Reclamation progress on Magma Mine in Superior

Resolution Copper's quarterly newsletter arrived yesterday with a report on the voluntary reclamation they are conducting on the old Magma Mine outside Superior. [right, before and after photos. Credit Resolution Copper Mining Issues Brief]

"Reclamation of surface areas involves re-contouring the landscape to improve drainage and water collection and covering mineralized
material, such as tailings and rock piles, with three feet of rock and soil. This creates a good growth media for re-vegetation. Then,
workers hydro-seed the area with a mixture of mulch, fertilizer, water, seeds from native vegetation and a bonding agent. The vegetation
takes hold, preventing erosion and keeping moisture away from the old mining waste. The new vegetation reclaims the area and blends
the site into the surrounding native vistas."

They also reported on treatment of water from
the historic Magma Mine shaft. "The water is treated, tested and then transported through a 27-mile pipeline to the New Magma Irrigation
and Drainage District where it is blended with Central Arizona Project water to irrigate 5,000 acres of Arizona farmland. The company has delivered to date more than 1.6 billion gallons of water."

Details on the dewatering and irrigation programs are online at http://resolutioncopper.com/sdr/2010/environment

Post-fire preparedness workshop for Horseshoe 2 fire

The Horseshoe 2 fire containment is moving along and attention is turning to preparing for possible floods and debris flows in its aftermath.

A public workshop is being organized for June 16, 6:30-8 pm (AZ time) in the Rodeo Community Center, just over the border in New Mexico. Technical assistance and other services from the Forest Service and Natural Resources Conservation Services will be discussed. Ann Youberg from AZGS (aka "Fire Girl") will describe debris flows and similar hazards and what can be done to mitigate them. Ann will be in the field with Forest Service experts next week to start the assessment of the Horseshoe 2 burned areas.

Staff from Rep. Gabrielle Giffords office will also be on hand to provide information and answer questions about post-fire management and restoration.

Based on our experience in similar terrains and situation, we anticipate it will take 3-5 years for vegetation to be restored to the point that debris flows and mudslides will be naturally mitigated and the threat minimized. [right, debris flow near Flagstaff, resulting from the 2010 Schultz fire on higher slopes. AZGS photo]

Critical minerals forum webcast on Monday

Materials forwarded by Thiago Antinori at the National Mining Association note that "the U.S. uses vast amounts of critical minerals to meet its needs in manufacturing, national security, product innovation and economic growth. Each year nearly $2 trillion is added to our domestic economy by major industries that use mineral materials, Yet despite vast reserves of key mineral resources, for nearly 20 years the U.S. has attracted an ever-declining share of worldwide investment in minerals exploration and is increasingly dependent upon imports to meet its needs. Growing demand for minerals worldwide, coupled with their strategic and economic importance underscore the need for policies that address our 21st century needs."

The Financial Times and National Mining Association are hosting an Executive Forum at the Newseum in Washington DC on Monday, June 13. "The event will feature government, national security, technology and minerals mining experts to discuss how public policy is affecting our nation’s ability to meet critical minerals needs to promote product innovation, national security and economic growth." [photo credit, NMA]

Key Discussion Topics Include:

-What is the role of minerals across the industrial supply chain?
-How can metal mining projects act as catalysts for local economic development?
-What are the risks of dependence on mineral imports and how can this dependence be reversed?
-What actions should be taken for the United States to foster investment in the sector and remain competitive?
-Are the regulatory framework, the permitting process and the tax policies in place conducive to investment?

Keynote speakers at the event will include:

· Hal Quinn, president and CEO, National Mining Association
· Steven J. Duclos, chief scientist and manager, Material Sustainability, GE Global Research
· Roderick Eggert, professor & director, Div of Economics and Business, Colorado School of
Mines
· Frank Gaffney, founder and president, Center for Security Policy
· Colin Hayes, professional staff, Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee

You can watch it LIVE via the Minerals Make Life website.

Arizona is the #1 mining state in the nation (although Nevada occasionally takes the title when gold prices soar)

How much gold has been mined?

All the gold mined in the world would cover a football field to a depth of 5.25 feet, according to a fascinating one page summary in the new issue of Fortune magazine. At a price of $1,483 per ounce (as of 5/17/11), the 166,600 tons of gold that has been mined is worth $7.9 trillion. They say the U.S. government reserves are 4.9% of the world total, worth about $386 billion. [photo credit, Smithsonian Institution]

Hearing set on Resolution Copper land exchange bill

We heard from Resolution Copper that the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands will hold a hearing on the Resolution Copper land exchange bill (H.R. 1904) on Tuesday, 14 June at 7 a.m. Arizona time. Those delivering testimony on behalf of Resolution Copper include company Vice President Jon Cherry, Pinal County Supervisor Bryan Martyn and Town of Superior Mayor Michael Hing. [right, Apache Leap is an area of contention. Credit, Resolution Copper]

Also scheduled to testify, presumably in opposition, are Harrison Talgo, San Carlos Apache Tribe, Shan Lewis, President Inter Tribal Council of Arizona and Vice-Chairman Fort Mojave Indian Tribe, and Roger Featherstone, Arizona Mining Reform Coalition.

Live streaming of the hearing will be available on the House Natural Resources Committee website.

Learning from the Schultz fire

As the Horseshoe 2 fire is slowly contained in southern Arizona, residents are starting to prepare for post-fire flooding and debris flows.

Coincidentally, AZGS today published a report on the post-fire sediment movement in the Flagstaff area that resulted from last year's Schultz fire. The lessons learned there have relevance to the threats facing us from this summers monsoon rains:

The 2010 Schultz Fire burned 6,091 hectares (15,051 acres) of Ponderosa Pine and mixed conifer forest, four kilometers (two and a half miles) north of Flagstaff, Arizona between June 20 and 30, 2010. Sixty-seven percent of the affected area burned at moderate to high intensity, destroying much of the vegetation and organic duff layer that previously covered the forest floor. The intensity of the fire, granular soils, and steep slopes made the burn area highly susceptible to the generation of debris flows and hyperconcentrated flows by runoff from intense summer monsoon storms common in the area.

"Movement of channel-borne sediments in the 2010 Schultz fire burn area," 2011, by M. D. Carroll, AZGS Contributed Report CR-11-A

Bump in the night in northern Arizona

A magnitude 1.6 earthquake hit at 4 am on Thursday about 10 miles south of Colorado City, Arizona. near the Utah border. The time on the map at right is UTC rather than local time at the event.

This is an area of active small earthquakes linked to the Intermountain Seismic Belt that extends into Utah.

"Protecting and promoting" mining in Arizona

Arizona State Senator Al Melvin urged mining advocates today to join together in an Arizona Mining Alliance to "protect and promote" mining in Arizona. He spoke to a group of 50 attendees at the inaugural meeting of the Arizona Legislative Mining Caucus in Tucson today, hosted at the Granite Construction company offices. More than half dozen other legislators attended, including a brief visit by the newly elected Speaker of the House, Andy Tobin. [right, core drilling at Resolution Copper mine]

Other attendees included State Mine Inspector Joe Hart, Bob Quick, new executive director of the Arizona Mining Association, Steve Trussell, executive director of the Arizona Rock Products Association, Sydney Hay, head of AMIGOS, Rod Pace of Rosemont Copper, representatives of Freeport McMoRan, Asarco, Resolution Copper, CalPortland Cement, and numerous other companies.

Sen. Melvin asked that the group form an Arizona Mining Alliance to show the clout of mining in state. Monthly meetings will be held in Tucson, with other organizations and companies being invited to join. Sen. Melvin bemoaned the amount of federal land in Arizona compared to Texas and eastern states, and called on the federal government to get out of the way on development of the Rosemont copper mine.

Mary Poulton, head of the UA Dept. of Mining & Geologic Engineering, was featured speaker, explaining the role of mining in society, why Arizona is the number one mining state in the nation, and the role the university plays in mining research and education.

Landsat image of Wallow fire

The USGS released this Landsat photo of the Wallow fire this afternoon. Just a heads up - the original is 10 Mb in case you want to download the original.

There are other satellite photos at EarthSky.org.

NASA view of Wallow fire

NASA’s Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) instrument on the Terra spacecraft show the Wallow fire in eastern Arizona on June 7.

[right, caption from NASA: The Wallow Fire is in the center of the MISR image. Nearly 10 distinct bluish-colored smoke plumes can be seen blowing toward the upper right (northeast). The green pine forests of the White Mountains stand out against the lighter desert background. In this image, the windblown smoke is seen extending into New Mexico; smoke from this fire has been carried over the Great Plains as far as Iowa. The city of Tucson, Az., is in the lower left portion of the image, and appears in shades of gray. The bright region to the east of Tucson is the Wilcox Playa, and smoke from the the Horseshoe 2 Fire is visible to the east. The entire image covers an area measuring 206 miles (331 kilometers) by 264 miles (425 kilometers). Credit: NASA JPL]

Smoke from Arizona fires extends 1,500 miles

Dr. Jeff Masters' WunderBlog on the Weather Underground website, offers this NASA photo of the smoke from the Wallow fire. Check out his map showing the full 1,500 mile extent of smoke moving over the Great Lakes region.

[right, smoke from the Wallow fire in eastern Arizona extends across New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Nebraska in this image from NASA's Aqua satellite on June 7, 2011. Image credit: NASA, via Weather Underground.]

Structural controls on geothermal systems in the Great Basin

Why do geothermal systems exist where they do in the Great Basin? Are there common factors that might help us find more of them there and in other areas such as the Basin and Range province of Arizona?

Jim Faulds with the Nevada Bureau of Mines & Geology in Reno, is tackling these questions with a grant from the US DOE Geothermal Technologies Program. Jim presented his preliminary findings this morning at the 3^rd day of the week long DOE Peer Review of funded projects. [AZGS presented on our State Geothermal Data project on Tuesday] Jim is focusing on the structural geology controls on geothermal reservoirs. Over dinner last night, he noted that a large number of the producing hydrothermal fields in the Great Basin are ‘blind’ systems, meaning they have no obvious surface signature. Many were found serendipitously, as a result of other types of exploration programs or through grid drilling of geothermal gradient holes.

Jim reported his preliminary analysis of 160 of the 250+ geothermal systems in the Great Basin with the percentage of systems occurring in each of 8 structural settings:

• Stepovers and relay ramps 32%
• Intersecting normal faults and transverse slip or obverse slip faults 24%
• Normal fault termination or tip lines 19%
• Accommodation zones 8%
• Displacement transfer zones 5%
• Pull-aparts 4%
• Salients or apices of major normal faults 3%
• Major range front normal faults 2%

He made two other observations – Quaternary faults are generally in or near these systems, and it’s rare to find geothermal systems in areas of maximum displacement or the middles of major normal faults.

This is all pointing towards a model in which geothermal systems form in areas where faulting and fracturing are more distributed through a volume of rock rather than in areas where they are concentrated in single large displacements.

If it proves out, it could offer an exploration approach applicable to blind systems in extensional regimes elsewhere including southern Arizona.

[right, geothermal systems in the Great Basin. Credit, Great Basin Center for Geothermal Energy, UNR]

Tracking wildfires online

One of the best resources for following wildfires is the Incident Information System "InciWeb" - http://www.inciweb.org/

Here are excerpts from the latest update for the fast-moving Wallow fire [photo credit, InciWeb.org] in eastern Arizona:

Wallow Fire Update - June 4, 8:30 Am

Incident: Wallow Wildfire
Released: 1:49 hrs. ago

For Immediate Release Fire Information: 593-333-3412

8:30 a.m. June 4, 2011 928-339-4339 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 928-339-4339 end_of_the_skype_highlighting

Wallow Fire Update

Contact: Fire Information 593-333-3412 or 928-339-4339 Website: www.inciweb.org

Email: eazfireteam@gmail.com Twitter: twitter.com/firescoop

Fire Facts

Date started: 5/29/2011

Personnel: 1,089, including 29 handcrews

Cause: under investigation

Equipment: 60 engines, 15 water tenders, 4 dozers

Size: 140,000 estimated

Aircraft: 9 helicopters , 4 Air Attack planes,

Percent contained: 0

4 Air Tankers

Injuries to date: 0

Estimated containment date: Unknown

Cost to date: $3 million

NOTE:

· The Apache County Sheriff's Office has issued a pre-evacuation notice to the residents of Greer community and the surrounding areas


· Blue River residents have been evacuated by Greenlee County officials.

· Residents in the communities affected by this fire are asked to remain prepared in the event an order is needed.

· A community meeting is being held tomorrow at the Round Valley High School in Eagar at 4 p.m.

Fire Activity: Winds are not expected to increase today but there is varied relative humidity across the fire which will affect the fire behavior. The fire grew by 14,000 acres yesterday. The fire advanced to the north and north-west and impacted Big Lake Lookout but not the Big Lake Recreation area. The has fire crossed the 249 road. The perimeter of the fire is close to Nutrioso and Mongollon rim but has not gone over yet.

Closures/Evacuations/Advisories: Apache County Emergency Management (ACEM) issued an evacuation order of the communities of Alpine and Nutrioso. ACEM will make the decision when the order will be lifted.

Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests Fire Restrictions: A Temporary Emergency Closure Order for the Apache National Forest has been issued today, June 3 at 12:00 p.m. (noon). Due to extreme fire conditions, the Apache National Forest is closed to all public entry. Property owners and their guests will continue to have access to private lands within the Forest. See website for closure order details. Please see the Forest website for more information: http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/asnf/

Opening for USGS Mineral Resources Program Coordinator

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is now accepting applications for the Mineral Resources Program Coordinator position in the Energy and Minerals, and Environmental Health Mission Area.

The Program Coordinator sets the overall scientific vision and leadership for USGS minerals research, resource assessments, and information products. The position is being advertised as a Geologist, GS-15 and is located in Reston, VA. The vacancy announcement is open until July 12, 2011. For further information and to apply, please go to: http://www.usajobs.gov/ and search for vacancy announcement ATL-2011-0560 (for current federal employees) or ATL-2011-0561 (for those not currently federal employees). For further information contact Claire Matthews at 703-648-5786 or cmatthews@usgs.gov.

4,000 National Academy publications now online

As of today all PDF versions of books published by the National Academies Press will be downloadable to anyone free of charge. This includes a current catalog of more than 4,000 books plus future reports produced by the Press. The mission of the National Academies Press (NAP) -- publisher for the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and National Research Council -- is to disseminate the institutions' content as widely as possible while maintaining financial sustainability. To that end, NAP began offering free content online in 1994. Before today’s announcement, all PDFs were free to download in developing countries, and 65 percent of them were available for free to any user.

Based on the performance of NAP’s current free PDFs, projections suggest that this change will enhance dissemination of PDF reports from about 700,000 downloads per year to more than 3 million by 2013.

Printed books will continue to be available for purchase through the NAP website and traditional channels. The free PDFs are available exclusively from the NAP’s website, http://www.nap.edu/, and remain subject to copyright laws. PDF versions exist for the vast majority of NAP books. Exceptions include some books that were published before the advent of PDFs; books from the Joseph Henry Press imprint; and in cases where contractually prohibited, such as reference books in the Nutrient Requirements of Domestic Animals series.

[Taken from the NAP announcement]

Federal wild lands decision reversed

The headline in the Salt Lake Tribune this morning was "Salazar reverses ‘wild lands’ policy."

While the decision last December to allow BLM to unilaterally treat federal lands as de facto wilderness land, has not drawn much attention in Arizona, it created a firestorm in other western states including Congressional critics who argued it locked up lands with oil and gas resources. Sec. of Interior Ken Salazar is quoted "We will focus our effort on building consensus around locally supported initiatives and working with members [of Congress] to advance their priorities for wilderness designations in their states and districts.” [right, BLM designated wilderness areas. These are established and not affected by yesterday's decision. Credit, BLM]

Disaster funds for flood and wildfire damage to AZ roads

Northern Arizona will receive the majority of the $29.2 million Federal Highway Administration Emergency Relief funds that were recently awarded to the state.

According to the Arizona Department of Transportation, the Federal Highway Administration funds reimburse state and local jurisdictions for the repair or reconstruction of highways, roads and bridges that were damaged in natural disasters and catastrophic failures, including the January 2010 winter storm ($20 million) and the June/July 2010 Schultz Fire ($9.2 million) that struck Arizona.

Currently, there are 40 emergency relief (ADOT and local government) projects statewide that have either been completed or are under way. A few key projects include the $5 million retaining wall repair project on State Route 87 approximately 25 miles south of Payson and the $5.8 million drainage improvement project on US 89 approximately five miles north of Flagstaff.

Extreme snowfall and intense rainfall from the January 2010 winter storm caused millions of dollars in damage across the state, particularly along SR 87 (mileposts 223-227), a vital route that links the Phoenix metro area and Rim Country communities. Excessive water buildup caused landslides and retaining wall damage, which required emergency repairs, some of which are still ongoing.

The ADOT and Coconino County drainage improvement project near Flagstaff along US 89 (mileposts 424-429) was needed after floods following last summer's Schultz Fire destroyed the vegetation on the San Francisco Peaks. The emergency relief project should be completed this July, just before the summer thunderstorm season starts. ADOT, in collaboration with Coconino County, will continue to work on a long-term solution to this trouble spot.

[This is taken from the ADOT news release]

Forest Service proposes approval of Rosemont copper mine

The U.S. Forest Service hand delivered the Draft EIS to us yesterday for the proposed Rosemont Copper mine in the Santa Rita Mountains [right, artists rendition of the open pit mine. Credit, Rosemont Copper]. AZGS is a cooperating agency on the EIS process. We will review the DEIS and give our comments back to USFS within 30 days, with the Draft EIS expected to be released to the public for comment by August.

The Arizona Daily Star reports that "The proposed action is to approve the preliminary MPO (mine plan of operations) for construction, operation with concurrent reclamation and closure of an open-pit copper, molybdeum and silver mine."

Work plans for Year 2 of the State Geothermal Data project

We're in Salt Lake City today and tomorrow at the Utah Geological Survey for a meeting of our State Geothermal Data project's Science Advisory Board (SAB). The SAB is reviewing progress of each of the state geological surveys as we are completing the first year of the US DOE-funded project to digitize geologic data for inclusion in the National Geothermal Data System.

AZGS is the prime contractor on the 3-year, $22 million project, on behalf of the Association of American State Geologists. We have 45 state surveys as subcontractors, delivering data from all 50 states.

The SAB is giving us recommendations on work plans for Year 2 of the project. As of the end of March, 32 states have submitted at least some of their data sets for review and testing before they are served online in the distributed data network. This first year included getting the contracts in place, hiring staff, and training participants. We are now moving into full production nationwide. In the next few months the amounts of data should be ramping up dramatically.

The network catalog and visualization tools will be rolling out in the near future so that users will be able to easily discover and access the data and services ("apps").

After the Horseshoe fire - preparing for floods and debris flows

The Horseshoe 2 fire [right, credit InciWeb] in the Chiricahua's is at almost 73,000 acres and could be the 5th largest wildfire in Arizona history by June 22 when it's finally expected to be contained.

Even while the fire rages, residents in the Portal area have been meeting with Forest Service personnel and others to prepare for the aftermath when monsoon rains threaten the burned slopes with floods and debris flows.

AZGS geologist Ann Youberg is working with residents to help them understand what could happen and what to do about it.

The bird watching community is very active in the area and their listserve is one of the effective tools for keeping everyone informed.

Here's one of the messages circulated to residents:

"If you are on or near a drainage that may have post-fire floods, you should consider getting flood insurance now. Time may be of the essence because the National Flood Insurance Program has a 30-day wait period from the time you apply until it goes into effect. Typically there is not much time between the end of a wildfire and the beginning of monsoon, especially in SE Arizona where monsoon tends to start earlier than in other areas around the state. Senator McCain and Congressman Paul Gosar have introduced legislation to address post-fire flooding. One component of that bill authorizes FEMA to waive the 30-day wait period in cases of wildfire but that legislation has not been acted on. You can read more about this effort here: http://www.coconino.az.gov/schultzfloodinformation.aspx?id=23604. Following the 2010 Schultz Fire and post-fire flooding, northeast of Flagstaff, only one private insurance company recognized that the flood damage was due to the fire. This company covered their clients’ losses. Talk to your insurance agent to see what your company's policy is regarding wildfire and post-fire flooding. Although large wildfires have been raging across the west for almost two decades now, with the 1994 Rattlesnake Fire being one of the earliest large fires, FEMA policies do not take into account the long-lasting effects of wildfire. Coconino County Emergency Managers report that FEMA did not recognize that all of the flooding throughout monsoon after last summer’s Schultz Fire were related to one fire. FEMA's policy is that three days of no rain signifies the end of one event. The next flood is an entirely new event in FEMA's eyes, which severely impacts the potential for disaster funding."