The vanadiferous zone of the Phosphoria Formation in western Wyoming and southeastern Idaho

Abstract

A black shale in the upper part of the Meade Peak Member of the Permian Phosphoria Formation contains an average of 0.8 to 0.9 percent V 20 5 or more over a large area in western Wyoming and southeastern Idaho. In 1942 and 1943, this vanadiferous zone was sampled at numerous localities in the region by the U.S. Geological Survey, the Wyodak Coal and Manufacturing Co., and the U.S. Bureau of Mines. At Sublette Ridge, 1 mi east of the Idaho State line in Lincoln County, Wyoming, the vanadiferous zone lies about 50 ft below the top of the Meade Peak Member in the nearly vertical eastern limb of a north-striking anticline. The full thickness of the vanadiferous zone in the explored part of Sublette Ridge contains about 1.9 million tons of indicated subeconomic resources above drainage level. The richer upper part contains about 1.35 million tons. In the Paris-Bloomington area of Bear Lake County, Idaho, in the eastern foothills of the Bear River Range about 1 mi west of the towns of Paris and Bloomington, the Phosphoria Formation and associated rocks lie in the Paris syncline, which plunges about 15° N. The western limb of the syncline is overturned; the beds near the trough are nearly vertical, but, high on the limb, they dip as little as 20° W. The vanadiferous zone is about 35 ft below the top of the Meade Peak Member and about 5 ft below the upper phosphate zone. The zone consists of three beds: a shale, a phosphorite, and a siltstone, in ascending order. Estimates of measured, indicated, and inferred subeconomic resources of vanadium in the Paris-Bloomington area have been prepared for the shale bed, the shale and phosphorite beds combined, and the full thickness of the vanadiferous zone. Measured resources for the full zone are estimated to be 600,000 tons averaging 10.8 ft in thickness and 0.93 percent V^Og; indicated resources are 4,000,000 tons averaging 10 ft in thickness and 0.9 percent V20 5; inferred resources, within the area sampled, are 50 to 75 million tons averaging 10 ft in thickness and 0.6 to 1.0 percent V^Og. The vanadiferous zone appears to be the product of primary deposition from upwelling water in a reducing marine environment below wave base in a water depth of 100 m or so. These deposits formed on the outer continental shelf on the western side of the North American craton at low latitude, where deep, cold, nutrientrich seawater came to the surface as a result of divergent upwelling in a tradewind belt. The vanadiferous zone in western Wyoming and southeastern Idaho contains about 41 million tons of indicated subeconomic resources averaging about 0.9 percent V^Og. Inferred resources are many times larger. Eventually, these inferred resources may prove to be an important source of vanadium and several other metals.

Factors Controlling the Regional Distribution of Vanadium in Groundwater

“…Breit et al (1991) attributed the higher V content of marine vs. lacustrine shale to the large mass of V circulating in ocean water compared to that in terrestrial runoff. Carbonaceous shale has been shown to contain V up to 16,000 µg/g (Vine et al 1970; McKelvey et al 1986) compared to other shales that have an average V content of 130 µg/g (Turekian et al 1961).…”

Trace Elements and Consequent Ecological Risks in Mining‐Influenced Streams of Appalachia

“…The element Al was selected because it can occur at elevated concentrations in freshly fractured mine‐spoil drainages (Clark, Zipper, et al, 2018; Cravotta, 2008). The element V was selected because it has received little study in the Appalachian coalfield but occurs in carbonaceous rocks and in association with fossil fuels (Hope, 1997; McKelvey et al, 1986) and can bioaccumulate in both marine and freshwater organisms (Fazio et al, 2019; Ray et al, 1990).…”