Newsletter of the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists • Volume 55 • No. 12 • December 2006 In This Issue... By W. Dan Hausel, [email protected]Departments 2 Welcome to New Members 3 President’s Column 4 Friday Luncheon Program 20 Highlights of the October RMAG Board Meeting 20 In the Pipeline 35 This Month’s Advertisers 36 Geo-Calendar Features 19 El Nino’s Coming 28 ‘Geo Families’ Documentary 31 AAPG Winter Education Conference Association News 12 Scholarship Established to Honor All of RMAG’s Veterans 21 Call For Papers: Coalbed Methane Symposium 30 RMAG is on a Role! 32 Extensional Tectonic Systems in Exploration and Production: A Short Course 33 13th Annual 3-D Seismic Symposium INTRODUCTION In Part I of this series (in the September 2006 issue), we examined the gold deposits at South Pass granite-greenstone belt which includes the South Pass-Atlantic City and Lewiston gold districts at the south end of the Wind River Mountains. The geology of that greenstone belt provides evidence for hidden gold deposits that for the most part remain essentially unexplored. Based on the estimated amount of gold reported by the US Geological Survey (Love and others, 1978; Antweiler and Love, 1981) in two paleoplacers along the flanks of the greenstone belt, suggests more than $20 billion in fine gold were eroded from the granite- greenstone terrain. This provides evidence for possibilities for at least two hidden major gold occurrences. During the 29 years that I have worked for the Wyoming State Geological Survey (WSGS), the Metals and Precious Stones Section was very successful in finding gold and other mineral deposits (Hausel, 2005). Like any government agency, this was accomplished in spite of bureaucracy, which provided little to no support. One can only imagine what could be accomplished if this Section were to receive financial and moral support (see Appendix). During the search for gold and other heavy minerals in streams around Wyoming, we found many interesting anomalies that included sapphires, rubies, aquamarine and even diamond-stability pyropes. The possibility of pyrope garnets, diamonds and other indicator minerals should be considered in any exploration or prospecting venture in Wyoming. For instance, diamonds were accidentally found in a placer on Cortez Creek in the Medicine Bow Mountains (Paul Boden, personal communication, 1977), and also in a paleoplacer in the Medicine Bow Mountains (Hugo Dummett, personal communication, 1982), pyrope garnets were accidentally found in a gold placer to the south on Douglas Creek, and during a public field trip sponsored by the WSGS, members of the general public panned out numerous pyrope garnets on the Little Fork of the Laramie River at the Mother Lode prospect (Figure 1). (Continued on page 6) Gold, Silver, Palladium and Platinum in Wyoming – Part II Gold, Silver, Palladium and Platinum in Wyoming – Part II
Departments2 Welcome to New Members3 President’s Column4 Friday Luncheon Program
20 Highlights of the October RMAGBoard Meeting
20 In the Pipeline35 This Month’s Advertisers36 Geo-Calendar
Features19 El Nino’s Coming28 ‘Geo Families’ Documentary31 AAPG Winter Education
Conference
Association News12 Scholarship Established to Honor All of
RMAG’s Veterans21 Call For Papers: Coalbed Methane
Symposium30 RMAG is on a Role!32 Extensional Tectonic Systems in Exploration
and Production: A Short Course33 13th Annual 3-D Seismic Symposium
INTRODUCTIONIn Part I of this series (in the September 2006 issue), we examined the gold deposits at
South Pass granite-greenstone belt which includes the South Pass-Atlantic City and Lewistongold districts at the south end of the Wind River Mountains. The geology of that greenstonebelt provides evidence for hidden gold deposits that for the most part remain essentiallyunexplored. Based on the estimated amount of gold reported by the US Geological Survey(Love and others, 1978; Antweiler and Love, 1981) in two paleoplacers along the flanks of thegreenstone belt, suggests more than $20 billion in fine gold were eroded from the granite-greenstone terrain. This provides evidence for possibilities for at least two hidden major goldoccurrences.
During the 29 years that I have worked for the Wyoming State Geological Survey(WSGS), the Metals and Precious Stones Section was very successful in findinggold and other mineral deposits (Hausel, 2005). Like any governmentagency, this was accomplished in spite of bureaucracy, whichprovided little to no support. One can only imagine what couldbe accomplished if this Section were to receive financialand moral support (see Appendix).
During the search for gold and other heavy mineralsin streams around Wyoming, we found many interestinganomalies that included sapphires, rubies, aquamarineand even diamond-stability pyropes. The possibility ofpyrope garnets, diamonds and other indicator mineralsshould be considered in any exploration or prospectingventure in Wyoming. For instance, diamonds wereaccidentally found in a placer on Cortez Creek in theMedicine Bow Mountains (Paul Boden, personalcommunication, 1977), and also in a paleoplacer inthe Medicine Bow Mountains (Hugo Dummett,personal communication, 1982), pyrope garnets wereaccidentally found in a gold placer to the south onDouglas Creek, and during a public field tripsponsored by the WSGS, members of the generalpublic panned out numerous pyrope garnets on theLittle Fork of the Laramie River at the Mother Lodeprospect (Figure 1). (Continued on page 6)
Gold, Silver, Palladium andPlatinum in Wyoming – Part IIGold, Silver, Palladium andPlatinum in Wyoming – Part II
The Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists is a nonprofitorganization whose purposes are to promote interest in geology andallied sciences and their practical application, to foster scientific researchand to encourage fellowship and cooperation among its members.The Outcrop is a monthly publication of the RMAG.
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Joseph M. BrookerJoe is Manager of Buckeye
Ventures, LLC in Denver. He holds aBSPE in Petroleum Engineering fromMarietta College and a JS in Lawfrom the University of Cincinnati.
Erika P. DavisErika is an associate geologist
with Questar Market Resources inDenver. She holds a BS in Geologyfrom New Mexico Institute of Miningand Technology and an MS inGeosciences from the University ofMassachusetts. Erika is a memberof AAPG.
Danielle D. EbnotherDanie is a geologist with EnCana
Oil & Gas (USA) Inc. in Denver. Sheholds a BS in Geology fromSouthern Oregon University and anMS in Geology from Texas A & M.
Alexandra E. FlemmingZandra is a geologic technician
with Whiting Petroleum Corporationin Denver. She holds a BA in EarthScience from Dartmouth College.
Richard C. GeesamanRick is a senior geologist with
Ellora Energy in Boulder. He holds aBA in Geology from the University ofColorado and an MS in Geology fromNorthern Arizona University. Rick isa member of AAPG.
Russell A. GriffinRussell is a senior geologist at
Questar Exploration and Productionin Vernal, Utah. He holds a BS inGeology from Utah State University
This is the column where I take it down a notch,talk about what we’ve accomplished over the past year,and thank everyone for all their efforts that make thissuch a great organization. Generally I’ve tried to avoiddiscussing ongoing RMAG events, the need for newblood in the society, and all the usual staples ofassociation columns everywhere – but you can onlyput that off so long. I’ll try to put my own spin on thiscolumn and make it interesting enough for you to stickwith me to the bitter end.
Let’s start with a recap of what we accomplished.This has been a very, very good year, as they say. Thefinal numbers are not in as I write these words, but it isobvious we are closing one of RMAG’s most successfulyears ever financially. Of course it is easy to makemoney in times like these, and that is important becausewe need to sock away cash for the lean times that aresure to follow. RMAG suffered mightily through the late80s and early 90s because we failed to build up a cashreserve during the last boom, and we are not going torepeat that mistake. So what did we do right? Obviouslywe watched the expense side of the ledger sheetcarefully, although we did go over budget in severalcategories because our activity levels were so high, butmostly we had an outstanding year on the income side.Our symposia and short courses were all well attendedand, even at the bargain prices we offer to members,all were successful. So my first round of thank-you’shave to go to the organizers of our many short coursesand symposia:
Winter Short Course: Chuck Kluth, Monty Hoffman,Paul Lamerson
3-D Symposium: Randy Ray, Bill Pearson
Summer COGA/RMAG Symposium: Randy Ray,Steve Sonnenberg
Fall Symposium: Nick Harris
Our second area of strength this year was ourpublications. We finished the digital publication of ourhistorical publications, including the RMAG GeologicalAtlas of the Rocky Mountain Region (now known as the“Little Red Book” in its new CD format) and theMountain Geologist from 1964-2005 on DVD.Combined with the RMAG Library of annual guidebookswe published last year you can now own almosteverything RMAG has published for a couple hundredbucks, and they are selling like proverbial hot cakes.We plan to issue periodic “roll ups” every few years soyou can keep your libraries current, and looking reallylong term we’ll eventually go fully online with all ourpublications. As broadband connections becomeuniversal it is inevitable. We also introduced color andhigher quality paper to the Outcrop, which resulted inan enthusiastic response from our advertisers to theextent the Outcrop is now nearly self-sustaining. TheMountain Geologist is bouncing back from a bout oflow submissions and now has built up a modest backlog
www.rmag.org4 THE OUTCROP
Friday LuncheonProgram and
Annual BusinessMeeting
FridayLuncheon
Program andAnnual
Meeting
LuncheonReservation/Information
Call 303-623-5396Luncheons will be held at the
Marriott City Center at California and17th St. Please check the event listingin the lobby for the room. Peoplegather at 11:30 a.m., lunch is servedat 12:00 noon, and the speakerpresentation begins at about 12:20p.m. The price of the luncheon is$24.00. Checks should be madepayable to RMAG. No reservation isrequired for the talk only and the costis $3.00. Please make yourreservation prior to 10:30 a.m. on theWednesday before the luncheon.Please Note: If you make areservation and do not attend theluncheon, you will be billed for theluncheon. Cancellations are notguaranteed after 10:30 a.m. theTuesday before the talk. You maysend someone in your stead.
Your attendance iswelcomed and
encouraged. Bring aguest or new member!
December 1“Perfecting the Search for
Unconventional Resource Plays.”Speaker will be Peter Dea.
Perfecting the Search forUnconventional Resource Plays
Peter DeaDecember 1
Creative geologic thinking, technology advancements, maturingconventional plays, investor preference for low risk drilling inventoriesand pricing improvements have all led to an industry wide focus on“Perfecting the Search for Unconventional Resource Plays.” What usedto be the near exclusive domain of small to mid-sized independentcompanies is now the mantra for even the largest North American gascompanies. Perseverance and dismantling of the paradigm have paidoff for geologist and shareholders.
Peter Dea was Chairman and CEO of Barrett Resources and morerecently CEO and President of Western Gas Resources, with bothcompanies focused on unconventional gas resource plays in the Rockies.During his tenure at Barrett Resources from 1993 to 2001, the company’smarket cap exploded from $200 million to $2.7 billion largely fueled bydouble-digit annual production and reserve growth of its tight gas sandand coal bed methane unconventional resource plays. A similar focus ofunconventional gas at Western Gas Resources has led to the companybeing recognized by Wall Street as a leader in several performance metricsover the last several years. This includes one of the best records in findingand development costs, reserve replacement and asset intensity. Western’sresource play inventory led to a 388% shareholder growth in the last fiveyears. During this period, Western’s market capitalization grew from onebillion dollars to an all cash 49% premium sales price to Anadarko of$5.3 bilion in August 2006. In both transacations, the buyers valued thelongevity, solid returns, double digit annual growth profile and low costsof the inherent unconventional natural gas assets.
Peter Dea will discuss the multi-disciplined aspects that he and hispeers have focused on to unlock the riches in unconventional gas in thelast decade. The results show dramatic success in unconventional gasleading the growth of U.S. gas supply, reserve additions, technologyadvancements, environmental mitigation and driving major pipelineprojects.
and an MBA in Business from the University ofPhoenix. Russell is a member of AAPG.
John A. HeftiJohn is Senior Exploration Geophysicist with
ExxonMobil Exploration in Houston. He holds aBS in Astronomy and Astrogeophysics from theUniversity of Wyoming. John is a member ofAAPG, SEG, ASEG, and APPEA.
Jon P. HerberJon is a senior geologist with Rosewood
Resources in Dallas. He holds a BA in Geologyfrom Monmouth College and an MA in Geologyfrom the University of Texas at Austin. Jon is amember of AAPG, DGS (Dallas), HGS, andSPWLA.
Jacqueline HocumJacki is a geophysical analyst with Echo
Geophysical in Denver. She holds an EngineeringBS in Mathematics from Arkansas StateUniversity. Jackie is a member of AAPG and SEG.
Mike E. JohnsMike is Geosciences Manager for Bonanza
Creek Energy Co. in Bakersfield, CA. He holds aBS in Geology from Oregon State University andan MS in Geology from Northern ArizonaUniversity. Mike is a member of AAPG.
Steven J. KrauseSteve is Senior Geologist, Western Wyoming
SPU at BP America in Houston. He holds a BS in
www.rmag.org6 THE OUTCROP
(Continued from page 1)
Gold, Silver, Palladium and Platinum in Wyoming – Part II
MINERALIZED TERRAINSIn addition to mapping eight 1:24,000 scale quadrangles
in the South Pass granite-greenstone belt and mapping allaccessible underground mines in that belt (which led todozens of gold discoveries),or about 400 mi2 ofcomplex Archean terrain,the Metals and PreciousStones Section alsomapped or assisted inmapping the remaininggreenstone terrains inWyoming as well as initiatedseveral studies to searchand test other gold depositsin the Archean complexes,Tertiary alkalics, Tertiarycalc-alkalics and Tertiarysediments. Some of themore notable areas outsidethe South Pass greenstonebelt include the RattlesnakeHills greenstone belt, theSeminoe Mountains green-stone belt, the Copper Kingcomplex, the Absarokavolcanics, and alkalicintrusive centers in the BearLodge Mountains andMineral Hill (Figure 2).
During one investigationthat the Section received support from Union PacificResources, several gold geochemical anomalies wereidentified along or near the Union Pacific right-of-way. Theanomalies were so abundant, that a gold anomaly was evenidentified in a small paleoplacer in the Laramie city dump(Hausel and others, 1994).
Seminoe Mountains Greenstone BeltThe Seminoe Mountains greenstone belt in central
Wyoming was remapped and sampled by the author in thesearch for gold and nickel (Hausel, 1993, 1994). Thefragmented greenstone belt lies along the western end ofthe Seminoe Mountains, a Laramide thrust wedge cored byPrecambrian rock. This core consists of Archeanmetasedimentary and metavolcanic rock (> 2.7 Ga)
exposed in a broad, vertically plunging fold that was intrudedand folded by syntectonic granodiorite (> 2.6 Ga) (Snyderand others, 1989). (http://www.wsgs.uwyo.edu/metals/seminoe.aspx).
The greenstone belt isdominated by metavolcanicrock of tholeiitic to komatiiticcomposition (Klein, 1981,1983) that includes am-phibolite, metabasalt andmetatuff of tholeiitic affinity,mica schist of possiblesedimentary origin andminor serpentinite, allintruded by metagabbrosills and plugs. These rocksare overlain by mafic andultramafic schists that aremassive to highly foliatedamphibolite, serpentiniteand tremolite-talc-chloriteschist of komatiite affinity.Most rocks with MgO>9%are classified as komatiitesbased on their chemistryand texture.
These komatiites are inturn overlain by interlayeredmetasedimentary andmetavolcanic rock thatincludes thick bands of
banded iron formation (BIF), chlorite schist, metagreywacke,and metapelite. Metavolcanics include metabasalt, metatuffand felsic schist.
The Seminoe Mountains were initially explored followingthe discovery of gold by a member of General Bradley'sexpedition in 1871. However, no major developments followedpartly due to constant Indian threats, litigation, general lackof serious exploration, and the narrow width and limited strikeof the known veins. Another probable deterrence may havebeen rock conditions. Exploration of the old Penn Mines byTimberline Minerals in the early 1980s found the mine backswere very unstable due to intersecting joints and fracturesand were susceptible to caving.
Figure 1. Members of the general public were treated to a gold-panning session on the Middle Fork of the Little Laramie Riveron one of the author’s many field trips. At this trip in 2003, theauthor was pleasantly surprised as none of the panners foundgold, but instead they recovered numerous pyrope garnets – amineral that is used to find nearby kimberlites.
(Continued on page 8)
www.rmag.org 7December 2006
www.rmag.org8 THE OUTCROP
During reconnaissance of this district in 1981, the authorfound several vein samples with visible gold (a rule of thumbis that if you can see a tiny pin-point of visible gold on ahand specimen, it will assay >1 ounce per ton in gold [optAu]) (Hausel, 1981). Other samples assayed as high as2.9 opt Au. This started a mini gold rush such that all of themotels in Rawlins and Saratoga, Wyoming were rapidly filledwith geologists and claim staking crews. One prospectorreported that it was like a reunion – he had met many oldfriends in the local bars who also set out to stake claims.
Years later, I went back to map the area to see if therewere any viable exposed ore deposits. Vein samples aroundBradley Peak at the west end of the range generally yieldanomalous gold. They are narrow (<3 feet wide), pyrite-chalcopyrite, quartz-carbonate veins in a broad propyliticallyaltered zone. The altered zone is approximately 0.5 mile indiameter and rocks within this zone are typically greener
than unaltered rocks. This is the result of an increase inchlorite and epidote replacement of the primary minerals.Samples from this zone ranged from <0.05 ppm (parts permillion)-2.6 opt Au, 0.0-1.6 opt Ag, 0.03-3.75% Cu, 3.0 ppm-0.39% Pb and 22 ppm-4.3% Zn (Hausel, 1994). Not onlyare the altered metavolcanics of interest, but also a series ofconjugate quartz veins in the altered zone carry visible gold.Locally, some crosscutting veinlets in BIF are alsoanomalous. Where found, isoclinally folded veins are highlyanomalous.
Drainages exiting the Seminoe district are immature andintermittent. Even so, some gold is found particularly alongDeweese Creek. Samples panned from unconsolidatedTertiary (?) conglomerate containing BIF pebbles andcobbles along the northern flank of the greenstone belt alsocontain colors and flakes of gold (Charlie and Donna Kortes,
(Continued from page 6)
Gold, Silver, Palladium and Platinum in Wyoming – Part II
Figure 2. Mining districts and mineralized areas in Wyoming (from Hausel, 1997).
(Continued on page 9)
www.rmag.org 9December 2006
(Continued from page 8)
Gold, Silver, Palladium and Platinum in Wyoming – Part II
personal communication, 1989). Panned samples collectedfrom this placer by the author also yielded gold colors.
Samples collected in this conglomerate by the WSGSnot only yielded gold but also diamond indicator minerals.A sample collected near the Miracle Mile on the east side ofthe North Platte River yielded fourgrains of chromian diopside and eightrounded yellow-orange to purplepyrope garnet. These and latersamples collected from two othersites in the paleoplacer were tested atthe University of Wyoming’smicroprobe laboratory. Every garnetthat has been tested to date has yieldedsub-calcic, chrome-pyrope (G10)diamond-stability geochemistry. Thusthis region appears to offer potentialfor gold, iron ore and particularly fordiamonds.
The Au-Cu deposits in theSeminoe Mountains are characteristicof gold in elongate carbonate zoneswithin metavolcanic rocks. Thesuggested mechanism of formationis that As, Au, Cu, Sb, Te, and Zn weremobilized during the breakdown ofsilicate minerals and deposited in
dilation zones in structurally favorable hosts. Duringalteration, silica was liberated to form the associatedquartz veins.
Rattlesnake Hills Greenstone BeltWhile studying the geology of Wyoming, another
area stood out as a possible gold target – theRattlesnake Hills. The Rattlesnake Hills southwestof Casper, Wyoming had >40 known Tertiary alkalicplugs and dikes that intruded Paleozoic sedimentsand also Archean metamorphic rocks (Figure 3). Ipacked my field vehicle and off I went.
When I arrived, I decided to access the belt fromthe north flank (the north access is notrecommended, and is the reason why I named thefirst gold discovery Lost Muffler) (Hausel and Jones,1982). It was apparent that there was potential. TheWSGS had no previous reports of gold, butthe geology strongly suggested this
was an overlooked gold district! In some places, wellpreserved metavolcanics were found during mapping(Figure 4).
The Archean rocks had characteristics of a greenstone
Figure 4. Preserved pillow-structures in metabasalt in the Rattlesnake Hills.
(Continued on page 11)
Figure 3. Generalized geological map of the Rattlesnake Hills district(modified from Hausel, 1996).
www.rmag.org10 THE OUTCROP
www.rmag.org 11December 2006
(Continued from page 9)
Gold, Silver, Palladium and Platinum in Wyoming – Part II
terrain and I found possible auriferous host rocks thatincluded jasper, jasperoid, shear zones, BIF, pyritiferousquartz veins, gossaniferous alkalic intrusives, stockworks,breccias and more.
I collected a suite ofsamples at Lost Mufflerand they were an-omalous in gold(Hausel and Jones,1982). American Cop-per and Nickel Com-pany followed up on thediscovery and mademany other discoveriesin exhalative environ-ments over strikelengths of more than amile. Later, CanyonResources and New-mont Gold madediscoveries in Tertiarybreccias adjacent toSandy Mountain (aTertiary alkalic plug). Theextent of this depositremains unknown butdrilling data suggests apotential for >millionounces (>$650 millionin gold) that is open atdepth (Hausel andothers, 2000). I decidedto re-examine theRattlesnake Hills areaand map this green-stone terrain (Hausel,1995, 1996) and iden-tified additional goldanomalies, extension ofveins and exhalites(http://www.wsgs.uwyo.edu/metals/Barlow_gap.aspx).Even after all of this activity, several other anomaliesremain unexplored, including gossaniferous alkalic plugs,Tertiary breccias, stock-works and possible skarns.
Silver Crown District, LaramieMountains
The Silver Crown district in the Laramie Mountainsbetween Cheyenne and Laramie includes a number of
small copper and zincoccurrences. One ofthese, the Copper Kingmine, is much largerthan the others and haspropylitically altered rockwith a small centralpotassic altered core.Visible chalcopyrite andmalachite are found ingranitic rocks in thealtered zone. Historically,the Copper King minewas located in 1881 anddeveloped by the AdamsCopper Mining andReduction Company.The property was laterworked by Hecla MiningCompany, but only aminor amount oftunnels and shaft weredug. A shaft was sunkon a gossan and levelswere established at 80feet and 130 feet depth.
Based on geologicalstudies, the Copper Kingis a deeply dissectedProterozoic age copper-gold porphyry withdisseminated sulfides,limited stockworks andpropylitic and potassicalteration zones. Four-teen samples collected
in 1912 varied from 0.22% to 2.43% Cu, 0.06 to 0.42opt Au, and 0.4 to 0.8 opt Ag.
Primary minerali-zation was intersected at a depthof 150 to 180 feet by the US Bureau of Mines. The primaryore is overlain by an oxidized and leached zone extending
Figure 6. Bald Mountain in the Wood River valley isunderlain by a highly mineralized copper-silverporphyry.
Figure 5. Wood River valley in the Absaroka Mountains.
(Continued on page 14)
www.rmag.org12 THE OUTCROP
Scholarship Establishedto Honor All of
RMAG’s VeteransThe RMAG Foundation has established the new Veterans
Memorial scholarship to recognize all its vets and to supportgraduate studies in geology.
Contributions and pledges of over $20,000 have already beenmade to the scholarship in memory of Earl Griffith, who passedaway in August.
Gifts to the VMS may be made in honor of any vet, and willgo towards building an endowment. Income from thisendowment will be distributed annually to one or more geologygraduate students, with a preference for veterans.
The selection of the recipients will be made under a competitiveprocess. The details of this procedure are being worked out.
Tax-deductible contributions for this new scholarship, in honorof any or all veterans, may be made payable to the RMAGFoundation and mailed to:
Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists Foundation820 16th Street, Suite 505Denver, CO 80202
Please be sure to specify the scholarship on your check or with an enclosed note.For additional information about this scholarship, please contact
Gold, Silver, Palladium and Platinum in Wyoming – Part II
from the surface down to depths of 30 to 150 feet. Nearthe shaft, a zone of intense silicification consists ofintersecting quartz veins and veinlet stockworks.Extending from the shaft is a zone of potassium silicatealteration expressed by secondary enrichment of biotiteand microcline-quartz intergrowths with some muscovite,sericite, epidote, and sulfides. This altered zone isenclosed by a propylitic zone consisting of secondarychlorite and epidote with sulfides.
Drilling by the U.S. Bureau of Mines showedmineralization continued to a minimum depth of 1,024feet (Soule, 1955). Estimates of the reserves were madeby Nevin (1973) based on drilling that included 35 milliontons of ore with 0.21% Cu and 0.022 opt Au.
In 1987, Caledonia Resources Ltd. examined theproperty as a large-tonnage, low-grade, disseminatedgold deposit. The company reported a higher-grade corewith 4.5 million tons of ore averaging 0.044 opt Au (orabout 200,000 ounces of contained gold). Samplingsuggested the deposit had a minimum strike length of600 to 700 feet with a 300-foot width that is open atdepth.
Geochemical and geophysical anomalies suggestthe known resource could be increased. For example, alarge magnetic anomaly, almost identical to that overthe Copper King deposit, was identified in a gravel 4,500feet to the southeast. Geological and geophysicalevidence also suggests the presence of sulfides downplunge to the southwest and east of the Copper King.An IP (induced polarization) survey identified a moderateto shallow metal factor anomaly trending east-northeastof the principal mineralized area (Klein, 1974). Currently,it is estimated that the Copper King hosts a million ounceequivalent of Au and Cu.
Absaroka MountainsLocated in northwestern Wyoming, this Tertiary
volcanic terrain is formed of several volcanic centers,associated flows and flow breccias. Some of the volcaniccenters are mineralized with disseminated, stockwork,and vein mineralization with hydrothermal alterationhalos. Most of the significant deposits are classified asporphyry copper-silver deposits.
The principal mineralized intrusives lie along aprominent deep-seated NNW structural trend severalmiles east of the Yellowstone National Park border. Thistrend extends north into the New World district of
Montana. One of the principal districts is Kirwinsouthwest of the town of Meeteetse in a deeply dissectedvolcanic plateau (Figure 5). The district includes threemineralized porphyries, numerous veins and a largeresource of (potentially auriferous) gravel downstreamfrom the porphyries and veins.
Many veins in the district have only been explored forlimited distances along strike, even though some veinsappear to be as long as 2,500 feet with zones of strongmineralization over mineable widths. The Oregon vein,for example, yielded ore-grade values (17.8 opt Ag and0.08 opt Au) across 3-foot widths. The Little Johnnievein yielded 64.7 opt Ag and 0.12 opt Au across widthsof 1.5 feet. According to Rostad (1982), the best valueswere obtained at or next to the mine face of the adits,where work had stopped.
A select sample across 0.5 foot of the Mendota veinin the Galena Ridge tunnel averaged 101.35 opt Ag and0.28 opt Au. The average of 31 samples taken over astrike length of 98 feet on the Bryan vein on SparMountain averaged 0.13 opt Au, 29.5 opt Ag and 0.73%Cu (Rostad, 1982). Based on these samples, significantvein deposits exist in the district.
The Bald Mountain porphyry in this area was exploredby AMAX in the 1960s to the 1980s (Figure 6). AMAXbegan drilling at Kirwin in 1963, and significantsecondary-enriched porphyry-copper mineralization wasintersected (Rostad, 1983). The project outlined geologicreserves totaling 196,000,000 tons of ore averaging 0.5%Cu and 0.02% MoS2 with byproduct credits in silver andgold. Feasibility studies indicated that the deposit wasalso amenable to in situ leaching. A 1991 study indicatedthat copper could be recovered at a cost of only $0.3/pound by in situ leaching (Ora Rostad, personalcommunication, 1992) (copper prices are currently>$3.5/pound). Several other mineralized areas andporphyries have been identified in the AbsarokaMountains (Hausel, 1982, 1997). The Absarokas couldhave become one of the great metal mining districts inthe West if it was not for its location near Yellowstone.
Black HillsThe Black Hills in Wyoming form a dome-shaped
uplift that extends into South Dakota and is cored by a2.6 Ga Precambrian basement complex surrounded byPaleozoic and Mesozoic sedimentary rock. Tertiary alkalic
(Continued from page 11)
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www.rmag.org 15December 2006
Gold, Silver, Palladium and Platinum in Wyoming – Part II
and peralkalic intrusives are recognized at a number oflocations. The principal intrusive centers range in agefrom 30 Ma to 55 Ma, and include the Bear LodgeMountains complex, Black Buttes, Devils Tower-MissouriButtes, Inyan Kara Mountain, Mineral Hill, and SundanceMountain (Lisenbee, 1985). Of these, mineralization hasbeen reported in the Bear Lodge Mountains, Black Buttes,and the Mineral Hill district.
The Bear Lodge Mountains include disseminatedgold, rare earth (REE) mineralization, some copper andfluorite. Copper appears to be relatively widespread, butprimarily in accessory amounts. Alkali trachyte porphyryin the Bear Lodge Mountains also carries accessorychalcopyrite, sphalerite and galena. In the Black Buttearea, replacement deposits are dominated byargentiferous silver and hemimorphite with subordinatefluorite and wulfenite. In the Mineral Hill district,disseminated gold and gold- and silver-rich veinsdominate, with some scattered REE, copper, lead, zincand tin.
Bear Lodge district. The Bear Lodge complex isdescribed as a porphyry-type intrusive with one of thelargest, low-grade, disseminated and vein-type REE andthorium deposits in the United States. Disseminated goldis associated with feldspathic breccia (Jenner, 1984). Onemineralized zone discovered in an elongate intrusivebreccia (2,000 by 120 feet) was drilled and yielded goldvalues of 0.343 to 1.72 ppm. Geologic resource estimatesfor the intrusive breccia were 8.2 million tons averaging0.686 ppm gold (Hausel, 1997).
The Bear Lodge Mountains were first prospected in1875, following the discovery of gold near Warren Peak.The Bear Lodge Mountains form a core of multipleEocene alkalic intrusives, which have domed thesurrounding Paleozoic and Mesozoic sediments. The coreof the complex has been fenitized (in other words, alkalis,particularly potassium, were introduced and silica wasremoved during alteration). The intrusive core consistsof trachyte with a large (0.9 by 0.4 mile) intrusive brecciapipe in the northern half of the complex (Gersic andothers, 1990) similar to a Cripple Creek-type gold deposit.
Mineral deposits consist of vein-, disseminated-,carbonatite-, and replacement-type deposits. The firstthree types occur together in the trachyte core, and thereplacement deposits are primarily in the surroundingPaleozoic sedimentary rocks. Disseminated REE and
gold-bearing stockworks and intrusive breccia hosteddeposits occur in the trachyte stock.
Replacement deposits in the Deadwood Formationquartzite and Pahasapa Limestone consist of fluorite,chalcedony, and minor potassium feldspar. They occuras irregular and discontinuous veins, fractures,brecciated zones, and disseminated streaks and blebs.
At Smith Ridge in the complex, FMC and InternationalCurator explored the central portion of the stock andintersected a tabular intrusive breccia approximately2,000 feet long by 120 feet wide. The breccia averaged0.021 opt Au. Reserves were estimated at 2,000,000 tonsof ore containing 42,000 ounces of gold (Gersic andothers, 1990). The Bear Lodge Mountains continue toattract considerable interest for its widespread goldanomalies and REE. Currently, the area is being exploredfor gold by Newmont and others.
Black Butte. Black Butte lies 12 miles west ofMineral Hill and about 10 miles south of Bear Lodge.This alkalic igneous complex consists of separate alkalicintrusives (Elwood, 1978) that intruded and domed thePaleozoic cover at 54 Ma (Lisenbee, 1985).
Locally, Pb-Ag-Zn occurs in a tabular zone alongsteeply dipping joints of the Mississippian PahasapaLimestone a few feet above the contact with a Tertiarytrachyte porphyry sill. The mineralization replaceslimestone, fills cavities, and cements limestone breccia,and was accompanied by strong silicification. The mostabundant ore mineral present is white hemimorphite incavities and as replacements of algal structures in thelimestone. Galena, sphalerite, and fluorite also occur. A25-pound grab sample collected by Elwood (1978)assayed 6% Zn, 0.05% Pb, 0.09% Mn and 10 ppm Ag.Samples collected by the author ranged from 0.0-5.8opt Ag, 80-452 ppm Cu, 130 ppm-0.79% Mn, 48 ppm-0.51% Pb, and 61 ppm-8.3% Zn. The mineralization isvery localized in outcrop.
Mineral Hill district. Twelve to 15 miles southeastof the Bear Lodge Mountains are another Tertiaryintrusive. Here, Mineral Hill shows similar mineralization.Anomalous gold is reported in feldspathic breccia, quartzveins, and in jasperoid (Welch, 1976). Breccias with 6ppm Au and 115 ppm Ag, and jasperoids with 5 ppmAu and 7 ppm Ag are described (Hausel, 1989).
The Mineral Hill district lies adjacent to the Tintonmining district in South Dakota. Tinton was known for
(Continued from page 14)
(Continued on page 16)
www.rmag.org16 THE OUTCROP
tin (cassiterite), and Mineral Hill was principally known forplacer gold. The district also contains lode and disseminatedgold, some copper, and minor amethyst. Mineral Hill isdominated by a Tertiary alkalic complex that intrudesPrecambrian biotite-quartz schist, minor amphibolite andpegmatite and Paleozoic sedimentary rock. The Paleozoicrocks are domed and dip gently away from the center of thealkalic complex.
A sample of brown jasperoid from the Bull Hill prospectassayed 470 ppm Cu, 4,300 ppm Pb, 5 ppm Au and 7ppm Ag (Welch, 1974). Nearby, the Treadwell open cutproduced some of the better mineralization at the surface.The small open cut with high walls has two parallel aditsdriven on narrow horizontal veins in altered feldspathic syeniteand trachyte. Welch (1974) reported a sample of silicifiedintrusive breccia from the pit that assayed 0.17 opt Au, 3.36opt Ag, 1.1% Cu, and 0.57% Pb. A sample of vein materialcollected by the author assayed 130 ppm Au, 330 ppm Ag,0.29% Cu and 2.32% Pb.
CONCLUSIONSGold has been found in numerous deposits around the
state of Wyoming (Figure 7). The state also has several
significant geological environmentsthat suggest possibilities forsignificant gold mineralizationparticularly in Archean greenstonebelts and in Tertiary igneouscomplexes. Literally hundreds of goldoccurrences and anomalies havebeen detected in Wyoming with verylittle follow-up research (see Hausel,1989; 1997). In addition to the lodedeposits, placer gold has been foundin significant amounts around thestate. South Pass is the most notable,but other significant gold occurrenceshave been reported at Douglas Creekin the Medicine Bow Mountains wherenuggets are often recovered near theold Keystone gold mine. There arealso other placers which we have verylittle to no information, such as ahydraulic placer that was found alongInterstate 80 during an investigationof gold occurrences in southernWyoming (Hausel and others,
1994), and reports of other placers in the Sierra MadreMountains including reports of nuggets recovered from anunidentified locality in the Sierra Madre where as many as299 nuggets were apparently found by a treasure hunter(Rick Mattingly, personal communication).
In the last part of this series (Part III), we will investigategold placers for the weekend prospector and explorationgroups as well as the other precious metals that are foundin Wyoming – the platinum-group minerals.
REFERENCES CITEDAntweiler, J.C., Love, J.D., Mosier, E.L., and Campbell, W.L.,
1980, Oligocene gold-bearing conglomerate southeastmargin of Wind River Mountains, Wyoming: WyomingGeological Association 32nd Annual Field ConferenceGuidebook, p.223-237.
Elwood, M.W., 1978, Geology of the Black Buttes, CrookCounty, Wyoming: M.S. thesis, South Dakota School ofMines and Technology, Rapid City, 123 p.
Gersic, J., Peterson, E.K., and Schreiner, R.A., 1990, Appraisalof selected mineral resources of the Black Hills NationalForest, South Dakota and Wyoming: U.S. Bureau of Mines
(Continued from page 15)
Gold, Silver, Palladium and Platinum in Wyoming – Part II
(Continued on next page)
Figure 7. Sketch of an abandoned mine headframe in the Medicine Bow Mountainsfrom a bygone era. Sketch by the author (http://danhausel.com).
www.rmag.org 17December 2006
(Continued from page 16)
Gold, Silver, Palladium and Platinum in Wyoming – Part II
Open File Report MLA 5-90, 225 p.Hausel, W.D., 1981, Report on selected gold-bearing samples,
Seminoe Mountains greenstone belt, Carbon County,Wyoming: Geological Survey of Wyoming Open File Report82-2, 8 p.
Hausel, W.D., 1982, General geologic setting andmineralization of the porphyry copper deposits, Absarokavolcanic plateau, Wyoming: Wyoming GeologicalAssociation 33rd Annual Field Conference Guidebook, p.297-313.
Hausel, W.D., 1989, The geology of Wyoming’s precious metallode and placer deposits: Geological Survey of WyomingBulletin 68, 248 p.
Hausel, W.D., 1993, Preliminary report on the mining history,geology, geochemistry, and mineralization of the SeminoeMountains mining district, Carbon County, Wyoming:Wyoming Geological Association Jubilee Anniversary FieldConference Guidebook, p. 387-409.
Hausel, W.D., 1994, Economic geology of the SeminoeMountains greenstone belt, Carbon County, Wyoming:Geological Survey of Wyoming Report of investigations 50,31 p.
Hausel, W.D., 1995, Preliminary report on the geology andgold mineralization of the Rattlesnake Hills supracrustalbelt, Wyoming: Wyoming Geological Association Resourcesof Southwestern Wyoming Guidebook, p. 361-372.
Hausel, W.D., 1996, Economic geology of the RattlesnakeHills supracrustal belt, Natrona County, Wyoming:Geological Survey of Wyoming Report of Investigations52, 28 p.
Hausel, W.D., 1997, The geology of Wyoming’s copper, lead,zinc, molybdenum, and associated metal deposits inWyoming: Geological Survey of Wyoming Bulletin 70, 224 p.
Hausel, W.D., 2005, Geologists Locate Giant Gemstones:Prospecting and Mining Journal, v. 74, no. 7, p. 7-9.
Hausel, W.D., and Jones, Suzanne, 1982, Field notes - LostMuffler gold prospect, Rattlesnake Hills: Geological Surveyof Wyoming unpublished Mineral Report MR82-9, 5 p.
Hausel, W.D., Marlatt, G.G., Nielsen, E.L., and Gregory, R.W.,1994, Study of metals and precious stones in southernWyoming: Geological Survey of Wyoming Open File Report94-2, 61 p.
Hausel, W.D., Miller, D.R., Sutherland, W.M., 2000, Economicdiversification through mineral resources: WyomingGeological Association Field Conference Guidebook, p.209-225.
Jenner, G.A., Jr., 1984, Tertiary alkalic igneous activity,potassic fenitization, carbonatitic magmatism, andhydrothermal activity in the central and southeastern BearLodge Mountains, Crook County, Wyoming: M.S. thesis,University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, 232 p.
Klein, T.L., 1974, Geology and mineral deposits of the SilverCrown mining district, Laramie County, Wyoming:Geological Survey of Wyoming Preliminary Report 14,27 p.
Klein, T.L., 1981, The geology and geochemistry of sulfidedeposits of the Seminoe district, Carbon County, Wyoming:PhD dissertation, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, 232 p.
Klein, T.L., 1982, Archean metavolcanic rocks of the BradleyPeak area, Seminoe Mountains, Wyoming: 1982 Archeangeochemistry field conference guidebook, August 15-19, p. 24-49.
Lisenbee, A.L., 1985, Tectonic map of the Black Hills uplift,Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota: GeologicalSurvey of Wyoming Map Series 13, scale 1:250,000.
Love, J.D., Antweiler, J.C., and Mosier, E.L., 1978, A newlook at the origin and volume of the Dickie Springs-Oregon Gulch placer gold at the south end of the WindRiver Mountains: Wyoming Geological Association 30thAnnual Field Conference Guidebook, p.379-391.
Nevin, A.E., 1973, Interim report, Copper King property,Laramie County, Wyoming: Henrietta Mines Ltd. companyreport, Geological Survey of Wyoming mineral files, 16 p.
Rostad, O.H., 1982, Future work at Kirwin: AMAX ExplorationMemorandum, Feb. 10, 1982, Geological Survey ofWyoming mineral files, 5 p.
Rostad, O.H., 1983, Data summary, AMAX's Kirwin project,Park County, Wyoming: AMAX Exploration Memorandum,August 30, 1983, Geological Survey of Wyoming mineralfiles, 4 p.
Snyder, G.L., Hausel, W.D., Klein, T.L., Houston, R.S., andGraff, P.J., 1989, Precambrian rocks and mineralization,Wyoming Province: 28th International GeologicalCongress guide to field trip T-332, July 19-25, 48 p.
Soule, J.H., 1955, Investigations of the Copper King copper-gold-silver deposits, Silver Crown mining district, LaramieCounty, Wyoming: U.S. Bureau of Mines Report ofInvestigations 5139, 37 p.
Welch, C.M., 1974, A preliminary report on the geology ofthe Mineral Hill area, Crook County, Wyoming: M.S. thesis,South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, RapidCity South Dakota, 83 p.
www.rmag.org18 THE OUTCROP
of papers for 2007. With regular special theme issuesthanks to the efforts of our guest editors, the Mountain Gis as strong as it has ever been! So, a second round ofthank-you’s goes to everyone involved in our publicationefforts in 2006:
Publications Committee: Terri Olson (chair), Jane Estes-Jackson (board liaison)
The Mountain Geologist: Barbara Luneau, Mark Longman
The Outcrop: Jane Estes-Jackson, Terri Olson, KrisPeterson
Mountain Geologist on DVD: Terri Olson, Michelle Bishop,Elmo Brown, Tim Cluff, Bob Cluff
Geologic Atlas on CD: Mark Sonnenfeld, Terri Olson, BobCluff
And then, of course, there was my Board – one of thebest I have ever had the pleasure to work with. To cite justa couple of highlights that go beyond stewarding all of thisactivity along and watching the numbers, we managed toimplement some significant changes. In recognition of thehuge contribution Continuing Education makes to thehealth of the society, we “upgraded” the position of SecondVP to include oversight responsibility for the CE Committee,and in the year following his/her term on the board, thesecond VP becomes chair of the Committee. This is parallelto the First VP-to-Publications Chair rotation that hasworked so well for us for many years. We’re always workingto improve the efficiency of the RMAG office and this yearthat included a change to the computer system, movingour data to a secure server with tape backup to allow offsitestorage of our vital records. We also started work onconverting our membership database from the legacysystem we purchased in the 80s to a modern Accessdatabase. So, my final round of thank-you’s goes to my2006 board and everyone else that has contributed to therunning of the society this past year, including of courseour fantastic front office staff:
2006 Board of Directors: Bob Cluff, Jewel Wellborn, JaneEstes-Jackson, Denis Foley, John Ladd, Kelly Belanger,Steve Perlman, Ed Coalson, Neil Hurley
Now, just a few final musings. One of the things I didthis year that I hope will be a long term contribution was tochange the tone of these monthly columns. I warned youin January what was to come, and that some of what Iwould write might make you uncomfortable, some mightmake you laugh, and hopefully all of it would make youthink and talk to your colleagues. I’ve had lots of cheers, afair number of jeers, and more than a few people askedme what is it I really believe? Those reactions are all fineby me, I didn’t expect everybody to agree with me; heck, Idon’t agree with myself a fair part of the time. It's thedialogue that is important – not my personal opinions. IfI stimulated some lunch table talk, my job is done. At anyrate, I hope I broke the ice and this will allow futurePresidents to tackle controversial subjects in these pages.
As for what I really believe, I’d like to reprint a quote Irecently read on edge.org. It’s from MIT engineer SethLloyd, and it’s an uncanny summation of my philosophyin words I can only wish I had penned:
“I believe in science. Unlike mathematical theorems,scientific results can’t be proved. They can only be testedagain and again, until only a fool would not believe them.
I cannot prove that electrons exist, but I believefervently in their existence. And if you don’t believe inthem, I have a high voltage cattle prod I’m willing to applyas an argument on their behalf. Electrons speak forthemselves.”
As scientists, we have an enormous amount ofcredibility with the general public and with the decisionmakers in this society – more than attorneys, certainly farhigher than politicians, perhaps more than doctors. Whenscientists lose their objectivity, when we get drawn intotaking politically-motivated stances, or if we stop learningand cease to revise our opinions in the light of new evidence,we all suffer and yield some credibility. Don’t go there: keepan open mind, always question what it is you know andhow you think things work, stay objective. It’s our greatestasset.
With that, I bid you adieu and wish Jewel and the 2007Board the best of luck. It has been a privilege and an honorto serve as your President. I thank you for your support.
Now where did I set down that cattle prod??
(Continued from page 3)
President’s Column
www.rmag.org 19December 2006
El Niño's ComingBy Michael Wilson
Any Dune fans out there? There’sa scene in the Dune movie (Artisan,2000) where nasty old Baron vonHarkonnen and little Alia, with herblue-on-blue eyes, are standing infront of the Padishah Emperor.There’s an explosion and a rumblingshudder in the background, and Aliasays, in a sing-song voice, laced withgrim satisfaction, “My brother’scoming!”
In that same tone of voice, “ElNiño’s coming!”
We've been through it before:1982-83; 1986-87; 1991-92; 1994-95; 1997-98. There’s been a longgap in the periodicity, but now it'shappening again. NOAA startedmaking public announcements aboutthe oncoming El Niño event in mid-September, 2006. A hot-spot isgrowing in the central Pacific west ofthe Galapagos. The Pacific JetStream has split. The southern jet-track now arrives over Baja;hurricanes have been driven out ofthe Gulf of Mexico; abnormally warmair is being pumped into the GreatLakes region.
The stage is set with othercontributing factors: gas storagefacilities are already glutted with gas;spot gas prices are already falling.How strange: there have been nohurricanes in the Gulf this year. Heardon the street: stories about drillingprograms being cut back, pipelineprojects being deferred; hiringfreezes… In the office where I work:engineers are re-running projecteconomics with the latest priceforecasts. They pace up and downthe hallways with worried looks ontheir faces. In the Denver Post:
NOAA predicts a mild winter; the USDOE predicts lower heating bills. Theforces of chaos theory are in motion;tipping points are taking effect.
We’ve seen it happen before; buthuman memories are so short… Forthose who need a reminder, the ElNiño cycle was first described andpresented in the RMAG Outcrop in1995, and in several publications andpresentations since then. Find a copyof the “Red Book” – the 2001 RMAGGuidebook, Gas in the Rockies, andbrowse Chapter Two – it’s all there,in gory detail. If there are anylingering doubts about the credibilityof the story, find former RMAGpresident John Robinson’s com-mentary in The Outcrop v. 51/3, p. 3-6. If there are still any doubts, ask anold-timer about the tail-spin andcollapse of Snyder Oil Co. during theEl Niño winter of 1994-95, or theclosure of Mobil Oil Corporation’sDenver office in 1992, following thecollapse of gas prices during the1991-92 El Niño. Corporate trainwrecks have happened, not so longago.
Trouble ahead? Let’s quote fromthat good old song, Casey Jones, byThe Grateful Dead: “Trouble ahead,trouble behind, and you know thatnotion just crossed my mind.”
May you live in interesting times.
For further information see thefollowing websites: http://wea the r.un i s y s . com/ sur face /s s t _ a n o m . h t m l , h t t p : / /v i r g a . s f s u . e d u / g i f /jetstream_init_00.gif
www.rmag.org20 THE OUTCROP
Highlights of the October 18,2006 RMAG Board Meeting
The October board meeting marked a couple ofmilestones. The first was that the meeting occurred on the10th anniversary of Sandi Pellissier joining RMAG as theoffice manager. That she could survive ten years trying tokeep a group of 2,000 geologists organized is quite a featand it was duly celebrated with a cake made for theoccasion. Thanks to Sandi for all the work she has donefor our organization!
The other milestone was budgetary. Kelly Belangerreported that as of the end of September, income for theyear has exceeded one million dollars. The Board membersall agreed that this was probably the first time ever thatRMAG’s annual income had exceeded this amount. Pastboard members or self-appointed RMAG historians shouldfeel free to send in a correction should we be in error. Theexceptional income this year has come from a variety ofsources including financially successful meetings,especially the RMAG-COGA Rocky Mountain Gas Summit,increases in advertising revenue, and increases in booksales, thanks in no small part to the big demand for the
digital version of the Geologic Atlas. The best part is thatwe will end the year with a considerable surplus which canbe invested and used as a cushion during the next inevitabledownturn in the industry.
Regarding other budgetary news, Sandi presented theBoard members with a preliminary version of next year’sbudget for us to review prior to next month’s meeting. Atthat time, the final budget for 2007 will be approved. Shealso reported that all of the booth spaces for the 2007Prospect Fair have been rented and that the event will meetits budgeted income.
Finally, Jane Estes-Jackson announced that LynCanter has agreed to take over from Mark Longman asone of the two co-editors of the Mountain Geologist. Shewill be assisting Barbara Luneau, who has been workingwith Mark for the past year. Thanks to Mark for all that hehas done for the Mountain Geologist over the years, aswell as to Lyn for volunteering to take over this importantposition.
If you have any events that you would like to post in this column, please submit via email to Jane Estes-Jackson [email protected] or to the RMAG office at [email protected] for consideration.
PipelineIn TheIn The
PipelineIn The
December 12Desk & Derrick Holiday Party and Installation of Officers. Meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. at the Holiday Inn, 1450
Glenarm Place. For reservations, please contact Saundra Thompson at [email protected], or by calling herat 720-264-2835.
December 19DWLS Luncheon. “Permeability as a Net Pay Indicator,” Lev Vernik, Noble Energy. Cost of the luncheon is $15. Luncheon
begins at 11:20 a.m. at the Wynkoop Brewery. For reservations contact Eleice Wickham, phone 303-573-2781, [email protected].
February 8, 2007Extensional Tectonic Systems in Exploration & Production Short Course. See page 32 for more information.
February 12-16, 2007AAPG Winter Education Conference, Houston, Texas. See page 31 for more information.
March 6, 200713th nnual 3-D Seismic Symposium. See page 33 for more information.
June 19, 2007Coalbed Methane Symposium, Marriott City Center Hotel, Denver, CO.. See page 21 for more information.
At IHS, we see state data as a starting point.More people in the field—Our scouts talk to 2,000 contacts in oil & gas provinces from the West Coast to West Virginia, tracking wells from drilling to initial potential.
More data details—In Texas alone, IHS has 106,000 wells with core data and more than 133,000 wells with DST data—attributes you won’t find from vendors who simply re-publish state data.
More accurate data—More than 100 geoscientists and data professionals conduct a series of quality checks, including adding formation names for local reservoirs and ensuring wells are assigned to the correct field.
State data gets our process rolling. We work with state agencies and our own QC teams to enhance it. We scout every stage of a well’s life to add updates and new attributes. Then we put the result in a consistent platform, so you can mine it for actionable knowledge—and base your investment decisions on the industry standard in E&P data.
See for yourself. Visit ihs.com/energy/bestdata to see our inventory comparison reports for well and production data.
See further. See opportunity. See clearly.
www.rmag.org 27December 2006
www.rmag.org28 THE OUTCROP
'Geo Families' Documentaryby David Emme
“I’m making a documentary about Geologists.”‘Come again?’
“I’m making a documentary about multi-generational Rocky Mountain geologicfamilies.”‘Hmmm…that seems a little odd. Does thatmean you want to interview me?’
“Uh, yes, if that’s ok with you.”‘Well go ahead, but I don’t know who’s going towatch it.’
For a profession that only seems to get outsideattention when they’re having rocks thrown at them for oilspills, earthquakes and rising gas prices, a non-geologistthat is interested in the community can seem a little odd.While geologists tend to keep those rocks and put themup on their mantles, it does make them a bit wary of anyonetrying to shove a camera in their face and ask themquestions. So when I wanted to enter the realm of geologyand make a documentary film about geologic families, Ihad to first answer three questions from The Gatekeeper,Dr. Bob Weimer. “WHAT is your name? WHAT is yourquest? WHAT is the Principle of Superposition?” Uponproving my worth, I was awarded a roast beef sandwichwith plenty of fixings and, from that point forward, I’vewitnessed an outpouring of kindness and willingness tohelp that is just the norm for this tight-knit community.
The film, entitled ‘Geo Families,’ is an interview baseddocumentary that delves into the culture of geology usingstories, comments and reflections from at least eightdifferent geologic families. Each family has its own stories,
but overriding themes of exploration and love of theoutdoors are apparent in the accounts of camping,fieldwork and world travel that tie this group together. Asense of humor and spirit of adventure reign supreme inthese geologists whose passion for science and the earthdrove them and their children to successful careers in thefield.
‘Geo Families’ is about this community, and it wouldn’texist without the support of RMAG members who sat downfor interviews, recommended families to contact anddonated money to get the ball rolling. I think the best wayfor me to say thank you to those people is to spreadawareness of this film so that the work they put in can beshown and appreciated. I believe in the value ofcommunities and the power of film to make a positiveimpact. My hope is that this film will not only preserve thecontributions of lifelong geologists, but also promotefellowship in the community and inspire geologists youngand old. I think you will get a kick out of seeing your friendsand colleagues on film and hearing about their adventuresin geology, and you might even be surprised to find outwho comes from a Geo Family.
For more information on ‘Geo Families,’ visitwww.drefilms.com. The film’s target release date isDecember 20th, 2006.
The Professional Awards Committee is looking foradditional members. If you’re interested, please contact
Geology from the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukeeand an MA in Geology from the University of Texas atAustin. Steve is a member of AAPG and SEPM.
Joe LetkoJoe is Exploration Manager for Houston Exploration
in Houston. He holds a BS in Geology from theUniversity of Illinois.
Michael L. PowellMichael is Geoscience Manager of the Rockies Asset
Team for Dominion Exploration & Production inOklahoma City. He holds a BS in Geology andGeophysics from the University of Missouri at Rolla.Michael is a member of AAPG and AIPG.
Patricia E. RodriquesPatricia is a senior petrophysicist with DRM Energy
in Littleton. She holds a BS and MS in ChemicalEngineering from Universidad Simon Bolivar. Patriciais a member of SEPM and SEG.
Mark W. VerHoeveMark is Exploration Manager-New Ventures for
Cimarex Energy Co. in Denver. He holds a BA inGeology from the University of Wisconsin and an MSin Geology from the University of Texas. Mark is amember of AAPG, SEPM, SEG, and HGS.
Simon R. WatersSimon is President of Triple W Exploration, Inc. in
Boulder. He holds a BS in Geology from the Universityof Briston in England and an MS in Marine Earth Sciencefrom the University of London. Simon is a member ofSEPM.
Robert WeedenRobert is Manager-Geoscience-Australia for Strike
Oil Limited. He holds a BS in Geology from theUniversity of Tasmania. Robert is a member of AAPG.
And Welcome Backto Returning
Members...Jon Grannis
Jon is with Antero Resources in Denver. He holds aBS in Geology from St. Laurence in Canton, NY, andan MS in Geology from the University of Kansas. Jonis a member of AAPG.
Ingrid SwendigIngrid is an Account Manager with WesternGeco in
Denver. She holds a BS in Geology from MetropolitanState. Ingrid is a member of AAPG.
www.rmag.org30 THE OUTCROP
On October 7, 15 members of RMAG assisted withthe third annual Rocks and Roles: Women on the Ridge.This celebration of women in geology is cosponsoredby the Girl Scouts Mile Hi Council and the Associationfor Women Geoscientists. The goal is to encourage girlsto view science as a possible career, through talking to
professional women scientists and learning about theearth. The girls can earn badges while exploring thegeology and paleontology of one of our treasured naturalresources.
The first scout day at Dinosaur Ridge, in which RMAGassisted, was the first annual Boy Scout Day last May.Many members enjoyed the Boy Scouts so much, thatthey were eager to help the Girl Scouts in October; and,AWG needed help.
The first Rocks and Roles in 2004 brought together12 volunteers and about 300 people. The second, in2005, had about 15 volunteers – and over 1,000 people!Many of those volunteers burned out. This year, RMAGmember Dwaine Edington rounded up more scientistsfrom RMAG and AEG; the event had around 60 volunteersand 1,300 visitors. The large number of volunteersallowed all to enjoy their time with the Girl Scouts,including eating a hot lunch which was provided by theFriends of Dinosaur Ridge and cooked by two Girl Scouttroops.
The Friends of Dinosaur Ridge have discovered aneed in the community for high-quality earth scienceeducation. With your help, these scout days can openthe eyes of young and old alike, to appreciate the wondereach of us finds in our planet.
Thanks to the following RMAG members whoparticipated in this event (with apologies to anyone wemay have missed):
Mick Brownfield and his wife, Isabelle explainedrocks and minerals; Jill Carlson; Chris Carrollhelped with both Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts;Dwaine Edington; Kathy Emme demonstratedthe new track pit; Bob Koehler; Becky Kowalski,from the USGS, talked about Geologic time andgeology careers; John Mahoney; Katie JoeMcDonough waved her arms at the Red Rocksoverlook; Christine McLelland; Betty Rall, aformer Girl Scout, helped the girls with 3 differentbadges; Gary Robinson not only worked theDenver Basin stop at Rocks and Roles, but alsoorganized the 120 Boy Scout Merit Badge scoutsin May; Linda Soar; Lou Taylor managed theentire Jurassic side of the ridge; and Jim Watson.
RMAG IS ONA ROLE!!!
John Mahoney assists girls in decipheringgeologic maps. John helped at the BoyScout day as well.
Christine McLelland, Geological Societyof America outreach, has assisted inseveral Rocks and Roles adventures.
RMAG is on a Role!RMAG is on a Role!
by Clare P. Marshall
www.rmag.org 31December 2006
Have you signed up yet???
4th Annual
AAPG WINTER EDUCATION
CONFERENCE Houston, TX
February 12-16, 2007
Courses will include: Essentials of Subsurface Mapping Introduction to Computer Mapping Practical Mapping of Surfaces, Properties and Volumes for Reservoir Characterization
Rock Properties of Tight Gas Sandstones Introduction to Coalbed Methane Risk, Uncertainty and Decision-Making in Unconventional Resource Plays Seismic Amplitude Interpretation—Lithology and Pore Fluid Estimation 3D Seismic Attributes for Prospect Identification and Reservoir Characterization* Seismic Geomorphology & Seismic Stratigraphy Basic Openhole Log Interpretation Advancements in Petrophysics and What to do with Them Introduction to DST’s for Geologists
*borrowed with permission from SEG
Tuition for the week is only $1295 for AAPG Members, $1395 for non-members*
or $325/day for individual courses
*(price increases to $1395/$1495 after 1/15/07)
REGISTRATION AND INFORMATION: Toll-free (U.S. and Canada) 888-338-3387, or 918-560-2650
Fax: 918-560-2678; e-mail: [email protected] Download a registration form at http://www.aapg.org/education/wec.cfm
HOSTED BY THE HILTON HOUSTON WESTCHASE HOTEL 9999 WESTHEIMER ROAD
713-974-1000 FAX: 713-974-6866
SPECIAL AAPG GROUP RATES!
www.rmag.org32 THE OUTCROP
The Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists Presents
Extensional Tectonic Systems in Exploration and Production – A Short Course
by Robert Hickman
Thursday, February 8th, 2007, Marriott Hotel, Downtown Denver Registration begins at 7:15 AM
Extensional faults and associated features are widespread in sedimentary basins and play crucial roles in sedimentation and the migration and trapping of hydrocarbons. This seminar will 1) briefly review stress and strain concepts, 2) highlight various extensional structural styles and geometries, 3) review the tectonic setting of major extensional regimes, 4) discuss hydrocarbon traps in these settings and, 5) consider interpretation and exploration pitfalls. Lectures will be supplemented by several short interpretation exercises that illustrate structural styles and interpretation techniques. An extensive manual of course illustrations, notes and references will be provided.
Registration fee includes course notes continental breakfast, refreshment breaks, and an end of event social hour.
___Registration fee THROUGH January 20th for RMAG Members: $100.00 $ _____ ___Registration fee THROUGH January 20th for Non-Members: $115.00 $ _____ ___Registration fee AFTER January 20 for BOTH Members & Non-Members $135.00 $ _____
___Full-Time Student Registration (Student ID Number required) $40.00 $ _____
No cancellations or refunds after January 20th, 2007 Total enclosed $ _____
Payment: [ ] Check (payable to RMAG) [ ] Visa [ ] Mastercard No American Express or Discover Cards
Name on Credit Card (Print): _____________________________________________ Card No.: ______________________________ Expiration Date: ________________ Signature (credit cards only) _____________________________________________ Zip Code of Billing Address: _________
Mail or FAX this registration form to: RMAG, 820 16th St., Ste. 505, Denver, CO 80202, 303-573-8621, FAX: 303-628-0546
For Online Registration: http://www.rmag.org. You must receive a confirmation notice by return email within 24 hours or your registration was not accepted by our computer.
www.rmag.org 33December 2006
BARLOW & HAUN, INC. _________________________________
Mark J. Doelger President Phone 307-234-1574 WY PG #737 Fax 307-234-1576 [email protected] or [email protected] 225 So. David Street, Ste. A, Casper WY 82601
YOUR AD COULDBE HERE!
Call the RMAG office at303-573-8621 for more
information.
13th3-D Seismic
Symposium
Annual
DENVERTuesday, March 6th
2007
Rocky MountainAssociation of Geologists
&Denver Geophysical Society
www.rmag.org
“Peak Action”Oil & Gas Trends
in the Rockies
including:* 3-D seismic technology* New Resource Ideas
* Kickoff & Keynote Speakers (TBA)* Perspectives on Oil & Gas Future andintegrated technologies including 3-D Seismic ( note date change)
* Network with the Best in the Rockies* Plan your next Giant Field!
www.rmag.org34 THE OUTCROP
www.rmag.org 35December 2006
This Month’s Advertisers
Denver GeologicalResearch Center
The Denver Geological Research Center (GRC) Librarylocated in the Denver Club Building is now under newownership. It is now known as the Rocky Mountain Library(RML) with Peggy Ortiz still in charge after many years.
The library continues to offer logs, production data(monthly), maps, scout card files, IHS weekly drilling updates(the former PI drilling and completion reports). States coveredare Montana, Utah, Colorado, Nebraska, and Northwest NewMexico. They also have access to the Gulf Coast data.
The monthly membership fee is $185.00 or $1,800annually. Copying fees for all sizes are $.20 per copy.
For more information call the RML at the Denver ClubBuilding, 518 17th Street, Suite 600, Denver, CO 80202,phone 303-573-5230, fax 303-623-9144.
A2D ........................................................... 24AAPG ........................................................ 31Automated Mudlogging Systems ............. 12Barlow & Haun ......................................... 33Bechtold, G.D. .......................................... 28C & S Design ............................................ 33Denver Geological Research Center ...... 35Direct Geochemical ................................ 29Gene R. George & Assoc., Inc. .................. 5Geological Consultants ........................... 12Goolsby Brothers ...................................... 25Humble Geochemical ............................... 7
IHS .......................................................26IHS/Petra .............................................13Infopipe ................................................25King, Walt ............................................... 5McKee Well Records ............................ 5Minerals Diversified Serv., Inc. .............. 5MJ Systems .........................................34Neuralog ..............................................25Omni Laboratories, Inc. ......................10Ozanich, Paul ......................................25PGS Onshore, Marty Hall ...................... 5Petrobase ............................................12
