Applicability of siberian placer mining technology to Alaska

The result of Perestroyka and Glasnost has been an awakening of potential for cooperation between East and West. Nowhere has that been better demonstrated than between Alaska and Magadan Province, USSR. This report summarizes a one year effort financed by ASTF, with participation from several technical organizations, to establish contacts with the Siberian placer mining industry. The purpose of the project was to provide initial assessment of the Soviet technology for placer mining in permafrost. A ten day trip to Magadan province by an ASTF team and a similar length visit to Alaska by the Soviet mining group representing the All Union Scientific and Research Institute of Gold and Rare Metals, (VNII-I), Magadan are described. The report also reviews translated data on mining in permafrost and describes surface and underground placer mining technology developed by the Soviets. The report also lists relevant publications on Soviet mining research and state of the art Soviet mining technology and expertise

Alaska mining and water quality

The Institute of Water Resources has sought financial assistance for some time in an attempt to initiate research relative to the impact of mining on water quality. Attempts were made as early as 1971 by Dr. Timothy Tilsworth and later by Dr. Donald Cook and Dr. Sage Murphy. These investigators anticipated growth in placer gold mining and the development of natural resources in Alaska during a period of national and environmental concern. The subsequent energy "crisis," the major increase in the price of gold on the world market, and dwindling nonrenewable resource supplies have resulted in large-scale mineral exploration in Alaska. This exploration, coupled with development of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline, has attracted considerable capital for potential investment and development in Alaska. Expected industrial growth has already started and major new projects are "just around the corner." Yet, as of 1976, no major research effort has occurred to determine the extent of or potential for water quality impacts from mining operations in Alaska. Recently a series of interdisciplinary research projects have been completed in Canada; however, the application of Canadian data to Alaskan problems is uncertain. Although, state and federal government agencies have been advised and are aware of this potential problem and lack of baseline data they have not sought out new information or rational solutions. Even now, with deadlines of Public Law 92-500 at hand, some regulatory agencies give the impression of attempting to ignore the situation. Interim limitations are proposed and permits are issued with no discernible rationale or basis. Data have not been obtained relative to the Alaskan mining operations and thus are not available for use in seeking solutions compatible with mining and environmental protection. Numbers appear to have been arbitrarily assigned to permits and water quality standards. When permits are issued, self-monitoring requirements are negligible or nonexistent. Nor have regulatory agencies demonstrated the ability or inclination to monitor mining operations or enforce permits and water quality standards. It was hoped that the project would bring together miners, environmentalists, and regulators in a cooperative effort to identify the problems and seek solutions. The investigators recognized the political sensitivity of the subject matter but proceeded optimistically. Relatively good cooperation, though not total, occurred early in the project. In April 1976, a symposium was held to exchange ideas and determine the state-of-the-art. Although the symposium had good attendance and an exchange of information occurred, the symposium itself was somewhat of a disappointment. With few exceptions, the participants aligned on one side or the other in preconceived fixed positions. Some even chose not to attend and were therefore able to avoid the issues. Little hard data was presented. Optimistically, some of the miners, environmentalists, and regulators are prepared to resolve their differences. This report, hopefully, will be of benefit to them. It is our experience that miners and environmentalists share a love of the land that is uniquely Alaska. We feel that technology is available for application to this problem for those who care about doing the job right in the "last frontier." Whether or not it will be effectively applied to protect Alaska's water resources is a question which remains unanswered.The work upon which this report is based was supported in part by funds provided by the United States Department of the Interior, Office of Water Resources Research Act of 1964, Public Law 88-379, as amended (Project A-055-ALAS)

Fifth annual conference on Alaskan placer mining

An abridged format of papers, presentations and addresses given during the 1983 conference held on March 30-31, 1983 compiled and edited by Bruce W. Campbell, Jim Madonna, and M. Susan Husted.Partial funding was provided by the Carl G. Parker Memorial Publishing Fund, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, and the Mining and Mineral Resources Research Institute, U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines

Sixth annual conference on alaskan placer mining

An abridged format of papers, presentations and addresses given during the 1984 conference held on March 28-29, 1984, compiled and edited by Daniel E. Walsh and M. Susan Wray

Stream water quality and benthic macroinvertebrate ecology in a coal-mining, acid-sensitive region

Acid mine drainage (AMD) and acid rain are important sources of impairment to streams in the Tygart Valley and Cheat River basins in north central West Virginia, USA. Due to a network of abandoned mined lands and bond forfeiture sites in this coal-mining region, AMD represents severe, but rather localized impacts to water quality. AMD is a consequence of the chemical oxidation of reduced geological minerals (sulfides) usually associated with coal during mining operations. The reactions produce aqueous solutions high in sulfates and dissolved metals when the minerals are exposed to the oxic environment through land disturbance. In addition, the weakly buffered and mostly acid producing to circum-neutral mineral geology of this region makes surface waters susceptible to the chemical consequences of acid rain. Acid rain forms when gaseous compounds of nitrogen and sulfur from fossil fuel combustion react with atmospheric moisture.;I tested a classification system based on water chemistry in streams of these two basins. Streams of the region ranged from very good water quality (reference type) to increasingly impaired by AMD (moderate to severe AMD types). Streams with soft water had characteristics associated with the impacts from acid rain, and streams with hard water were either natural occurrences or were influenced by alkaline materials injected into water to treat acid sources. A transitional water quality type was recognized, which was very difficult to characterize because of its gradation in chemistry across the spectrum from reference and hard water types to waters increasingly influenced by AMD.;It is commonly observed that benthic macroinvertebrates in streams from unpolluted waters are distributed continuously without being organized into discrete communities. The discreteness of water quality observed in this research, however, suggests that benthic macroinvertebrates ought not to be distributed continuously, but rather should correspond discretely to water quality types as distinct communities. Therefore, I tested the expectation that macroinvertebrate communities should be distributed in concordance with water quality types in the Cheat River basin. Multivariate models suggested that water quality types significantly structured macroinvertebrates. Measures of classification strength by water quality on community composition were weak, but significant. Indicator species analysis found several important macroinvertebrate genera that were linked especially to reference and soft water quality types.;In the Cheat River mainstem, benthic macroinvertebrate communities and a measure of stream ecosystem health were highly correlated to spatial and temporal inputs of AMD and thermal effluent. However, when these stressors occurred simultaneously, stream health and community structure did not recover with downstream improvements in water quality as they did when stressors occurred singly. In the Cheat River mainstem overall, AMD was responsible for most degradation, but AMD in combination with thermal effluent was also responsible for extensive loss of ecological integrity in the Cheat Canyon region. Consequently, local water chemistry accounts for the distributions of benthic macroinvertebrates in the Cheat basin. Therefore, macroinvertebrates may respond in predictable ways to restoration efforts that reduce harmful chemical constituents associated with acidic impacts. Large, watershed-scale attributes may be needed to explain variation in benthic macroinvertebrate communities not captured by local water quality types

Earth observations from space: Outlook for the geological sciences

Remote sensing from space platforms is discussed as another tool available to geologists. The results of Nimbus observations, the ERTS program, and Skylab EREP are reviewed, and a multidisciplinary approach is recommended for meeting the challenges of remote sensing

The anxiety of abundance: William Stanley Jevons and coal scarcity in the nineteenth century

WOS:000321225400005 (Nº de Acesso Web of Science)Right from the outset, the adoption of mechanical machinery, railways, steamships and long distance communications was accompanied by growing concerns about the possibility of running out of coal. This article examines three main issues: firstly, what triggered the scarcity fear, given that the historical period was one of rising prosperity with no foreseeable shortages in sight; secondly, what actually went wrong with the coal supply vision given so many of the forecasts associated with the scarcity thesis were not borne out by reality; and thirdly, by what means did the nineteenth century coal debate shape environmental thinking and provide crucial concepts that have persisted through to the present (the rebound effect, probable reserves and environmental limits to growth). A close look is taken of the work of William Stanley Jevons, whose ideas became a milestone in the debate on the depletion of natural resources. The overall conclusion points out that the looming uncertainty of the 1860s and 1870s paved the way for new probabilistic assessments of mineral patrimony

High altitude revegetation workshop no. 9

Includes bibliographies.The 9th high altitude revegetation workshop was held on March 1-2, 1990 at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado

Handbook for the Alaskan Prospector

It is hoped that this book will be of value to many different classes of men engaged in the search for mineral deposits. These classes might include the experienced practical prospector who would like to learn something of geology; the young geologist who needs information on practical prospecting; the novice who needs a comprehensive reference; and the all around experienced exploration engineer or geologist who might need to refer to some specialized technique, look up a reference in the bibliography, or read a resume of the geology of a particular area, Because this book is aimed at so many different classes, different chapters are written assuming different levels of learning and experience. This, no doubt, will prove troublesome at times, but it is believed to be the best way to insure that the information contained in each chapter will reach with maximum effectiveness the group for whom it is intended.[Part 1. Geology] Preface -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction to Geology; Structure of the Earth: The Study of Geology; the Constitution of the Earth; Earth Movements -- Mineralogy: Introduction; Properties of Minerals; Identification of Minerals by Chemical methods; Blowpipe and Qualitative Tests for Individual Elements; Descriptions of Minerals; Commercial materials and their chief Mineral Sources; Determinative Mineralogy -- The Study of Rocks: Introduction; Igneous Rocks; Sedimentary Rocks; Metamorphic Rocks; Conclusion -- Structural Geology: Original structures; Imposed Structures -- Historical Geology: Introduction; the Cryptozoic (Precambrion) Eon; The Phonerozoic Eon -- Surface Features of the Land, Geomorphology: Introduction; The Fluvial or "Normal" Cycle; The Fluvial Cycle Modified by a Cold Climate; Glaciated Regions; Arid Lands; The Marine Cycle; Underground Solution Processes; Features due to Construct!anal Forces; Physiographic Provinces -- Mineral Deposits: Introduction; Brief Summary of Events in Formation; Metallogenetic Epochs; Metallogenetic Provinces; Classification of Mineral deposits; Controls of Mineralization -- [Part II. Prospecting] Background: The Prospector; Analysis of Present Status of Mining and Prospecting in Alaska; Brief History -- General Prospecting: Definitions; Preliminary to Field Work; Reconnaissance -- Prospecting and Exploration of Lodes: Prospecting; Exploration; Summary of Surface Methods; Underground Openings; Development and Exploitation; Sampling Procedures and Calculating Results; Prospecting and Exploring with Bore Holes -- Diamond Drilling: The Diamond Drill; Casing the Diamond Drill Hole; Core Drilling -- Prospecting and Exploration of Placer Deposits: General; Opencutting; Crosscutting the Creek -- Sinking Placer Prospect Shafts: Sinking shafts in Frozen Ground; Sinking shafts in Thawed Ground -- Drilling Placer Deposits: Introduction; Equipment; Process of Drilling; Keeping Records and Handling Samples; Calculating Drill Holes; Evaluating the Ground -- Geophysical, Geochemical, and Mineralogical Prospecting: Geophysical Methods; GeochemicaiMethods; Mineralogical Prospecting -- Auxiliary Techniques: Surveying and Mapping; Reading Geologic Maps and Aerial Photogrof>hs; Drilling Rock for Blasting; Use of Explosives; Blacksmithing; Use of the Pan and Rocker; Handling Gold; How to Build Various Appliances Used in Prospecting -- Transportation; Clothing; Shelter; Food; Techniques and Equipment Used in Camp Life: Transportation; Communications; Shelter; Food; Clothing -- Elements of Mining Law; Staking Claims: Introduction; History; laws Pertaining to both Lode and Placer; Lodes; Placers; Tunnel Sites; Prospecting Sites; MiIIsites; Water Rights; Liens; Grubstake Agreements; Patenting; Leasing; Licenses and Taxes; Forms; Conclusions -- Geography of Alaska: legal Subdivisions: Subdivisions Based on Geology and Geography; Broad Geographical Features; United States Geological Survey Subdivisions; Chief Transportation and Communication Routes -- Appendix: Sources of Information and Aid to Prospectors; Weights, Measure Sizes; Short Glossary of Alaskan Terms -- Bibliography: Arrangement and Scope of Bibliography; Publications of the United States Geological Survey; United States Bureau of Mines; Bureau of land Management; University of Alaska; Territorial and State; General -- Addendum: Introduction; Notes on Chapters 1, 5, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 -- Additions to Bibliography -- Inde