Basin Stratigraphy ........................................................................................ 14 6.1.2 Sevier Playa Stratigraphy .................................................................................................. 14 6.1.3 Metallic and Non-Metallic Resources .............................................................................. 19 6.1.4 Energy Resources ............................................................................................................. 20 6.2 Geologic Hazards .................................................................................................................... 21 6.2.1 Earthquakes and Seismicity .............................................................................................. 21 6.2.2 Mass Wasting .................................................................................................................... 22 6.2.3 Sand Dune Migration ........................................................................................................ 22 7.0 Analysis of Effects ......................................................................................................................... 22 7.1 Mitigation ................................................................................................................................ 23 7.2 Direct and Indirect Effects ...................................................................................................... 23 7.2.1 Proposed Action ................................................................................................................ 23 7.2.2 Alternative 1 - 69-kV Power and Communication Line, North End ................................ 24 7.2.3 Alternative 2 - 69-kV Power and Communication Line, South End ................................ 24 7.2.4 Alternative 3 - Natural Gas Pipeline, Black Rock ............................................................ 24 7.2.5 Alternative 4 - Natural Gas Pipeline, West End ............................................................... 24 7.2.6 Alternative 5 - Sevier River Diversion ............................................................................. 27 7.2.7 No Action Alternative ....................................................................................................... 27 7.3 Cumulative Effects .................................................................................................................. 27 7.3.1 Proposed Action ................................................................................................................ 27 7.3.2 Alternative 1 - 69-kV Power and Communication Line, North End ................................ 28 7.3.3 Alternative 2 - 69-kV Power and Communication Line, South End ................................ 28 7.3.4 Alternative 3 - Natural Gas Pipeline, Black Rock ............................................................ 28 7.3.5 Alternative 4 - Natural Gas Pipeline, West End ............................................................... 28 7.3.6 Alternative 5 - Sevier River Diversion ............................................................................. 28 7.3.7 No Action Alternative ....................................................................................................... 28 8.0 Conformance with Applicable Land Use Plans, Policies, and Controls ........................................ 28 9.0 References ...................................................................................................................................... 29 i Sevier Playa Potash Project Resource Report: Geology and Minerals Tables Table 1 Mining Project Summary ................................................................................................................. 4 Table 2 Right-of-Way Summary................................................................................................................... 6 Table 3 Mitigation Measures, Geology and Minerals ................................................................................. 25 Figures Figure 1 Analysis Area ............................................................................................................................... 11 Figure 2 Cross Section A-A’ of Sevier Lake Basin .................................................................................... 15 Figure 3 Cross Section B-B’ of Sevier Lake Basin .................................................................................... 17 ii Sevier Playa Potash Project Resource Report: Geology and Minerals Acronyms and Abbreviations The following acronyms are abbreviations are used throughout this report. bgs Below Ground Surface BLM Bureau of Land Management BMU Brine Mining Unit CPM Crystal Peak Minerals, Inc. CPMC Crystal Peak Minerals Corporation EIS Environmental Impact Statement FFO Fillmore Field Office K2SO4 Potassium Sulfate kV Kilovolt M Magnitude MgCl2 Magnesium Chloride MLA Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, as amended NaCl Sodium Chloride NEPA National Environmental Policy Act PGA Peak Ground Acceleration RMP Resource Management Plan ROW Right-of-Way Salada Salada Minerals LLC SITLA State and Institutional Trust Lands Administration SOP Sulfate of Potash SR State Route UDOGM Utah Division of Oil, Gas, and Mining UGS Utah Geologic Survey USGS U. S. Geological Survey WSRA Warm Springs Resource Area yd3 Cubic Yard iii Sevier Playa Potash Project Resource Report: Geology and Minerals THIS PAGE LEFT INTENTIONALLY BLANK iv Sevier Playa Potash Project Resource Report: Geology and Minerals 1.0 Introduction The Sevier Playa is located in central Millard County, in southwestern Utah, approximately 130 miles southwest of Salt Lake City, between the towns of Delta (30 miles to the northeast) and Milford (25 miles to the south-southeast). The Sevier Playa is a large terminal lakebed that is normally dry on the surface and contains subsurface potassium-bearing saline brines. The brine resource, along with the meteorological and topographic conditions at the Sevier Playa make the site a viable location from which to produce potash and associated minerals (Bureau of Land Management [BLM] 1987). Potash is any soluble salt that contains potassium. Various types of potash fertilizer comprise the largest worldwide industrial use of the element potassium. The BLM is preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to analyze and disclose the environmental effects of the proposed Sevier Playa Potash Project (Project). This resource report describes the analysis area, regulatory framework, methods, affected environment, and analysis of effects for geology and minerals in support of the EIS for the Project. 2.0 Proposed Action and Alternatives Crystal Peak Minerals, Inc. (CPM) through agreement controls the rights to develop and operate potassium mineral leases on 117,814 acres
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