Feldspar and quartz from the dunes of Kankakee, Illinois : a preliminary feasibility study

40 Pages·2001·1.9 MB·English

by  Bhagwat, Subhash

^Feldspar and Quartz from the Dunes
~*of Kankakee,
Illinois:
A
Preliminary Feasibility Study
Subhash B. Bhagwat, Randall E. Hughes,
John M. Masters, and Philip J. DeMaris
Q O
-
w
IllinoisMinerals 122 2001
George H. Ryan, Governor
DepartmentofNatural Resources
BrentManning, Director
ILLINOIS STATEGEOLOGICALSURVEY
WilliamW. Shilts, Chief
LIBRARY.
Feldspar and Quartz from the Dunes
of Kankakee,
Illinois:
A
Preliminary Feasibility Study
Subhash B. Bhagwat, Randall E. Hughes,
John M. Masters, and Philip J. DeMaris
IllinoisMinerals 122 2001
GeorgeH. Ryan, Governor
DepartmentofNatural Resources
BrentManning, Director
ILLINOIS STATEGEOLOGICALSURVEY
WilliamW.Shilts, Chief
615 E. PeabodyDrive
Champaign, Illinois61820-6964
EqualopportunitytoparticipateinprogramsoftheIllinoisDepartmentofNaturalResources(IDNR)andthosefundedbythe
U.S.FishandWildlifeServiceandotheragenciesisavailabletoallindividualsregardlessofrace,sex,nationalorigin,disability,
age,religionorothernon-meritfactors.Ifyoubelieveyouhavebeendiscriminatedagainst,contactthefundingsource'scivil
rightsofficeand/ortheEqualEmploymentOpportunityOfficer,IDNR,524S.Second,Springfield,Illinois62701-1787;217/785-
0067;TTY217/782-9175.
Thisinformationmaybeprovidedinanalternativeformatifrequired.ContacttheDNRClearinghouseat217/782-7498for
assistance.
EditorialBoard
JonathanH.Goodwin,Chair
MichaelL.Barnhardt DavidR.Larson
B. BrandonCurry JohnH.McBride
AnneL.Erdmann DonaldG.Mikulic
WilliamR.Roy
PrintedbytheauthorityoftheStateofIllinois 0.6M-11/01
©Printedonrecycledandrecyclablepaperstock.
Foreword
CrushedstoneandsandandgravelhavefundamentalimportancefortheconstructionindustriesofIllinois.However,other
industrialminerals,suchassilicasand,feldspar,tripoli,andclays,playimportantrolesinthestate'seconomybecausethey
areusedinindustrialprocessesofhigheconomicvalueorprocessedintohighervalueproducts.Suchmineralsareusedin
makingglass,ceramics,pottery,andbrickandserveasfillersinpaints,detergents,paper,andchemicals.
Mostindustrialmineralsremainaslocalcommoditiesbecausetheyareusuallyconsumedneartheirorigin.InseveralIllinois
counties,theyareanimportantsourceofemployment,taxrevenues,andeconomicstability.
In1997,thestaffoftheIndustrialMineralsandResourceEconomicsSectionoftheIllinoisStateGeologicalSurvey(ISGS)
respondedtoarequestfromtheKankakeeCountyEconomicDevelopmentCounciltoinvestigatetheeconomicfeasibility
ofextractingfeldspar,glasssand,andfoundrysandfromdunedepositsintheunderdevelopedsoutheasternpartof
KankakeeCounty.
AteamofISGSgeologistshadstudiedthedunestherein1974andfounddepositsofpotentialeconomicinterest.This
presentstudyinvestigatedwhetherextractionofoneormoreproductswouldbeeconomicallyfeasible.Thestudyconfirms
theoccurrenceoffeldsparandsilica(quartz)sandinamountsthatwouldbeextractedatasignificantlylowercostthanthe
currentmarketpricesforthecommodities.Themarketsforfeldsparinparticularshouldbestudiedfurtherbecause
feldsparisavitalingredientinthemanufactureofglassandceramics.Althoughsilicasandisabundantlyavailableinthe
uppermidwesternUnitedStates,theclosestfeldsparsourcesareinNorthCarolinaandOntario,Canada.Severalmillion
dollarsintransportationcostscouldbesavedannuallyiffeldsparwereproducedlocally.Thisstudysuggeststhatlocal
productionoffeldsparandsilicasandwouldgeneratejobsintheareasoutheastofKankakeethatsuffersfromveryhigh
unemployment.Apotentialformorenewjobs,beyondthosethatwouldresultfromtheminingandprocessingalone,exists
ifuserindustriescouldbeattractedtothearea.
William W. Shilts, Chief
IllinoisStateGeologicalSurvey
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2012 with funding from
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
http://archive.org/details/feldsparquartzfr122bhag
Contents
Foreword
in
ExecutiveSummary
1
Introduction 2
Sampling and Analysis in 1997 2
Geologic Origin 2
Mineral Content 2
MarketIndicatorsforProductChoice 5
Silica(Quartz)Sand 5
Feldspar 5
SuggestedProcessingofKankakeeDuneSand
PreliminaryCostEstimates
PreliminaryEconomicFeasibility
Results
Discussion 9
Limitations 11
Environmentaland LandUseImpacts 11
FutureWork 11
References 12
APPENDICES
A MineralogicAnalysis 12
B PlantInvestmentsandHourlyCostsforMiningDuneSands 16
C NetPresentValueAnalyses 20
FIGURES
1 Illinoistownshipsreportingsandscontainingmorethan20%feldspar 3
2 Locationsofsamples 4
3 FlowdiagramI:Amberglasssand 7
4 FlowdiagramII:Foundrysandandamberglasssand 7
5 FlowdiagramIII:Feldsparandamberglasssand 8
6 FlowdiagramIV: Feldspar 9
TABLES
1 NonclaymineralcontentcalculatedfromXRFchemicalanalyses 5
2 SummaryofeconomicresultsdetailedinappendixC 10
3 Basicassumptionsforcostsandoperatingparameters 10
Al AveragemineralcompositiondeterminedbyXRDanalysisandratiosofK-sparandNa-plag 13
A2 Aceticacid-extractablecontentasdeterminedbyICPchemicalanalysesandpercentagesofcalciteand
dolomiteandtheirsums,calculatedfromICPresults. 14
A3 ChemicalcontentbyXRFchemicalanalyses 14
A4 Averagemineralcontentfordunesandsinthreeborings,calculatedfromXRFandXRDanalyses 15
A5 Averagemineralcontentforlacustrinesedimentsinthreeborings,calculatedfromXRFandXRDanalyses 15
A6 Averagechemicaloxidecontentfordunesandsinthreeborings,determinedbyXRFanalyses 15
A7 Averagechemicaloxideandmineralogicalcompositionfordunesandsfrom13samplesfromEhrlinger
andMasters(1974) 15
A8 Particlesizeobtainedbywetscreeningofcompositesamplesofdunesandsfromboreholes 1,3,and5 15
Bl PlantinvestmentsforminingandprocessingdunesandsnearKankakee,Illinois 16
B2 HourlycostsforminingandprocessingdunesandsnearKankakee,Illinois 18
CI Break-evenpriceestimatesusingthenetpresentvaluemethodfortheprocedure
describedinflowdiagramI 20
C2 Break-evenpriceestimatesusingthenetpresentvaluemethodfortheprocedure
describedin flowdiagramII 20
C3 Break-evenpriceestimatesusingthenetpresentvaluemethodfortheprocedure
describedinflowdiagramIII(ScenarioA) 22
C4 Break-evenpriceestimatesusingthenetpresentvaluemethodfortheprocedure
describedinflowdiagramIII(ScenarioB) 22
C5 Break-evenpriceestimatesusingthenetpresentvaluemethodfortheprocedure
describedinflowdiagramIII(ScenarioC) 24
C6 Break-evenpriceestimatesusingthenetpresentvaluemethodfortheprocedure
describedinflowdiagramIV(ScenarioA) 24
C7 Break-evenpriceestimatesusingthenetpresentvaluemethodfortheprocedure
describedinflowdiagramIV(ScenarioB) 26
C8 Break-evenpriceestimatesusingthenetpresentvaluemethodfortheprocedure
describedinflowdiagramIV(ScenarioC) 26
C9 Break-evenpriceestimatesusingthenetpresentvaluemethodfortheprocedure
describedinflowdiagramIV(ScenarioD) 28
CIO Break-evenpriceestimatesusingthenetpresentvaluemethodfortheprocedure
describedinflowdiagramIII(HCUS) 28
1
Executive Summary plant,oneassumingafeldsparyield conditions.Profitabilityincreasessignifi-
of17%andtheotherayieldof15%. cantly iftheplant isassumed tobe
Thisstudywasundertakenuponare- operableforthreeshiftsperdayand
questfromtheKankakeeCountyEco- Intheir1974study,Ehrlingerand 250days peryear, asrecommended by
nomicDevelopmentCouncil(1)to Mastersconductedteststhatindi- experiencedoperators.
verifythemineralogicalanalysesof catedfeldsparcouldbeseparated
thedunesandsconductedbyISGS fromquartzsandusingtheflotation Marketsforsilica(quartz) sandandfeld-
geologistsin1974nearKankakee,and technique.Laboratorytestsindi- sparintheUpperMidwestdiffersignifi-
(2)toconductapreliminaryeconomic catedthatclassificationofthedune candyfromoneanother.Illinoisranks
analysisofthefeasibilityofextracting sandintodifferentsizefractions firstamongthestatesproducingsilica
andmarketingfeldspar,foundrysand withorwithoutseparationoffeld- sand;Illinois'annualproductionis5mil-
(quartz[orsilica] sand),andamber sparcouldpermititsuseasfoundry liontons(oftheU.S.totalofabout3
glasssand(feldsparandquartzsand) sandandalsoproduceamixof milliontons).Illinois,Wisconsin,Michi-
fromthedunes. Onthebasisofthe quartzsandandfeldsparthatcould gan,andOhioaccountfor36%ofthe
recommendationsofthisstudy, beusedinthemanufactureofam- nationalproduction.Silicasandinthe
KankakeeCountymaydecidewhether berglassandceramicproducts. UpperMidwestisalow-costmaterial,
toinvestinmoredetailedcharacter- about$9.50pertonforglassmakingand
ization,processing,andmarketstud- Thisstudytestedprocessflowde- $11 pertonasfoundrysand.Thatprice
iesaswellasamorecomprehensive signstoproducefourproductalter- rapidlyincreaseswiththedistancethe
economicfeasibilityassessment. natives: (I)amberglasssand,(II) sandistransported.Therefore,many
foundrysandandamberglasssand, smallproducersarescatteredthrough-
Sampleswerecollectedfromfive (III)feldsparandamberglasssand, outthecountry,relativelyclosetocon-
boreholesdrilledinfall1997.Twenty- and(IV) feldsparalone.Theamber sumers.The10largestcompaniesinthe
onesubsamplesfromthreeboreholes glasssandinthefirsttwoalterna- UnitedStatesown58operationsand
wereanalyzedfortheirchemicaland tivescontainsfeldsparinthesame produce71%ofthesand.Theconcen-
mineralogicalcontentsandwere percentagesasintheoriginalsand; trationoffoundrysandproductionin
comparedwiththeresultsofthe1974 inthethirdandfourthalternatives, theMidwestisespeciallyhigh(74%of
study.Theresultsconfirmedthatthe thefeldsparhasbeenseparated.In theU.S.total)becauseoftheavailability
dunesandscontainabout74%quartz thethirdalternative,feldsparmust ofinexpensivelymined,high-quality
(silicasand),21%feldspar,and5% beaddedbackforglassmaking,or sandintheregion.
otherminerals;thesepercentagesare thesandfractionwithlow-feldspar
inthesamerangeasthosereportedin contentcanbemarketedas Nationally,about37%ofthesilicasand
the 1974study.Theonlydifference foundrysand.FlowdiagramIVas- isutilizedbytheglassindustry.Among
betweenthetwostudiesconsistsin sumesthatonlythefeldsparismar- non-glassuses,foundryusersarethe
thetypesofmineralgrainsreported. ketableandthattheremainingma- dominantmarket.Forsmallproducers,
Forexample,the1974studyidentified terialcanbereturnedtothemine suchastheproposedKankakeeunder-
bothfeldspathicrockmaterialsand orsoldascommonconstruction taking,otherusesforsilicasandshould
grainscontainingbothfeldsparand sand. becarefullystudied.Someoftheseuses
quartz;thepresentstudydidnot areforspecialtyglasses,abrasives,hy-
separatelyidentifythesemulti-min- Theproposedprocessingplantwas draulicfracturingofrocksincrudeoil
eralintergrowths.Thesamplesinthe designedforanannualcapacityof production,fiberglass,filtration,chemi-
1974studywereprimarilytakenfrom 112,000tonsrawinputor100,000 cals,andceramicmaterials.Newsand
roadcuts,whereasthenewsamples tonsofproduction.Thebasicoper- producersintheMidwestfaceamarket
camefromboreholesdrilledfromthe atingconditionsassumedtwoshifts thatishighlycompetitiveinbothquality
topsofthedunesorasneartothe perdayand200workingdaysper andprice.Thesearchforamarketniche
topsaspossible.Thedifferentsample year.Commerciallyavailabledata shouldbebasedonacombinationof
locationsdidnotrevealdifferencesin wereusedtoestimatetheinitial productspecialtyanddeliveredpricein
themineralcompositionofthesand; miningandprocessingplantinvest- thenearbyindustrialareasofIllinois,
however,grainsizeofthesandmay mentsandtheoperatingandmain- Indiana,Michigan,andWisconsin.Glass
bedifferentatdifferentpositionson tenancecosts.Initialdepreciablein- productionfromsilicasandrequiresthe
thedunes.Thefeldsparcontentofthe vestmentsincludingtheequipment, additionoffeldsparornephelinesyenite
staanncdestishaonfmthoerqeuearctozn(osmiliicca)imspaonrd- tilriaanrisepsorratnagneddifnrstoamll$a1ti.o6n7,mainlldiaounxt-o adsunaessouorfcKeaonfkaalkuemeiCnoa.unBteycacuosnteatihnefeld-
contentbecauseofthehighermarket $2.41million;theoperatingand spar, theyofferanadvantageovercon-
priceoffeldsparandalackoffeldspar maintenancecostsrangedfrom$85 ventionalsilicasandsources,especially
productioninthemidwestemUnited to$111 perhourofoperation.A intheamberglassmarket.
discountrateof18%wasusedin
Sfc1oti7raeet%n,ecstiw.oeeAs2l1hhta%ahvdofeuetlpgodrhbsopetvahcireo,dsneeasdxinttddrewsaroccetoedin.cotnoTanhiinoenermfefii-c- tueihcncdetoinpccoraaimltciceeucstla.halaTtlthiyotenvhfieoeafaubsnbliedrbeieulranitkdta-yekeerivsncetegnirmctpaaartnioendsb-e TbfU.eohStue.tnemfdreartlrydhkssaeapntnadtrp,hr(oopassrbeipomeufaoctrrt1isglmlfyiaoslbrslefimceoaalnudktssiopennagsmropaoserrter
scenariosforthesandprocessing
inoisState Geological Survey linois Minerals 122
year)isproducedinstatesdistantfrom Georgia,Idaho,andSouthDakota. noisandIndianaeachyear,allofwhich
themidwesternindustrialareas,and About70%ofU.S.feldsparproduction isimportedfromNorthCarolinaand
feldspar'smineralsubstitute,nepheline isusedbytheglass-makingindustry. CanadaFeldsparproductionin
syenite,isimported(about275,000 Theother30%isconsumedforce- KankakeeCountywouldbeasource
tonsayear)fromOntario,Canada. ramicproducts,pottery,andtiles, closetotheseindustrialmarkets.
NorthCarolinaaccountsfor54%ofthe amongmanyotheruses.Availablein-
totalU.S.feldsparproduction.Feldspar formationindicatesthatatleast50,000
isalsoproducedinCalifornia,Virginia, tonsoffeldsparareconsumedinIlli-
Introduction Sampling and Analysis Geologic Origin
1997
TheISGSfirststudiedtheKankakee in Theoriginofthedunefieldcanbe
dunesandsin1942(Willman1942). Figure1showsthedistributionofdune tracedtothelatterpartofthemostre-
HFuurnttheerr(s1t9u6d5i)e,sEwhrelriengpeerreftoarl.me(1d9b69y), 2fi0el%dsfeilndIslplairn.oiTshtehaltarcgoentdauinnemfoierledtinhan yceeanrtsicaegoa,gew,haebnoutthe13o,u0t0e0rteod1g5e,0o0f0the
EEhhrrlliinnggeerraannddJMaasctkemrasn((11997740)).,Tahnedlast sofoutthheemaostreernprKoamniksaiknegedCeopousnittysifsoorne jLuasktenMoirtchhiogfatnheloKbaenokfagkleaeciRaliviecrevwaalsley
mIiSnGeSrapluobgliiccaalt,iocnheimni1c9a7l4,daenadltpwarittihcle commercialfeldsparproductioninIlli- m(EohurlsiangmeoruanntdsMoafssteedrism1e9n7t4-)l.aEdneonr-
noisbecauseofitssizeandproximity
sizedistributionanalysesofthe totheindustrialcomplexofnortheast- meltwaterwerereleasedtothevalley
Ktaanntktaokueneddeurnsteasnadnhdsowthtahtewsearnedicmopuolrd- esronutIhllwienosits,ernnorMtihcwheisgtaen,rnaInnddisaonuat,heast- abtutthtahtethiimgeh,eastndlafnldooidnstshperaeraead.oWvhereanll
btheeuKsaendkfaokresealCeoaublnetyprEocdoucntosm.iIcnD1e9v9e7l,- eprrnoWmiisnceonntsifena.tTuhreeodnuntheefSite.ldAinsnaeand tcheedegdl,acliaerrgaenadretahseofflfoiondes-fgirnaailnlyedres-edi-
opmentCouncilrequestedhelpfrom mentwereexposedtowinderosion,
Leesville7.5-minutetopographic
theISGSindeterminingtheeconomic resultinginthemigrationofthedune
Quadrangles.
feasibilityofminingandprocessingthe fieldtoroughlyitspresentposition.
Kankakeesands.Theobjectivewasto Figure2showstheconfigurationof However,subsequentevents,suchas
assesswhetherthecounciloraprivate partofthedunefieldontheMomence droughtsandfires,haveprobably
concernwouldbejustifiedininvesting 15-minuteQuadrangle.TheKnumbers causedsmallermigrationstooccur,
infurtherdetailedgeological,engineer- markthelocationsofchannelsamples justasblowoutsandsandmigration
ing,economic,andmarketstudies. takenfromroadcutsandblowoutsfor occurtodaywhereverthevegetation
thefeldsparstudyreportedby coveronaduneisbroken.
Duringfall1997,ISGSgeologistsand EhrlingerandMasters(1974).Loca-
lteeccthendicsiitaenssadnridlsleadmfpilveebdotrheehsolaensdaftrsoem- tionsB-l, B-3,andB-5arethecollec- Mineral Content
threeoftheholesforanalysis.Thenew tionsitesforthecontinuouscoreholes
sampledandanalyzedforthisstudy. TheKankakeedunesandsarecom-
samplesandanalyseswere(1)tocon- Thelocationswerechosentoposition posedprimarilyofsilica(quartz) pla-
firmtheresultsofthe 1974study, (2) to therigashighaspossibleonadune. gioclasefeldspars(albite[Na-plag,]and
takeintoaccountadvancesinanalyti- Thecoresweretakenthroughthedune anorthite[Ca-plag]),K-feldspar,illite
calaswellasmineralsprocessingtech-
sandintounderlyingbeddedfluvial- andmica,chlorite,hornblende,pyrite
nology, (3) toproposeoneormoreal- lacustrinepebblysandsandsilts.Cor- andmarcasite,and,insomesamples,
ternativeflowdiagramsforsandpro- ingwasterminatedwhenmaterialbe- traceamountsofcalciteanddolomite.
cessing,and(4)toconductaprelimi- gantoflowintothedrillhole.Inallfive Themineralogicalcontentofthesand
naryeconomicfeasibilityanalysisto holes,thewatertablewasencountered wasdeterminedbyx-rayfluorescence
determinetheprofitabilitypotentialof nearthebaseofthedunesand,which (XRF)chemicalanalysisandx-raydif-
afutureventure.Thisdocumentre- isalsoaboutwherethesand'scarbon- fraction(XRD)mineralogicalanalysis.
psoarmtpsltehseapnraellyizmeidnaforrytrheissulsttsudoyf,tshuem- actoemceosntmeonrtesignrcaryetahsaenabnrdoiwtsn.coTlhorebnee-w XfoRrFthcehecmailccuallaatniaolnyosfisthweasquparretfzerarnedd
marizesthemineralogicalandsizedis- samplesaddtotheknowledgeofthe feldsparcontentsbecauseXRFismore
tributionresultsfromthe1974study,
depositsbecausetheyweretakenfrom accuratethanXRD.
andpresentstheprojectedeconomic
boreholesdrilledthroughthedunes,
feasibilityofproducingfoursand whereasthe1974samplesweretaken Table1presentsthesummaryofmin-
productcombinations. fromroadcutsontheedgesofthe eralcontentanalysisoftheKankakee
dunes.Together,thesamplesofboth dunesands(fordetailsofthemineral-
studiespresentareasonablycomplete ogicalanalysisseeappendixA). Table1
pictureofthematerial. containsthreedatasets. Thefirsttwo
linois Minerals 122 linoisStateGeological Survey