Salt River Range Combined

Site Name

Primary: Salt River Range Combined
Secondary: Strawberry Creek - Willow Creek
Secondary: Swift Creek - Cottonwood Creek
Secondary: Southern Salt River Range
Secondary: Salt River Range
Secondary: Salt River Range #1 -#4

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Commodity

Primary: Phosphorus-Phosphates
Tertiary: Water, Free
Tertiary: Uranium

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Location

State: Wyoming
County: Lincoln
District: Western Phosphate

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Land Status

Land ownership: Mixed
Note: the land ownership field only identifies whether the area the mine is in is generally on public lands like Forest Service or BLM land, or if it is in an area that is generally private property. It does not definitively identify property status, nor does it indicate claim status or whether an area is open to prospecting. Always respect private property.

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Holdings

Type: Other
Type: Located Claim

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Workings

Type: Underground

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Ownership

Owner Name: American Nuclear Corp.
Home Office: Wyoming
Info Year: 1979

Owner Name: U.S. Government
Home Office: Dist Of Columbia
Info Year: 1979

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Production

Not available

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Deposit

Record Type: Deposit
Operation Category: Prospect
Operation Type: Surface-Underground
Mining Method: Open Stope - Overhand
Milling Method: Flotation
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: N

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Physiography

General Physiographic Area: Rocky Mountain System
Physiographic Province: Middle Rocky Mountains

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Mineral Deposit Model

Model Name: Phosphate, upwelling type

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Orebody

Not available

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Structure

Not available

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Alterations

Not available

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Rocks

Not available

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Analytical Data

Not available

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Materials

Unknown: Feldspar
Unknown: Gypsum
Unknown: Illite
Unknown: Kaolinite
Unknown: Limonite
Unknown: Montmorillonite
Unknown: Pyrite
Unknown: Quartz
Unknown: Sphene
Unknown: Tourmaline
Unknown: Zircon
Unknown: Apatite
Unknown: Calcite
Unknown: Dolomite
Unknown: Fluorite

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Comments

Comment (Deposit): THIS MINERALS AVAILABILITY SYSTEM EVALUATION WAS DONE AS PART OF A 1980 STUDY OF UTAH AND WYOMING PHOSPHATE DEPOSITS BY THE INTERMOUNTAIN FIELD OPERATIONS CENTER, DENVER, COLORADO. DOMAIN - ABOUT 90 PERCENT OF THE OUTCROP AREA IS CLASSIFIED AS ROADLESS AREA REVIEW AND EVALUATION (RARE II) RE- COMMENDED FOR NON-WILDERNESS, AND THE REMAINDER IS NATIONAL FOREST. PROPERTY HAS BEEN SPLIT INTO 4 SEPARATE DEPOSITS FOR SUPPLY ANALYSIS WITH SEQUENCE NOS. 0560230171, 0560230172, 0560230173, AND 0560230174, RESPECTIVELY NAMED SALT RIVER RANGE NO 1, SALT RIVER RANGE NO 2, SALT RIVER RANGE NO 3, AND SALT RIVER RANGE NO 4. REFER TO THESE RESPECTIVE DATA BASES FOR THE RESERVES AND MINING AND BENEFICIATION FOR EACH DEPOSIT.

Comment (Geology): THE PHOSPHORIA FORMATION IS SUBDIVIDED INTO FIVE MEMBERS BY MCKELVEY (BIBLIOGRAPHY REF. L010), TWO OF WHICH (THE MEADE PEAK AND RETORT MEMBERS) CONTAIN SIGNIFICANT PHOSPHATE DEPOSITS. IN UTAH AND SOUTHWESTERN WYOMING, THE MEADE PEAK MEMBER, AND IN CENTRAL AND NORTHWESTERN WYOMING, THE RETORT MEMBER CONTAIN THE DEPOSITS OF POTENTIAL INTEREST. THE PARK CITY FORMATION OF UTAH AND CENTRAL WYOMING AND THE SHEDHORN SANDSTONE OF NORTHWESTERN WYOMING ARE STRATIGRAPHIC EQUIVALENTS OF AND INTERTONGUE WITH THE PHOSPHORIA FORMATION. THE PHOSPHORIA FORMATION AND EQUIVALENT FORMATIONS ARE UNDERLAIN BY EITHER THE TENSLEEP SANDSTONE, WEBER QUARTZITE, WELLS FORMATION, OR DIAMOND CREEK SANDSTONE AND ARE OVERLAIN BY EITHER THE WOODSIDE OR DINWOODY FORMATIONS.

Comment (Names): OTHER NAMES:STRAWBERRY CREEK-WILLOW CREEK, SWIFT CREEK, COTTON- WOOD CREEK, SOUTHERN SALT RIVER RANGE.

Comment (Production): RECOVERIES IN THE YIELD DATA SET FOR TWO-PRODUCT MILLS ARE CALCULATED FROM THE TOTAL FEED TO THE MILL AND ARE NOT ACTUAL RECOVERIES WITHIN EACH ORE STREAM. WITHIN-ORE-STREAM RECOVERIES FOR TWO-PRODUCT MILLS PROPOSED IN THIS EVAL- UATION ARE 88 PERCENT FOR MILL K1, DEV SCH 1&2; 91.0 PERCENT FOR MILL K2, DEV SCH 1&2. EXACT RECOVERIES USED IN CALCULATING PRODUCT OUTPUT TONNAGES FOR TWO PRODUCT MILLS PROPOSED IN THIS EVALUATION ARE 41.4151 PERCENT FOR PRODUCT A, DEV SCH 1&2; 46.5849% FOR PRODUCT F, DEV SCH 1&2; 59.5412 PERCENT FOR PRODUCT B, DEV SCH 1&2; 31.4588 PERCENT FOR PRODUCT G, DEV SCH 1&2.

Comment (Production): PRODUCTS A,B,C,D, AND E, WHERE PROPOSED IN THIS EVALUATION, ARE ACID GRADE PRODUCTS, AND PRODUCTS F,G,H,I, AND J, ARE FURNACE GRADE PRODUCTS. NOT ALL OF THESE PRODUCTS ARE USED IN THIS EVALUATION.

Comment (Economic Factors): Mining and beneficiation costs for each proposed operation were obtained by applying one of 34 basic mine models and 5 basic mill models developed for evaluating Utah and Wyoming phosphate deposits. Site-specific cost adjustments were made for land acquisition, infrastructure, unusual haulage distance to mill, the presence of multiple beds requiring mining of waste, and mill feed grade and recovery. All costs are in January 1980 dollars. The schedule of costs is based on the assumption that each proposed operation will be independently developed as soon as technically possible after the official January 1979 base date for the current phosphate study. Thus, land acquisition, exploration, and infrastructure capital costs are assumed to begin in 1979. Mine and mill capital costs include a contingency allowance of 15 percent of all other capital costs except working capital. Mine and mill working capital is estimated at 60 days of operating cost. A Bureau costing manual (bibliography data set ref. I030) was used to estimate surface and underground mine exploration, development, reclamation, plant, and equipment capital costs; underground mine operating costs; capital and operating costs for the calcining-hydration mill (if used) and for the flotation sections of other mills; costs of transporting products from proposed mills to existing final processing plants; and access road construction cost. Surface mine operating costs are size-scaled, using scaling factors from Bennett (bibliography data set ref. I001), and others (U.S. office of audit and investigation) for Idaho phosphate mines in 1976 and 1977. Infrastructure capital costs assigned to each proposed mine consist of only those railroad, transmission line, and access road costs which are needed for development of each mine. Railroad cost is estimated by the Richardson rapid construction cost estimating system (bibliography data set ref. I020). Transmission line cost is estimated from typical industry costs (A.W. Watts, 1980, Water and Power Resources Services, personal communication). Access road costs are estimated by using the capital and operating cost estimating handbook (bibliography data set ref. I030). Land acquisition costs are based on typical competitive bids for leases in southeastern Idaho, adjusted for specific deposit grade and thickness. Lease rentals and royalties are based on current rates for federal leases in the western phosphate field. Capital and operating costs for all mills, excepting the calcination-hydration mill (if used) and flotation sections of other mills, are size-scaled, using scaling factors from Bennett (bibliography data set ref. I001), from costs given for a sizing and calcining mill described by de Voto, et al. (bibliography data set ref. R030), vol. 2, appendix d. Site-specific cost adjustments for mill feed grade and recovery are made, using relative cost factors calculated from average cost and recovery curves for altered and unaltered ores (bibliography data set ref. I010).

Comment (Workings): ABBREVIATION FOR MINING DISTRICT: WEST. PHOSPHATE = WESTERN PHOSPHATE FIELD.

Comment (Reserve-Resource): ALL ADIT DATA FOR THE ABOVE MAS PROPERTIES HAS BEEN COMBINED INTO THIS PROPERTY FILE. ADIT LISTINGS FOR THE ABOVE FILES WERE DELETED. [Apparently these records were not purged from the database earlier. A.B. Wilson (Feb. 8, 2010) deleted 0560230171=10181582, 0560230172=10303630, 0560230173=10229988, and 0560230174=10206401 for Salt River Range #1-#4.

Comment (Ownership): BECAUSE AMERICAN NUCLEAR CORP. HOLDS UNPATENTED VANADIUM CLAIMS ON PHOSPHATE BEDS IN THE DEPOSIT AREA, IT IS NOT CLEAR WHETHER THE PHOSPHATE MINERAL RIGHTS ARE HELD BY THE U.S.GOVERNMENT OR BY AMERICAN NUCLEAR CORP. BECAUSE THE LEGALITIES OF MINERAL RIGHTS OWNERSHIP ARE NOT CLEAR IN THIS CASE, NO PERCENTAGES OF OWNERSHIP ARE GIVEN. THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT DOES, HOWEVER, HOLD THE MINERAL RIGHTS TO THE MAJORITY OF THE PHOSPHATE OUTCROP IN THE DEPOSIT AREA, AND THIS OUTCROP IS CONSIDERED LEASABLE. THE RARE II CLASSIFICATION OF MOST OF THIS OUTCROP, HOWEVER, INTERJECTS SOME UNCERTAINTY INTO FUTURE PHOSPHATE LEASABILITY. CURRENTLY, THERE ARE NO ACTIVE PHOSPHATE LEASES OR PROSPECTING PERMITS IN THE DEPOSIT AREA.

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References

Reference (Deposit): GARRAND CORPORATION, 1975 (?), PHOSPHATE RESERVES OF SOUTHEASTERN IDAHO: U.S. DEPT. OF AGR. CONTRACT NO. 50-820, 1102 P.

Reference (Geology): MANSFIELD, G. R., 1916, A RECONNAISSANCE FOR PHOSPHATE IN THE SALT RIVER RANGE, WYOMING, IN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ECONOMIC GEOLOGY - 1915, PART I: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULL. 620, P. 331-349.

Reference (Geology): LINES, G. C., AND GLASS, W. R., 1975, WATER RESOURCES OF THE THRUST BELT OF WESTERN WYOMING: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY HYDROL. INV. ATLAS MAP HA-539.

Reference (Geology): SHELDON, R. P., WARING, R. G., WARNER, M. A., SMART, R. A., 1953, STRATIGRAPHIC SECTIONS OF THE PHOSPHORIA FORMATION IN WYOMING, 1949-50: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY CIRC. 307, 45 P.

Reference (Geology): U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, 1955, DRIGGS, IDAHO; WYOMING, 1-DEGREE BY 2-DEGREE TOPOGRAPHIC MAP: U.S. GEOL. SURVEY, 1:250,000-SCALE MAP, 1 SHEET.

Reference (Geology): MCKELVEY, V. E., 1946, PRELIMINARY REPORT ON STRATIGRAPHY OF THE PHOSPHATIC SHALE MEMBER OF PHOSPHORIA FORMATION IN WESTERN WYOMING, SOUTHEASTERN IDAHO, AND NORTHERN UTAH: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY UNPUB. REPT., 162 P. OBTAINED FROM U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, CONSERV. DIV. OFFICE IN ROCK SPRINGS, WYO.

Reference (Geology): MCKELVEY, V. E., SWANSON, R. W., AND SHELDON, R. P., 1953, PHOSPHORIA FORMATION IN SOUTHEASTERN IDAHO AND WESTERN WYOMING, IN INTERMOUNTAIN ASSOC. OF PETROLEUM GEOL. GUIDEBOOK, 4TH ANN. FIELD CONF., P. 41-47.

Reference (Production): EBERL, E., 1970, BENEFICIATION OF CALCIUM PHOSPHATE BY CALCINATION, THE MATERIAL BALANCE: RUDARSKO - METALURSKI ZBORNIK, NO. 2-3, 1970, P. 275-283.

Reference (Geology): U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, 1960, MINERAL AND WATER RESOURCES OF WYOMING: U.S. CONGRESS - SENATE, DOC. 76, P. 14-16, 145-147.

Reference (Production): DUNCAN, W. E., AND FISK, H. G., 1957, CENTRAL WYOMING PHOSPHATE ROCK - CHARACTER, PROCESSING, AND ECONOMICS: UNIV. OF WYO. NAT. RES. RESEARCH INST. BULL. 6, 60 P.

Reference (Geology): MANSFIELD, G. R., 1927, GEOGRAPHY, GEOLOGY, AND MINERAL RESOURCES OF PART OF SOUTHEASTERN IDAHO: U.S. GEOL. SURVEY PROF. PAPER 152, 453 P., 12 PLATES.

Reference (Geology): SWANSON, R. W., MCKELVEY, V. E., AND SHELDON, R. P., 1953, PROGRESS REPORT ON INVESTIGATIONS OF WESTERN PHOSPHATE DEPOSITS: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY CIRC. 297, 16 P.

Reference (Reference): HARRIS, R. A., DAVIDSON, D. F., AND ARNOLD, B. P., 1954, BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE GEOLOGY OF THE WESTERN PHOSPHATE FIELD: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULL. 1018, 89 P.

Reference (Geology): U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, 1955, PRESTON, IDAHO; WYOMING, 1-DEGREE BY 2-DEGREE TOPOGRAPHIC MAP: U.S. GEOL. SURVEY 1:250,000-SCALE MAP, 1 SHEET.

Reference (Geology): SHELDON, R. P., 1957, PHYSICAL STRATIGRAPHY OF THE PHOSPHORIA FORMATION IN NORTHWESTERN WYOMING: U.S. GEOL. SURVEY BULL. 1042-E, P. 105-185, PLATES.

Reference (Deposit): HALE, L. A., ED., 1967, ANATOMY OF THE WESTERN PHOSPHATE FIELD: INTERMOUNTAIN ASSOC. OF GEOL. 15TH ANN. FIELD CONF., 287 P., 3 PLATES.

Reference (Reserve-Resource): DE VOTO, R. H., AND STEVENS, D. N., ED., 1979, URANIFEROUS PHOSPHATE RESOURCES AND TECHNOLOGY AND ECONOMICS OF URANIUM RECOVERY FROM PHOSPHATE RESOURCES, UNITED STATES AND FREE WORLD: SUBCONTRACT 78-177-S TO DEPT. OF ENERGY CONTRACT 50-54-5903 (BENDIX FIELD ENG. CORP.) BY EARTH SCIENCES INC., 1396 P. PLUS PLATES.

Reference (Deposit): CLABAUGH, P. S., 1946, PERMIAN PHOSPHATE DEPOSITS OF MONTANA, IDAHO, WYOMING, AND UTAH: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY STRATEGIC MINER. INV. PRELIM. MAP 3-198, 1 SHEET.

Reference (Reserve-Resource): COFFMAN, J. S., AND SERVICE, A. L., 1967, AN EVALUATION OF THE WESTERN PHOSPHATE INDUSTRY AND ITS RESOURCES - PART 4, WYOMING AND UTAH: U.S. BUREAU OF MINES REPT. INV. 6934, 158 P.

Reference (Production): RULE, A. R., KIRBY, D. E., AND DAHLIN, D. C., 1977, RECENT ADVANCES IN BENEFICIATION OF WESTERN PHOSPHATES, PAPER PRESENTED AT S.M.E. FALL MEETING AND EXHIBIT, ST. LOUIS MO., OCT. 19-21, 1977, 17 P.

Reference (Production): RULE, A. R., DAHLIN, D. C., AND FERGUS, A. J., 1978, FLOTATION OF CARBONATE AND SILICATE MINERALS FROM PARTIALLY ALTERED PHOSPHATE ROCK OF THE PHOSPHORIA FORMATION, PAPER PRESENTED AT ISMA TECHNICAL/ECON. CONF.; ORLANDO, FLA., OCT. 23-27, 1979, 11 P.

Reference (Production): NEUBERGER, R., 1968, PHOSPHATE ROCK CALCINATION IN ISRAEL: PHOSPHORUS AND POTASSIUM, NO. 35, MAY/JUNE 1968, P. 11-21.

Reference (Geology): RUBEY, W. W., 1958, GEOLOGY OF THE BEDFORD QUADRANGLE, WYOMING: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY GEOL. QUADRANGLE MAP GQ-109, scale 1:24,000.

Reference (Geology): RUBEY, W. W., 1973, GEOLOGIC MAP OF THE AFTON QUADRANGLE AND PART OF THE BIG PINEY QUADRANGLE, LINCOLN SUBLETTE COUNTIES, WYOMING: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY MISC. INV. MAP I-686.

Reference (Production): GOOD, P. C., 1976, BENEFICIATION OF UNWEATHERED INDIAN CALCAREOUS PHOSPHATE ROCK BY CALCINATION AND HYDRATION: U.S. BUREAU OF MINES REPT. INV. 8154, 17 P.

Reference (Production): GOKHALE, K. V. G. K., RAO, T. C., AND BISWAS, A. K., 1975, BENEFICIATION STUDIES ON A HIMALAYAN LEAN PHOSPHATE DEPOSIT WITH CALCAREOUS GANGUE, IN SEMINAR ON BENEFICIATION OF LEAN PHOSPHATE WITH CARBONATE GANGUE, 11TH INTERNAT. MINERALS PROCESSING CONGRESS, KAGLIARI, ITALY, APRIL 23-24, 1975, P. 53-54.,

Reference (Ownership): U.S. BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT, 1978, STATE OF WYOMING LAND STATUS: U.S. BUR. OF LAND MANAGEMENT MAP, 1:500,000-SCALE, 1 SHEET.

Reference (Geology): SCHULTZ, A. R., 1918, A GEOLOGIC RECOINNAISSANCE FOR PHOS PHATE AND COAL IN SOUTHEASTERN IDAHO AND WESTERN WYOMING: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BULL. 680, 84 P.

Reference (Production): RULE, A. R., KIRBY, D. E., AND DAHLIN, D. C., 1978, RECENT ADVANCES IN BENEFICIATION OF WESTERN PHOSPHATES: MIN. ENG., JAN. 1978, P. 37-40.

Reference (Geology): MCKELVEY, V. E., 1959, THE PHOSPHORIA, PARK CITY, AND SHEDHORN FORMATIONS IN THE WESTERN PHOSPHATE FIELD: U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROF. PAPER 313-A, P. 1-47, 3 PLATES.

Reference (Geology): GULBRANDSEN, R. A., 1967, SOME COMPOSITIONAL FEATURES OF PHOSPHORITES OF THE PHOSPHORIA FORMATION, IN INTERMOUNTAIN ASSOC. OF GEOL. 15TH ANN. FIELD CONF., P. 99-102.

Reference (Deposit): Spangenberg, D.R., Carey, E.F., and Takosky, P.M., 1983, Minerals availability commodity directory on phosphate: U.S. Bureau of Mines Information Circular IC-8926, 678 p.
Pages: p. 379-383.

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