Al Jazeera tv looks at copper bust in Morenci

Mideast television network Al Jazeera is reporting on the drop in copper prices and the impacts on local communities in the U.S., using Morenci, Arizona as the example. Reporter Tom Ackerman covers the story for AljazeeraEnglish.

Satellite captures northern Arizona dust storm

NASA's Earth Observatory site has a MODIS satellite image of the dust storm that struck northeastern Arizona last Friday (April 3, 2009). With winds over 145 kilometers (90 miles) per hour reported near Meteor Crater, east of Flagstaff, the storm reduced visibility and forced the temporary closure of part of Interstate 40, according to The Arizona Republic.

We had friends coming to Tucson from the Phoenix area who were delayed 2 hours because of the high winds.

The NASA site reports, "The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this image on April 3, 2009. In this image, clear skies allow a view of multiple source points of this dust storm. The source points occur along an arc that runs from northwest to southeast. Blowing toward the northeast, the dust plumes exhibit a range of colors, including pale beige and red-brown, reflecting the varied soils from which the plumes arise."

Ref: Engelbart, D. (2009, April 3). I-40 near Flagstaff reopened after winds cut visibility. The Arizona Republic. Accessed April 6, 2009.

NASA image by Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, Goddard Space Flight Center. Caption by Michon Scott.

Thanks to Hobart at Geology.com for spotting this.

Karen Bolm

We just learned that Karen Bolm, with the USGS here in Tucson, died Saturday, six weeks after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of liver cancer.

Karen was well known as being the face of the USGS across the region for her outreach work and as a tireless volunteer for the Arizona Geological Society.

She got her A.B. in Spanish from Augustana College, in Illinois in 1967 and joined the U.S. Geological Survey's Public Inquiries Office in Anchorage, Alaska, in 1975. She moved to Tucson, Arizona in 1987 and the next year joined the Minerals Information Office in Tucson where she gathered and disseminated Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) records, answered minerals-related questions, and worked with Center for Inter-American Mineral Resource Investigations scientists to gather data from and to install MRDS in Latin American countries. [this is taken in part from Karen's bio on the USGS website]

Update: The Memorial Service for Karen will be held at the Holy Cross Lutheran Church at 241 N. Harrison at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 11th. The church is on Harrison about 2.5 blocks north of Broadway.

Historical USGS photos

Arizona paleontologist Bill Parker who blogs at Chinleana, noted that the USGS historical photo archive includes 233 Chinle photos, many from Arizona.

The photo at right is from Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona. Petrified tree trunk in the Chinle Formation, 1928.

Image file: /htmllib/batch50/batch50j/batch50z/baa00338.jpg

AWG's Salt Lake City chapter scholarship auction

The Salt Lake City chapter of the Assoc. for Women Geoscientists held their 20th annual wine & cheese benefit silent auction to raise funds for scholarships on Saturday night. Last year the event netted over $6,000 which allowed the Chapter to increase the size of awards. The highlighted award is the Susan Ekdale Memorial Scholarship of $2,000+ to a female student in the geosciences to help defray field camp expenses.

The totals aren't in for Saturday's soiree yet, but it was a wall-to-wall crowd of a couple hundred folks with such frenetic bidding that the deadline was extended to allow everyone to get their bids down. It's the pre-eminent geo-social event of the year on the Wasatch Front.

The first few of these were held in the home of then chapter-president Lori Robinson, who lived just a few blocks from me on the East Bench area of SLC. It was informal, with everyone bringing a bottle of wine. The professionals among us were prompted to kick in $5 or so to help sustain the Chapter. Fairly quickly, we outgrew not only Lori's house, but each succeeding larger location. For the past three years, it's been held in the historic Mill at Tracy Aviary but I wonder if it doesn't need yet a larger venue.

The crowd was so thick, it was difficult to see the auction items on the tables and there were some people there that I didn't see until we bumped into them heading out the door when the evening was over.

ASU Origins Symposium: is the universe teeming with life?

The Origins Symposium kicked off today at ASU in Tempe, with a debate among leading astrobiologists about the origin of life on Earth and whether (where) there is life elsewhere in the universe.

NPR's Science Friday broadcast it live and Talk of the Nation recorded the 48 minute long event which can be heard online.

Monday's program will feature an impressive series of public presentations including a number of Nobel Prize scientists and culminating with a featured lecture by Stephen Hawking at 8:30 pm.

Science Foundation rallying support against budget cut

Science Foundation Arizona launched a campaign this week to build public support to overturn the state legislature's action to eliminate their entire annual state budget of $22 million, including funds already committed to projects. In a message out to stakeholders, SFA CEO William Harris asks, What can you do to support Science Foundation and sustainable economic growth for Arizona?

They have produced a video that is posted on YouTube and Vimeo showing the return on their investments in innovation.

Science Foundation Arizona (SFAz) Return on Investment - Vimeo >>

Science Foundation Arizona (SFAz) Return on Investment -YouTube >>


Science Foundation Arizona - Returning on Investment for Arizona from Science Foundation Arizona on Vimeo.

Center for the Study of Dead Clams

Their motto is "Putting the dead to work since 1992."

UA geosciences dept head Karl Flessa and colleagues run the Centro de Estudios de Almejas Muertas (C.E.A.M.) [English translation: Center for the Study of Dead Clams], an informal organization dedicated to the study of taphonomy. Taphonomy is the study of dead things and how they get incorporated into the fossil record.

The Center was highlighted on Thursday in the dotearth blog on the New York Times site in a story about demands for fresh water along the Colorado River and the impacts on the Gulf of California [right, Colorado River delta. Credit, Visible Earth/NASA] including dolphins and clams.

Uranium and potash are top picks

The top mining stock picks from the Royal Bank of Canada Capital Markets (RBCCM) are uranium [right, credit USGS] and fertilizer companies, as reported on Mineweb.com.

They expect a rebound in the uranium spot price by the second half of 2009 due to continuing demand coupled with significant production cuts.

There is major lease action and exploration currently underway in northern Arizona for uranium.

The demand for potash is for production of fertilizer and RBCCM expects a rebound here as well, with fall crop prices supporting high fertilizer demand. Arizona has as much as 1/4 of the US resource base in potash. Although there is no Arizona production, the deposit is being explored.

'Copper prices have been on a rip'

Copper prices have been on a rip, according to Mineweb.com, with prices rebounding to over $2 per pound yesterday. That makes almost every copper mine in the world able to operate profitably, based on a cash-cost at the mine basis.

But the near future is confusing. Yesterdays rise is attributed to belief that recession forces are easing. Forecasters at the consulting group CRU say prices should peak at $4,500 per tonne during 2nd quarter of 2009. [right, native copper. Photo by Jonathan Zander]

Another report offers that estimates of global demand are "universally pessimistic and range from Codelco's (Chile's largest producer) 4% decline to CRU's estimate of a very sharp 15-20% drop."
The primary blame seems to be a drop in construction.

And the analyses we'll read on Monday may be completely different. If only I were more prescient.

'Kinder, gentler' mining law revision in Senate

Sen. Jeff Bingamen of New Mexico introduced a Senate version of a Mining Law reform bill, that is being called "kindler and gentler" than the House version.

Mineweb.com says Bingamen's bill "eliminates patenting of federal lands, imposes a federal minerals royalty, establishes a Hardrock Minerals Reclamation Fund, and requires a review of certain lands within three years to determine if they will be available for future mining."

Other provisions are:

• a reclamation fee of 0.3% to 1% of the production value, to go into a reclamation fund
• royalties of 2-5% of production value, after certain costs, depending on the mineral
• applicable only to new production
• reductions in royalties for marginal operations

Colorado Plateau has sequestered CO2 for million years

A new scientific study from researchers at the University of Manchester finds that "carbon dioxide has been naturally stored for more than a million years in several gas fields in the Colorado Plateau and Rocky Mountains, according to a summary in Science Daily.

The authors are quoted as saying "underground CO₂ storage, in the correct place, should be a safe option to help us cope with emissions until we can develop cleaner energy sources."

Some of the largest coal-fired electric power plants in the region operate on the Colorado Plateau, and their continuation may depend on viable methods and locations for sequestering carbon dioxide emissions.

Their findings are published in the latest issue of Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta.

Ref: 'The noble gas geochemistry of natural CO2 gas reservoirs from the Colorado Plateau and Rocky Mountain provinces, USA', Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 15th February 2008, Vol 72, No. 4, p1174-1198.

ADOT's Mendez nominated for FHA

Victor Mendez, director of the Arizona Dept. of Transportation under Janet Napolitano, has just been nominated by President Obama to become head of the Federal Highway Administration.

The bio posted by the White House says Mendez has served as a past President of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials and in 2008 he was selected as Leader of the Year in Public Policy in Transportation by the Arizona Capitol Times. Previously, Mendez was selected as the Deputy State Engineer to lead the implementation of the Phoenix area's multi-billion dollar freeway system. Mendez earned a Masters of Business Administration degree from Arizona State University and a Bachelors of Science in Civil Engineering degree from the University of Texas at El Paso.

Judge orders Grupo Mexico to give Asarco $6 billion

News just off the wire says the federal judge in the Asarco bankruptcy case, has ordered former owner Grupo Mexico to pay damages of about $6 billion including "the return of 54% of the stock in Southern Peru Holdings and damages worth about an additional $1 billion" to Tucson-based Asarco. Grupo Mexico stock dropped 15%.

Sterlite Industries came to agreement last month to acquire Asarco for about $1.7 billion in cash and notes.

Ores & Orogenesis proceedings volume is available

The Arizona Geological Society's Digest 22, Ores and Orogenesis: Circum-Pacific Tectonics, Geologic Evolution, and Ore Deposits, was delivered by the printer today and is now on sale for $75 plus tax and shipping at the AZGS map & bookstore in Tucson.

The 622-page volume makes extensive use of color to present many of the talks from the hugely successful AGS symposium of the same name held in the fall of 2007. Editors Jon Spencer and Spencer Titley say about half the papers are tectonics-oriented, and half are about ore deposits. It's a powerful combination.

AGS members can buy a copy at the monthly dinner meetings. 300 copies of the 1,000 copy press run were pre-ordered and are being mailed out now. The rest are expected to sell briskly.

Review of the Rosemont copper mine proposal

The US Forest Service held meetings this week with local, state, and federal agencies that are formal cooperators with them in evaluating the proposed Rosemont copper mine project in the Santa Rita mountains, south of Tucson.

AZGS is becoming a Cooperating Agency to provide geologic input and comments on the Environmental Impact Statement and process.

This morning we were briefed on the role of cooperators, the EIS and review process, then had presentations by Rosemont Copper on their plans.

We spent the afternoon at the mine site, seeing firsthand the size, scope, and locations of planned facilities, tailings piles, leach ponds, and the mile-wide pit. [right, mine manager Fermin Samorano, holding poster, points out locations for mine components]

The draft EIS is expected to be complete by this fall. Cooperating agencies are expected to have extensive input into the process beginning immediately, rather than simply reviewing the completed document.

So. Arizona science & engineering fair awards

Bill Dresher, chairman of the SciEnTeK-12 Foundation, invited me to join them this evening for the Southern Arizona Regional Science & Engineering Fair awards ceremony and say a few words about celebrating the Year of Science. It was a great event! [right, student winners line up to receive their awards at the Manning House in Tucson]
The student scientists ranged from kindergarten to high school, and held forth explaining their research or experiments like seasoned pros to proud parents and teachers.

I gave special recognition to the two gentlemen at left from Tubac High School for creativity in their project, "Terminal Ballistics in Household Structures," in which they tested different building materials by firing an AK-47 into them. Now, that's chutzpah! Watch for these two to soon have their own local version of "Mythbusters" tv show, where they blow up or run into all kinds of things.

Geodaze at UA

The University of Arizona's student symposium, "Geodaze," gets underway today in the Auditorium and Museum Discovery Room, Arizona History Museum, 949 E. Second Street, just west of campus. There's a great series of talks and posters over the next two days, covering student research in Arizona and across the globe. [right, UA campus in Tucson looking towards the Santa Catalina mountains]


You can view and download the schedule and abstracts from: http://earth.geo.arizona.edu/geodaze/2009/schedule.html

Mining and dust

One of the more common complaints from residents near mining operations is about dust from the tailings piles or from trucks on the dirt roads. This applies to hard rock mines as well as sand & gravel quarries. This has become a major issue in Maricopa County where rapid urban development has pushed homes closer to mining operations that used to be in the boonies. The dust issues are especially of concern in retirement communities outside Phoenix and Tucson.

Today's news reports that Freeport's Sierrita mine near Green Valley was fined $45,000 by ADEQ for dust emissions off its tailings pile in 2006 in violation of its air quality permit, plus the company will contribute $60,000 for a school bus in the Sahuarita district. [right, Sierrita mine tailings. Photo courtesy of kreyten's photostream]

Freeport says it spent $170,000 cleaning homes or reimbursing for cleaning of nearly 700 residents after the 2006 incident, and spends $2 million annually in dust control measures with 20 employees assigned to that task.

Freeport says that "Sierrita prepared a risk assessment to report on the effects of wind-blown tailings on human health. The report was completed in April 2007 and concluded that the tailing dust was comparable to dust from the surrounding desert. Any health effects would be similar to those associated with dust from the area. This was consistent with findings from an earlier Arizona Department of Health Services Report issued in October 2006."

Arizona to re-sell Gadsden Purchase

The Arizona Legislature voted today to sell the southern part of the state, south of the Gila River, to the highest bidder. The 29,760 square mile region is part of the Gadsden Purchase [right] acquired from Mexico in 1854. The goals are to help cover the state's budget shortfall, and according to the bill's sponsor, get rid of the state's highest concentration of latte-drinkers.

Plans are already underway to mine the bed of the Gila River to prevent southern Arizonans (Gadsdenians?) from trying to sneak north in search of 12-lane freeways and sprinklered lawns.

The region will be posted on eBay next week. Early reports are that bidders will include Mexico, the Sinaloa drug cartel, and Warren Buffet. T. Boone Pickens reportedly decided not to bid when he learned most of the groundwater has already been used.

And happy April Fool's Day.