Wyoming sMineralWealth May2008

8/3/2019 Wyoming sMineralWealth May2008

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May 19, 2008

WyomingsMineral WealthWayne M. Sutherland - Wyoming State Geological Survey


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The Black Art: Coal Mining

Small wagon mines suppliedhomesteads as early as 1840

Commercial coal mining ~ 1868in support of Union Pacific Railroad


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Coal?Wyoming has enough withwhich to run the forges ofVulcan, weld every tie thatbinds, drive every wheel,change the North Pole into atropical region orsmelt all hell!Hon. Fenimore Chatterton, Wyoming Secretary of State

Feb. 18, 1902Wyoming Industrial Convention


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Wyoming 2007 Coal Production

453.6 Million Tons

17 surface coal mines 1 underground mine

Proposed 15 million ton/year surface mineAsh Creek, NW PRB, Sheridan Co. (Pittsburg & Midway / Consol Energy)

Arch Coal, Inc.Black Thunder Mine


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Wyoming Coal

2007Powder River Basin

14 Surface Mines 436 Million Tons

SuppliedSteam-Electric Power Plants

In 36 States


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Coal is important, but

Wyoming hosts a variety of mineralresources


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Tisdale Mountain Oil Mine

West of Kaycee - late 1970s/ early 1980s

Adit cut anticline below Tensleep Fm oil Oil pumped out of a sump

OIL


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Wyoming 2007 Oil & Gas

Avg. Monthly Rig Count = 74

Production:

Oil >54 Million Barrels

Increase last 3 yrs:- Condensate Pinedale area- Enhanced Oil Recovery using CO2

Gas ~2.2 Trillion Cubic Feet


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Wyoming Annually Pushes Out

>10 Quadrillion BTUs

~10%

Total USEnergy

Use


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WyomingsLiftto

U.S. MineralWealthIs NotLimitedto theBasket ofFossil Fuels


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GOLD!Placers 1st Reported

Along SweetwaterRiver 1842

By TravelersOn The Old

Emigrant Trail


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Gold Found In

Bedrock15 Miles West Of

Lewiston 1867

Carissa Lode

50,000 to 180,000 Oz Gold Before ~1911


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Gold Exploration & Mining

Follow

Rising Gold Prices

May 16, 2008~$900/oz


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Many Gold Deposits State-Wide

Now Attract Interest


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Bear Lodge Mountains

Gold & Rare Earth ElementMineralization

2007 DrillingExploration in upper levels of mineralized

alkaline-igneous intrusive complex &intrusive breccias

2008 Exploration Planned


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Rattlesnake Hills

1980s Exploration & Drilling Outlined>1,000,000 Oz Disseminated Gold

More Un-evaluated Targets

2007 DrillingGolden Predator Mines, Inc.Joint venture with Evolving Gold Corp.

2008 Exploration Planned


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Lewiston District(South Pass Area)

Golden Predator Mines, Inc.

2006-2007 Sampling & Geophysics

2008 Drilling Planned


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Wyoming Opportunities!

NewDeposits in OldMining Districts

(Previously Thought Mined Out)

Modern Metals Exploration & Development

Remote Sensing Geophysics

Drilling Computer Technology

Ore Models

Mining Methods


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Late 1800s Early 1900s

Copper Was King

Ferris-Haggarty Tramway near Riverside


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1882-1946 Wyoming Produced

63.9 Million lbs Copper

1899-1908 Peak production, primarily

from Ferris-Haggarty Mine, Sierra Madre Early 1900s Ferris-Haggarty was

worlds 27th largest producer

Other mines smaller production


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Cu >$3.75/lbRenewed Interest in Wyoming


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Copper King Mine

Silver Crown District, Laramie Range 2007 Core-drilling = 18,000 Feet

Disseminated (Cu-Au) sulfide mineralization

in shears & fault gouge zones

200,000 oz contained gold (1980s)


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Boston-Wyoming Copper Co. SmelterRiverside, WY1902

Ferris-Haggerty Mine, Sierra Madre2007 = 3 Holes Drilled; 2008 Drilling Planned

1980s Evaluation

~928,500 tons unmined ore@ 6.5 % copper + 116,800 oz gold

(Hausel, 1997)

~ $558 million($3.75/lb Cu, $900/oz Au)


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Other Recent Wyoming

Metals Exploration

Platinum Group Metals

Rare Earth Elements

Titanium

Iron


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Reserves Estimate:127 BillionTons


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2007 Wyoming Trona

~17.2 million short tons mined(>95% U.S. Domestic Production)

2225 Wyoming Jobs

OCI Trona Near Green RiverAerial View By Ray E. Harris


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Trona (70% sodium carbonate)

refined to produce soda ash (Na2CO3) Trona an evaporite in Wilkins Peak member,

Eocene Green River Fm ~1.8 tons trona 1 ton refined soda ash

Soda Ash Uses & Demand

Baking soda = pure soda ash

2nd ingredient by weight in glass after silica(lowers melting temperature of silica sand)

Wyoming 38% of world's soda ash in 2006

Global demand expected to rise 1.5-2% / year


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2007 Wyoming Soda Ash

>$1.24 Billion

Solvay Trona Near Green RiverAerial View By Ray E. Harris


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Wyoming Bentonite

1898Named for deposits in Cretaceous

Benton Shale, Rock River, WY

Best grade - Upper Cret. Mowry Sh


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Wyoming Bentonite:

High swelling sodium montmorillonite clayFamous World-wide!

Mi Swaco Greybull Bentonite Plant


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Wyoming

Bentonite

2007 Mine Production: 5,890,692 tons


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Bentonite Uses:

Pet litter, drilling mud, binder infoundry molds,iron ore pelletizing, etc.

ACC Colony Bentonite Plant


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SouthernPowder River

Basin

Little Mountain

Pumpkin Buttes

Poison Basin

Crooks Gap /Green Mountain

Gas Hills

Shirley Basin

Aladdin

Elkhorn Creek

Barlow Canyon

Carlile

Hulett Creek

KetchumButtes

Great DivideBasin

Wyoming Uranium

Power Resources(Cameco Corp.)Smith Ranch Highland

(In Situ Recovery)

Annual Production:

~ 2 Million # U3O8 / Year(>50% of US total)

~60% of WY UraniumN. Am. Power Plants

~40% Asia and Europe


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United States imports over 80%

of the dimensional stone used ininterior and exterior construction

Wyoming contains a wide variety of

rocks suitable for decorative stoneGrant Ranch Marble


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Requests for locally-derived

(Made in U.S.A.)stone products, rather than

imports, appear to be driving anincreasing interest in

Wyoming stone

Wyoming StoneCedar Rim Opal


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Wyoming StonePotentialNot Only

Dimension Stone

AlsoGemstonesPalmer Canyon Iolite

Cedar Rim Opal

Stateline District Diamonds

Leucite Hills Peridot


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Nephrite JadeWyoming State Gemstone

Renewed Interest & Exploration


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I C i


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Interest Continues

forAlumina-rich,

Silica-poor Rocksin

Several Localities

Corundum - Al2O3

(Ruby or Sapphire)

2007 M S i


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2007 Museum Specimens

Wyoming Corundum

Star Mountain Mining

Granite Mountains-Pathfinder Reservoir AreaCentral Wyoming


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Diamond Explorationin

Wyoming

Archean Wyoming Craton

Cratonized Proterozoic Colorado Province

Kimberlite & Related Rocks

Lamproite Unconventional terranes & hosts

E l ti O t iti


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Exploration Opportunities

Many kimberlites with favorablegeochemistry remain untested (IM & SL)

Many geophysical anomalies are untested Geomorphic & vegetative anomalies

generally remain untested

I di Mi l A li


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Indicator Mineral Anomalies

2008 Follow-up

Studies By

Various companies


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Wyoming Aggregate Production

Supports Energy Minerals&

Community Development

W i


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Wyoming

Construction Aggregate

2007 Production:

23,352,427 tonsIncluded: Crushed & Sized Rock of

all types + Gravel & Sand

A S l f


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A Sample of

Wyomings MineralPotential

(The List is Never Simply Black & White)

Chemical Ls (mine &plant under construction)

Iolite

Phosphate Rock Silver

Zeolite

Silica Sand

Mineral Pigments

Gypsum (392,662

tons in 2007)

Common Clays

Siliceous Shale


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Dimension Stone

TronaCopper

Gold

Diamonds

Labradorite

Peridot

Choose Your Mineral


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I didnt cover

them all!

Wyoming HasEconomic

Opportunities

for Miningon AllScales


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ATTITUDEIn Exploration & Economics

Is The Key

To

Finding & Developing

Economic Mineral DepositsIn

Wyoming

Wyoming sMineralWealth May2008

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