Saving the Salt

[hotrod]

Sooooo the Wendover operation strips a minimum of 300,000 tons of Potassium salts and Magnesium Chloride salt from the shallow brine aquifer that sits under the salt flats and their deep brine wells.

If the returned brine in the salt pumping project is 15% concentration by mass, that means they would need to "each year" pump some 2 billion tons of brine

Maybe I am missing something but that is what it appears to me to be the case.

During the 5 year salt laydown project they claim to have returned 6.2 million tons of Laydown salt.
(source page 1 abstract    
 http://www.blm.gov/style/medialib/blm/ut/salt_lake_fo/bonneville_salt_flats/salt_laydown_project.Par.49376.File.dat/IMF03_White_BSF5yr_042004.pdf  )

That means over the 5 years an average return of 1.24 million tons of salt / year for a net positive return of about .94 million tons more than extracted.
That works out to one year of pumping approximately replaces the salt extracted over 3 years prior to the pumping project. With 30+ years of extraction under our belt already it will take over 10 years of pumping just to break even at those rates.

If those numbers are correct we won't see any useful improvement in the salt for about 10 years or so.

They acknowledge this to some extent in the abstract with the following:

Before the Laydown Project, some of the brine removed from BSF was replaced by meteoric precipitation {rain and snow melt}, which dissolved salt crust.
During the Laydown Project, the removed shallow-aquifer brine was believed to be mostly replaced by Laydown brine, which generally approached halite saturation and
consequently minimized salt-crust dissolution.

The {} comment is my notation.
This basically says that most of the salt laydown brine was actually improving the salt balance in the deep layers of the salt deposit not the surface by raising the salt content to saturation, and it should improve the "future health" of the salt complex.

Satellite imagery shows a 5-square-mile increase in the salt crust from 1997 to 1999. Based on the new salt-crust area and its measured thickness of 0.25 to 1 inch, about 0.6 million tons of salt were added to the existing salt crust. The 2-inch increase to salt-crust thickness expected as a result of the project was not observed in measurements from recent test pits and auger holes excavated in BSF. However, geochemical modeling suggests that 17 to 25 million tons of additional salt could be assimilated into the shallow-brine aquifer beneath BSF. Therefore, excepting contribution to the new salt-crust area, most of the 6.2 million tons of salt transported to BSF was apparently incorporated into the underlying shallow-brine aquifer. This may contribute to additional salt-crust formation in the future.

{bold and underline additional emphasis are mine}

I think it is clear from this that last years flooding and the huge influx of fresh water from the rain storms has probably set back the pumping project recovery by maybe 2-3 years as all that fresh water dissolved a huge amount of salt. It will in time be recrystalized but the pumping project now needs to make up for this dilution of the brine which may take a couple years.

To borrow a phrase from the movie Jaws.

"We're going to need a bigger pipe!"

[Milwaukee Midget]

Louise, I keep circling back to the WSJ article of 2011, and one of the comments by a reader that has stuck in my mind - regarding Larry Volk - which unfortunately echoes what I perceive to be the business community's general perception of what we do out there . . .

"A 70 year old hot rodder wants to interfere in a successful business venture that provides jobs and economic value because he can't move on. Does he even live in Utah?"

http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424053111904800304576472240063944226

I doubt we have the resources to put together a YouTube video as well produced as Mesa's prospectus piece you reference.

Seeing as the Wendover facility has yet to be implicated in any statutory sense in the diminishment of the Salt Flats, fighting a new operation on the other side of the mountains simply doesn't make sense.

If we could demonstrate a long-term commercial viability to the region equal to that of a mining company, we might have an argument.

At this point, we simply lack the capital to fight this, we lack a clear vision as to how to how to effectively go about it, and I'm pessimistic as to whether a group of amateur racers running under volunteer sanctioning can save what so many Americans perceive to be a desolate wasteland.

[hotrod]

I agree that it is wise to choose our battles, but it is also important to conduct effective strategic retreats.
In this case we need to point out that racing also provides jobs and economic benefits both locally and across the country.

Has anyone (cough SEMA) ever tallied up an estimate of the annual investment by racers at Bonneville and related venues that support Bonneville racers?

That is a simple counter to that assertion. Creating jobs making performance parts are just as beneficial to the economy as local mining jobs.

[vwpsycho]

We are driving out to the salt flats right now. I'll post some photos in a couple of hours in a new Post.

[Bob Drury]

   I would say now more that ever, our only hope is Media coverage creating public outcry resulting in Political Pressure.
   When in my "dream sequence" post I quoted Transgender Federal Judge Bruce Jenner calling the 27 BLM judges "Lying Bastards" maybe I was in fact receiving a Prophecy from above..................................... those DIRTY C*CK S*CKERS

[Bob Drury]

 Speaking of the Coddington Debacle, I got to know the tow truck company owner pretty well when the following year He and I made two trips from the Rainbow Parking lot to the pits while Hauling first my race car and trailer and secondly my dead truck.
  He said the BLM sent him a bill for some ridiculous amount ($6,000. I believe) for His efforts.
  He told me that as a result, He won't respond to a call beyond the End of The Road for less than $600.

[Milwaukee Midget]

Actually, Louise did a piece in the PRI magazine a few months back.  What I took from it is that there are a lot of bragging rights that a supplier/shop/company can take away from LSR, not to mention engineering lessons, but dollar-wise, its significance to the industry on a whole is minimal. 

That doesn't surprise me.

In that any 1/2 dozen second-tier dirt tracks across the country will outdraw Bonneville in any given season, the financial expenditure to mount the kind of defense of our privileges would likely never see a return on investment.

550 entrants at Speedweek, 175 at WOS, let's say 200 for the bike event, 150 for World Finals.  Probably 25,000 total unique spectators in a good year.  Even if every entry only raced one event, you'd be looking at less than 1,100 entrants, and most run the same stuff year to year.

[distributorguy]

Let's reach out to the "sports community."  Does anyone have connections with ESPN? 

[Bob Drury]

  Midjet, I agree with your accessment on suing a as yet in production entity.  In my mind only Public awareness of the Rape of a "supposedly" Protected Public Area is needed, AND I MEAN RIGHT F*CKING NOW!
  Where the hell is Gerry Spence's phone number?

[Bob Drury]

  I just Googled  Attorney Gerry Spence, Spence Law Firm, Jackson, Wyoming and in case you have never heard him speak, there is a 28 minute Youtube video and a Hell of a Lot More.
  I urge STS and the SCTA/BNI to urgently contact this Law Firm for a FREE Consultation ASAP! 
  This is the Guy who CAN kick their ASS starting at the Department on Interior on down.

[desotoman]

This is from Mesa Exploration's website.

Read the bold print, those are the people you need on your side, not the mining company side.

Tom G.

   

    June 11, 2014
Bounty Project Update
    Mesa Exploration Corp. (TSX-V: MSA, OTCPK: MSAJF) ("Mesa") announces that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has rejected the 90 square mile Bounty Project potash prospecting applications located on the salt flats of western Utah. Mesa has appealed the decision with the Interior Board of Land Appeals (IBLA). The BLM cited land management concerns stemming from the California Historic Trail, a 168 year old wagon trail that transects the project. The rejection prohibits any development for at least 10 miles on either side of the trail, a buffer area which is unprecedented in the United States, not even National Parks have this level of protection. The BLM decision essentially creates a de facto wilderness covering tens of thousands of acres of public, private and Utah state land without input or consultation from Federal, State, or County agencies nor the public.

Foster Wilson, CEO of Mesa, commented on this action by the BLM: "This restriction imposed on this large area by the BLM is unprecedented, unwarranted and, we believe, unlawful. The BLM is tasked with finding multiple uses for the public land that they administer, the mandate being the best use of the land for the benefit of the most people; this decision satisfies a narrowly focused special interest group. The area is open to mineral entry, has no wilderness or road-less designations however the California Historic Trail is designated as a "high potential route segment". As observed in the field and in air photographs the trail segment on the project has been obscured by wind, snow and rain over the decades and has also been driven on and crossed by modern vehicle traffic. This action by the BLM was taken to create a horizon to horizon withdrawal from development to preserve the view as experienced by the pioneers in the 1840s. Mesa believes that a low impact potash mine can co-exist with the trail; the potash resource is a shallow brine aquifer and can move under the trail, similar to how groundwater can move in an aquifer. We plan to rigorously defend our potash prospecting applications, to develop the area, subject to further studies, into a profitable and environmentally sustainable potash mining operation, generating long term Federal and State royalties and much needed employment opportunities for the residents of the region".

Mr. Wilson added, "Mesa has the support of U.S. Senators Hatch, Lee and Heller, U.S. Congressmen Bishop and Amodei, several Commissioners (from the three counties effected) and Mayor Carter of West Wendover; we are currently in consultation with these individuals and other interested parties to assist with our appeal of this action by the BLM".

The IBLA appeal process is estimated to take 12 months to be resolved, meanwhile Mesa will focus on advancing the Oatman gold project in Arizona and the Belmont silver project in Nevada.

About Potash
Potash (potassium oxide) is an essential nutrient for all living organisms. Humans need potassium to build proteins, break down and use carbohydrates, build muscle, maintain normal body growth, control the electrical activity of the heart and control the acid-base balance. It has a vital role in plant metabolism, growth and adaptation to stress and drought and pest resistance. Adequate amounts of potash must be available in the soil for its uptake by roots to ensure that crops achieve economic yields of acceptable quality. Currently the U.S. imports 85% of its potash needs; Utah is one of only three states in the U.S. that produces potash.

About Mesa Exploration
Mesa is developing and exploring a portfolio of mineral properties in the United States where it controls significant land holdings in proven mining districts with excellent access and infrastructure. Mesa currently has 16.8 million shares issued and outstanding, 50% of the shares are controlled by insiders and institutions. For further information please visit our website at www.MesaExploration.com.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
MESA EXPLORATION CORP.


(signed) Foster Wilson, President and CEO



 

[desotoman]

 
My final question of the week............  Has anyone asked Ron Main how much it cost per belly dump trailer to haul the salt He hauled for His admirable yet rebuffed test? 
 

Bob,

Here are his contact numbers, call and ask questions, and get first hand information.

Ron Main, 805-578-6502 hm, 818-998-7848 shop or rmain@canogarebar.com​ as posted on the SCTA website.

Tom G.

[DaveB]

Another point for saving land speed racing is, it is part of our heritage and a source of international pride.

There is much history that has been made at the salt flats. Some of it the general public has even heard about. Spirit of America, Burt Munro, Blue Flame. These names and vehicles are part of our heritage that we want to continue. Heck, Goldenrod is in the Henry Ford Museum! Dropping these names is the right kind of PR for saving the salt!

There are many teams from other countries that bring publicity and money to the U.S.

This racing venue should be preserved!

[Milwaukee Midget]

Another point for saving land speed racing is, it is part of our heritage and a source of international pride.

It's a point I've pounded time and time again.  The sign - put up by the BLM - at Land's End - reads -

BONNEVILLE SALT FLATS INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

http://assets.blog.hemmings.com/wp-content/uploads//2013/11/Bonneville_02_1500.jpg

I can think of no other country on earth whose land resources department include oversight of a designated, acknowledged speedway.  

A lot of the history - and indeed, some of the actual technological advances included in the Midget - are based on research and development MG and Austin Healey did here in the 1950s.  It's a colorful record of which I'm proud to be a part of, and am hopeful to continue.

I'm hoping to be there this year to cheer on my Kiwi brothers-in-arms as they attempt to up their record in the I/BGCC class with their astounding 970 cc '64 Mini Cooper S.  If they run as fast as they hope to, we'll be seeing a 1 liter Mini Cooper that will likely require the chute they've installed.

6 of the first 10 members of the 200 mph club were British.

I may sound like a bit of a downer in my posts - the reality of the situation is daunting - but I do believe that the BONNEVILLE SALT FLATS INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY is worth fighting for.

[hotrod]

Earlier I posted a comment about how salt solubility is temperature dependent. Also various salts have different solubility relative to each other.

Code: [Select]

Substance       Formula 0 °C 10 °C 20 °C 30 °C 40  °C      
Magnesium chloride        MgCl2 52.9 53.6 54.6 55.8 57.5
Magnesium sulfate MgSO4 25.5 30.4 35.1 39.7 44.7
Potassium chloride KCl 28 31.2 34.2 37.2 40.1
Sodium chloride NaCl 35.65 35.72 35.89 36.09 36.37