West Mojave Plan FEIR/S - Desert Managers Group

the California Department of Conservation (Bezore et al., 1997, p. 36 -37).The Mud Hills zeolite deposit north of Barstow contains resources of at least 207,000tons (188,000 metric tons; Leszcykowski, et al., 1993, p. 52). The Opal Mountain zeolitic tuffhas an estimated resource of 2 million tons (1.8 million metric tons) (Leszcykowski, et al., 1993,p. 41 & 44), and the Alvord Mountain zeolite deposit has resources estimated in the range of276,000 tons (250,000 metric tons).Chemical analysis of water from wells at Kohen Lake in Kern County indicate the watercontains sodium at 0.6 percent to 3.6 percent (6,000 to 36,000 milligrams per liter), chloride at0.9 percent to 5.6 percent (9,000 to 56,000 milligrams per liter), and sulfate at 0.5 percent to 5.4percent (1,500 to 5,400 milligrams per liter). Sodium chloride or salt is a leasable mineral andhas potential use for specialized agricultural products (Leszcykowski, et al., 1993, p. 36).Important resources of sand and gravel occur northwest of Afton Canyon and in the SodaMountains, southwest of Baker in San Bernardino County. The deposit in the CroneseMountains, northwest of Afton Canyon, is one of two identified by Caltrans as a suitable sourceof aggregate along Interstate 15 between Barstow and the Nevada state line. It contains anestimated 6.8 million metric tons (7.5 million short tons) of sand and gravel (Leszcykowski, etal., 1993, p. A-99). The second deposit, known as Opah Ditch, contains an estimated 3 millionshort tons of sand and gravel between the Soda Mountains Wilderness Study Area (WSA) andthe utility corridor. A similar quantity probably occurs within the WSA. The Blackhawklandslide, between Highway 247 and the San Bernardino Mountains, contains an estimated 400to 500 million tons of naturally crushed dolomitic limestone which is potentially suitable foraggregate, road-base, railroad ballast, concrete rock and sand (Fife, 1982, p. 483). The Big RockCreek fan in Los Angeles County contains 2,400 acres having high potential for the occurrenceof sand and gravel. Present extraction is occurring on the nearby Little Rock Creek fan.Future production is expected to be concentrated in the categories of gold (especiallywith a price increase), aggregate (particularly along I-15), and nonmetallic minerals, includingborates specialty clays and limestone (calcite marble and dolomite). Only minor activity isanticipated in lead-zinc-silver deposits due to the small vein type deposit models exhibited bythese metals, high operating costs to mine and recover these minerals, and depressed commodityprices.3.4.3.4 Current and Historic Mineral Commodity ProductionOverview: Mining in the California Desert can be traced back to the early nineteenthcentury, when silver and gold were mined along the Colorado River prior to the Sutter's Millgold discovery in northern California in 1848. Since that time, 19 different metallic and 27 nonmetallicmineral commodities have been extracted from the desert (Bureau of LandManagement, 1980, p. 96). Mineral commodities mined currently or in the recent past includemetallic minerals such as: gold, silver, lead, zinc, silver tungsten and iron; industrial mineralssuch as barite, boron, hectorite, bentonite, zeolites, gypsum, sodium, and calcium salts andcompounds, potash, and limestone; materials necessary for transportation and construction suchas sand and gravel, crushed rock, lightweight aggregate (pumice and cinders), dimension stone;Chapter 3 3-229