Mineral and energy resources in Kane County, Utah and their occurrence with respect to Wilderness Study Areas (RI-221)

By: R. E. Blackett, C. J. Brandt, T. C. Chidsey, Jr., and C. E. Bishop

The Utah Department of Community and Economic Development enlisted the help of the UGS to review and report on the objectives and procedures for mineral resource evaluations performed by federal agencies as part of the wilderness study process. Because a review of work completed on all 66 Wilderness Study Areas in Utah was not feasible, we decided to focus on evaluations performed on a few Wilderness Study Areas in southern or southeastern Utah. Wilderness Study Areas in Kane County were chosen for the study due to (1) the relatively large acreage of Wilderness Study Areas in the county, (2) the large amount of mineral resource information for Kane County available at the UGS, and (3) the recently published UGS comprehensive geologic report on Kane County by Doelling and Davis.

Previous studies done on Kane County Wilderness Study Areas by the USGS and USBM were limited only to those Wilderness Study Areas in the BLM's Proposed Action alternative. Mineral resources in most of the remaining Wilderness Study Areas (Mud Spring Canyon, Death Ridge, Carcass Canyon, and Burning Hills) comprising the All Wilderness alternative were not covered by formal reports. This report describes aspects of mineral and energy resources in all Wilderness Study Areas in Kane County including those not reported on by the USGS and the USBM.

Although several mineral commodities are described in this study, more emphasis was placed on characterizing coal resources of the Kaiparowits Plateau coalfield, and on describing the regional potential for oil, gas, and CO2 resources within the Wilderness Study Areas. These commodities were selected since coal resources represent, by far, the County's most important mineral resource (Kane County contains nearly 30 percent of the state's coal reserves), and undiscovered petroleum resources could, conceivably, make a large impact on local economies.

This report of investigations provides the reader with some additional perspectives concerning the regional distribution of mineral and energy resources in Kane County. The information and interpretations presented here should be used as a supplement to the more detailed work performed by the federal agencies.

Other Information:
Published: 1992
Pages: 42 p.
Location: Kane County
Media Type: Paper Publication