OCI

The OCI is a soda ash, sodium carbonate, and sodium mine located in Sweetwater county, Wyoming.

About the MRDS Data:

All mine locations were obtained from the USGS Mineral Resources Data System. The locations and other information in this database have not been verified for accuracy. It should be assumed that all mines are on private property.

Mine Info

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Site Name

Primary: OCI
Secondary: Big Island Mine
Secondary: Stauffer Trona
Secondary: Stauffer
Secondary: Green River Stauffer Mine
Secondary: Big Island Mine and Plant
Secondary: Big Island Plant
Secondary: Green River Trona District

Commodity

Primary: Soda Ash
Primary: Sodium Carbonate
Primary: Sodium
Tertiary: Halite
Tertiary: Oil Shale

Location

State: Wyoming
County: Sweetwater
District: Green River Basin

Land Status

Not available

Holdings

Not available

Workings

Type: Underground

Ownership

Owner Name: Stauffer Chemical Co. 51% / Rocky Mtn. Energy Co. 49%

Owner Name: Stauffer Chemical Co. 51% / Rocky Mt. Energy Co. 49%

Owner Name: Stauffer Chemical Co. of Wyo.
Home Office: Wyoming
Info Year: 1978

Owner Name: OCI Wyoming, L.P.
Info Year: 1998
Years: 1996 -

Owner Name: Rhone-Poulenc

Production

Not available

Deposit

Record Type: Site
Operation Category: Producer
Deposit Type: Evaporite
Plant Type: Beneficiation (Mill)
Operation Type: Underground
Year First Production: 1962
Discovery Year: 1938
Discovery Method: Ore-Mineral In Place
Years of Production:
Organization:
Significant: Y
Deposit Size: L

Physiography

General Physiographic Area: Rocky Mountain System
Physiographic Province: Wyoming Basin

Mineral Deposit Model

Not available

Orebody

Form: CIRCULAR: TABULAR

Structure

Type: R
Description: Basin And Range Province; Green River Basin; East Of Overthrust Belt, South Of Wind River Mts.

Type: L
Description: Rock Springs Uplift, East Of Trona Area, Stratigraphic High During Much Of Green River Fm. Depositional Period. It Created A Barrier Restricting Water Circulation And Aiding Evaporite Precipitation.

Alterations

Alteration Type: L
Alteration Text: Trona May Be In Part A Diagenetic Product Of Reaction Between Evaporite Minerals And Na-Rich Water From The Weathering Of Andesitic Tuffs Of Green River Formation. Geochemical Studies (Parker, Et Al, 1971) Have Shown That The Green River Was Probably A Source Of Na-Rich Water. Solution Activity And Reorganization Of Material Is Evident Including Enlarged Grainsize And Secondary Redeposition Of Trona (Parker, Et Al, 1971).

Rocks

Name: Evaporite
Role: Host
Age Type: Host Rock Unit
Age Young: Eocene

Analytical Data

Not available

Materials

Ore: Halite
Ore: Trona
Gangue: Nahcolite
Gangue: Gaylussite
Gangue: Dolomite
Gangue: Calcite
Unknown: Oil Shale

Comments

Comment (Deposit): PARKER, ET AL, 1971, (REF. 2) GIVES A COMPREHENSIVE REPORT OF THE GENESIS OF THE GREEN RIVER TRONA DEPOSITS, INCLUDING THE GEOCHEMISTRY, MINERALOGY, PALEOENVIRONMENT, AND THE MINING OF TRONA. ; INFO.SRC : 1 PUB LIT

Comment (Commodity): TRONA BEDS GENERALLY OVER 90% PURE. HALITE IN BEDS LESSENS VALUE.

Comment (Production): REFINERY EXPANSION OF 1977 IS CONTINUING, ENDS 1980.

Comment (Development): 1962 INITIAL CAPACITY WAS 200,000 T/YR SODA ASH. TWO EXPANSIONS RAISED THAT TO 1,000,000 T/YR SODA ASH BY 1971. MINE IS ON LAND LEASED FROM UNION PACIFIC RR.

Comment (Deposit): TWO COMMERCIAL TRONA BEDS: UPPER AND LOWER BIG ISLAND BEDS AT 790 FT AND 830 FT.

Comment (Workings): CONVENTIONAL COAL MINING EQUIPMENT AND ROOM AND PILLAR MINING ARE USED. 1971 REFINERY CAPACITY IS 1.75 MILLION TONS/YR OF ORE. UPPER AND LOWER BEDS ARE OF EQUAL RESERVES. TOGETHER RESERVES TOTAL "SEVERAL HUNDRED MILLION TONS," (PARKER, ET AL, 1971). LOWER BED IS MINED FIRST. MINE EMPLOYS 600 PEOPLE.

Comment (Ownership): Line 1 Owner-Operator is from deleted record 0560370025 (=newMRDS 10157533) for just Big Island Plant.

Comment (Ownership): Line 4. Ownership OCI Wyoming from comparing map in Dyni and Jones (1998) to location given in this record.

Comment (Development): Mining Magazine, January, 1989, p. 45, puts the ore production capacity between 1,000,000 and 3,000,000 tonnes/year. (From deleted record "Green River Stauffer Mine" [newMRDS 10085098, mrds W700627])

Comment (General): Deleted duplicate record 10230686 (MAS 0560370027) reported by IFOC 18-nov-1983. References given as USGS PP-496B, 1969 MINOBRAS-WYO INDUSTIAL MINERALS 1975 UPDATE & REVISED BY MILS 10-79 USBM PROD TABULATIONS

References

Reference (Deposit): PARKER, R.B.,1971, CONTRIBUTIONS TO GEOLOGY, TRONA ISSUE, UNIV. OF WYOMING, V. 10, N. 1.

Reference (Deposit): USBM MINERALS YEARBOOK 1978-79.

Reference (Deposit): OCI Chemical Corp. website [http://www.ocichemical.com/oci/index.asp] last accessed 6/7/10.
URL: http://www.ocichemical.com/oci/index.asp

Reference (Deposit): Bradley, W.H., and Eugster, H.P., 1969, Geochemistry and paleolimnology of the trona deposits and associated authigenic minerals of the Green River Formation of Wyoming: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 496B, 71 p.

Reference (Deposit): Mining Magazine, January 1989, p. 45.

Reference (Deposit): CAMERON ENGINEERS,WYO MINERAL IND REVIEW & FORECAST,1969. [from deleted MAS record 0560370025].

Reference (Reference): Incomplete record 10279285 (0560370522) Stauffer Trona by South Dakota School of Mines and Technology WDW 23-nov-1983, USBM [sic] refreences WYO GEOL SURV OPEN FILES. Record deleted.

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