American Institute of Professional Geologists
Colorado Section

Monthly luncheon meetings are held every third Tuesday,
running from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm, at the
University Club, 1673 Sherman Street, Denver,
except as otherwise noted on the website.

Reservations to be made by calling
David Abbott
303-394-0321 or via e-mail at dmageol@msn.com
 

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Request for CO-AIPG Annual Field Trip Indication of Interest (06/29/09)

The Colorado Section of the AIPG is in the planning stages of the summer field trip and is soliciting a show of interest in order to more accurately scope trip costs, accommodations, and logistics. The trip is scheduled to take place July 17-18 and will focus on the geology of the San Juan region. These will be two very full days. This promises to be a spectacular trip emphasizing some of the very best geology in Colorado and the breath-taking scenery of the region. We are currently lining-up very knowledgeable speakers and presenters from the Western Slope. Many presentations are scheduled for the trip. Discussions of the history of the region will also be included. This will also be a very good trip for non-geologists, as the scenery is said to rival the Swiss Alps.

The point of embarkation will be Grand Junction. The trip will take us from Grand Junction south to Ridgway with stops at Lookout Point on Loghill Mesa. From Ridgway, the trip will continue to Ouray. Stops will include Box Canyon Park for geothermal discussions, the Ouray Fault and world-class angular unconformity, a jeep trip up to the Camp Bird Mine, Revenue-Virginius, Ruby Trust and the Yankee Boy Basin. There will be an overnight stay (Friday night) in Ouray. The trip will continue south on US 550 through the preCambrian to the volcanics of the Silverton Caldera. There are planned trips to the Idarado Mine and Red Mountain. The trip will continue south towards Silverton, up the Animas River, past the Mayflower Mill to Howardsville, with everything in-between on Saturday. The return leg will get us back to Grand Junction late in the afternoon on Saturday, the 1st.

Every effort will be made to ensure that the costs for this trip are reasonable. We are geologists, after all.

If you are interested in making the trip, please send an email by June 30 to mjrhoades@comcast.net and indicate how many people you are including in the trip.

DENVER COAL CLUB July 2009 Luncheon (06/29/09)

Please join the Colorado Mining Association and the Denver Coal Club for a joint luncheon meeting.

Speakers: Del Worley, CEO, Holy Cross Energy, and Randy Udall, Carbondale Energy Expert
Topic: The Holy Cross Energy Study: What It Says About Coal Generation under Climate Policy
Date: Thursday, July 9, 2009
11:30 a.m. registration; 12:00 p.m. lunch
$25.00 per person

We are pleased to have Mr. Del Worley of Holy Cross Energy speaking about the white paper Holy Cross Energy prepared this spring regarding the costs of Governor Ritter's CO2 emissions limits. This paper presents the impacts of the Governor's policies.

Location: University Club, 1673 Sherman Street, Denver, Colorado. Also NOTE THE CHANGE OF VENUE (to accommodate more people).

Please RSVP by July 6 to sdemolar@coloradomining.org or 303-575-9199

GeoEvents (06/29/09)
(comp. by P. Modreski, USGS-Denver)

"The Denver Museum of Nature and Science is running a "BOGO" offer on lecture tickets…
BUY ONE, GET ONE FREE
Stimulate your mind and your wallet with this special offer! Buy a ticket to any regular-price lecture ($12 member and $15 nonmember) and bring a friend or family member for free. The Museums adult lecture lineup will bring you face-to-face with scientists, adventurers, and explorers from around the world. Take advantage of this special offer and share the excitement of learning with someone you care about. To purchase tickets, please call Reservations at 303.322.7009, or buy them at the Member Services Desk. This offer will be available throughout 2009, and it does not apply to field trips, courses, or existing reservations."

Saturday, June 27, a special showing of the film, "Flow", at the American Mountaineering Center, 710 10th Street, Golden, CO 8040; sponsored by the Colorado Environmental Film Festival: "Join the Colorado Environmental Film Festival for a Night on Water featuring the nationally acclaimed film FLOW , Irena Salina's award-winning documentary investigation into what experts label the most important political and environmental issue of the 21st Century - The World Water Crisis. We will also have a speaker to talk about water issues in Colorado and a reception following." Cost is $15; doors open at 6:00, show begins at 6:30. For more info see www.ceff.net, and put on your calendar the 2009 Colorado Environmental Film Festival, coming November 5-7.

Sat., June 27, Annual Mineral & Fossil home sale at GEOdyssey, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., 15339 West Ellsworth Dr., Golden, CO; call 303-279-5504 for more info; all are welcome. "Help us reduce our inventory at our annual mineral and fossil "Garage Sale." A wide variety of individual specimens and low-priced flats will be available. All specimens are a minimum of 10% off, with bigger discounts for volume purchases. We'll have several flats priced at 25% and 50% off, and haggling is encouraged. Drinks and snacks provided. From west 6th Avenue, exit onto Indiana Street and go south on Indiana. Drive into Mesa View Estates. Turn right at the first street (McIntyre Circle) and right at the next street (Ellsworth Drive). We are about midway down the street on the left."

Tuesday, July 7, Digital Earth: Explore the World from Space
by Ka Chun Yu, PhD, curator of space science, Space Sciences Department, and Bob Raynolds, PhD, research associate, Earth Sciences Department
"With Yu as your driver and Raynolds as your guide, you will embark on an amazing tour of Earth from the vantage of a satellite in space. Gates Planetarium's digital projection system delivers stunning visuals. You'll never take the same ride twice, as Yu and Raynolds present a new tour for each program. Formerly known as "Geography Goes Digital." This program is presented in concert with International Year of Planet Earth, a global initiative of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). See www.yearofplanetearth.org for more information. For more information about the lecture series, see www.geosocietyorg/IYPE. "
7:00 p.m., Gates Planetarium; use Ricketson Evening Entrance, $12 member, $15 nonmember

Wednesday, July 29, Flock of Dodos Film Screening
"The Museum and Denver Botanic Gardens invite you to continue the celebration of Charles Darwin's 200th birthday with an encore presentation of Flock of Dodos: The Evolution-Intelligent Design Circus. The film explores basic aspects of evolution and uses the extinct dodo as a metaphor for what happens to those unable to change with their environment. After the screening, your host, Richard Stucky, PhD, curator of evolution and paleoecology, will offer an update on the ongoing debate and answer your questions about the volatile issues it raises."
7:00 p.m., Phipps IMAX Theater; use the IMAX Evening Entrance, $12 Museum or Gardens member/student, $15 nonmember

more summer earth science courses for teachers:

Rocks, and Minerals, June 29-30, 8:00am-5:00pm (K-12) CT-9666-09D, 1 semester credit hour, tuition $85
"Learn or review the basics about rocks and minerals and how to engage students to learn about them in dynamic and interactive ways. Working in groups, participants will examine specimens and take part in hands-on activities. Includes a tour of the Colorado School of Mines Geology Museum."

Walking Tour of Building Stones in Downtown Denver, July 1, 8:00am-4:30pm, (K-12) CT-04131-09M, 0.5 semester credit hour;
Instructors: Pete Modreski, Jane Dianich; Tuition Fee: $75
"Learn about rocks and geology as we tour historic Denver buildings in the vicinity of the Colorado State Capitol, Denver City and County Building, and the 16th Street Mall. Participants will receive copies of a field guide written specifically for school groups."

Dinosaur Ridge Teachers' Workshop, July 9-10, 8:30am-5:00pm, (K-12), CT-9206-09M, 1 semester credit hour, Tuition $105
"An orientation to the dinosaur bones and tracks found on Dinosaur Ridge near Morrison CO and how to use them as a resource for teaching. The class, held at the Dinosaur Ridge Visitors Center, will include separate break-out sessions for activities keyed to primary and secondary grades, and visits to our new Trek Through Time learning center, the Morrison Natural History Museum, and the Triceratops Trail interpretive site near Fossil Trace in Golden."

In addition, a note about several newly published books in which you may be interested:

"Rocks Above the Clouds", by Jack Reed and Gene Ellis, "A Hikers and Climbers Guide to Colorado Mountain Geology". A Colorado Mountain Club Pack Guide, pocket-size, 2009, 240 pages, $16.95. The authors are with the USGS; an excellent, color illustrated and aimed at the lay person audience, guide to the geology of Colorado's mountain ranges and mountain peaks. Available at the USGS Map Store and elsewhere.

"The Legacy of Arthur Lakes", by Katherine K. Honda and Beth Simmons, 2009, 194 pages, $45.00, published by the Friends of Dinosaur Ridge. With illustrations in black-and-white and color, this book is a fascinating account of the many-faceted geologic career and accomplishments of Arthur Lakes, 1844-1917. Lakes is now perhaps best known as the person who first discovered the dinosaur bones on Dinosaur Ridge, and after whom the Lakes Library at Colorado School of Mines is named after, but he had a remarkable and multifaceted career that encompassed college teaching, theology, sketching and watercolor painting, Colorado geology, paleontology, metal mining, coal, oil, and more. The book includes a CD, prepared by John Ghist, which is in fact a library in itself; it contains scanned or transcribed copies of the entire published works of Arthur Lakes, close to 900 different publications, including journal, newspaper, and magazine articles, and it includes the complete contents of some half dozen full-length books, for example, "Geology of Colorado and Western Ore Deposits" (1893, 314 p.). The book is (or will be shortly) available from the Friends of Dinosaur Ridge Visitors Center--I understand that the first printing, with many copies pre-reserved, is almost sold out, but if so a second edition will be printed soon.

"Guide to Trek Through Time, an Exhibit at Dinosaur Ridge", by Clare P. Marshall, is also available at the Dinosaur Ridge Visitors Center. This is a color-illustrated, 17-page guide ($2.50) to the newly completed "Trek Through Time" exhibit at the Visitors Center. The exhibit, and this guide, describe the fossils and the ancient environments in which they were deposited, represented by the rock formations found at Dinosaur Ridge. For more information come to the Visitors Center at 16831 W. Alameda Parkway, Morrison, see the website, www.dinoridge.org, or call 303-697-3466.

RMAG On The Rocks Field Trip (06/29/09)

Twentymile Coal Company's Foidel Creek Underground Coal Mine and Regional Geologic Setting
Saturday, July 25, 2009

CoLeaders: Rocky Thompson – mine geologist with Twentymile Coal Co. & Dave Noe – Colorado Geological Survey

Twentymile Coal Company's Foidel Creek Mine is the most prolific underground coal mine in Colorado. Join us on the RMAG On-the-Rocks field trip as we take a rare underground tour of this remarkable mine. Current underground mining is within the Twentymile Park structural and topographic basin. We will visit several locations deep within the mine to view the longwall mining operations and observe geologic features such as seam-level faults. Trip leader Rocky Thompson knows this mine intimately, and we anticipate a first-class tour of the workings. In the afternoon, we will visit three outcrop locations to look at the lithofacies of the Mesaverde Group and some structural features of the area with Dave Noe of the Colorado Geological Survery. Dave is currently working on surface mapping for the State Map Project in this area.

The mine is located 14 miles SW of Steamboat Springs, Co. E-mail Jeff Glossa (Jeff.Glossa@state.co.us) ASAP for reservations and trip logistics. Jeff will need the last 4 digits of your SS#, and your sizes for boots, belt and coveralls for Mine Safety and Health Administration documentation. No one under the age of 18 is permitted underground. The trip is limited to 10 participants as it requires taking a vehicle out of the production line for the time we will be traveling in the mine. There will be a backup list in case of cancellations. Participants should be in good physical condition and able to walk several miles if necessary. Underground safety training will be required during the trip. Facial hair is allowed.

Twentymile Coal Company's underground longwall mining operation at the Foidel Creek Mine is located at the southeastern tip of the Yampa Coal Field that is a synclinal extension of the Washakie-Sand Wash Structural Basin situated in northwestern Colorado and south-central Wyoming. The main axis of the basin is modified by numerous smaller anticlines, synclines, and faults. The boundary of the Yampa Coal Field is defined on the southwest by the Axial Basin Anticline and is defined on the east by the Park Range Uplift.

The economically recoverable coal on the outcrops of the basin has been surface mined. The majority of that mining activity has been completed with only one active surface mine remaining in the area. Current underground mining is within the Twentymile Park structural and topographic basin located immediately north of the reclaimed Colorado Yampa Coal Company's surface mine highwall.

The longwall mining district is located on the south flank of the Sand Wash Structural Basin where the coal dips to the northwest at approximately 5 degrees. The north and west extremes of the basin dip and rise abruptly. The eastern end of the underground coal reserve has major faulting and dips in excess of 5 degrees. The dips within the mining area vary with a small area at the bottom of the basin being flat. The mine area has one minor fault of 1.8 to 3 meters of displacement and one major fault with offsets from 4.6 to over 13.7 meters. Three localized north-trending asymmetrical folds are the most prominent structural features that form the Twentymile Park basin
 

2 Job Openings (05.26.09)

#1) This is the permanent mining consultant position search I'm working on. My client is an international firm of specialist consultants who focus mainly on the mining industry. We are seeking a full-time senior geochemist consultant (w/ relocation) for our Alaska Office. It is a great opportunity for the right person.

The successful candidate will have:
- Specific knowledge of geochemistry chemistry (chemical reactions, phase diagrams, mineral solubility)
- Specific knowledge of general mineral deposit types and identification of minerals.
- Ability to design programs to characterize potential for acid rock drainage and metal leaching (ML/ARD), including application of geochemical testing methods for ML/ARD and prediction of water chemistry.
- Has specific experience with thermodynamic modeling programs (e.g. PHREEQE, MINTEQ, and Geochemists Workbench. (GWB).
- General knowledge of mineral exploration methods: mine waste disposal methods; mineral processing methods; and mine and environment regulations and policies.
- Has a post secondary qualification in geology, geochemistry, geological engineering, hydrogeology or mineral process engineering;
- Has at least 10-years experience.
- Eligible for professional registration.

The successful candidate will consult on projects for North American and International clients. The ability to travel internationally is required. Assignments will include managing and undertaking studies related primarily to the mining industry, including: State and Federal project permitting for operations, reclamation and closure; and specialist consulting for assignments such as due diligence assessments.

As a consultant, the successful candidate will be expected to create and maintain client relationships and work in a team environment. Strong communication skills and interpersonal capabilities are essential.

In addition to a competitive salary, we provide extended medical and dental care, performance bonuses and potential shareholding opportunities in the company.

Applicants should respond by sending their resume to Joe Walker jwalker@mridfw.com

Joe Walker
Account Manager
MANAGEMENT RECRUITERS OF LBJ PARK
400 E. Royal Lane, Suite 214, Irving, TX. 75039
972-488-1133 Ext. 108
Fax: 815-301-9886
jwalker@mridfw.com
www.mridfw.com; www.mrinetwork.com

#2) A dynamic company, headquartered in Michigan, whose vision incorporates oil and gas exploration, development, and strategic acquisitions, is seeking a Senior Exploration Geologist. This is a highly stable organization with a heritage of success in the domestic arena. This individual will be responsible for providing sound geological expertise in the evaluation of exploration and exploitation projects.

Qualifications include:
- Bachelors degree in Geology, advanced degree preferred
- 3 to 5 years relevant experience in the oil and gas industry
- Strong background in geologic and geophysical industry
- Excellent presentation skills

If you know of anyone who may want to learn more about this exciting opportunity, please have them call, contact or submit a resume in confidence to:

Dalton Boggs
Dalton Boggs & Associates
PO Box 2288
Edmond, OK 73083
Phone 800-348-1654
Fax 405-348-1693
Email daltonb@daltonboggsassociates.com

 

RMAG Fall Symposium (05.26.09)

Here is an opportunity for you to share the results of your new discoveries, insights, frustrations and research on oil and/or gas from shales and coalbed methane.

Abstracts are now being accepted for the Fall Symposium to be held in Denver on September 14, 2009

The Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists And Petroleum Technology Transfer Council (PTTC) Announce a Call For Abstracts

Unconventional Reservoirs: Oil & Gas Shales and Coalbed Methane

Suggested Topics:
Recent Oil & Gas Shale and Coalbed Methane Discoveries
Field Updates and New Insights
Economics and Risk Assessment
Exploration Strategies
Geochemistry: Tools, Logs, Results
Drilling and Completion Techniques
Basin Analysis
Environmental Issues and Constraints

Send Abstracts and Questions to: Robert A. Lamarre, rlamarre@bdminerals.com, (303) 793-3228 x222 or Bruce Kelso, bsk@bry.com, (303) 999-4200

WHAT ARE METALS AND WHAT IS METALLURGY? (02.09.09)

Those are two of the questions K-12 teachers will have answered in this summer's 41st All About Mining -- A Total Concept of the Mining Industry course at the Colorado School of Mines (CSM) thanks to a presentation by Dr. Fred Fraikor. Dr. Fraikor retired in December from CSM and will give one more metals and metallurgy talk to the teachers in All About Mining this summer. The Colorado Mining Association Education Foundation is seeking a replacement, volunteer speaker for Fred to help give a layman's presentation to the teachers in this summer's class and to give the actual presentation during June 2010. This is an excellent opportunity to do outreach that promotes our profession and industry! Please consider joining more than 75 other lecturers who provide a comprehensive overview of the metals, industrial minerals, aggregates, and energy industries to our nation's students through their teachers!

If you can help with one hour of your time this summer and/or next summer, please contact Dan Witkowsky, Course Coordinator, 303-972-1814 or DanielWitkowsky@aol.com for details.

Colorado Section of AIPG 2007 SUMMER FIELD TRIP (07/09/07)

   Members and friends of the AIPG CO section suited up for a tour of the Cross Gold Mine    

           Gold Rush from Central City to Caribou
(with tours of the "Glory Hole" near Central City and the Cross/Caribou Mines near Nederland)
North Central Colorado Front Range
Saturday, July 21, 2007

 

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