Introduction
Frac sand mining in western Wisconsin has been occurring for
more than 100 years. This non-metallic resource is very abundant in Wisconsin
and has suitable characteristics to be used for glass manufacture, golf
courses, and more recently to obtain petroleum products by hydraulic
fracturing. Frac sand is quartz that has specific qualities such as grain size,
rounded, well sorted, and withstands high pressures. After the frac sand is taken out of the
ground, it is washed, sorted using some sort of sieve process, and dried to be
shipped elsewhere. Most of the frac sand mining facilities today are located
near railroads and major highways because there is so much abundance. Shown
below in figure 1 are the locations of sand mines found in Wisconsin along with
the sandstone formations outline in the state (Wisconsin Geological and Natural
History Survey, 2012).
Figure 1. Locations of sand mines in Wisconsin as of 2012 (Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey, 2012).
Much of the desired qualities for frac sand mining discussed
above lie in certain formations in western Wisconsin. The formations that
contain this frac sand include the Wonewoc, Jordan, and the St. Peter sandstone
formations. These formations were formed during the Cambrian and Ordivician
when shallow marine seas had covered western Wisconsin. Figure 2 shows a
geologic map of the Midwest with the Cambrians Wonewoc and Jordan formations in
red and the Ordovician St. peter sandstone in yellow (USGS Geologic map of
North America Adapted from the map by J.C. Reed, Jr. and others 2005).
Figure 2. Location of the 3 main types of formations used to extract frac sand (USGS Geologic map of North America Adapted from the map by J.C. Reed, Jr. and others 2005).
Issues with frac sand mining in western
Wisconsin
With the development of frac sand mines there are also
problems that must be dealt with to proceed with the removal of the
non-metallic resource. First, the companies must get permits from the city and
state governments to allow the mining to continue. There are always concerns
when it comes to the environmental aspect of mining. This includes air emissions that are released
during extraction, blasting, crushing, processing, and transportation of frac
sand. Another issue that needs to be looked at after the mine is finished or
used up the resource, they must think about reclamation processes required by
the DNR. The DNR can however provide assistance to help create a good
reclamation plan in order to create a more sustainable area.
GIS usage for further exploration
During this semester, my skills in GIS will be put to the
test while I try to solve problems and the way in which I solve them with the
frac sand industry. I will be using my skills to analyze data that I can
acquire through various sources to better understand some of the environmental
hazards created during frac sand mining. In this case, western Wisconsin will
be my area of interest for frac sand mining and its environmental hazards.
Sources:
National Center for Freight and
Infrastructure Research and Education. 2013. Transportation Impacts of Frac
Sand Mining in the MAFC Region: Chippewa County Case Study. Retrieved February
27, 2017.
http://midamericafreight.org/wp-content/uploads/FracSandWhitePaperDRAFT.pdf
USGS. (2012). Frac sand in WI. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
WDNR.
2016 (last revised). Industrial Sand Mining Overview. Retrieved February 27,
2017.
http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/Mines/Sand.html
WDNR. 2012. Silica sand mining in Wisconsin. Retrieved February
27, 2017.
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