January 2022 Outcrop

OUTCROP Newsletter of the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists

Volume 71 • No. 1 • January 2022

The Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists

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OUTCROP | January 2022

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Vol. 71, No. 1 | www.rmag.org

OUTCROP The Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists

1999 Broadway • Suite 730 • Denver, CO 80202 • 720-672-9898 The Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists (RMAG) is a nonprofit organization whose purposes are to promote interest in geology and allied sciences and their practical application, to foster scientific research and to encourage fellowship and cooperation among its members. The Outcrop is a monthly publication of the RMAG.

2022 OFFICERS AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS PRESIDENT

2nd VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT

Rob Diedrich rdiedrich75@gmail.com

Matt Bauer matthew.w.bauer.pg@gmail.com

PRESIDENT-ELECT

SECRETARY

Ben Burke bburke158@gmail.com

Sandra Labrum slabrum@slb.com

1st VICE PRESIDENT

TREASURER

Courtney Beck Antolik courtneyantolik14@gmail.com

Mike Tischer mtischer@gmail.com

1st VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT

TREASURER ELECT

Ron Parker parkero@gmail.com

Anna Phelps aphelps@sm-energy.com

2nd VICE PRESIDENT

COUNSELOR

Mark Millard millardm@gmail.com

Jeff May jmay.kcrossen@gmail.com

RMAG STAFF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Bridget Crowther bcrowther@rmag.org OPERATIONS MANAGER

Kathy Mitchell-Garton kmitchellgarton@rmag.org CO-EDITORS

Courtney Beck Antolik courtneyantolik14@gmail.com Nate LaFontaine nlafontaine@sm-energy.com Wylie Walker wylie.walker@gmail.com CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Elijah Adeniyi elijahadeniyi@montana.edu

ADVERTISING INFORMATION

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Ad copy, signed contract and payment must be received before advertising insertion. Contact the RMAG office for details.

DEADLINES: Ad submissions are the 1st of every month for the following month’s publication.

The Outcrop is a monthly publication of the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists

Danielle Robinson danielle.robinson@dvn.com

WEDNESDAY NOON LUNCHEON RESERVATIONS

RMAG Office: 720-672-9898 Fax: 323-352-0046 staff@rmag.org or www.rmag.org

DESIGN/LAYOUT: Nate Silva | nate@nate-silva.com

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Outcrop | January 2022 OUTCROP

Webinar Series Members in Transition

2022

Visit Petroleum Pivoters for more resources!

Rockies Members in Transition (MiT) is a joint effort of members of AAPG, DERL, DIPS, DWLS, RMAG, SPE-Denver, WENCO, WGA, and WOGA in the Rocky Mountain region to help association members in the midst of a career transition.

Jan. 20 12pm-1pm (MST)

Webinars are free and open to all

“The Changing Role of Petrotechnical Professionals”

Register at www.rmag.org

Presenters: Barry Katz & Dengen Zhou, Chevron Fellows

Rockies MiT Members in Transition

OUTCROP | January 2022

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Vol. 71, No. 1 | www.rmag.org

OUTCROP Newsletter of the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists

CONTENTS FEATURES

DEPARTMENTS

14 Lead Story: RMAG Centennial, Part I: The Early Years (1922-1947)

10 RMAG December 2021 Board of Directors Meeting

24 Mineral Of The Quarter: Rutile 32 Field Trip Report: Sediment Hosted Vanadium-Uranium of the Colorado Plateau

12 President’s Letter 18 Online Lunch Talk: Bob Fryklund 20 Hybrid Lunch Talk: Paul E. Devine 22 Member Corner 42 In The Pipeline

ASSOCIATION NEWS

42 Outcrop Advertising Rates

6 2022 RMAG Summit Sponsorship Packet

42 Welcome New RMAG Members!

COVER PHOTO

43 Advertiser Index

Maroon Bells, near Aspen, Colorado Picture taken by Stephen Sturm

2 RMAG Summit Sponsors 4 Members in Transition Jan. 20 Webinar

43 Calendar

11 2022 RMAG Mentorship Program 13 Publish with The Mountain Geologist

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OUTCROP | January 2022

RMAG Summit Sponsorship

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Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists 1999 Broadway, Suite 730 Denver, CO 80202 Phone: 800.970.7624 | email: staff@rmag.org

November 30, 2021 Geoscience Community: RMAG could not exist without the very generous support of our Summit Sponsors, and we greatly appreciate all the companies that contributed as Summit Sponsors in 2021.

The second year of a pandemic was not what any of us hoped for but, as we learn to live with the new reality, RMAG has continued to meet both the needs of our members and the greater geoscience community as well as honor our sponsors’ commitment to RMAG. We have hosted dozens of virtual events which included short courses, workshops, Members in Transition talks, monthly online luncheons, virtual trivia, and a virtual field trip. Slowly over the course of the year, we have been able to add back so many of our outdoor events, from the Annual Golf Tournament to six On the Rocks field trips across the region. With the assistance of the RMAG Foundation, we provided student memberships and professional development reimbursements to assist our geologic community.

Your sponsorship dollars also supported our excellent publications including the monthly Outcrop newsletter, the quarterly Mountain Geologist journal, and special publications such as Subsurface Cross Sections of Southern Rocky Mountain Basins. We recognized your financial commitment with website and publication advertising as well as through social media before each online event. With a LinkedIn group of over 2600 members, we made our sponsors visible to the geoscience community for both virtual and in person events.

We are in the process of planning for our upcoming year, and we need your help to continue our programs. 2022 will be an exciting year for RMAG as we celebrate our 100th anniversary with special events and publications to honor our association’s rich history. Summit Sponsor company names and logos will be prominently featured at all RMAG events, and while we plan to host more in person gatherings, we also will continue to hold online events which have been very popular with our membership.

If you are already a Summit Sponsor, we look forward to your continued support in 2022. If you are not a sponsor, please look at the many free benefits included with the sponsorship levels. Please feel free to contact our staff with questions about sponsorship by email: staff@rmag.org or by phone at 800-970-7624.

We and the staff of RMAG wish you all a successful and prosperous 2022 and look forward to seeing you at our events.

Rob Diedrich

Bridget Crowther

2022 RMAG President

RMAG Executive Director

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2022 RMAG Summit Sponsorship Platinum, Gold, & Silver Sponsors

Sponsorship Level

Platinum

Gold

Silver

$10,000

$5,000

$2,500

over $9,000

over $5,000

over $3,000

Large Logo & Link

Medium Logo

Medium Logo

4 articles & 4 large ads

2 articles & 2 medium ads

4 small ads

The Outcrop (receive benefits for 12 issues, monthly online publication)*

full page ad

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Company logo listed as a annual sponsor in The Outcrop

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RMAG Website Benefits Company logo on Summit Sponsor page on www.rmag.org Articles and Ads on special Advertisers’ web page Publication Advertising

Event Advertising (included for all events except where noted)

Opportunity to offer RMAG approved promotional materials

*12 months of Outcrop advertising: In order to receive 12 full months, company logos and ad art must be received no later than the 20th of the month in which you register. If received after the 20th of the month, ad will start in the month following the month after you register, and you will receive 11 total months (e.g., ads received March 25th will appear in the May issue and run through the following March). **Previous Summit Sponsors need to submit only advertising information.

RMAG Educational Events†

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Number of registrations for each type of educational event are suggested; however, you may use your registration points for any of RMAG’s 2021 symposia, core workshops or short courses. For example, a Gold sponsor may use 4 of their 6 points to send a group to the Fall Symposium.

Symposium registrations

4

2

1

Core Workshop registrations

4

2

1

Short Course registrations

4

2

1

Total Registration Points

12

6

3

Platinum

Gold

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RMAG Social Events†

Golf and other social event registration points may be used for RMAG educational event registrations. For example, a Platinum Sponsor may use one of their golf teams (4 points) to send 4 people to a short course.

Golf Tournament player tickets

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2 individual players

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8

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2

Total Social Event registration points

8

4

2

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Number of tickets for field trips and luncheons are suggested; however, you may use your tickets for any of RMAG’s 2021 field trips or luncheons.

For example, a Gold sponsor may use all 3 of their points to send a group on a field trip.

Field Trip tickets (may be used for any 1-day field trip)

2

1

1

RMAG Luncheon tickets

3

2

1

†Registration points may be used for any RMAG educational event. One registration point = one admission ticket to event. Luncheon and field trip tickets are not eligible to use for educational or social events.

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2022RMAG Summit Sponsorship All sponsor benefit event tickets follow RMAG event registration deadlines.

All benefits end 12 months after registration.

RMAG 2022 2 Summit Sponsorship Opportunities Platinum Sponsor Gold Sponsor Silver Sponsor

Summit sponsorship benefits term is for 12 months! Specify type of payment on signed form, and send logo to staff@rmag.org.

Company: _________________________________________________________________________________________________ Company Representative: ________________________________________________________________________________

Address: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ City/State/Zip: ____________________________________________________________________________________________

Phone: ___________________________________ Email: __________________________________________________________ Payment by Credit Card Select a card: Amex

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Signature: _________________________________________________________________________________________________ Payment by Check Mail checks payable to RMAG: Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists (RMAG) 1999 Broadway, Suite 730 Denver, CO, 80202

RMAG events are subject to change. Cancellation or rescheduling of events does not give sponsor right to refund. Summit Sponsors will receive benefits at any new events added into the RMAG schedule.

email: staff@rmag.org

Thank you for your generous support!

phone: 720.672.9898

1999 Suite 730 Denver, CO, 80202 Vol. 71,Broadway, No. 1 | www.rmag.org

fax: 323.352.0046

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web: www.rmag.org

follow: @rmagdenver OUTCROP | January 2022

RMAG DECEMBER 2021 BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING

By Jessica Davey, Secretary jessica@desertmountainenergy.com

OUTCROP | January 2022

to the Employee Manual have been made, among several other updates and improvements.

The Continuing Education Committee plans to host the February luncheon as a hybrid event; those who would like to meet in person can attend the lunch at Maggiano’s while others attend from home. I am incredibly excited to return to Maggiano’s for their delicious food! The Membership Committee has launched the applications for the 2022 Mentorship Program; please consider volunteering as a mentor or sign up to be a mentee; more information and applications can be found here.

The Publications Committee is working on compiling 100-Year Anniversary feature articles and is also working with the Diversity and Inclusion Ad Hoc Committee to launch a monthly Member Spotlight in the 2022 Outcrop issues. The On the Rocks Committee did not meet in December, so there is no update this month. The Educational Outreach Committee has been busy planning its 2022 outreach efforts and will be working with local schools on field trips and STEM activities.

The Ad Hoc Committee on Diversity and Inclusion is pulling together plans on attracting members from underrepresented groups and will be working with the other committees in their efforts.

I want to thank you all for taking the time to read my monthly updates, and I appreciate the conversations I have had with several readers over the last two years. I have been extremely proud to be part of RMAG during the past two years; this group has done so much work to continue to provide value to its members through a very challenging time, and I have learned so much from everyone I have served with on the Board of Directors.

I am truly hopeful that we can safely return to in-person events in the coming months and look forward to seeing you all soon! Happy holidays and a Happy New Year to all my favorite rock-lovers!

This is a bittersweet report for me; I have served as Secretary for RMAG for the past two years, and this is my final Board of Directors writeup for the Outcrop. It feels like yesterday that I took over as Secretary from Anna Phelps, and now I am handing the reins over to Sandra Labrum. I have served on the Membership Committee for the past two years with Sandra, and I know you will be in good hands with her.

2021 is coming to an end, and a new year is upon us. I am hopeful that 2022 will bring us closure with the COVID virus, and we can return to a normal lifestyle. While I am sad that my term with RMAG is up, I look forward to having more time to devote to my other volunteer roles and my family.

A lot of work has gone into planning for in-person RMAG events has been underway, and I look forward to seeing everyone in person soon!

The 2021 RMAG Board of Directors met virtually at 4 pm on Wednesday, December 15; everyone was present for the meeting. We also included the incoming 2022 Board of Directors for the first 30 minutes for a quick “handover meeting” where everyone was introduced, and we took a few minutes to speak with the incoming group to get everyone up to speed. Treasurer Rebecca Johnson Scrable presented the final 2022 budget, and it passed with a unanimous vote. Bridget and Kathy are continuing to work together to set the RMAG operations up for success; much-needed updates

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2022 RMAG

Mentorship Program February 2022 December 2022 Applications due January 10, 2022

About RMAG pairs young professionals with senior professional mentors who can offer career path and technical mentorship.

During the 11 month program, RMAG provides participants with multiple opportunities to get together, and encourages mentor/mentee pairs to arrange informal meetings as well.

Apply Accepting applications through January 10, 2022. Visit www.rmag.org for more information and to apply.

Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists Vol. 71, No. 1 | www.rmag.org 11 e: staff@rmag.org | p: 720.672.9898 | w: www.rmag.org

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PRESIDENT’S LETTER

By Rob Diedrich

Cheers to 100 Years!

In December 1921, seven geologists gathered to discuss the formation of a geological association in Denver. They agreed that a meeting should be called, and on January 26th of 1922, fifty geologists met at the Albany Hotel in downtown Denver for what was the first official meeting of a new organization called the Rocky Mountain Association of Petroleum Geologists.

And here we are, 100 years later, still gathering at luncheon meetings, conferences, and field trips in the spirit of our founding fathers.

I am most honored and excited to serve as RMAG’s president in the centennial year of our association.

2022 will be a special year for RMAG and there is much to look forward to. We are planning a festive celebration for this summer to commemorate our anniversary. Many members are working on special Outcrop articles and Mountain Geologist publications that will reflect on our association’s rich history. Please see RMAG Centennial Part 1: The Early Years (19221947) in this issue and watch for similar pieces in the months ahead.

So, what is in store for RMAG during its next 100 years? Can you even imagine what our association will look like when the bicentennial is celebrated in 2121?

RMAG has traditionally been a society of members who work or have worked in oil and gas exploration and development. In fact, a 1924 card mailed to notify

RMAG members of upcoming meetings stated, “meetings are open to all persons interested in the petroleum industry.” Today’s RMAG will continue to serve our members who work in the oil and gas industry by offering short courses, symposiums and seminars that provide continuing education and growth opportunities for petroleum geoscientists and engineers.

However, for the RMAG of the future, a vision that many of us share is one of a more diverse organization with respect to geoscience professions. We currently have members who are career professionals in mining,

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Well Log Digitizing • Petrophysics Petra® Projects • Mud Log Evaluation Bill Donovan

Geologist • Petroleum Engineer • PE

(720) 351-7470 donovan@petroleum-eng.com OUTCROP | January 2022

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PRESIDENT’S LETTER sharing anecdotes about RMAG’s history in my monthly letters. So here is the first: The original name of our organization, as noted above, was the Rocky Mountain Association of Petroleum Geologists. In 1947 the first constitution and bylaws were adopted, and the name was changed to the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists, removing the word petroleum, and broadening the geoscience perspective of the association.

I’d like to give a special shout-out to our officers who are leaving the RMAG Board: Peter Kubik, Rebecca Johnson Scrable, Jessica Davey, Nate Rogers and especially president, Cat Campbell, who has left some very large shoes (and a dinosaur costume or two) to fill. Thank you all for your leadership, hard work and devoted service to RMAG. I would also like to express my sincere appreciation to our 2021 Summit Sponsors. Your financial assistance provided vital funding for RMAG programs, and we are so grateful for your support.

Finally, on Wednesday January 26th, remember to raise a glass to toast the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists on an extraordinary 100 years. Congratulations R-M-A-G!

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environmental geology and hydrogeology. Presentations made in the Members-in-Transition Program provided other examples of burgeoning industries that rely on geoscientists such as CO2 sequestration and geothermal. What services can RMAG provide to members who work in these industries and how can we grow this part of our membership? We will be working on a strategic plan for RMAG’s future, and we invite you to share your ideas about how RMAG can expand our support to a broader geoscience community.

As for 2022, all RMAG committees are working diligently, and you can expect to see a robust lineup of lunch presentations, short courses and field trips with a broad range of appeal. RMAG is also the host society for the 2022 Rocky Mountain Section AAPG meeting, to be held in Denver from July 24th to 27th.

The call for papers is out for a wide range of topics related to geology energy resources. Also debuting in this month’s Outcrop is a Member Profile column where you can learn more about some of our amazing RMAG volunteers.

Additionally, as part of our centennial, I will be

Publish with…

Why contribute?

• Reach a broad industry and academic audience • Quarterly peer-reviewed journal • Permanent archiving includes AAPG Datapages • Quick turn-around time • Every subdiscipline in the geosciences Expanded geologic focus: • Entire greater Rocky Mountain area of North America • West Texas and New Mexico to northern British Columbia • Great Plains and Mid-Continent region

Email: mgeditor@rmag.org https://www.rmag.org/publications/the-mountain-geologist/

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LEAD STORY

RMAG CENTENNIAL Part I: The Early Years (1922-1947)

By Jane Estes-Jackson, Donna Anderson, and Matt Silverman

T

HE EARLY 20TH CENTURY MUST

1901-1902. By the middle of 1924, 50 rigs were busy drilling forty prospective structures in 16 Colorado counties. Over 35 oil companies had opened offices in Denver, establishing it as a prominent hub for the burgeoning petroleum industry. Petroleum geologists needed a local forum to network, exchange ideas, and hear about the latest innovations and discoveries. So, on January 26, 1922, fifty geologists came together at the Albany Hotel (Figure 3; NE corner of 17th and Stout, also the site of the Denver Oil Exchange) in Denver and founded the Rocky Mountain Association of Petroleum Geologists (RMAPG).

Meetings were subsequently held on the first and third Thursday of the month and were “open to all persons interested in the petroleum industry.” The first technical program was held on February 9 when C.T. Lupton and L.R. Van Burgh gave a talk on “Pre-Cretaceous Stratigraphy of Western Kansas”.

Three months later, in March of 1922, Max Ball, who was the first president of RMAPG, was elected as Vice President of AAPG. He invited AAPG to Denver for a regional meeting that October, which was the beginning of a long association between the two groups. AAPG was incorporated in the state of Colorado on April 21, 1924, by Max Ball, Charles Rath, and Charles Decker, all founding members of the

have been an exciting time to be a petroleum geologist. The discovery of the Augusta and El Dorado fields in Kansas in the mid 19-teens demonstrated that the anticlinal theory of petroleum accumulation was a successful exploration method, and innovative geologists quickly adopted it. Both the USGS and the Colorado Geological Survey sent numerous geologists out in the field to map surface anticlines throughout the western US, which directly resulted in the discovery of many large oil and gas fields in the Rocky Mountain region. Following the end of World War I and the Spanish flu pandemic, the US saw a sustained period of great economic prosperity throughout the 1920s. The first big oil boom ensued when demand for oil rapidly increased concurrently with the rising popularity of the automobile, and petroleum geologists became indispensable to successful hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation.

FOUNDERS

Colorado has been an important petroleum province since oil was first commercially produced at Florence Field in 1881 (Figure 1), followed by discoveries at Boulder (Figure 2) and Rangely in

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FIGURE 1: (top) Producing wells at Florence

Oil Field circa 1890 (from the Denver Public Library Western History Collection).

FIGURE 2: (middle) The McKenzie well, Boulder Oil Field, 1902 (photo by J.B. “Rocky Mountain Joe” Sturdevant, University of Colorado Archives).

FIGURE 3: (bottom) The Albany Hotel, located in downtown Denver at the NE corner of 17th and Stout streets (current site of Johns Manville Plaza) as it appeared in the 1920s (from the Denver Public Library Western History Collection).

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RMAPG. Four years later, in September of 1926, a second regional AAPG meeting was held in Denver.

Many of the founding members and early officers of RMAPG were pioneers in the field of petroleum geology and were responsible for the discovery and development of numerous important oil and gas fields in the Rockies and elsewhere. A list of some of them (Table 1; Figure 4) is like a Geology Hall of Fame. Their average age in 1922 was 37 years old, and many of them got their start out in the field mapping surface structures (Figure 5).

GROWTH

As the petroleum industry continued to grow and expand during the 1920s through the early 1940s, many new tools became available to petroleum geologists.

Rotary drilling, electric well logging, and sidewall coring all became widely available in the 1930s. The first reflection-seismograph survey in the Denver Basin was undertaken in 1932, and by 1940 seismographs were being used throughout Colorado to explore for structures not visible

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LEAD STORY

FIGURE 4: Early RMAG Presidents 1922-1947 (photos from AAPG and Colorado School of Mines).

TABLE 1: EARLY RMAG PRESIDENTS 1922-1947.

RMAPG President

Year

Accomplishments

Max Ball

1922

RMAG Founding Member; 1st RMAG President; incorporated AAPG; early developer of Alberta tar sands

Cassius A. Fisher

1923

RMAG Charter Member; 2nd RMAG President; worked on Salt Creek and Craig fields

Thomas S. Harrison

1924

RMAG Founding member; 3rd RMAG President; discovered Hogback Field in NM; Elk Basin, Oregon Basin, Little Buffalo Basin, and Grass Creek fields in Wyoming

Harry Oborne

1937

Worked on early discoveries in Hugoton Field; named the Las Animas Arch

Ninetta Davis

1941

Ben H. Parker

1944

Carl A. Heiland

1947

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1st RMAG woman president; second woman to graduate from Colorado School of Mines Served on the faculty and later as President of Colorado School of Mines; co-authored several papers on the origin, migration, and accumulation of petroleum; one of the founders of AIPG Responsible for the first reflection-seismograph survey in DJ Basin; first head of CSM Geophysicis Department

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LEAD STORY

» CONTINUED FROM PAGE 15

at the surface. During the Great Depression (late 1929-1936), RMAPG membership hovered at less than 50. Association Board members commonly held two concurrent terms, because not enough members existed to fill offices. But hydrocarbon exploration continued on a limited basis, and several new fields were discovered during this time.

In 1933 oil was discovered in the Weber Sandstone at Rangely Field (Figure 6), only becoming commercially viable with the arrival of a pipeline in 1945. By the late 1930s the economy began to improve and in 1937 RMAPG published its first guidebook, the Big Horn Basin-Yellowstone Valley FIGURE 5: Harry Oborne mapping the Poose Creek Anticline, Routt Field Conference.

County, Colorado, 1924 (photo courtesy of Matt Silverman).

Although there is no way to know how many members were women in those early years, it is Oil of California in Fort Collins before joining the safe to assume that the numbers were quite small.

USGS office in Denver in 1934. During her tenure as The RMAPG was certainly ahead of its time when in RMAPG President, a committee produced the “Pos1941 it elected Ninetta Davis (Table 1; Figure 4) as sible Future Oil Provinces in the United States and its first woman President. Ms. Davis was no stranger Canada” symposium, which was published by AAPG to being a groundbreaker; she was the second womin the August 1941 Bulletin. In 1942 RMAPG hostan to receive an Engineer of Mines degree (1920) ed its first AAPG annual convention, with Ms. Davis from the Colorado School of Mines. She worked for serving as the finance chair for that meeting. In 1944 the Midwest Refining Company in Casper and Union she left the USGS to take a job with Shell Oil, where she remained until she was forced to retire in 1959 at age 60.

FIGURE 6: Structure map of the Weber Sandstone at Rangely Field (after Dobbin, The demand for oil during 1956, USGS). and following World War II led to another boom. Jobs for geologists were plentiful and by the early part of 1947 RMAPG had grown to 100 members. The first bylaws and constitution were adopted in 1947 and at that time the name was formally changed to the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists (RMAG). Later that same year RMAG published its second guidebook for the field conference that was held in central Colorado. The organization was growing and thriving.

To be continued in a future issue of The Outcrop…

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OUTCROP | January 2022

ONLINE LUNCH TALK Speaker: Bob Fryklund Date: January 12, 2021 | 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

North America– what’s next?

Bob Fryklund, IHS Markit performance. Consolidation is entering a new phase as well with commercial masters established for most basins.

Key questions addressed in this talk will be: • How long will this cycle last?

• What is the outlook for each basin and who are the commercial masters?

• But will companies be tempted to put their feet on the growth pedal once again?

• What will they do with all the cash that’s building up?

The US E & P continues to restructure, consolidate, and focus on strengthening balance sheets and doing more with less. Cash is king. And shareholders are watching to see how long the discipline can last.

IHSMarkit forecasts US production in 2022 to grow once again, driven dominantly by the Permian and the Haynesville, but at a much more modest amount (3-5%). Other basins outside the Powder River are shifting to a plateau and the harvest mode. With this comes a focus on efficiency, cost, and

BOB FRYKLUND is Chief Upstream Strategist and VP at IHSMarkit. He has 40 years in the E &P business and has worked for majors and independents. He focuses on advising clients on strategic questions which change a company’s direction or share price. He is a geologist and lives in Houston. He gives back to the younger generation in our industry via mentoring and is on the Board of the IPAA, Arpel and AAPG Corporate Advisory Board. He has an AB in geology from Hamilton College.

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HYBRID LUNCH TALK Speaker: Paul E. Devine Date: February 2, 2022 | 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

Sweet-Spot Delineation Using Information Theory as a Guide to Wireline Log Evaluation in Unconventional Reservoirs Middle Bakken, Williston Basin Paul E. Devine, Manager/Founder, Resource Analytics, LLC in relation to their distance from the baseline with the most substantive data --our reservoir targets-- lying farthest away.

For interpretation, the unconventional reservoir is evaluated based on two higher-level components: deliverability and fracability. Deliverable HC Pore Volume includes a Resistivity Anomaly (HCSAT), a Porosity Anomaly (PHIe), and a scaling factor (RQ) for pore connectivity. Fracable Thickness includes the nominal target interval (H) and a fracability value (F2) derived from a VSH Index to account for the deleterious effects of clays in fracture stimulations. These 5 parameters are necessary and sufficient elements that fully characterize reservoir matrix using a calculation of Deliverable/Fracable Hydrocarbon Pore Volume = [PHIe*RQ*HCSAT]*[H*(F2)]. This location-specific volumetric quantification of the reservoir is built for every well with each model indexed so that parameters are comparable for mapping across a basin-scale area.

The Middle Bakken (Williston Basin) is presented as a case study of the method using a

ABSTRACT: Log evaluation based on Information Theory gives us a new tool for basin-wide assessment of reservoir variability in unconventional resource plays. Using a Big Data approach, all wells with triple-combo LAS data can be evaluated individually using computer algorithms to generate an appropriate reservoir model at every location in the play as a key to sweet-spot identification.

The chief insight is recognizing that sweet spots in unconventional reservoirs are not pervasive; they are anomalies. It follows that detection of anomalous log responses offers an efficient method for characterizing the reservoir matrix and locating sweet spots. For log evaluations I apply Information Theory through an innovative series of cross-plots to build a probabilistic reservoir model. A baseline trend is located in the low-response data of the scatter which represents a predicted relationship between independent and dependent variables. Data that fall along the baseline are superfluous and carry no information. Anomalous data convey information OUTCROP | January 2022

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HYBRID LUNCH TALK operations to produce the final interpretation of sweet spots in the targeted play based on a summation of Deliverable/Fracable HC Pore Volume.

For an optimal development strategy, an operator ideally should know where their property lies in the full spectrum of a play’s reservoir variability. Automated mining of wireline log data using concepts from Information Theory provides a high-volume, high-velocity approach to basin-scale play assessment perfectly suited to this purpose.

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database of more than 2000 vertical wells. I will review dashboards for a select cross-section of wells to demonstrate how data are processed and how the information is interpreted. For mapping, an average value for each reservoir parameter is computed for the target interval in every well analyzed. Being independent geologic elements, each parameter is mapped separately. These maps describe how the defining characteristics of the reservoir vary across the play. Ultimately the components are combined using grid-to-grid

PAUL DEVINE is Founder and Manager of Resource Analytics, LLC, a Denver-based startup. Paul began his petroleum industry career in Houston with Shell Oil in 1980. He moved to Denver in 1982 working in various roles as an exploration geoscientist for small and mid-sized independents. In 2015 Paul started Resource Analytics as a service company using Information Theory in welllog evaluations for basin-scale reservoir characterization and sweet-spot delineation in unconventional resource plays. Paul has a BS in Geology from Washington & Lee University (1975) and an MA in Geology from the University of Texas, Austin (1980).

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MEMBER CORNER

Meet Cam Uribe Geologist, PhD – SM Energy WHAT IS THE MOST REWARDING PART OF YOUR JOB?

HOW DID YOU END UP INVOLVED IN GEOSCIENCES?

The most rewarding part of my job is to be challenged to try to integrate different datasets (core analysis, log responses, geochemistry, etc.) and capture the complexity of the rocks in the reservoirs. Likewise, to develop a deep understanding and expertise of the subsurface to support process such as planning, drilling, and completion of wells.

My passion for geosciences started when I

was a kid. I grew up in a small village (Belencito, Boyacá) in the countryside of Colombia, where the main economic activity was mining. You

could say that I basically lived in the mountains surrounded by coal, iron, and limestone mines.

Therefore, when I finished high school, I knew

that I wanted to study rocks. In 2009 I moved to

WHAT IS THE BEST CAREER LESSON YOU HAVE LEARNED SO FAR?

Medellin city to pursued a BS in Geology at EAFIT University, and in 2015 I was granted a scholar-

No job is worth staying at if you cannot be who you really are. You must feel safe and comfortable in your workplace in order to be happy and productive.

ship from the Colombian Department of Science

and Technology to conduct a PhD degree in geology at New Mexico Tech, USA.

WHAT IS THE GREATEST RISK YOU HAVE EVER TAKEN?

WHAT DOES YOUR CURRENT JOB ENTAIL?

Switching career fields. Long story short, my PhD was focused on exploration of porphyry copper deposits. When I graduated, I had a job offer to work for a big mining company in Chile. However, I had decided that I wanted to stay in the US,

I am a petrophysicist in training for the South

Texas Asset team at SM Energy. I am responsible for the generation of facies schemes and petro-

physical models to help with the development of

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our assets and new exploratory targets.

RMAG’s Ad Hoc Committee on Diversity and Inclusion is initiating a new feature in the Outcrop, a monthly Member Corner. We hope you’ll enjoy learning about the diverse community of Earth scientists and wide variety of geoscience disciplines that comprise our membership.

If you would like to be featured in a future Member Corner, contact staff@rmag.org.

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MEMBER CORNER

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and I interviewed for a summer internship at SM Energy – an oil company. I did not know what was going to happen after the internship was over, but I worked hard to show them I had the skills needed to add value to company plus a diverse background with different perspectives. They hired me and I love them. It was the best decision of my life.

WHAT ARE YOUR HOBBIES OR PASSIONS OUTSIDE OF WORK?

I am very much into inline speed skating. It has been my sport and my hobby since I was 13 years old. I am part of Synergy Speed Skating club in Denver, where I train three to four times per week. Other than that, I enjoy steep hikes, and getting together with my friends to cook Colombian food. Also, since I moved to Colorado I am learning to ski.

WHO INSPIRES YOU?

I get inspired by every brave member of the LGBTQIA+ community who live theirs lives in plenitude despite of being rejected, hated, or abused by their own family, friends, and society in general. I get inspired by those who have the courage to fight stereotypes, to face the fears and struggles of a world without kindness.

eyes, I will know I have succeeded in life.

HOW ARE YOU IMPACTING THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU?

I think of myself as a diversity ambassador. I represent both, the LGBTQIA+ and Latin communities, and I proudly share aspects of these cultures wherever I go. I like to open people’s mind and to encourage the embracement of individual differences.

HOW DO YOU DEFINE SUCCESS?

I define success by the ability to inspire others. To be that role model who is worthy of imitation. If ten years from now someone asks me “how did you do it?” with admiration in their

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MINERAL OF THE QUARTER

By Ronald L. Parker Senior Geologist, Borehole Image Specialists, P. O. Box 221724, Denver CO 80222 | ron@bhigeo.com

RUTILE The Petrogenetic Wizard

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Doubly-terminated, opaque, tetrahedral crystal of rutile from Graves Mountain, Lincoln County, Georgia.

This specimen displays excellent sub-metallic luster. The apex of the pyramidal faces is 8.8 cm from the base. Photo by Annette Slade. Used with permission from Collector’s Edge Minerals, Inc. OUTCROP | January 2022

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MINERAL OF THE QUARTER: RUTILE

Rutile is the most common titanium dioxide (TiO2) mineral and it is found as an accessory in a wide array of igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks. Rutile in igneous and metamorphic rocks usually occurs as prismatic crystals, commonly twinned, sometimes with an acicular or needle-like habit. Rutile crystals with an acicular habit are found as inclusions in rutilated quartz, a variety prized by mineral collectors. Microscopic rutile inclusions create the 6-sided light reflection phenomenon seen in star sapphires and star rubies. Rutile is an significant source of titanium (Ti), identified by the USGS as a Critical Mineral Resource because of its importance to the modern civilized world. Rutile finds many industrial applications as a metal alloy, and in paints, pigments and welding rods. More recent research has focused on the usefulness of this material as a photocatalyst and in superconducting electronics.

The name rutile was coined by the famous German mineralogist Abraham Gottlob Werner. It is derived from the Latin rutilis which translates to “reddish”, a reference to its sometimes-coppery coloration (Farndon and Parker, 2011) Rutile color varies, however, ranging through reddish-brown, golden brown, golden-yellow, red or black and it has a lightbrown streak. Rutile has among the highest refractive indices of any known mineral (2.6 to 2.9 – similar to cuprite) giving it unusual properties in visible light, including an adamantine to sub-metallic luster (Klein, 2002; Nesse, 2004). Rutile has a hardness of 6-6.5, a density of 4.2 and a distinct cleavage on {110}.

In thin-section, (plane-polarized light - PPL), rutile is characterized by an extremely high positive relief with strong coloration (yellow and brown) and a strong pleochroism (Mineral Data Publishing, 2005).

In cross-polarized light (XPL), rutile exhibits an extreme birefringence that yields high-order interference colors. In basal sections, the uniaxial (+) optic axis figure displays a huge number of isochromes reflecting this high birefringence (Nesse, 2004). Rutile, in thin-section, is memorable.

Rutile crystallizes in the highest symmetry tetragonal crystal class (ditetragonal-dipyramidal 4/m2/m2/m) (Klein, 2002). Rutile usually occurs as

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Rutile crystals collected from Magnet Cove, Hot Springs County, Arkansas. Several crystals appear to have cyclical twinning. The largest crystal is ~2 cm in long dimension. Photo

by Ronald L. Parker. prismatic crystals with dipyramidal terminations and prism faces striated parallel to the c-crystallographic axis. Rutile has several polymorphs, including anatase and brookite, with which it sometimes co-occurs. In rutile, the Ti4+ is octahedrally-coordinated, being surrounded by 6 oxygens. The [TiO6] octahedra share edges, forming chains that run parallel to the c-crystallographic axis. It is elongation of these chains that yields the needle-like crystal habit that is so prominent in rutilated quartz. Striations parallel to the c-axis are a common feature of euhedral prism faces. Rutile sometimes exhibits contact twinning

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MINERAL OF THE QUARTER: RUTILE

Hydraulic segregation of heavy minerals in rills at the swash zone at Wonnerup Beach, Geographe Bay, South Australia. The heavy mineral lags in this modern beach are dominated by ilmenite (56%-95%), zircon (2%-18%), and rutile (0.5%2%) with lesser amounts of leucoxene, monazite, kyanite, garnet, magnetite and epidote (Chang, 2002).

Older, interior beach ridges are mined for these accessory minerals derived from the nearby Paleoproterozoic Yilgarn craton. Field of view ~ 50cm across. Photo by Ronald L. Parker.

yielding “elbow” twins at 60° or 45° angles. Uncommonly, elbow twins repeat in a cyclic pattern, resulting in circular “sixling” (60° angle) or “eightling” (45° angle) crystal masses.

Most people know of rutile not by its occurrence as an accessory mineral in rocks, but as a mineral inclusion, most prominently in quartz. Rutilated quartz is an unusual, and sometimes visually arresting, manifestation of this mineral. There are many varieties of rutilated quartz, but in most specimens the encapsulating quartz is transparent or translucent. The rutile inclusions are usually observed as elongated, golden-yellow needles that can be sparsely distributed or so densely packed that the quartz is almost opaque. Rutile inclusions can range in color from golden-yellow, red, deep-red to black. Most mineral inclusions are considered flaws that depreciate value. Rutilated quartz, however, is the opposite, having been treasured by collectors and used in human ornamental and religious artifacts for millennia (Bonewitz, 2013). Rutile inclusions can also be microscopic. Rutile that crystallizes in the hexagonal host

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corundum (esp. sapphire and ruby) often appears as super-fine needles that align with the three a-crystallographic axes. Rutile needles in these orientations create the striking, and highly-prized, optical pizzazz known as asterism, a 6-armed “star” reflection that is especially well-displayed in the polished gems, star sapphire and star ruby (Bonewitz, 2013).

Rutile (TiO2) is usually a very pure substance, but some versions exhibit appreciable substitution of Ti4+ by Fe3+, Fe2+ Nb5+ and Ta5+, and smaller amounts of Cr3+, V5+ and Sn4+ (Chang, 2002). Because none of these substituents are quadrivalent, (+4 charge), these substitutions cannot occur alone, but must appear in combination (Johnsen, 2002). Incorporation of these unusual elements permits rutile to be considered as a geochemical tracer for processes operating in the crust and mantle. Small amounts of uranium can be incorporated into the rutile lattice when it crystallizes from a magma because it has a similar ionic radius and the same ionic charge (Ti4+ and U4+).

Rutiles with captured uranium are useful for U-Pb geochronology (Kooijman, 2020).

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MINERAL OF THE QUARTER: RUTILE

Rutile is an accessory mineral in igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks. In igneous rocks rutile is found as small and slender crystals in intrusives and as larger crystals in pegmatites and quartz veins. Rutile is found in gabbros, hornblende diorites, anorthosites, syenites, and granites. In most igneous rocks, ilmenite (FeTiO3) or titanite (CaTiSiO5), are the dominant titanium phases. Rutile crystallization requires magmas that have a higher Mg/Fe ratio – otherwise the Fe leads to formation of ilmenite, not rutile (Blatt et. al., 2006). Rutile is a common constituent in many types of ore deposits and its trace element and isotopic composition have been used to study ore-forming processes (Majzlan et. al., 2021) In metamorphic rocks rutile is most widely known from schists, gneisses, marbles and, amphibolites (Klein 2002). Rutile is perhaps most intriguing, however, as a component of High-Pressure (HP) and Ultra High-Pressure (UHP) blueschists and eclogites.

Recent work by Hart et. al. (2016) has shown that rutile growth is able to protect inclusions of HP and UHP minerals which may uniquely record pressure and temperature (PT) conditions at peak HP and UHP metamorphism. Rutile is truly remarkable as a petrogenetic archive because it can supply geochronology from the U-Pb isotope system while also recording the temperature of metamorphism using the Zr-in-Rutile single mineral geothermometer (Kooijman, 2020). The rutile in rutilated quartz has also been demonstrated to be useful as a thermochronometer (Shulaker et. al., 2015).

Rutile is resistant to chemical and physical weathering and, when it is eroded from igneous and metamorphic precursors, it is an important accessory mineral in sands, both ancient and modern. Some rutile sands are so enriched that they are mined for titanium. Rutile is normally quite pure (>98 weight % TiO2) yet, it does incorporate other cations (Fe3+, Fe2+ Nb5+ and Ta5+ and several other high field strength elements) that make it very useful as a geochemical tracer of sediment provenance (Triebold et. al, 2007). Rutile is often found with other familiar sand accessories. In order of decreasing stability, the common sand accessories are: rutile, tourmaline,

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Transparent euhedral quartz crystal with well-defined, golden, acicular rutile inclusions. The quartz crystal is 3.5 cm in long dimension. From Novo Horizonte, Bahia, Brazil. Photo used with permission from John Betts Fine Minerals.

zircon, garnet, apatite, staurolite, kyanite, epidote, amphibole, andalusite, titanite, pyroxene, sillimanite and olivine (Tucker, 2001). Because rutile is the most resistant, it preserves information about provenance geochemistry long after other accessory minerals have been destroyed by diagenetic alteration (Zack et. al., 2004). The preceding list of sandstone accessory minerals consists of “heavies” with a specific gravity > 2.9. Heavy minerals are usually subjected to hydraulic segregation from lighter silicates (quartz and feldspar). Heavy mineral lag deposits, some including rutile, are often exploited as major sources of the elements that comprise the accessory suite.

Rutile is both an ore mineral used for titanium metal production and an industrial mineral used in manufacturing titanium-bearing materials (Chang, 2002). “Titanium is a mineral commodity that is essential to the smooth functioning of modern industrial economies” and it has been identified by the USGS as a Critical Mineral Resource (Woodruff et. al.,

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2017, p. T1). Rutile and ilmenite are the dominant sources of titanium to the world market. Whereas ilmenite is mined from magmatic sources, most rutile is exploited from accessory mineral-rich sands.

Heavy-mineral sands - both modern and ancient are concentrated in shoreline, dune, alluvial, fluvial and eolian sediments (Woodruff et. al., 2017). In many instances, mining heavy mineral sands is easy because they are poorly consolidated. This character makes these resources quickly depleted (Kesler, 1994).

In industrial applications, titanium is used primarily as a metal alloy and as a pigment. Titanium metal is well known as a material with a superior strength to weight ratio and corrosion resistance.

These characteristics make titanium the most important metallic component in aeronautical and aerospace applications. Titanium is irreplaceable in constructing lightweight airplane fuselages and satellites. Titanium is used for more mundane applications like high-tech bicycle and eyeglass frames.

Because it is nonrusting and nonallergenic (biologically inert), titanium is used extensively in medical applications as artificial hip joints, heart valves, pacemakers, dental implants and body piercing jewelry (Gray, 2009; Chaline, 2012). Other industrial uses for titanium include enamels, glassmaking, ceramics, catalysts, welding and electronics (Chang, 2002). Powdered titanium dioxide (TiO2), has historically been a favored material for bright white pigment in paints and coatings, papermaking and plastics. It is present in paints that are NOT white, too, because it dramatically increases the opacity of the material, a consequence of its high refractive indices (Gray, 2009). Rutile has a number of unusual surface chemical properties that make it a very useful mineral in emerging high-tech applications. Modern research has demonstrated that TiO2 is an important surface-active material useful in photocatalytic water-splitting, hydrogen generation, lithium-ion batteries, photovoltaics, supercapacitors, and the photodegradation of organic molecules (Fujishima et. al., 2008).

Rutile is known from worldwide distribution.

Slender single crystal of dark metallic rutile with pronounce c-axis striations from the Hiddenite Mine, Hiddenite, North Carolina. 17 mm long. Photo used with permission from John Betts Fine Minerals.

Elbow twins of translucent, sub-metallic rutile crystals. The twinned crystals, and the c-axis parallel striations, are at 60° angles. Pyramidal terminations are evident on the left side.

26 mm in long dimension. From Ribaue, Alto Ligonha District, Mozambique. Photo used with permission from John Betts Fine Minerals.

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Notable locations for good crystals of rutile include: Sierra Leone, Italy, France, Austria, Switzerland, the Urals, Russia, Minas Gerais, Brazil, Magnet Cove, Arkansas, Lincoln County, Georgia and Alexander County, North Carolina (Ferndon and Parker, 2011). Significant accumulations of placer rutile as heavy mineral accessory lags in modern and recent sediments include: Pulmuddai, Sri Lanka, Jacksonville, Florida, the Natal Coast of South Africa and in Australia along the coast of Queensland, and along modern and inland beach ridges near Geographe Bay, S.A. (Kesler, 1994; Chang 2002).

WEBLINKS

Several cyclic “eightling” rutile twins that form full circles. From Magnet Cove, Hot Springs County, Arkansas. Central eightling is a little more than 2.5 cm across.

Photo used with permission from John Betts Fine Minerals.

Materials, Processes and Uses, Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, 472 pp.

Diebold, Ulrike, 2003, The Surface Science of Titanium Dioxide, Surface Science Reports, 48:53-229.

Farndon, John and Steve Parker, 2011, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Minerals, Rocks & Fossils of the World, Leicestershire, U.K: Anness Publishing, Ltd, 512 pp.

Fujishima, Akira, Xintong Zhang and Donald A. Tryk, 2008, TiO2 Photocatalysis and Related Surface Phenomena, Surface Science Reports, 63(12): 515-582.

Gray, Theodore, 2009, Titanium, in The Elements: A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the Universe, New York: Black Dog & Leventhal

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Rutile • https://www.mindat.org/min-3486. html • https://rruff.info/doclib/hom/rutile.pdf • http://webmineral.com/data/Rutile.shtml#.YXJPEZ7MKHs • https://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/1802/t/ pp1802t.pdf

REFERENCES

Blatt, Harvey, Robert J. Tracy and Brent E. Owens, 2006, Petrology: Igneous, Sedimentary and Metamorphic, New York: W. H. Freeman and Company, 530 pp.

Bonewitz, Ronald Louis, 2005, Rock and Gem: The Definitive Guide to Rocks, Minerals, Gems and Fossils, New York, New York: Dorling-Kindersley Limited, 360 pp. _______________, 2013, Smithsonian Nature Guide: Gems, New York, New York: Dorling-Kindersley Limited, 224 pp.

Chaline, Eric, 2012, Titanium, in Fifty Minerals that Changed the Course of History, Buffalo, New York, Firefly Books, Inc., pp. 198-201.

Chang, Luke L.Y., 2002 Industrial Mineralogy:

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Publishers, pp. 58-59.

Hart, Emma, Craig Storey, Emilie Bruand, Hans-Peter Schertl and Bruce D. Alexander, 2016, Mineral Inclusions in Rutile: A Novel Recorder of HP-UHP Metamorphism, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 466: 137-148.

Johnsen, Ole, 2002, Minerals of the World: Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J. 439 pp.

Kesler, Stephen A., 1994, Mineral Resources, Economics and the Environment, New York: MacMillan College Publishing Company, Inc., 391 pp.

Klein, Cornelis, 2002, The 22nd Edition of the Manual of Mineral Translucent, dark-red, reticulated mass of rutile crystals. Crystals display the Science: New York, John Wiley & adamantine to sub-metallic luster and many occur as 60° elbow twins. The Sons, Inc., 641 pp. prominent striations define the c-crystallographic axis. 16 mm in long dimension.

Kooijman, Ellen, Matthijis A. Smit From Garimpo do Cabacaco, Couto de Magalhaes, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Photo used and Melanie Schmitt, 2020, Adwith permission from John Betts Fine Minerals. vances in Rutile Petrochronology, Geological Society of America Abstracts w/ Programs, Vol 52, No. Deducing Source Rock Lithology from Detrital 6, Paper 248-10.

Rutile Geochemistry: An Example from the ErMajzlan, Juraj, Ralph Bolanz, Jorg Gottlicher, Tozgebirge, Germany, Chemical Geololgy, 244(3-4): mas Mikus, Stanislava Milovska, Maria Caplo421-436. vicova, Martin Stevko, Christiane Rossler and Tucker, Maurice E., 2001, Sedimentary PetroloChristian Matthes, 2021, Incorporation Mechgy: An Introduction to the Origin of Sedimenanism of Tungsten in W-Fe-Cr-V-Bearing Rutile, tary Rocks, 3rd Edition, Blackwell Science, Ltd. American Mineralogist, 106: 609-619.

262 pp.

Mineral Data Publishing, 2005, Rutile website, Woodruff, L.G., Bedinger, G.M., and Piatak, https://rruff.info/doclib/hom/rutile.pdf Accessed, 10/21/2021 N.M., 2017, Titanium, Chapter T of Schulz, K.J., Nesse, William D., 2004, Introduction to Optical DeYoung, J.H., Jr., Seal, R.R., II and Bradley, D.C., Mineralogy, 3rd Edition: New York: Oxford Unieds., Critical Mineral Resources of the United versity Press, 348 pp.

States—Economic and Environmental Geology Shulaker, Danielle Ziva, Axel K. Schmitt, Thomas and Prospects for Future Supply: U.S. Geological Zack and Ilya Bindeman, 2015, In-Situ Oxygen Survey Professional Paper 1802, p. T1–T23.

Isotope and Trace Element Geothermometry of Zack, T., H. von Eynatten and A. Kronz, 2004, RuRutilated Quartz from Alpine Fissures, American tile Geochemistry and its Potential Use in QuantiMineralogist, 100(4): 915-925. tative Provenance Studies, Sedimentary Geology, Triebold, Silke, Hilmar von Eynatten, George Luiz Luvizotto and Thomas Zack, 2007, 171(1-4): 37-58.

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RMAG ON THE ROCKS

Field Trip Report: Sediment Hosted Vanadium-Uranium of the Colorado Plateau October 29-30, 2021 Led by Dr. Ali Jaffri, Applied Stratigraphix, LLC Text and photos by Ronald L. Parker, Senior Geologist, Borehole Image Specialists, P.O. Box 221724, Denver CO 80222 ron@bhigeo.com

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imaginable, yet the miners were attuned to the distinctive canary yellows of carnotite and tyuyamunite, the vibrant greens of torbernite and the brown blacks of roscoelite. Another miner’s observation was that U-V mineralization was best when alluvial architecture was assembled with a roughly 50:50 ratio of sandstone to mudstone - easily assessed by a quick visual sweep of the landscape. The geochemical rationale behind this idea is that oxidized waters carrying dissolved U and V oxyions follow the porosity and permeability in channel sandstones. The U and V oxyions are then immobilized by the reducing conditions – often mediated by included organic matter - prevalent in interstratified mudstones. We saw this 50:50 ratio of sand to mud repeatedly in regions with U and V mineralization.

On Day 1, our itinerary was focused exclusively on the Salt Wash Member of the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation in the Slick Rock district in San Miguel County, Colorado. For Day 2, we zeroed in on the Shinarump and Mossback Members of the Upper Triassic Chinle Formation in Grand and Emery Counties, Utah.

To see our day 1 mines, we drove south on State 191 to Monticello, a righteous uranium town in its heyday. (Monticello was the site of the first ore-purchasing depot, established in 1948 by the US Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) (Amundson, 2004).

Then, we headed east on State 491 toward the

When RMAG announced the field trip ‘Sediment-Hosted Vanadium-Uranium of the Colorado Plateau’, I was very pleased. As someone who has been interested in the hydrogeochemistry of Uranium (and the uranophile elements As, Mo, Se and V) since ~1986, this was a field trip opportunity that I had been waiting to attend for more than 25 years. And, it did not disappoint. Led by Dr. Ali Jaffri of Applied Stratigraphix, LLC., this excursion was a satisfying blend of sedimentology, stratigraphy, geochemistry, structural geology and, mining history with a rich variety of uranium and vanadium mineral occurrences. Almost everywhere we turned on this field trip, we saw vestiges of the glorious and forlorn boom-and bust cycles that have rippled through the social and cultural fabric of the Colorado Plateau over the past 120 years (Parker, 2015).

Despite the end-of-October date, the weather was perfect for both days. The 5 attendees started the 1st day with a schedule, a safety refresher, a lecture on the history of U and V mining in the Colorado Plateau and an update on the most current ideas in fluvial sedimentology and U-V hydrogeochemistry. Dr. Jaffri also conveyed some of the wisdom of miners looking to emulate Vernon Pick and Charlie Steen who became household names in the 1950s as uranium millionaires (Coughlan, 1954; Ringholz, 2002). One common miners’ epithet was “follow the color.” Of course, the Colorado Plateau is splashed with a dazzling color palette of every color

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Group photo of field trip participants in front of Temple Mountain on the eastern flank of the San Rafael Swell near Hanksville, Utah. L to R, Leader Dr. Ali Jaffri, Berkeley Tracy, Peter Kubik, Dr. Stephanie Mills, Dr. Chris Cornelius and Ronald Parker. The rocks behind us are Monitor Butte and Mossback Members of the Late Triassic Chinle Formation. The white peak of Temple Mountain consists of bleached Wingate Sandstone.

Shredded fragments of vegetative organic matter deposited from waning flow at the top of a sandstone bed. Organic matter of this type was the reductant that immobilized dissolved uranium in pore fluids. From the Moss Back Member of the Chinle Formation, S flank of Temple Mountain, San Rafael Swell. Day 2 Stop 3.

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RMAG ON THE ROCKS Dr. Jaffri explaining mineralization associations with different elements of the fluvial channel/reduced floodplain system. The dark swirl a quarter of the way from the channel base on the right is vanadiumrich mineralization. Above the swirl, at the top of the channel sand, the rock is stained green and yellow from carnotite and other U-V minerals. Salt Wash Member of the Morrison Formation in the Slick Rock district, W. Colorado. Day 1, Stop 1.

Colorado line, veering left to continue an eastern heading on more topographically and maintenance challenged county roads. We then headed north on Colorado 141, passing through Egnar, CO and continuing to the Dolores River. We took winding county roads N, passing the locations of the Slick Rock East and West uranium processing mill sites, even though there was almost no evidence of the history that had occurred at those locations (USDOE, 2021). https://www.eia.gov/nuclear/umtra/) Before heading to our 1st outcrop, we stopped for lunch near a tall cliff with remarkable aeolian crossbeds. Dr. Jaffri dropped the air pressure in his tires as we munched. We looked around at the surrounding rocks, every view comprised of the Salt Wash Member of the Morrison Formation. Everyone recognized that we were situated in that miner’s “Goldilocks region” of 50:50 sand and shale.

The shales were almost all colored the bright greenish-blue of reduced iron. According to miners’ lore, this looked to be a sweet spot, and it was.

Day 1 Stop 1: At this stop, we scrambled up a short scree slope to prominent channel sandstones of the Salt Wash Member of the Morrison Formation cutting into olive green floodplain mudstones.

Splashes of radioactive green and yellow minerals

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were noted on many of the float blocks that had fallen from the small cliff-forming sandstones. These colored, pore-filling minerals were identified as the U minerals carnotite and tyuyamunite and the V mineral roscoelite. We carefully examined the erosional contact of the channel sands with the underlying green mudstones. Dr. Jaffri instructed the field team to measure the intensity of the gamma response from the base of the outcrop upward across the thickness of the channel using his scintillometer. Our measurements revealed a dramatic increase in radioactivity at the base of the channel with an exponential decay of gamma response upward. The message was clear: the base of the channels contain the largest mass of uranium. This message was reinforced at almost every field trip stop.

Our 2nd and 3rd stops of the day were the Cougar and the Burro mines. These were located a short distance from the previous stop. At these locations we saw fluvial architecture with sandstone channels cutting down into green mudstones with an abundance of uranium and vanadium mineralization. Several of the channels were characterized by coalified logs at their lower contacts. These logs, at the base of the channels suggested water-logged deposition. Of course, these logs were

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Above: Torbernite(?) crystals following bedding laminations in the Salt Wash Member of the Morrison Formation, Slick Rock district, W. Colorado. Day 1, Stop 1.

Below: Torbernite (green) and carnotite (yellow) making the scintillometer sing. The dark coloration might be vanadium mineralization, perhaps roscoelite. Salt Wash Member of the Morrison Formation, Slick Rock district, W. Colorado. Day 1 Stop 1.

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U-enriched, inducing a vigorous response on the scintillometer.

Day 2, Stop 1: Shinarump and Copper King mines. These two mines are located ~12 miles NW of Moab along US Highway 191, about 1.2 miles N of the intersection with Utah 313, the access road to Dead Horse Point State Park (and the location of the Moab Giants outdoor dinosaur museum, https://moabgiants.com/). These mine locations, and the outcropping Chinle, were readily accessible by foot from a huge dirt parking lot between State Highway 191 and the towering cliffs of the EnWell-preserved climbing ripple lamination from waning flow velocity in a trada Ss immediately to the W. This site is crevasse-splay deposit at the Shimarump #1 mine in the Shinarump Member also on the W flank of the Moab anticline, of the Chinle Formation. Day 2 Stop 1. ~700’ W of the Moab fault (Finch, 1964).

The Shinarump Member of the ChinNavajo Sandstone carved into the SE-dipping backle, here displays the mix of mudstones and sandbone of the San Rafael Reef. Here, we were amazed stones that is close to the miner’s “Goldilocks zone” by the Temple Wash Pictographs. After lunch, we of 50:50. The ore in the Shinarump #1 is dominantcontinued for another mile to a picnic area and ly uraninite that follows bedding features, specificampground. This site was the location of a former cally, the porosity and permeability of the coarser mining camp known as Temple City, a collection of grained pea-gravels and sandstones from cretrailers, shacks and a large mess hall used by the vasse-splay and subsequent waning flow climbminers working the numerous Temple Mountain ing ripple laminations. The Copper King mine was claims. Kelsey (2014) gives and excellent account a few hundred feet NW of the Shinarump #1 mine of the history of the Temple Mountain mining disand was notable for chalcocite (Cu2S) mineralizatrict – and that of the entire San Rafael Swell. Action along with uraninite. cording to Mills and Bear (2021), the Temple MounThe next stops required us to drive from Moab tain district accounted for 2.45 million pounds of to the Hanksville region of the San Rafael Swell a uranium oxide (U3O8). good 100 miles away. We planned a stop on the W Stop 2: At the former Temple City picnic area, side of Green River, UT where we refueled and orwe hiked a short distance to the west to look at dered sandwiches for lunch. Leaving I-70 and headabandoned mining adits into the Moss Back Meming SW on Highway 24 toward Hanksville, the road ber of the Chinle. The adits had been cemented off, traversed a multicolored landscape of Morrison but there were abundant chunks of carnotite ceformation channels and floodplains and pinstriped mented sandstones, and even petrified wood in the Summerville tidal flat deposits. At mile marker 136, spoil. This quick visit was a precursor to the best we turned west onto a paved road at Temple Juncpart of the field trip. tion (formerly populated with a store, gas station, Stop 3: After our quick stop to look at the mines café, pool hall, bar and the only telephone until and spoil close to the access road, we got into the Green River – now, nothing, Kelsey, 2014). We then vehicles and climbed a narrow, rutted 2-track up, drove NW on the paved road for 6 miles, passing up, up and ever closer to Temple Mountain. We the access road to Goblin Valley State Park, before stopping for lunch at a huge amphitheater in the CONTINUED ON PAGE 40

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Berkeley Tracy scaling a large fluvial channel incising reduced floodplain muds.

Salt Wash Member of the Morrison Formation, Slick Rock district, W. Colorado. Day 1 Stop 2.

Coarse crevassesplay sands and gravels at the Copper King Mine. Pore space in these coarse sediments was filled with uraninite and coffinite.

Shinarump Member of the Chinle Formation.

Day 2 Stop 1.

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Pictographs exposed at the Navajo-Kayenta contact along the San Rafael Reef at our lunch stop, 1 mile S of the Temple City ghost town (now a picnic area and campground).

Day 2.

Radioactive fossilized logs in well-rounded, channel gravels from the Moss Back Member of the Chinle Formation, S flank of Temple Mountain, San Rafael Swell. The abundance of large logs in these channel conglomerates suggests a “logjam.” Day 2 Stop 3.

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Large radioactive log from the base of a fluvial channel in the Moss Back Member of the Chinle Formation on the S. flank of Temple Mountain, San Rafael Swell.

The position of the log at the bottom of the channel indicates that it was waterlogged at the time of burial. Day 2 Stop 3. Dr. Jaffri for scale.

Mine spoil pile indicating a former V-U mine at the Moss Back Member of the Late Triassic Chinle formation on the S flank of Temple Mountain in the San Rafael Swell.

Day 2 Stop 3.

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RMAG ON THE ROCKS REFERENCES

» CONTINUED FROM PAGE 36

finally arrived at the base of a vibrant green spoil pile signifying mining activity at the contact of the fluvial channel Moss Back Member with the underlying mudstones of the Monitor Butte Member.

After crawling as far as we could reasonably go in the vehicles, we climbed out and ascended a steep 2-track up and around the spoil pile to an old ore chute near the contact. The fluvial sands formed a steep cliff with an easily traversed bench road beneath. Walking along the bench, the sandstones and conglomerates of the fluvial channels spoke of comparatively high discharge rates of the NW draining Chinle river systems (Fillmore, 2011). The gravels were well-rounded and contained a high proportion of black chert – which we had not seen elsewhere.

Sands and gravels displayed a wide range of sedimentary structures, including particle imbrication, crossbedding and scour-and-fill features. The most intriguing feature of the channels, however, were prominent permineralized (petrified) logs occupying positions at the bases of the fluvial channels.

Some of these logs were 18” across and they were uniformly radioactive. Clearly, the organic matter in the logs acted as a reductant to trap uranium dissolved in through flowing groundwater. We also discovered that organic matter from leaf and twig litter, seen at the tops of sand bars likely from waning flood flow, was also mineral enriched. We traversed the base of the sandstone cliff, marking log after log after log. The abundance of fossil trees suggested that these channel bottoms were preserving fossil logjams.

After an amazing traverse of this contact along several hundred feet of exposure, we headed back down to vehicles and made our way back to Moab to conclude the field trip. That was a truly amazing field trip. When Dr. Jaffri offers this trip in the future, you would be well advised to go.

Amundson, Michael A., 2002, Yellowcake Towns: Uranium Mining Communities in the American West, Boulder: University Press of Colorado, 204 pp.

Coughlan, Robert, 1954, Vernon Pick’s $10 Million Ordeal – He Fought Storms, Rattlers, Poison Water, Death itself to Find Uranium Bonanza, Life Magazine, November 1st, 1954.

Finch, W. I., 1964, Geology of the Shinarump No. 1 Uranium Mine, Seven Mile Canyon Area, Grand County, Utah, USGS Circular 336, 14pp.

Fillmore, Robert, 2011, Geological Evolution of the Colorado Plateau of Eastern Utah and Western Colorado, Salt Lake City, Utah: The University of Utah Press, 496 pp.

Kelsey, Michael R., 2014, Hiking and Exploring Utah’s San Rafael Swell, 4th Edition, Provo, Utah: Kelsey Publishing, 352 pp.

Jaffri, Ali, 2021, Sediment-Hosted Vanadium-Uranium of the Colorado Plateau, Field Trip Handout, October 28-29, 2021, 22 pp.

Mills, Stephanie E. and Bear Jordan, 2021, Uranium and Vanadium Resources of Utah: An Update in the Era of Critical Minerals and Carbon Neutrality, Utah Department of Natural Resources, Open File Report 735, 26 pp. https:// doi.org/10.34191/OFR-735 Parker, Ronald L., 2015, Mineral of the Month: Carnotite – The Mineral Agent of Transformation, Outcrop, Monthly Newsletter of the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists, 64(12): 12-28.

Ringholz, Raye C., 2002, Uranium Frenzy: Saga of the Nuclear West: Logan, UT, Utah State University Press, 344 pp.

USDOE, 2021, Fact Sheet: Slick Rock, Colorado, Disposal and Processing Sites, U.S. Department of Energy legacy Management, https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2021-10/SlickRockFactSheet.pdf, accessed 11/16/2021.

WEBLINKS

• https://www.energy.gov/sites/default/ files/2021-10/SlickRockFactSheet.pdf • https://www.eia.gov/nuclear/umtra/ • https://moabgiants.com/ OUTCROP | January 2022

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IN THE PIPELINE JANUARY 12, 2022

“Strategically Developing Your Network and Personal Brand. Zoom meeting starting at 11:00 AM-12:30 PM. Register at www. wogacolorado.org/eventlisting.

RMAG Online Luncheon.

Speaker: Bob Fryklund.

“North America – What’s Next?” Online via RingCentral Meetings only.

12:00 PM-1:00 PM.

& Dengen Zhou. “The Changing Role of PetroTechnical Professionals.”

Online via RingCentral Meetings only. 12:00 PM1:00 PM. JANUARY 25, 2022

JANUARY 13, 2022

JANUARY 20, 2022

WOGA Virtual Lean-In. Speaker: Michelle McGlade.

Rockies MiT Online Talk.

Speakers: Barry Katz

RMS-SEPM Webinar.

Email questions to information@rmssepm.org

WELCOME NEW RMAG MEMBERS!

Kerry Adams

is a teacher at Colorado Earth Space Network and lives in Monte Vista, Colorado.

Yajaira Fuentes-Tauber is a Science Teacher at Rocky Mountain High School and lives in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Robert Johansing

Carolina Mayorga

is a Consulting Geologist and lives in Santa Barbara, California.

is a student at Colorado School of Mines and lives in Fort Worth, Texas.

is a Geologist at Carbon America and lives in Broomfield, Colorado.

lives in Ojai, California.

Karen Lechtenberg

Mike Wracher

Don Lowry

is a Senior Engineering Geologist at Golder/WSP and lives in Littleton, Colorado.

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ADVERTISER INDEX

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29

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17

18

19

WOGA Virtual Lean-In.

20 Rockies MiT Online Talk.

23

24

25

26

27

RMS-SEPM Webinar.

30

31

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