WorldWide Drilling Resource

Mining in the USA Part 33: Wyoming Compiled by Amy White Associate Editor WorldWide Drilling Resource ® The mn ng ndustry has p ayed an mportant h stor ca ro e n Wyomng s economy. The state s home to operat ons nc ud ng mn ng and quarry ng of nonmeta c mnera s, as we as mn ng for met- a s and coa . These operat ons prov de severance tax do ars to he p run the government, bu d schoo s and h ghways, ma nta n the state s water systems, and generate revenue for future generat ons. Wyomng has 70% of the wor d s known supp y of benton te, and eads the nat on n benton te product on w th c ose to f ve m on tons produced annua y. Wyomng benton te comes from three major econom c geo og c areas n the state: The C ay Spur area around Upton and Newcast e; the Co ony area n the northeast corner of Wyomng; and a ong the east and west f anks of the B g Horn Range. The state s benton te has un que character st cs rare y found anywhere e se n the wor d. In water, t can swe up to 16 t mes ts or g na s ze, and up to 10 t mes ts own we ght due to the presence of sod um, rather than ca c um wh ch s typ ca y found n benton te. Due to ts absorbent and odor-contro ng qua t es, Wyomng benton te s espec a y demanded for pet tter. It has been ca ed the mnera of 1000 uses, as t s used for dr ng f u ds, foundry, ron ore pe et z ng, sea ants, crayons, med cat on, cosmet cs, and much more. Wyomng a so has the argest depos t of trona, wh ch s a sod um carbonate compound processed to make soda ash or b carbonate of soda, common y known as bak ng soda. Approx mate y 90% of the nat on s soda ash s produced n Wyomng; and t s a so the state s top export sh pped to markets throughout the wor d. Over 17 m on tons of trona were produced n Wyomng n 2015. Gassmak ng genera y consumes about ha f of the year y output, fo owed by the chem ca ndustry wh ch uses about a quarter of t. Other uses nc ude soap, paper manufactur ng, and water treatment. S nce bak ng soda and bak ng powder come from soda ash, most Amer cans probab y have a product of Wyomng trona n the r k tchens. W th every sandw ch, peanut butter cook e, and s ce of choco ate cake, you eat a tt e b te of Wyomng. S nce t s so geo og ca y d verse, Wyom ng prov des a p ent fu aggregate resource. Construct on aggregates produced n the state nc ude gran te, mestone, sand and grave , and scor a. S nce 1900, the ndustry n Wyom ng has grown stead y w th ma n y sma aggregate m n ng operat ons open ng when there was a need. Accord ng to '+" ' / '0 2'! )) #. # ! !# ,( + ,+ , + (# / " )' 1/ #.2'!# ,2# +" #5,+" 5,1. +##"/ # /&'- 3,.)"3'"# 5 )) ! ..'#./ # 1') 0, 1'0 5, . .' ) 0 +##" # 1')" 0, /1'0 5,1. ".')) '0 +##"/ # /-#!' )'6# '+ .#- '. ,$ )) . +"/ +" /'6#/ # )/, & 2# )'!( ++'&') 0,. .')) 0'!(/ 0& 0 "#/0.,5 !) 5 +" /& )# $.,* 5,1. '0 )) ,)) .## +" + " ,. $ 4 1/ *'))/ &1%&#/ +#0 *'))/ '0/#.2'!#'+! !,* '0/ 2 ') )# $,. ,') +" % / 3 0#. 3#)) %#,0&#.* ) *'+'+% !,+/0.1!0',+ +" ,0&#. --)'! 0',+/ Mining in the USA cont’d on page 16. WorldWide Drilling Resource ® 7 JULY 2016