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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Oil shale, water resources, valuable minerals of the Piceance basin, Colorado: The challenge and choices of development

Book ·
OSTI ID:5745453
The Piceance basin of northeaster Colorado contains about 1,200 billion barrels of shale oil and about 50 billion tons of nahcolite and dawsonite. The minerals originated in an ancient lake and are associated with ground water that occurs mostly in fractures. Mineral development will disrupt natural conditions in the basin because of the required mine drainage, mining, retorting, water development mineral transportation, and reclamation. Proper development of the mineral resources will require additional investigations, carefully designed field procedures, and control technology to avoid deleterious effects on the water resources and land surface of the basin and on the regional air quality. However, the potential benefits from mineral development are numerous and diverse. 90 figs., 5 tabs.
OSTI ID:
5745453
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English