Intrepid Potash Mine
Wendover, Utah
A study to estimate the volume and area of salt within the Intrepid holding ponds.
This is an accumulative volume resulting from potash mining by several companies since 1917. Accumulation area includes surface and subsurface hydrology
mining of the entire Salduro Marsh/Bonneville Salt Flats, north and south of the
Union Pacific Rail Road and I-80.
Private, state and Federal lands are involved. Today Intrepid has ten Federal leases
north of I-80 issued to mining since 1963 as well as the private land known since
1917 as the Salduro Loop. These private lands are adjacent to the historical site
and protected as an Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) known as the
Bonneville International Raceway, administered by the BLM.
Radar image from German satellite Terra SAR-X, June 23,
2009 from 319 Miles above Earth
Prepared in cooperation with The Utah Alliance to Save the Salt
by
Greg Peek
Castle Rock, Colorado
November 2015
Intrepid Potash Mine
Wendover, Utah
Floating Island
Bonneville
International
Raceway
Federal Lease
Collection Ditch
Existing Access
Road to Raceway
Salduro Loop
Primary Pond 6
Wendover, Utah
Primary Pond 5
Wendover Airport
Runway 8 / 26
Primary Pond
4 North
North Ripening
Pond
and
South Ripening
Pond
Primary Pond
4 South
Nevada
Utah
State Line
Distance, East - West
Approx. 20 Miles
Identification of Significant Landmarks
of the
Bonneville Salt Flats
Methodology: Image used is from the German Terra SAR-X satellite, a radar image taken June 23, 2009 from
319 mile orbit altitude. Image was manipulated in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator to export to a CAD file.
Using AutoCad lines were traced around the perimeter of each of the identified ponds. Each image used included Wendover Airport Runway 8/26 which is 8000 feet long. The drawings were scaled against the runway
length to come up with accurate dimensions if feet. It is believed that the traced lines are within 100 feet or less
of the exact locations, resulting in a potential error within approximately ± 5%.
Revised 11/27/2015
Page 2
Intrepid Potash Mine
Wendover, Utah
Primary Pond 4 North (Retired ?)
Area: 921 Acres. Note that this pond
size was reported by W.W. White III
of the BLM in his May, 2003 report.
Wendover Airport Runway 8/26
length: 8000 Feet. Shown for
scaling reference only, not in
actual location.
Primary Pond 4 South (Retired ?)
Estimated Area: 5541 Acres. Ponds
4N & 4S combined are estimated to be
an estimated 10 Square Miles.
Sq. Ft. of Surface Area
Perimeter - Feet
Perimeter - Miles
Acres
Sq. Miles
Halite lbs/Cu Ft
Pounds in Pond
Tons @ 1 Ft. Depth
Tons of Halite@ Depth in Feet
Combined 4 North & 4 South
1
2
3
4
5
Primary Pond
4 North
40,118,760
26406
5.0
921
1.44
Primary Pond
4 South
241,365,336
95,168
18
5,541
8.66
110
4,413,063,600
2,206,532
4,413,064
6,619,595
8,826,127
11,032,659
110
26,550,186,960
13,275,093
26,550,187
39,825,280
53,100,374
66,375,467
6,462.0 Acres
10 Sq. Miles
Page 3
Intrepid Potash Mine
Wendover, Utah
Wendover Airport Runway 8/26 length: 8000 Feet.
Shown for scaling reference
only, not in actual location.
Primary Pond 5 ( Retired)
Primary Pond
PP5
360,273,818
91,260
17
8,271
13
Sq. Ft. of Surface Area
Perimeter - Feet
Perimeter - Miles
Acres
Sq. Miles
Halite lbs/Cu Ft
Pounds in Pond
Tons @ 1 Ft. Depth
Tons of Halite@ Depth in Feet
1
2
3
4
5
110
39,630,119,960
19,815,060
39,630,120
59,445,180
79,260,240
99,075,300
Page 4
Intrepid Potash Mine
Wendover, Utah
Wendover Airport Runway 8/26
length: 8000 Feet. Shown for
scaling reference only, not in
actual location.
Primary Pond 6
Primary Pond
PP6
346,674,426
73,442
14
7,959
12
Sq. Ft. of Surface Area
Perimeter - Feet
Perimeter - Miles
Acres
Sq. Miles
Halite lbs/Cu Ft
Pounds in Pond
Tons @ 1 Ft. Depth
Tons of Halite@ Depth in Feet
1
2
3
4
5
110
38,134,186,860
19,067,093
38,134,187
57,201,280
76,268,374
95,335,467
Page 5
Intrepid Potash Mine
Wendover, Utah
Wendover Airport Runway 8/26
length: 8000 Feet. Shown for
scaling reference only, not in
actual location.
North Ripening Pond
South Ripening Pond
Sq. Ft. of Surface Area
Acres
Sq. Miles
North
Ripening Pond
8,035,135
184
0.29
South
Ripening Pond
8,356,493
192
0.30
Page 6
Intrepid Potash Mine
Wendover, Utah
Summary Data
Surface Area and Tonnage of Halite in Identified Ponds
Sq. Ft. of Surface Area
Acres
Sq. Miles
Primary Pond Primary Pond Primary Pond Primary Pond
4 South
4 North
PP5
PP6
241,365,336
589,440
360,273,818
346,674,426
5,541
921
8,271
7,959
8.66
1.44
12.92
12
Halite lbs/Cu Ft
Pounds in Pond
Tons @ 1 Ft. Depth
110
26,550,186,960
13,275,093
Total Tons of Halite using only
1 foot of depth of Ponds 4, 5 & 6
Square Miles of Surface Area
of Ponds 4 & 5 combined.
110
110
110
64,838,400 39,630,119,960 38,134,186,860
32,419
19,815,060
19,067,093
52,189,666 Tons
23.02 Square Miles 1 Ft Thick
Page 7
Intrepid Potash Mine
Wendover, Utah
References and Conclusions
Ref: A
Gregory C. Lines, Hydrology and Surface Morphology of the Bonneville Salt Flats and Pilot Valley Playa, Utah, Geological Survey Water-Supply
Paper 2057 at 98-103 (1979) (prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management)
The demise of salt from the North side of I-80 has been reported for many years and was noted in Turk (1969, p
18) and suggested that replacement was possible, " An apparent source is the salt that is stored in the abandoned
evaporation ponds on Kaiser's (now Intrepid) property. Turk reports that when a pond system is filled with salt
to a depth of 4 - 5 feet, leakage from the ponds becomes excessive, and a new pond system must be constructed.
Lallman and Wadsworth (1976, p.9) report that 5 - 6 inches of halite are deposited annually on the pond floors
as the brine is concentrated for the removal of potash.
Ref: B
W.W. White III, P.G., U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Replenishment of Salt to the Bonneville Salt Flats: Results of the 5-Year Experimental Salt
Laydown Project, 2003
“The Salt Laydown-Project demonstrated that the sodium-chloride salt in the brine removed from BSF for mineral extraction can be replenished.”
In the 5 Year Reilly / BLM pumping program from 1997 - 2002 there were 6.2 million tons of sodium chloride
returned to the North side of I-80 ( +2 million net tons) resulting in an increased salt crust area of approximately
5 square miles and a nominal increase in crust thickness.
Conclusions:
Utilizing only 54 million tons or 1 foot of depth of the bedded salt deposits in ponds 4 & 5, which is a 900% increase over the 6.2 million tons pumped in the 5 year period there could be a theoretical increase in the salt crust
of 9.6" and many square miles of surface area increase.
Comparing the tonnage pumped between 1997 and 2002 to the available tonnage in ponds 4 & 5 it becomes
obvious that the prior pumping program was grossly insufficient and that a plan to increase the volume returned
must be put in place.
Based on the above published reports, it is believed that these charts showing volume of available halite in
Ponds 4N, 4S, 5 and 6 have the potential to replace approximately 200 million tons of halite to the north side
of I-80 and the Bonneville International Raceway area, 100 times the net amount returned in the 5 year Experimental Salt Laydown Project.
Page 8