N E W S / O P I N I O N S / E V E N T S / R E S O U R C E S A N D M O R E / J U LY 2 014
What is Potash and Why is it Important to You?
By Tom Suchoski
K2SO4• Al2(SO4)3• 2Al2O3 •
H2O. Potassium chloride is the
most common type, known as
muriate of potash (MOP). Its
primary use is for carbohydrate
crops because the chloride
is somewhat “toxic” to color,
taste, and aroma, rendering it
unappealing for many foods.
Furthermore, MOP does not
perform well in high salinity
soil conditions.
Mine site near Milford, UT
Potash is a term used for potassium-bearing
salts that are essential to the world’s food
supply. There are many types of potash, and
the two most common types are potassium
chloride and potassium sulphate. Common
minerals which are sources of potassium
chloride include: Sylvite, KCl, and
Carnalite, KCl • MgCl • 6H2O. Common
minerals which are sources of potassium
sulphate include Arcanite, K2SO4 (rare),
Langbeinite, K2SO4• 2MgSO4, Shoenite,
K2SO4 • MgSO4• 4H2O, Polyhalite K2SO4•
2MgSO4• 2CaSO4• 2H2O and Alunite,
Potassium sulphate is known
as sulfate of potash
(SOP) and is the
second major form
of potash. SOP
deposits represent
a higher-quality product and
are harder to find than MOP.
SOP deposits generally occur in
sedimentary marine evaporites;
however, SOP can also be
extracted from alunite, a potassium
aluminum sulphate mineral found
in altered igneous and volcanic
rocks. Since chloride has adverse
effects on the aesthetics of food,
SOP is the potassium fertilizer of
choice for high value crops such
Whether You Prefer Air & Water or
Wine & Beer…Industrial Minerals
are an Important Ingredient
Executive Message
By Theresa Lavender
Industrial minerals are an
important and
necessary ingredient of many
products used
in our everyday
lives and are
essential
to
maintaining our
lifestyles. Mankind has been
extracting and using industrial minerals for
centuries throughout the world. Industrial
minerals are found in many commodities
from detergents to electronics. They are
utilized to filter insoluble material from
beer and wine and to purify water and air.
These minerals can be used in their natural
state or after beneficiation as raw material
or additives.
As the world’s population increases,
industrial minerals such as potash and
(cont’d on pg 4)
the depths of our experience
as fruits, vegetables, nuts, tobacco, tea,
and horticultural plants, or in dry or salty
soils. SOP can significantly increase crop
profitability per acre.
Potash occurs naturally in soils, but with
on-going agriculture, the available nutrient
is used up and needs to be periodically
replaced. There is no known substitute.
With an increasing world population and
decreases in arable land, the growing per
capita demand for food is difficult to meet
without supplementing the diminishing
agricultural soils.
(cont’d on pg 5)
Potash Ridge Corporation mine site
I N S I D E
Industrial Minerals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Saskatchewan: Land of Opportunity . . . . 3
Industrial Minerals... Strength,
Imagination, or Tranquility? . . . . . . . . . 5
Norwest Staff Recognitions . . . . . . . . 6
(cont’d on pg 4)
the depths of our experience
2
J U L Y 2 0 1 4 Industrial Minerals
By Randy Pitts
What do Ramen Noodles, an automobile
dashboard, kitty litter, and hemodialysis
have in common? They are all dependent
on industrial minerals. Soda ash is in the
noodle recipe, mica is used for sound
deadening in the plastic dashboard,
bentonite is utilized as the clumping agent
in the kitty litter, and medical grade sodium
bicarbonate is used in hemodialysis. Every
year 38,212 lbs. of new minerals must
be provided for every person in the
United States to make the things we use
every day”1
Industrial minerals are defined as
geological materials which are mined for
their commercial value, which are not fuel
(fuel minerals or mineral fuels) and are not
sources of metals (metallic minerals). While
Mica flakes used for sound deadening
in car dashboards
industrial minerals certainly do not have the
visibility of metals or energy minerals, they
are crucial to our everyday lives. According
to the Minerals Education Coalition, the
per capita consumption of
industrial minerals in the U.S.
include about 15,000 lbs. of
stone, sand, and gravel; 500
lbs. of cement;, 350 lbs. of
salt; 200 lbs. of phosphate
rock; 150 lbs. of clays; and
35 lbs. of soda ash. The list is
not all inclusive but does
highlight our need for
industrial minerals.
The global consumption of
industrial minerals is expected
to significantly increase in
the coming years. In the
developed economies, per
capita consumption of industrial
minerals is predicted to remain
fairly flat. The story
is quite different
in the developing
nations. As their
economies grow,
the per capita
consumption
of
industrial minerals
increases much
more quickly than
Soda ash is an ingredient in Ramen Noodles
the
population
growth.
As
people climb the economic ladder, they significant experience across the industrial
increase consumption of consumer goods, minerals spectrum. Recent Norwest
automobiles, hous- projects have included management of
ing, and expect phosphate drilling programs, geologic
higher
quality modeling, and providing engineering
foods. This effect assistance to U.S. phosphate producers.
is expected to be Norwest offers a wide spectrum of
even greater for services for our potash clients ranging from
the
agricultural engineering trade-off studies, operations
minerals, potash, and maintenance support, hydrological
and phosphates. services, process and design modeling
As
populations for plant construction, to pre-feasibility
increase,
the
level studies of green field potash projects.
amount of arable Norwest’s recent environmental projects
land and water for our industrial clients have included
for
agriculture groundwater
assessments;
tailings
decrease.
The disposal; a recent endangered species
fertilizer minerals study for Wyoming soda ash and bentonite
are essential in producers; and surface water planning for
increasing
crop aggregate producers.
yields to support
Norwest looks forward to continuing to
expanding
popprovide value added solutions for the
ulations and higher
industrial minerals industry.
standards of living.
Norwest is well positioned to partner
with industrial minerals producers, having
1
http://www.mineralseducationcoalition.org/
sites/default/files/uploads/per_capita_2013.pdf
accessed 06/27/2014
Bentonite is the clumping agent in kitty litter
E N E R GY, M I N I N G , A N D E N V I R O N M E N TA L C O N S U LTA N T S
3
Saskatchewan grain field
Saskatchewan: Land of Opportunity
Most people know that the province of
Saskatchewan, in western Canada, is one
of the most prolific areas for agricultural
production in the world. But did you
know that underlying its grain fields,
Saskatchewan is also the world’s second
largest producer of potash, with a vast and
rich supply of this potassium-bearing mineral
(more than 75% of world reserves)? And
did you know that Saskatchewan is among
one of the largest uranium-producing
regions in the world, with one of the highest
grade uranium ore deposits, and it supplies
about 15% of all the uranium used annually
worldwide? Norwest certainly does, and in
2013 it opened up an office in Saskatoon,
Saskatchewan’s, largest city, to be readily
available to offer a vast array of services to
the growing market in the area.
By Trevor Hamm
Potash has been used since the dawn of
history in bleaching textiles and making
glass and soap. Potash was first discovered
in Saskatchewan in the early 1940’s while
drilling for oil. In 1958, the first underground
potash mine in Canada was commissioned
near Patience Lake. Since then, ten worldclass production mines have opened up in
the province, and a number of others have
entered into various stages of development.
Norwest has been supporting the potash
industry in Saskatchewan since 2007,
mainly through the provision of field services
during exploration and mine development.
Since opening our office in Saskatoon, the
company has become involved in mining,
geotechnical, and hydrogeology project
work. We are now expanding services
into all phases of the potash mining
Saskatchewan uranium fields
cycle, including mineral processing and
operational support.
Saskatchewan potash facility
The uranium mineral, pitchblende, was
discovered in Saskatchewan in 1936, and
by 1952, the first uranium mine had opened
up in northern Saskatchewan. Today there
are three major uranium mines operating in
Saskatchewan, producing about 15% of
the primary world uranium production, with
additional mines in development. Saskatoon
(cont’d on next page)
4
Whether You Prefer Air & Water or Wine
& Beer… Industrial Minerals are an
(cont’d)
Important Ingredient
Potash
Saskatchewan: Land
of Opportunity (cont’d)
serves as the base of operations for a
large number of the uranium exploration,
development, and mining companies.
Offering top quality mineral commodities
such as potash and uranium, the future
appears very bright for Saskatchewan,
despite commodity pricing being relatively
flat right now. The world’s ever-growing
population needs potash to grow its crops,
and it requires uranium to help generate its
electricity. As a result, Saskatchewan is
well situated to provide these commodities
to the world as demand for them grows.
Norwest is well positioned to assist in
expanding this effort by offering a wide
range of services to existing and potential
new clients. Our professionals provide
extensive knowledge and expertise in a
wide range of mining consulting services
from inception through reclamation.
Potash drill site at sunset
uranium have become increasingly important commodities. Increasing food supply
demands require the agricultural industry
to increase yields using only finite areas
of arable land. Uranium deserves no less
attention. Despite the negative connotations it may arouse, uranium has
historically been included in the parts list
of many common household items such
as clocks, dentures, and glazed ceramic
tiles. In the civilian sector today, one of the
main uses of uranium is for fueling nuclear
power plants, and providing clean and
affordable energy to millions of households
worldwide. Uranium is also used by the
military to power submarines, strengthen
vehicle armor, and depleted uranium is
used to provide fissionable material in
warheads.
Whether working in Saskatchewan with its
reputation as the world’s second largest
potash producer and one quarter of the
annual world-wide supply of uranium,
or in the Wah-Wah Mountains of Utah,
Norwest’s professionals bring extensive
experience-based full service solutions and
industry expertise to our projects through
exploration, geological and hydrogeological
Industrial minerals are used to filter beer and wine
interpretation, mine design, and facility
design, which are an integral part of getting
these industrial mineral products to market.
The military uses uranium to power submarines and strengthen vehicle armor
the depths of our experience
5
J U L Y 2 0 1 4 What is Potash and Why is it
Important to You? (cont’d from pg 1)
To help address the need for this mineral,
Potash Ridge Corporation (PRC) is
working toward developing a mine near
the town of Milford, Utah. Located at the
southern end of the Wah Wah Mountains,
PRC is looking at developing a large
alunite deposit containing premium-quality
potash, to be processed into sulfate SOP
and sulfuric acid as a co-product. The
deposit is planned to be surface mined.
The project was originally evaluated by
Earth Sciences in the 1970’s to early
1980’s for the processing of alumina as the
primary product and SOP as a lower value
co-product. The project was eventually
shelved due to poor market conditions
for alumina. PRC acquired the historical
data for the Earth Sciences project and
this time focused on SOP as the primary
product and alumina as the lower value coproduct. The historic data expedited the
development process.
Norwest has been assisting PRC in
the development of the project through
exploratory drilling, resource evaluation,
preliminary
economic
assessment,
pre-feasibility study (PFS), mine planning, hydrologic and hydrogeologic
investigations, and permitting efforts.
Through the PFS, the process has been
advanced to demonstrate economic
recovery of SOP from reserves,
with reserves based wholly on PRC’s
resource evaluation.
Norwest prepared the mining plan and
worked with other PRC consultants to
prepare
the
PFS. Mining as
a conventional
t r u c k /s h ove l
operation will
start on the top
of the ridge,
then a typical
benched mine
pit
will
be
developed. Due
to variable grade
ore, temporary
low-grade ore
stockpiles will
be used. Once
mining
is
finished,
the
stockpiled materials will be processed. Ore will be
crushed and processed in an on-site
plant. Both SOP and sulfuric acid are
planned to be shipped by short-line
rail from the site area, with trucking used
as an interim option as required. Waste
from the plant will be piped to a tailings
area where the tailings sand will be
deposited and process water will
be collected and recycled.
Norwest assisted PRC by coordinating
and conducting baseline surveys required
for permitting, including air quality,
cultural resources, wildlife, vegetation,
soils, surface and groundwater, and
wetlands. Additionally, Norwest assisted
in assembling the Utah Division of Oil, Gas
On-site drilling
and Mining large operation mining permit
application and the Utah Division of Water
Quality groundwater discharge application.
Norwest also supported PRC’s joint water
rights application with Utah School and
Institutional Trust Lands that was filed
with the Utah State Engineer. Norwest
subsequently participated in the hearing
process providing testimony on the
hydro-geologic aspects in support of
the application. Hydro-geologic analysis
included a gravity survey of the southern
Wah Wah Valley to estimate depth to
bedrock, exploratory drilling to verify
bedrock depths, and installation of
observation wells.
Industrial Minerals... Strength, Imagination, or Tranquility?
By Greg Naus
I am a Geotechnical Engineer for Norwest
Corporation, but photography has been
a hobby of mine for about eight years.
I started with a simple point and shoot
camera. I soon became interested in the
technical principles and theories behind
photography, where I learned that potash
is utilized in photographic chemicals.
I quickly moved from investigating the
photographic principles to using Digital
Single Lens Reflex (DSLR’s). Last
summer I was experimenting with a double
exposure feature on my camera and ended
up capturing this photo of my son and his
favorite beach on one of the Gulf Islands. It
took about 20-30 shots to get the overlap
just perfect. I was reading a photography
forum one day and saw a link to a photo
contest that a company called Vistek was
hosting. Photos could be submitted to one
of three categories: strength, imagination,
or tranquility. I submitted my photo under
the imagination category in February 2014
and won the $50 ‘photo of the week’ prize.
Subsequently, the photo was entered into a
people’s choice contest held in May 2014.
I maintained first place until the very last
day of the contest, and ultimately ended
up placing third. I was a little disappointed
with this finish, but believed I had a good
chance of winning one of the other prizes
(there were 1st, 2nd and 3rd place prizes
for each category and the grand prize). On
June 2, 2014, I was honored to learn that I
had won the grand prize, which was $4,500
worth of camera equipment. Thanks to
the encouragement received from Norwest
co-workers!
the depths of our experience
6
Norwest Staff Recognitions
contact us:
Norwest is pleased to announce the following individuals have joined our organization.
Calgary, AB, Canada:
Vancouver, BC, Canada:
Andrew
Dennis Wilson has
joined Norwest as
the Vice President,
Construction. Mr.
Wilson has over
20 years of local
and
international
experience
in
mining, oil and
gas, petrochemical,
project
management,
engineering
management, and construction. His
experience and roles have included acting
as executive manager, project director,
engineering manager, project manager,
or construction manager for project work.
He has extensive experience in developing
standards and project procedures for
EPC projects; establishing and monitoring
engineering and construction work
schedules and budgets; evaluating and
recommending appropriate building and
construction methods and materials;
conferring with clients and other members
of a team to determine project requirements;
and ensuring project risks are identified,
monitored, reported, and managed in
accordance with risk management policies.
Forsyth
joined Norwest as
a
Geotechnical
Engineer.
Mr.
Forsyth
is
a
professional
engineer with nine
years
experience
in the consulting
industry. He has
been involved in civil projects for clients
ranging from municipalities to oil sands
operators in Alberta. His project experience
has focused on water resources with
additional experience in environmental
management,
mining
engineering,
construction quality assurance, and
construction
contract
administration.
Mr. Forsyth also gained experience in
emergency response through a deployment
to Texas following Hurricane Rita.
Amanda Jardine joined Norwest as an
Environmental Specialist in our Field
Operations Department. She holds
a Bachelor’s Degree in Earth and
Environmental Science, and is registered
with the Alberta Institute of Agrologists.
Sam Rivet joined Norwest as a Mining
Engineer. Mr. Rivet
is a professional
engineer
with
over five years
of experience at
Canadian Natural’s
Horizon oil sand
site.
He
has
experience in the
tailings, planning,
project, and efficiency departments. Areas
of focus have included dyke planning, coke
storage management, road construction,
in-pit and basal de-watering, and the mine
reporting and dispatch system.
Devin
Bratvold
joined Norwest in
June 2014 as the
Manager of Drafting.
Mr. Bratvold is a
Civil 3D Specialist
with over 15 years
of
design
and
drafting experience,
including data collection, processing,
modeling analysis, production, and
management of drawings for multidisciplined earth engineering projects. He
has been involved with the development,
implementation, and facilitation of CADD
standards on a global level.
Juan Velarde has ten years of
engineering experience in geo-technical
engineering and construction for mining
projects. His experience includes dam
design, construction, and supervision;
grouting; geotechnical investigation (drilling
and test pit excavation); geotechnical
instrumentation installation and monitoring;
piling; geotechnical field tests (SPT
and CPTu); hydrogeological field tests
(hydraulic conductivity test and pumping
test); laboratory testing for soil and
rock; logging of rock and soil; geophysical
tests, etc.
He has also prepared QA reports for
construction projects, and has assisted
in developing both pre-feasibility and
feasibility studies for new mine projects.
Juan has primarily worked on projects
within Canada (NWT, Nunavut and British
Columbia), Peru, and Japan.
CANADA
Calgary, Alberta
Tel: 4 03 237 7763 Fax: 4 03 263 4 086
Email: calgar y@nor westcorp.com
Vancouver, British Columbia
Tel: 604 602 8992 Fax: 604 602 8951
Email: vancouver@nor westcorp.com
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Tel: 306 974 8990 Email: saskatoon@nor westcorp.com
USA
Salt Lake City, Utah
Tel: 801 539 004 4 Fax: 801 539 0055
Email: slc@nor westcorp.com
Denver, Colorado
Tel: 303 782 0164 Fax: 303 782 2560
Email: denver@nor westcorp.com
Charleston, West Virginia
Tel: 304 414 4500 Fax: 304 414 4505
Email: charleston@nor westcorp.com
Grand Junction, Colorado
Tel: 970 245 6552 Fax: 970 245 6494
Email: grandjc t@nor westcorp.com
INTERNATIONAL
Kolkata, India
Mahesh Khanna
Tel: 91 33 2474 7618 Mobile: 91 98300 42074
Fax: 91 33 2474 64 4 0
Email: [email protected]
Kallol Basu
Tel: +91 33 2422 1704
Mobile: +91 33 98318 11777 Email: kbasu@nor westcorp.com
is a publication for the employees, clients, and friends of
Norwest Corporation.
Contact: Toni Jack
801.539.004 4 • tjack@nor westcorp.com
Visit us at www.norwestcorp.com