D:\ANPTMINE\COVER.DOC

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR 

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

DRILL CORES AND CRUSHED SAMPLES OF OIL SHALE 

STORED IN THE ANVIL POINTS MINE, GARFIELD COUNTY,

COLORADO

by

John R. Dyni and John R. Donnell 

Denver, Colorado

Open-File Report 98-45

This report is preliminary and has not been reviewed for conformity with 

U.S. Geological Survey editorial standards (or with the North American 

Stratigraphic Code). Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for 

descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. 

Government.

1998
D:\ANPTKHNBANV1L_OF.DOC 

REVISED: 2/23/98

DRILL CORES AND CRUSHED SAMPLES OF OIL SHALE STORED 

IN THE ANVIL POINTS MINE, GARFIELD COUNTY, COLORADO

By 

John R. Dyni and John R. Donnell

Abstract

A cooperative project between the Department of Energy (DOE) 

and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to move approximately 

600 pallets of oil-shale drill cores and crushed core 

samples from the Geological Survey's Core Research Center in 

Lakewood, Colorado to the Anvil Points experimental oilshale mine near Rifle, Colorado, was completed in September 

1995. The total cost of the project was $78,841 of which the 

DOE paid $35,000. During the same month, an additional 76 

pallets of oil-shale drill cores were moved from the Federal 

oil-shale lease tract C-a to the Anvil Points mine with 

funds provided by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

The Geological Survey assumed, as part of an interagency 

agreement between the USGS and the DOE, assumed 

responsibility for the core collection including sampling 

and inspection of the stored oil-shale materials. The 

Department of Energy assumed responsibility for the 

maintenance of the mine and road leading to the mine. These 

and other conditions are included in a memorandum of 

understanding between the two agencies dated May 31, 1996, 

which is appended to this report.

Introduction

In the early 1990's the acquisition of a large collection of 

well cuttings from industry, the establishment of a cold 

storage facility for polar ice cores and a significant 

reduction in funding for the U.S. Geological Survey's Core 

Research Center (CRC) resulted in a reduction of space 

available for storage of oil-shale core materials by the 

USGS. It became apparent that the collection of oil-shale 

materials would need to be reduced by a substantial amount, 

either by discarding cores or by finding a new site for a 

large part of the collection.

In August, 1993, the U.S. Geological Survey asked the 

Director, Naval Petroleum and Oil Shale Reserves in 

Colorado, Utah and Wyoming (NPOSR), Department of Energy 

(DOE), Casper, Wyoming, if the Anvil Points experimental 

oil-shale mine near Rifle, Colorado (fig. 1) could be made 

available for long-term storage of oil-shale drill cores 

(Dyni, 1993). The response was favorable. A study of the 

physical condition of the mine and associated costs to 

renovate a portion of the mine and to move the cores and
crushed samples from Lakewood, Colorado, to the mine was 

initiated by John R. Dyni of the USGS and Daniel J. Newquist 

with the NPOSR.

Mine inspections. The mine was inspected by Newquist, 

Edward Cooley, former plant manager of the New Paraho 

Corporation, and John Dyni in November 1993. The inspection 

confirmed that an area within the mine appeared to be 

satisfactory for core storage (fig. 2). The proposed area 

appeared to be dry and was off the main haulage corridor 

which would avoid conflicts with future mining. The mine 

roof in the proposed storage area was bolted and showed no 

obvious evidence of roof sags or falls, although some small 

fragments of oil shale that probably fell from the mine roof 

or pillars were noted on the floor. Several piles of oilshale rubble from previous mining, totaling an estimated 

3,250 cubic yards, would need to be moved from the proposed 

storage area into adjacent rooms. The mine area selected 

for core storage was estimated to contain 22,750 square feet 

of floor area within which as many as 1,000 pallets of cores 

could be placed.

In April, 1995, Mr. Jeff Magers, mining engineer from the 

Denver Research Center, U.S. Bureau of Mines, inspected the 

mine with Newquist and Dyni. Magers suggested that 

convergence points established in the mine roof and floor 

during earlier mining should be checked for roof sag. This 

work was not done because of the cost. However, it would 

be desirable to do so to insure future access to the oilshale cores and safety of personnel in the area. Magers 

also suggested that one room on the north side of the corestorage area (north of pillars A and D on figure 2) not be 

used for storing cores because of its wide expanse. This 

room was omitted from the final plan.

On the basis of the above inspections, it was determined 

that the principal advantages of using the mine for storing 

the oil shale cores included: 1) a dry storage facility 

where the drill cores would not be subject to deterioration 

from water or moisture, 2) a safe mine without undue hazards 

of roof falls, 3) adequate ventilation, 4) minimum 

maintenance, 5) adequate safeguards from vandalism including 

a locked gate on the lower mine road and locked doors at the 

mine portals, and 6) a long-term core-storage site at 

minimum cost to the USGS and the DOE.

The Anvil Points mine, however, posed some disadvantages, 

including 1) long distance from the USGS Core Research 

Center and its core examination facilities, 2) possible 

closure of the mine road due to earth slides and winter 

snows, 3) isolated location with no on-site facilities for 

examination of drill cores, 4) inadequate lighting, 5) 

limited access to the cores by the public and the necessity 

to provide personnel for inspection of cores by the public,
and 6) the probability of large quantities of dust settling 

on and contaminating the cores if oil shale is mined in the 

future.

Despite the disadvantages, no better location for the oilshale cores was found and Anvil Points mine remained the 

best option for long-term core storage. Other options 

included the rental of storage sheds or buildings, but were 

deemed to be too expensive for long-term storage. The 

remaining alternative was to discard the cores and crushed 

samples, but this option was unacceptable because these 

materials were thought to be too valuable for present and 

future research to destroy them. Also, the replacement cost 

of drilling, sampling, and analyzing these cores was 

conservatively estimated at $27.7 million. Furthermore, the 

NPOSR office has an interest in preserving the large number 

of drill cores from the Naval Oil Shale Reserve lands in 

Colorado and Utah which are a part of this collection.

Project History

John Dyni submitted an initial inquiry to the NPOSR office 

in Casper on August 26, 1993, suggesting a cooperative 

project between the USGS and the DOE to move about 170,000 

lineal feet of oil shale drill cores to the Anvil Points 

mine (Dyni, 1993). The response was favorable so Dyni 

(1993b) prepared a proposal outling the tasks which included 

(a) clean up of a portion of the mine where the cores would 

be stored, (b) preparation & shipping of about 600 pallets 

of drill core to a staging area near the mine, (c) moving 

the pallets from the staging area into the mine, and (d) 

shipment of about 400 tons of oil-shale materials from a DOE 

storage facility in Laramie, Wyoming, to the mine. The last 

task (to move oil-shale materials from Laramie to the mine) 

was subsequently cancelled by DOE.

In July 1995, the CRC announced that about 57,000 square 

feet of space, in large part occupied by oil-shale cores, 

needed to be vacated by September 30, 1995. Project work 

began during July 1995 when Dyni and Donne11 made an 

assessment of which cores at CRC should be sent to Anvil 

Points mine, those that would be retained at the CRC, and 

those that were declared surplus to USGS needs and could be 

discarded. Agreement was reached between DOE and USGS on 

the statement of the project work outlined below:

Task 1: USGS to load cores and crushed samples of oil 

shale at the CRC on pallets, identify each pallet, and wrap 

them in plastic sheeting for long-term storage.

Task 2: Contractor to move piles of oil shale rubble 

from core-storage area into another part of the mine and 

clean the floor of the storage area.
Task 3: Trucking company to deliver approximately 600 

pallets of cores and crushed samples from CRC to a staging 

area at the foot of Roan Cliffs below the Anvil Points mine.

Task 4: Contractor to move the cores and crushed 

samples from the staging area into the core-storage area in 

the Anvil Points mine in order by state and USGS core hole 

number.

Task 5: Preparation of a report on the above work by 

the Geological Survey including tables and maps showing the 

identification and location of the cores and crushed samples 

stored in the mine.

In September 1995, New Paraho Corporation moved the muck 

piles and cleaned the mine floor in the core-storage area. 

During the month, Colorado All State Transport moved about 

600 pallets of oil-shale drill cores and crushed oil-shale 

samples by flat-bed truck from the CRC to the staging area 

near the Anvil Points mine. New Paraho Corp. moved the 

pallets from the staging area into the mine. During this 

time, with the agreement of the NPOSR office, arrangements 

were also made between the U.S. Bureau of Land Management 

(BLM) and the USGS to move about 70 pallets of oil-shale 

drill cores from Federal oil-shale lease tract C-a to the 

Anvil Points mine. The BLM paid for this work.

Upon the completion of the project, a Memorandum of 

Understanding (MOU) between the two agencies concerning the 

responsibilities and management of the cores and storage 

facility at the Anvil Points mine was prepared and signed in 

April 1996 (Turner, 1996). A copy of the MOU is appended to 

this report.

Project Tasks and Final Costs

The project tasks as completed and final costs for each task 

are listed in the following table:

Table 1. Summary of project work by task and final costs.

Task 1. Prepare cores for shipping by placing them 

on pallets and labeling and wrapping them in 

plastic sheeting (USGS) ...................... $13,300

Task 2. Operator with loader to prepare area in 

mine for core storage including moving several 

piles of oil shale rubble and floor clean-up 

(New Paraho Corp.) ............................. 4,760

Task 3. Move 605 pallets of core on 28 flat-bed 

truck trips from CRC, Lakewood, Colorado, to 

the staging area at the base of the mine road 

(Colorado All State Transport) ................ 11,060

Task 4. (a) Rental of 2 forklifts, electric 

generator, truck and trailer; fuel; and 

contract labor for mine clean-up and moving 

core from the staging area into the mine
(New Paraho Corp.) ......................... ... 25,838

(b) Planning, coordination, and supervision of 

project including travel (USGS) ................ 7,000

Task 5. Preparation of a final report with maps 

and tables showing what cores were moved 

and their locations in the the Anvil Points 

mine (USGS)..................................... 2,000

Task 6. Removal of 56 pallets of cores from a 

wet area to a dry location in the mine (New 

Paraho Corp.) ........................ ......... 1,200

Subtotal ........... 65,158

USGS assessment (21%) ............................. 13,683

Grand total ..........$78,841

Task 6 was added to the original tasks when it was 

determined that some pallets of core on the north side of 

pillar F were damp, probably from water draining down the 

ventilation raise on the north side of the pillar (fig. 2).

The DOE was assessed $35,000 and the remainder of the costs 

were charged to the USGS. An additional cost to move the 70 

pallets of oil-shale cores from the C-a tract to the Anvil 

Points mine (about $1,500) was paid by the U.S. Bureau of 

Land Management. This cost is not shown in the above 

summary.

ANVIL POINTS MINE

Location and mine road. The Anvil Points oil-shale mine is 

located about nine miles west of the town of Rifle, Colorado 

near the top of the southward-facing Roan Cliffs at an 

elevation of about 8,200 feet, or about 3,000 feet above 

Interstate Highway 70 in the Colorado River valley (fig. 1). 

The mine road is reached by an asphalt road that begins at 

the service road south of Interstate 70 and extends 

northwestward 1.3 miles to the New Paraho oil-shale plant 

and office.

From the New Paraho facility, a graded dirt and gravel road 

extends about 5.4 miles up a steep (10-14 percent) grade via 

six sharp switchbacks to the mine (figs. 1,3, and 4). 

Nearer the mine, the road is cut into shaly talus that is 

susceptible to sliding. In places steel cribbing has been 

installed to stabilize the talus slopes. Some of the steel 

crib beams are strongly bent indicating downslope movement 

of loose talus behind the cribs. If the cribbing should 

fail, the mine road could be blocked and substantial repairs 

could be required to reopen the road.
Mine development. The Anvil Points mine is in the Mahogany 

oil-shale zone of the Eocene Green River Formation. The 

Mahogany zone is a unit of high-grade oil shale, at this 

location about 100 feet thick (East and Gardner, 1964, fig. 

4A). The first of two parts of the mine, named the 

selective mine, was opened in the late 1940's by the U.S. 

Bureau of Mines as an experimental facility followed by the 

demonstration mine about 1,500 feet west of the haulage-way 

of the first mine. Later, the demonstration mine and 

retorting facilities were operated by several groups prior 

to their decommissioning in 1984-85 (Virgona, 1986). Most 

recently, some of the crushed oil-shale from earlier mining 

was removed by New Paraho Corporation in the the late 1980's 

to make several thousand barrels of an asphalt additive for 

road paving in its retort and plant at the base of Roan 

Cliffs (fig. 1). New Paraho has been negotiating with DOE 

to mine additional oil shale from the Anvil Points mine in 

the future.

Oil shale in the Anvil Points mine was mined by the U.S. 

Bureau of Mines in two levels consisting of a top heading 39 

feet in height and a lower bench 34 feet high. The corestorage area is in the top heading. The oil shale in the top 

heading averages about 28 gallons of shale oil per ton of 

rock. The Mahogany marker, a prominent layer of analcimized 

tuff 4-6 inches thick occurs in about the middle of the 

upper heading (East and Gardner, 1964, fig. 24).

Roof conditions. The mine roof which forms a smooth surface 

is rock-bolted throughout the mine. Inspection bore holes 

ranging from 7 to 15 feet in length were drilled into the 

roof adjacent to, and in, the core-storage area. A 

borescope inspection of these holes revealed two, probably 

continuous, bedding-parallel fractures in the lower 2 feet 

of the roof rock with a few fractures above (East and 

Gardner, 1964, fig. 35).

Roof falls. On the south side of the mine near the natural 

outcrop of oil shale, several roof falls occurred in 1953 

and 1955 when the mine was operated by the Bureau of Mines 

(fig. 2; East and Gardner, 1964, p. 136-142). There have 

been no major roof falls since that time, although small 

fragments of oil shale have loosened from the ribs and roof 

and have fallen to the floor in some parts of the mine.

Damp area. An area of the mine floor in the proposed core 

storage area in the vicinity of pillar F was noted to have 

been damp after the project was begun, although the floor 

was dry at the time of the initial inspections. The water 

was thought to be from seepage from the ventilation raise on 

the north side of pillar F that opens to the surface on the 

top of Roan Cliffs (fig. 3A).
Ventilation. Several adits and the ventilation raise 

provide adequate ventilation to the mine for short visits. 

However, operation of diesel-powered machinery would require 

additional ventilation in the mine. The mine has been 

operated as a methane-free mine in the past. Presumably, 

methane is not a hazard in this mine because it is close 

enough to the natural outcrop to have degassed through open 

fractures. However, other oil-shale mines in the northern 

and deeper part of the basin are gassy.

CORE STORAGE AREA

An area occupying about 22,750 square feet of floor space 

was selected for storage of the oil-shale materials in the 

central part of the demonstration mine (fig. 2) . This area 

was selected because it appeared to be essentially dry with 

the exception noted above, and was roof-bolted with no 

obvious signs of structural weakness in either the roof 

strata or pillars. The final configuration of the storage 

area, after 56 pallets of drill cores near pillar F were 

relocated away from the damp area north of the pillar, is 

shown on figure 5.

An attempt was made to sort the pallets by states and USGS

core hole number1 . The Wyoming cores are located east of 

pillar A (fig. 6). The Colorado cores and crushed samples 

are located north and east of pillars B and C (fig. 7) , on 

the west and south sides of pillar D (fig. 8), on the north, 

west, and south sides of pillar E (fig. 9), and on the west 

side of pillar F (fig. 10). The Utah cores are located west 

of pillar D (fig. 8).

SELECTION OF DRILL CORES AND CRUSHED SAMPLES 

In early 1993, about 173,000 lineal feet of oil-shale drill 

cores were stored at the USGS Core Research Center at the 

Denver Federal Center, Lakewood, Colorado. Of this total, 

about 3,915 feet of drill cores from 22 core holes were 

deemed to have little or no value for permanent retention. 

Therefore, these drill cores were discarded. The basis of 

selecting these cores for disposal included short cored 

sequences; usually of the Mahogany oil-shale zone); 

proximity to nearby cores that penetrated thicker sequences 

of oil shale; incomplete or jumbled cores with missing 

sequences; lack of geophysical logs and shale-oil analyses,

 ' All of the drill cores are identified by a 3-digit number preceeded by 

'C 1 for Colorado, 'U 1 for Utah, 'W for Wyoming, 'E 1 for eastern United 

States, and 'F 1 for foreign drill cores. These numbers are those used 

earlier on maps published by USGS oil-shale geologists, and are 

different than those used for archival purposes by the USGS Core 

Research Center. Also, some of the Tosco cores are identified by 

numbers similar to, but are not the same as, those used in this report.
and cores from closely spaced development holes drilled on 

Federal oil shale tracts. These discarded cores are listed 

in table 2.

Table 2. List of oil-shale drill cores at the USGS Core 

Research Center that were discarded.

USGS CRC 

No. No. Company and well Location

Lineal 

feet

Colorado

C038

C040

C082

C141

C203

C205

C219

C296

C297

C341

C456

C465

U511

U508

U514

U537

U569

U570

U564

U523

U520

7

U522

U510

Ertl,

Ertl,

Tosco,

Savage

Tosco,

Tosco,

Tosco,

Savage

Savage

USGS,

Tosco,

Tosco,

Atlas

Lathum

Bute 25

, Carr( Linden)

TG 71-3

TG 71-5

Cb-2

, Avery

, Love

78-6

Ohio 6

Atlas 14

SW-NE-11-04S-095W

SW-NW-06-04S-095W

SE-NE-09-04S-096W

NE-NW-17-05S-099W

NE-NW-29-03S-096W

NE-NE-33-03S-096W

NE-SE-06-03S-096W

NE-SW-23-04S-096W

SW-SW-19-04S-098W

NE-NE-11-02S-099W

SW-NE-21-04S-098W

SW-SW-10-04S-095W

138

147

249

404

288

304

202

454

500

171

201

205

Subtotal 3,263

Utah

U402

U405

U411

U410

U409

U408

U407

U406

U482

____

 

U615

U616

U617

U618

U619

U620

U621

U623

U624

Geokinetics 32-1

Geokinetics 1

Geokinetics 7

Geokinetics 6

Geokinetics 5

Geokinetics 4

Geokinetics 3

Geokinetics 2

Geokineticsl6-22U

Geokinetics, ?

SW-SW-34-09S-21E

NW-NW-02-14S-22E

SE-SW-02-14S-22E

NE-SW-02-14S-22E

SE-NW-02-14S-22E

NW-NE-02-14S-22E

SW-SW-02-14S-22E

SW-NW-02-14S-22E

NW-NE-02-14S-22E

7

Subtotal

Total

60

60

60

60

60

60

112

60

60

60

652

3,915

Of the total of about 600 pallets of cores and crushed oilshale samples that were moved from the CRC to the Anvil 

Points mine, about 475 pallets were cores and about 125 

pallets were crushed samples. The cores are listed in table 

3. A few pallets were not labeled, either because the core 

boxes were not clearly identified or for other reasons. 

Careful examination of the core boxes and/or other
logistical data in the future may reveal their identity, 

therefore, they were saved and are stored in the mine.

Table 3. Oil-shale drill cores stored in the Anvil Points mine.

uses

No. Company and core hole Location

Cored 

depths

No. of 

pallets

Colorado drill cores

C002

C003

C006

C007

0008

C013

C014

C015

C018

C023

C034

C035

C050

C060

C072

C109

C125

C126

C130

C140

C144

C148

C152

C157

C161

C171

C173

C175

C176

C177

C189

C190

C193

C194

C195

C197

C200

C202

C204

C206

C207

C209

C213

C214

C215

C218

C220

C221

C231

C232

C236

C238

C246

C247

Wolf Ridge, Dunn 20-1

Sinclair, Federal 8024

Sinclair, Fed. Strat 1 & 1 B

Pan Am, Saterdal 1

Sinclair, Skyline 1

Sinclair, Skyline 2

Sinclair, Bradshaw 1

Humble, Milo Love 1

Tel Ertl, core hole Phil

Weber, GJ-1

USBM/AEC, Colorado 1

USBM/AEC, Colorado 2

Unocal, Buff

Weber, Figure Four 2

U.S. Navy, core hole F (NOSR 1)

Pacific Oil, Alien 1

Savage, Whiskey

Savage, Camp

USN/USBM, Corehole H

Skyline, Hydrocarbon 1

Skyline, Hydrocarbon 2

Mobil, BOM D (CH 4)

Tosco, TG-1 &1-A

Carter, Yellow Creek 1

General Petrol., 11 -24

USBM/AEC, Colorado 3

USBM, Barcus Creek 1

Arco, Federal 2-B

Tosco, TG 2-1

Shell, 22X-1

Superior, Core hole 5

Superior, Core hole 6

Tosco, Bute 14-727

Tosco, Camp Bird 5

Arcoetal, Fig. Four 31-1

Shell, 41X-9

Mintech, Portland 1

Tosco, TG 71 -2

Tosco,TG-71-4

Cameron Engrs, CE-701

Cameron Engrs, CE-705A

Superior, Core hole 12

Cameron Engrs, CE-708

Cameron Engrs, CE-707

Cameron Engrs, CE-702

Tosco, Cb-1

Tosco, Cb-3

Tosco, Cb-4

Humble, Jumps Cabin 1

Humble, East Willow Cr. 1

Tosco, Ca-3

Tosco, Ca-2

Superior Oil, CH 28

Superior Oil, CH 29

NE-NE-20-01S-098W

C-20-01N-098W

SW-SW-06-01S-097W

NW-SE-31-01S-097W

NW-NE-26-01S-098W

NE-NE-11-02S-098W

C-NE-25-02S-098W

SW-SW-09-02S-097W

NE-SE-25-01S-100W

NE-SW-23-02S-100W

NE-NE-13-01N-098W

NW-NE-14-01S-099W

NW-SE-23-04S-096W

SW-NW-15-04S-099W

SE-SE-06-05S-094W

NE-NW-34-06S-097W

NE-NE-24-04S-098W

SW-SE-35-04S-098W

SE-SW-23-05S-095W

NE-NW-17-05S-099W

SE-NW-13-05S-100W

NE-NW-18-06S-095W

SW-SE-24-02S-099W

NE-NE-02-01S-098W

NW-NW-24-02S-096W

SW-SW-14-01N-098W

NW-NE-21-01N-099W

NW-SE-10-03S-096W

NE-SW-21-03S-096W

SW-NE-01-02S-098W

NE-NW-10-01N-097W

SE-SW-14-01N-097W

NW-NW-1 4-04S-096W

NE-NW-03-04S-095W

SW-NE-31-03S-098W

NE-NE-09-01S-097W

SW-SE-19-01S-099W

NE-NE-17-03S-096W

NW-SW-06-04S-096W

NW-NE-32-01S-099W

SE-NE-04-02S-099W

SE-SW-27-01N-097W

NE-NE-05-02S-099W

SE-SE-32-01S-099W

SE-NE-34-01S-099W

SW-SW-01-03S-097W

SW-SE-05-03S-096W

NW-SW-17-03S-096W

SW-SW-15-04S-098W

NW-NE-28-04S-097W

SE-NE-34-01S-099W

NW-NE-32-01S-099W

SE-SW-15-01N-097W

SW-SE-21-01N-097W

1501-2413

1148-1984

833-2592

770-2745

389-3049

711-2547

403-2051

584-1995

10-206

21-290

770-3133

805-2409

10-812

30-375

10-776

8-770

31-623

33-865

24-843

155-485

70-568

180-855

1120-2123

637-2245

1719-2727

964-3326

10-1800

1084-3100

313-2247

680-2649

200-1368

70-1393

12-932

13-1475

538-2420

1300-2748

26-1342*

801-1158

700-2018

150-1118

175-1550

905-2605

115-1219

83-1515

400-1713

1280-2104

1240-2122

1280-1490

275-1124

200-1950

450-1561

180-1130

90-2025

946-2378

?

1

1

1

5

?

4

2

1

?

4

8

1

1

1

1

1

2

2

1

1

2

4

10

?

1

4

2

3

1

4

4

1

3

7

1

3

?

2

6

4

1

7

5

9

1

?

1

12

5

1

4

1

4
C248 Carter, Fawn Creek 2

C261 C-a Project, C-1

C262 Gulf/Standard Indiana, CH 2-3

C263 Gulf/Standard Indiana, CH 4-5

C264 Gulf/Standard Indiana, CH 6

C265 Gulf/Standard Indiana, CH 7

C266 Rio Blanco Oil Shale, CH-8

C267 Rio Blanco Oil Shale, CH-9

C268 Rio Blanco Oil Shale, CH-10

C269 Rio Blanco Oil Shale, CH-11

C270 Rio Blanco Oil Shale, CH-12

C291 USGS, CR-2 (WRD TH 75-178)

C292 Carter, Upper Piceance Creek 1

C299 USBM, CH 02-A

C301 Arco et al, Fig. Four 01 -1

C306 Carter, Upper Willow 2 & 2-A

C331 USBM, CH-01

C334 USBM, CH 01-A

C338 USGS, 78-1A

C339 USGS, 78-2

C340 USGS, 78-3A

C344 USGS, 78-9

C347 USGS, 78-8

C348 USGS, 78-12

C350 U.S. Navy, CH 15/16

C352 Sinclair, Cross V No.1

C353 U.S. Navy, CH 21 (NOSR 1)

C354 U.S. Navy, CH 26 (NOSR 1)

C355 USGS, 78-10

C357 USGS, 78-11

C358 USGS, 78-5

C359 U.S. Navy, CH 25 (NOSR 1)

C360 U.S. Navy, CH 20 (NOSR 1)

C361 U.S. Navy, CH 17 (NOSR 1)

C362 U.S. Navy, CH 22 (NOSR 1)

C363 U.S. Navy, CH 18 (NOSR 1)

C364 U.S. Navy, CH 19-2/4 (NOSR 1)

C365 U.S. Navy, CH 24 (NOSR 1)

C422 Union, LR 4-75

C451 Tosco, TG-2-3

C457 Tosco, Liberty Bell 12

C462 Tosco, Bute 11

C476 Savage, Quinn

C522 D.T. Day, DTD 28-1

C526 Humble, Milo Love 2

C543R Cameron Engrs, CE 703

C544R Cameron Engrs, CE 704C

C552R El Paso, Fawn Creek 2

C707 Sinclair, Haystack 11 -1

C711 Tosco, Ohio 3

C764 Sinclair, Haystack 1-1

C765 Sinclair, Haystack 26-1

C849 Arco et al, Fig. Four 11 -1

C854 Arco et al, Fig. Four 9-1

C856 Arco et al, Fig. Four 15-1

C864 Arco et al, Fig. Four 24-1

C872 Sinclair, Haystack Mtn. 1

C874 Arco et al, Fig. Four 5-1

C875 Arco et al, Fig. Four 7-1

 Exxon, Milo Love 3

 Exxon, Core hole 3

 Tosco?, Colony 1-2

NE-NW-27-03S-098W

NW-SW-32-01S-099W

SW-NW-33-01S-099W

SE-NW-34-01S-099W

SE-SE-34-01S-099W

SE-NW-05-02S-099W

SE-SE-05-02S-099W

SE-NW-04-02S-099W

NW-SE-03-02S-099W

SW-SW-09-02S-099W 

NE-SW-09-02S-099W 

SE-NE-36-01N-097W 

SE-SW-12-03S-096W

NW-SW-29-01S-097W 

SE-NW-01-04S-099W 

NW-NE-27-03S-097W 

SW-SE-31-01S-097W

NW-SW-29-01S-097W 

NE-SE-06-04S-094W 

SE-NW-24-03S-095W

SW-SW-26-02S-095W

NW-SW-29-02N-099W

NW-NE-22-01N-100W

SE-SE-07-05S-101W

NW-SW-01-05S-095W

NW-NE-21-01S-098W

SE-SE-19-05S-094W

NW-SE-36-05S-095W

NE-SW-11-03S-100W

SW-SE-07-04S-100W

SE-NW-32-02N-097W

SE-NE-34-05S-094W

SW-SW-14-05S-095W 

SW-NE-08-05S-094W 

SE-SW-21-05S-094W 

NE-NE-13-05S-095W

SW-NW-03-05S-094W 

SW-SE-32-05S-094W 

SW-NE-20-05S-095W

SW-SW-23-03S-096W 

SE-SE-18-04S-095W 

SE-SW-12-04S-096W 

SW-NE-35-04S-098W 

SE-SW-36-01N-100W

SW-SW-09-02S-097W

SW-NW-05-02S-099W 

NE-SW-16-01S-099W

NW-NW-17-03S-097W 

SW-NE-11-07S-097W 

NE-NE-23-04S-098W 

SE-NW-01-07S-097W 

SW-NE-26-06S-097W 

SE-NW-11-04S-099W 

SW-NE-09-04S-099W 

SW-NE-15-04S-099W 

NE-SW-24-04S-099W 

NE-SW-31-06S-096W 

NE-SW-05-04S-099W 

NE-SW-07-04S-099W

386-2161

44-1401

46-1424

48-1663

157-1782

41-1200

70-1616

44-1600

352-1903

390-1886

41-1800

507-2409

300-2208

198-2660

490-681

260-2241

750-2383

830-2548

32-100

33-307

6-302

15-205

20-630

20-330

122-2060

850-2816

645-1655

605-1087

27-299

20-202

6-323

130-840

630-1920

790-1880

650-1547

46-1257

116-798

92-937

649-1802

20-636

545-743

21-893

7-243

20-300

584-1995

0-1345

0-1950

0-3300

510-611

441-570

19-591

469-540

600-763

100-313

546-718

719-840

0-290

303-434

86-234

?

?

10

6

5

7

1

2

5

4

7

7

7

4

8

17

1

7

10

13

?

1

1

1

2

1

11

4

6

3

1

1

1

4

5

6

5

7

2

1

3

1

1

3

1

1

4

6

4

1

1

1

3

1

1

1

1

1

1

<1

1

2

2

1

10
Utah drill cores

U003

U015

U041

U043

U055

U056

U057

U058

U059

U060

U061

U062

U063

U064

U065

U066

U067

U068

U069

U070

U071

U072

U073

U074

U077

U078

U079

U080

U086

U090

U100

U101

U102

U104

U105

U106

U108

U109

U110

U111

U112

U114

U130

U172

U173

U174

U175

U180

U404

U415

USGS, CH-3 (NOSR 2)

USGS, CH-15(NOSR2)

Brewer et al, 8-1

Western Oil Shale, EX-1

USGS, CRU-1

White River Shale Project, P-1

White River Shale Project, P-2

White River Shale Project, P-3

White River Shale Project, P-4

White River Shale Project, X-1

White River Shale Project, X-2

White River Shale Project, X-3

White River Shale Project, X-4

White River Shale Project, X-5

White River Shale Project, X-6

White River Shale Project, X-9

White River Shale Project, X-10

White River Shale Project, X-1 1

ERDA-LERC, So. Uinta Basin 1

ERDA-LERC, So. Uinta Basin 2

ERDA-LERC, So. Uinta Basin 3

ERDA-LERC, So. Uinta Basin 4

ERDA-LERC, So. Uinta Basin 5

ERDA-LERC, So. Uinta Basin 6

ERDA-LERC, So. Uinta Basin 9

ERDA-LERC, So. Uinta Basin 10

ERDA-LERC, So. Uinta Basin 1 1

ERDA-LERC, So. Uinta Basin 12

USGS, Asphalt Wash 1

Arco, Long Draw 1 (UT 337)

USGS, WR-7

Tosco, Utah State 11 -18

Tosco, Utah State 1

Tosco, Utah State 41 X-1 6

Tosco, Utah State 23-36

Tosco, Utah State 42X-36

Shell, 14-36

DOE-LETC, Cowboy Canyon 2

Shell, 14X-34

Shell,22X-12

Tosco, Utah State 13X-2

DOE-LETC, Cowboy Canyon 1

WRSP.X-13

ERDA-LERC, Avintiquin Canyon 1

ERDA-LERC, Half Moon Canyon 1

ERDA-LERC, Sams Canyon 1

Paradox Prod., Argyle Can 200

Sinclair (Arco), Henderson 3

Geokinetics, W-1 4

Geokinetics, Lofreco CH-6

DOE, Cowboy Canyon 3

Gulf Oil, West Knobs C-3

Gulf Oil, North Knobs C-4

NW-SW-01-12S-19E

NE-SW-26-12S-18E

NW-SW-08-13S-24E

SW-SE-36-09S-20E

NE-NE-03-12S-24E

SE-SW-12-10S-24E

SE-SE-17-10S-24E

SE-SW-26-10S-24E

NE-SE-19-10S-25E

NE-SE-30-10S-24E

NE-NW-14-10S-24E

NE-NW-18-10S-25E

SW-SW-14-10S-24E

SE-NE-23-10S-24E

NW-NW-19-10S-25E

SE-NW-27-10S-24E

NW-NE-33-10S-24E

NW-NE-28-10S-24E

NE-NE-30-12S-21E

SW-NE-35-12S-21E

NW-NW-17-13S-22E

SW-NE-35-13S-22E

SW-SE-35-13S-22E

NE-NE-31-13S-22E

SW-NE-06-13S-24E

SE-NW-10-13S-24E

SW-NE-10-13S-22E

NW-SE-19-12S-24E

SW-NE-07-11S-24E

NE-SE-36-12S-24E

SW-NW-12-15S-21E

NW-NW-18-10S-22E

NE-NE-26-09W-21 E

NE-NE-16-10S-22E

NE-SW-36-10S-22E

SE-NE-36-09S-22E

SW-SW-36-09S-21 E

NE-NW-33-09S-25E

SW-SW-34-09S-21E

SE-NW-12-10S-22E

NW-SW-02-1 OS-21 E

NW-NE-33-09S-25E

SW-SE-22-10S-24E

SW-SE-20-05S-08W

NW-SE-12-05S-08W

NW-NW-14-04S-07W

SE-SE-35-10S-11E

SE-NW-1 6-1 OS-1 5E

NE-NE-02-14S-22E

NE-NE-02-14S-22E ???

385-557

30-170

0-277

190-1911*

14-498

68-1240

94-1292

70-1220

52-1173

870-1140

460-766

321-591

660-958

670-936

510-805

816-1068

840-1098

691-1023

20-347

19-327

19-350

12-217

1-137

1-236

35-276

5-232

159-581

91-621

307-2088

20-216

20-98

1535-1871

1570-2600

1821-2078

1183-1483

1749-2054

1850-2508*

391-521

1750-2597

1500-2156*

120-2380

440-677

13-1125

42-345

198-1594

43-361

4-866

2200-2562

10-300*

9-38* ???

 White River Special Proj., WC-81 -692 ? ?

??1121176222222222111111111131?1721142338231?13111

10115

Wyoming drill cores

W006

W013

W051

W052

W059

USBM, Wyoming 1

Diamond Alkali, Finley 1

Sinclair, Federal 1 (6765)

USBM, Washakie 1

USBM, Wyoming 6

SW-NW-30-23N-1 07W

NE-NE-08-16N-110W

SW-NE-06-15N-108W

NW-SW-17-14N-099W

SW-NW-25-23N-109W

375-1275

2321-2379

460-2000

101-2857

402-834

24131

11
W061 USBM, Wyoming 3

W062 USBM, Wyoming 8

W063 USBM, Wyoming 5

W065 UPRR, GB-1C

W066 UPRR, GB-2C

W067 UPRR, GB-3C

W068 UPRR, GB-4C

W069 UPRR, GB-5C

W070 UPRR.WB-1C

W071 UPRR, WB-2C

W072 UPRR, WB-3C

W073 UPRR, WB-4C

W074 UPRR, WB-5C

W075 UPRR, WB-6C

W076 UPRR, WB-7C

W083 USBM, Washakie Basin 2

W086 DOE/LERC, Greens Canyon 1

W096 USBM, Wyoming 9

W097 USBM, Wyoming 10

W098 USBM, Wyoming 7

W148 Allied Chemical, AC 2

W150 Allied Chemical, AC 4

W151 Allied Chemical, AC 5A

W153 Allied Chemical, AC 16

W154 Allied Chemical, AC 29

W155 Allied Chemical, AC 30

W157 USBM, Washakie Basin 1A

W168 Diamond Alkali, Greene 1

W549 WRI, Wyoming 14

W929 LERC, Wyoming 13

W943 LETC, Wyoming 11

W944 LERC, Wyoming 12

 ARCO, Elm Creek 1

 ARCO, Jack Fork Creek 1

NW-SW-29-24N-108W 368-799 1

NW-NE-01-23N-110W 355-775 1

NE-SW-03-24N-107W 330-779 1

NW-NW-17-15N-107W 55-311 1

SE-NW-27-15N-107W 16-280 1

NW-SE-09-17N-106W 22-233 1

SE-SW-03-17N-106W 19-185 1

SE-NW-35-20N-105W 21-307 1

SE-SE-03-16N-100W 20-393 1

SE-NE-05-16N-099W 200-545 1

SE-NW-31-17N-098W 120-513 1

SW-NW-23-16N-100W 160-521 2

NW-SE-05-15N-100W 140-516 2

SW-NW-23-15N-100W 120-623 3

SE-NE-35-15N-100W 220-728 3

SW-SW-06-14N-098W 2396-3236 2

SE-NE-20-19N-106W 140-230 1

SE-NE-24-22N-109W 545-987 1

SW-SE-04-24N-109W 203-541 1

SE-SE-02-25N-107W 364-689 1

SE-SW-31-19N-109W 1540-1601 <1

NE-NW-06-18N-109W 1561-1602 <1

NW-NE-05-18N-109W 1505-1676 <1

NE-SW-20-19N-109W 902-1500 <1

NE-SW-33-19N-109W 1450-1497 <1

SW-SE-28-19N-109W 1400-1490 <1

SW-SW-24-14N-100W 210-1184 3

SW-SE-36-19N-108W 385-473 1

SE-NW-33-26N-110W ? 1

NE-NE-06-27N-108W 63-310? 1

SW-SW-31-26N-108W ? 1

NE-NE-35-27N-108W 68-344? 1

Non-Green River oil-shale drill cores

 Dow-ERDA, Michigan CH 301

E002 Hycrude, Kentucky HC-KY-1

F004 Sweden, Barstad 85001

F005 Sweden, Barstad 85002

F006 Sweden, Hynneberg BH 85002

F008 Tosco, 128-G, Timidhit, Morocco

Dev-Miss. Antrim Shale

Dev-Miss, New Albany Shale

Cambrian Alum Shale

Cambrian, Alum Shale

Cambrian, Alum Shale

Cretaceous shale

25-91

1

Notes:

DOE=U.S. Department of Energy, ERDA=U.S. Energy Research & Development Administration, LERC= Laramie Energy 

Research Center, LETC=Laramie Energy Technology Center, WRI=Westem Research Institute (LERC=LETCssWRI), 

USBM=U.S. Bureau of Mines, UPRR=Union Pacific Railroad Co., '^estimated cored interval; <1, indicates that the core is 

one of several cores on one pallet.

An inspection of the mine and the pallets of cores in the storage area was made by Dyni and Newquist on August 26,1997. 

Some discrepancies were noted in an earlier list of cores stored in the mine provided by the contractor, therefore, all of the 

pallets were reexamined and the cores listed in the above table were corrected. However, some cores listed by the contractor 

could not be found, possibly because several cores were placed on the same pallet. These cores are still included in the table, 

but the number of pallets is indicated by a query.

DRILL CORES FROM TRACT C-a

Rio Blanco Oil Shale Company, operator of the facilities on 

Federal Oil-Shale Lease Tract C-a, had in its possession 

about 11,245 boxes of drill cores from about 44 core holes 

drilled on, or near, the tract. The drill cores and rotary 

cuttings were stored in a shed on the lease. The USGS was 

offered the drill cores by the company and about 5,586 boxes 

of drill cores from 13 core holes, or about one-half of the

12
total number of boxes stored on the tract, were selected for 

permanent storage in the Anvil Points mine. Unfortunately, 

the core storage building was being dismantled during the 

time the cores were being moved, and some boxes of the 

selected drill cores were dumped and lost. Table 4 lists 

the drill cores that were saved and stored in the Anvil 

Points mine.

Table 4. Drill cores from Federal oil shale tract C-a that 

are stored in the Anvil Points mine (Portions of some 

cores may be missing).

USGS 

No.

C206

C213

C214

C238

C261

C262

C263

C264

C265

C266

C267

C268

C269

C270

Company and 

core hole

Gamer on, CE 701

Gamer on, CD 708

Gamer on, CD 707

Tosco, Ca-2

Gulf/Std Ind, C-l

Gulf/Std Ind, C2-3

Gulf/Std Ind, C4-5

Gulf/Std Ind, C-6

RBOSC, C-7

RBOSC, C-8

RBOSC, C-9

RBOSC, C-10

RBOSC, C-ll

RBOSC, C-12

Location

NW-NE-32-01S-099W

NE-NE-05-02S-099W

SE-SE-32-01S-099W

NW-NE-32-01S-099W

NW-SW-32-01S-099W

SW-NW-33-01S-099W

SW-NW-34-01S-099W

SE-SE-34-01S-099W

SE-NW-05-02S-099W

SE-SE-05-02S-099W

SE-NW-04-02S-099W

NW-SE-03-02S-099W

SW-SW-09-02S-099W

NE-SW-09-02S-099W

No. of 

boxes

308

316

398

190

522

450

86

560

358

533

488

542

548

508

Notes: Cameron=Cameron Engineers, Gulf/Std Ind=Gulf Oil 

Co. and Standard Oil Co. of Indiana, RBOSC=Rio Blanco 

Oil Shale Co.

Crushed samples. A large collection of crushed samples from 

the former DOE Laramie Energy Technology Center (LETC), 

Laramie, Wyoming were also moved from the CRC to the Anvil 

Points mine. The samples are raw oil-shale splits of 

crushed segments of drill cores that were analyzed for shale 

oil by the Fischer assay method. The samples consist of 

about 1-1.5 kilograms of material each stored in paper sacks 

that were placed in 16"x4"x24" cardboard core boxes. These 

samples came from drill holes drilled between the late 

1940's to the mid-1980's. About 122 pallets of these 

samples are stored between pillars B and C in the Anvil 

Points core-storage area (fig. 5).

CONCLUSIONS

Reduction in funds and space at the USGS Core Research 

Center necessitated moving a large amount of crushed samples 

and drill cores to other sites. Of these, about 600 pallets

13
of core and crushed samples of oil shale were moved from the 

USGS Core Research Center in Lakewood, Colorado to the Anvil 

Ponits mine near Rifle, Colorado and additional 76 pallets 

of core stored on the C-a oil-shale lease tract were moved 

to the mine. The total cost of the project was $78,841 of 

which $35,000 was paid by the DOE and the remainder by the 

USGS. The work was essentially completed in September 1996.

Although the mine is not the ideal site for storing these 

cores and crushed samples, it was thought to be better than 

other alternatives that were considered. The mine is 

believed to be a satisfactory site for low-cost long-term 

storage with minimal maintenance required. As funding 

permits, the USGS is the responsible curator of the core and 

sample collection and the DOE is responsible for road and 

mine maintenance as implemented in a Memorandum of 

Understanding dated May 31, 1996.

REFERENCES

Dyni, J.R., August 26, 1993, Letter to Mr. Ray Williams, 

U.S. Department of Energy, Casper, Wyoming (copy in 

Appendix).

East, J.H., Jr., and Gardner, E.D., 1964, Oil-shale mining, 

Rifle, Colo., 1944-56: U.S. Bur. Mines Bull. 611, 163 p.

Science Applications, 1980, Anvil Points mine. Plan-proposed 

mine development and utilities [plan view of the 

demonstration and selective mines], scale: 1:600.

Turner, C.D., May 31, 1996, Letter (Serial No. DJN/041.655) 

to Mr. Thomas Michalski with enclosed Memorandum of 

Understanding between the U.S. Department of Energy and 

the U.S. Geological Survey for Storage of Oil Shale Core 

at Anvil Points Mine, 6 p. (copy in Appendix).

Virgona, J.E., 1986, Decommissioning of the U.S. Department 

of Energy Anvil Points oil shale research facility in 

Gary, J.H., [ed.] Nineteenth Oil Shale Symposium 

Proceedings: Colorado School of Mines Press, Golden, p. 

161-176.

14
DAANPTMNBF1G01.DRW

East Anvil Point 

West Anvil Point

Figure 1. Map showing the location of the Anvil Points oil-shale mine.

15
D\ANPTNINBFtG02DfiW

1000 +

1700 4.

1800 +

1600 +

1«00 +

1200 1300 1400 1900 1700 1800

J 

1000 EAST

Figure 2. Plan view of the west side of the Anvil Points demonstration 

mine. The mine bench at the portal of adit 2 is at an elevation of 8189 

feet (East and Gardner, 1964, fig. 12). The plan view of the mine and 

the survey coordinates are from Science Applications, Inc. (1980).

16
Figure 3. A, View of Roan Cliffs from near Interstate 

Highway 1-70. The road to Anvil Points mine can be seen to 

the left of center of the photograph. B, View of the 

cribbing along the upper part of the mine road. Note the 

contorted beams.

17
B

Figure 4. A, View of the Mahogany oil-shale ledge at the 

level of the Anvil Points mine. Adit No. 2 can be seen to 

the left of center in the photograph. B, Adit Number 1 to 

the demonstration mine. The steel door to the mine (not 

visable) is in about 100 feet from the portal.

18
DAANPTMME\fK306.DRW

-|-2200N

2100 N

2000 N

VENTILATION 

RAISE

-f- 1900 N 

1600 E

Figure 5. Plan view of the final core-storage area in the Anvil Points mine.

19
CMANPTMNe\FIGOa.DRW

WHS 

W150 

W154 

W155

W151 

W153

W549 

W013 

W013 

W059 

W061 

W069 

W070 

W075 

W075 

W096 

W097 

W944

W__ 

W943 

W013 

W013 

W062 

W063 

W071 

W072 

W076 

W076 

W098 

W157

ARCO, ELM CREEK 1 

ARCO, JACK FORK CR. 1

W153 I

J/__ W006 

W075 W006 

W051 W052 

W052 W052 

W065 W067 

W066 W068 

W073 W074 

W073 W074 

W076 W083 

W083 W086 

W157 W929 

W157 W168

N 

A

Figure 6. Identification of pallets of drill cores east of pillar A.

20
aVKNPTHNE\FK307A.DRW

T- T- O O O> T-

<O <O h- K CO <O

888888

T- T- OJ O O T-

<O CO CO K N. CO 

CM CM CM CM CM CM

O O O O O O

122 PALLETS OF CRUSHED 

SAMPLES FROM THE U.S. 

BUREAU OF MINES, LARAMIE 

RESEACH CENTER IN THIS 

AREA

v&Sjr ^efc

ctC, V&rfi Ufa J°f^4 s^i^

N

A

(1) Gulf, West Knobs C-3

(2) Gulf, North Knobs C-4

(3) C361 & C353

f»

w<&<£-

Figure 7. Identification of pallets of drill cores around pillars B and C.

21
U(D

U109 U108 

U109 U108 

U112 

U112 

U114 

U114 

U175 

U175 

UJ2)_ 

U2)

U041

U055

U058

U058

U058

U059

U059

U061

U062

U064

U065

U067

U068

U071

U074

U079

U086

U101

U102

U102

U102

U108

U108

U111

U111

U112

U112

U174

U175

U2)

U2)

C(4)

C200

U055 

U057 

U058 

U058 

U059 

U059 

U060 

U062 

U063 

U065 

U066 

U068 

U070 

U073 

U078 

U086 

U090 

U102 

U102

U105 

U106 

U110 

U111 

U112 

U112 

U130 

U172 

U415 

UJ2)_ 

UJ2)_ 

UJ2)_ 

C072

U043 

U056 

U058 

U058 

U059 

U059 

U060 

U061 

U063 

U064 

U066 

U067 

U069 

U072 

U077 

U080 

U086 

U102 

U102

U104 

U104 

U110 

U110 

U112 

U112 

U130 

U130 

U180 

U404 

U_(2)_ 

UJ?)_

C

c?

D

CCQ Cj?) Cj?) C (5) C003 0008 C018 C034 C034 C035 CJ035 C126 

Cj?) Cj?) Cj?) C006 C007 C014 C014 C034 C034 C035 C035 C130 

C(?) CW C£) CXW8 COOS C014 C014 C035 C035 C050 C060 C130 

C) C(?) C COOS C008 C015 C015 C035 C035 C125 C126 C140

(1) White River Special Project, WC-81-692

(2) DOE-LETC, Cowboy Canyon 3

(3)Tosco?, Colony 1-2

(4) Exxon, core hole C

(5) Exxon, Milo Love 3

(6) Arco-Mofail, core hole 4 (C336?)

Figure 8. Identification of pallets of drill cores around pillar D.

22
Figure 9. Identification of pallets of drill cores around pillar E.

23
DAANFTMMQFIQIO

N 

A

C214

C213 C213 C213 C213 

C269 C214 C214 C214 

C214 C213 C206 C238 

C238 C238 C206 C206 

C206 C206 C213 C206 

C238 C269 C213 C269

VENTILATION RAISE

Figure 10. Identification of pallets of drill cores west of pillar F.

24
APPENDIX

25
TAKE1 , 

PRIDE IN

a 

1-1 United States Department . -L 

of the Interior 

MM2\DOC\VHBMaBBB AMERICA

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

BOX 25046 M.S. 939

IN REPLY REFER TO:

RECEIVED 

311993

DENVER FEDERAL CENTER 

DENVER, COLORADO 80225

August 26, 1993

NPR#3

Cod«

f)

NPR-3 WYO

Mr. Ray Williams ^ ^ ujr>> .

U.S. Department of Energy , ^M^ <O&rtl °T''

907 North Poplar, Suite 100

Casper, Wyoming 82601

Dear Mr. Williams:

For the past three years, the U.S. Geological Survey has 

been preparing a collection of about 250,000 ft of oil-shale 

drill core from hundreds of bore holes for archival at the 

USGS Core Research Center, Lakewood, Colorado under a 

cooperative program between the USGS and the DOE. The work 

is coordinated through Mr. Keith Westhusing, Director, the 

Liquid Fuels Technology Branch, DOE, in Laramie, Wyoming.

Over the years, the USGS has acquired a large collection of 

oil-shale drill cores, mostly from the Green River oil shale 

deposits in Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah. This collection 

also includes cores from bore holes drilled by the former 

DOE Laramie Energy Technology Center (LETC) as well as 

thousands of crushed samples of drill cores that were used 

to make shale-oil analyses by LETC. These cores and samples 

are very valuable for resource evaluation of the Green River 

oil-shale deposits and for developing methods of recovering 

energy and mineral products from this enormous resource.

Because of recent cancellation of DOE funding for oil-shale 

projects, funds for core archival will probably not be 

available after FY 1993. Since the CRC is limited in space 

for core storage because of new sample and core collections, 

we are looking at the possibility of discarding a large 

amount of the oil-shale core, some of which includes the 

LETC collections of cores and crushed samples. In addition, 

as many as four energy companies have recently asked the 

USGS to take their collections of oil-shale cores.

In view of the above situation, I have been investigating 

alteratives to preserving the oil-shale drill cores and 

samples. One possibility is to store the cores in the 

Federal Anvil Points oil-shale mine near Rifle, Colorado. I 

have not yet estimated the total amount of core that we
would want to store there, but it would no doubt amount to 

many tons. After we have completed a review of the cores on 

hand and review those we plan to discard, and those we wish 

to keep for future reference, I can give you a better 

estimate of the tons of core materials and space required. 

We would keep all of the archived cores and a number of the 

unarchived cores at the CRC, but the additional cores that 

would be desirable to retain would be stored at the Anvil 

Points mine.

The drill cores are presently stored on pallets, each 

weighing about 2,000 Ibs. The pallets would be stored in 

several rooms in the mine in such a way that individual 

pallets could be easily retrieved. The pallets would be 

wrapped in plastic to keep out moisture and dirt. A dry 

portion of the mine for long-term core storage is important. 

The mine road would need to be accessible to trucks and 

ventilation air and lights in the mine would be needed. 

Mine security would need to be addressed.

If a place for long-term storage of these cores cannot be 

found, we are looking at discarding many valuable cores and 

samples because of lack of storage space. Since many of 

these cores are from bore holes drilled are on public lands 

for which the Federal Government is responsible, it would be 

remiss if we did not make the effort to preserve them.

If you believe that that this idea has merit, I would 

recommend that the mine and mine access road be examined by 

Mr. Westhusing, myself, and a representative from your 

office to determine if the idea is feasible. We would also 

need to discuss the costs and funding for cleaning up 

several rooms in the mine, core moving costs, etc.

Sincerely yours,

John R. Dyni 

Geologist

cc: Chief, BSP 

Houseknecht 

Westhusing
KD«l\ANVILrT\AF FRO.DOC

PROPOSAL TO STORE OIL-SHALE CORES 

IN THE DOE ANVIL POINTS OIL-SHALE MINE

December 1, 1993 

(Revised April 11, 1994)

Prepared by John R. Dyni

U.S. Geological Survey

Mail Stop 939, Building 25

Denver Federal Center, Colorado 80225

Proposal

This project proposal to the U.S. Department of Energy and 

the U.S. Geological Survey includes preparing a part of the 

DOE Anvil Points Oil-Shale Demonstration mine for long-term 

storage of oil shale drill cores and crushed samples 

obtained from the U.S. Geological Survey in Denver, the 

Chevron Oil Company, and possibly from a DOE facility in 

Laramie, Wyoming. Included in the proposal is the cost of 

shipping of about 600 pallets of oil-shale drill cores from 

the U.S. Geological Survey's Core Research Center in 

Lakewood, Colorado to the DOE Anvil Points oil-shale mine 

near Rifle, Colorado for long-term storage. An option 

includes the cost of shipping about 400 tons of oil-shale 

materials from a DOE storage facility near Laramie, Wyoming 

to the mine.

The work is divided into five tasks: (1) preparation of a 

portion of the Anvil Points mine for storing the drill cores 

which includes moving several muck piles of oil shale in the 

proposed core storage area to other parts of the mine and 

cleaning the floor of the core storage area, (2) preparation 

and shipping about 600 pallets of oil-shale drill cores and 

samples at the USGS Core Research Center from Lakewood to 

the mine (3) moving about 1,100 pallets of oil-shale cores 

from a staging area near the old Anvil Points retort site 

into the mine, and, optionally, (4) preparation and (5) 

shipping 400 tons and 48 barrels of oil-shale materials from 

a DOE storage site near Laramie, Wyoming to the mine.

The total costs for Tasks 1,2 and 3 are estimated at 

$38,910. The costs for optional tasks 4 and 5 are estimated 

at $13,560, for a total cost of $52,470. Because a 

significant number of drill cores and and all of the crushed 

samples were from the former DOE Laramie laboratory, the 

costs should be shared on the basis of 2/3 from the DOE and 

1/3 from the USGS. If weather conditions permit, the work 

would begin on about May 1, 1994 and be completed by May 31, 

1993.
Background information

In 1991 a cooperative project was initiated between the U.S. 

Geological Survey (USGS) and the U.S. Department of Energy 

(DOE) to prepare a large collection of oil-shale drill cores 

for permanent storage at the USGS Core Research Center in 

Lakewood, Colorado and to prepare a PC computer database on 

oil shale. Funding for the project ended September 30, 

1993. This proposal concerns the preservation of the 

unarchived drill cores and a collection of crushed samples 

of oil shale.

The oil-shale drill cores totals 215,000 lineal ft of which 

20 percent have been prepared for archival. About one-half 

of the archived core was prepared under the cooperative 

program. About 170,000 ft of unprocessed oil-shale cores 

about 600 pallets of materials) remain to be archived. Many 

drill cores, as well as a large collection of crushed 

samples of oil shale, were obtained from the former DOE 

Laramie Energy Technology Center. Drill cores were also 

donated by energy companies and many of these are on Federal 

oil-shale lands. The cost to duplicate this collection of 

drill cores, crushed samples, and analytical data probably 

exceeds $50 million.

Recent acquistions of drill cores from oil and gas tests, 

transfer of the complete Amstrat sample library to the CRC, 

and construction of an ice core library at the CRC has 

drastically reduced the amount of available space for 

storage of unprocessed drill cores. For these reasons, it 

is now necessary to consider alternatives for storing the 

oil-shale cores and samples elsewhere, especially since 

additional DOE funding for their archival is unlikely.

The cores and crushed samples comprise a valuable collection 

of rock materials for present and future research. These 

materials can be used for laboratory testing of new 

technologies for recovering shale oil and byproducts, for 

making detailed assessments of the mineral resources, and 

for making chemical analyses to establish baseline data for 

environmental studies. Therefore, the Federal Government 

should preserve this valuable collection for present and 

future research by industry, institutions, and governmental 

agencies.

PROPOSED WORK

It is proposed that as many as 1,120 pallets of unprocessed 

oil shale drill cores from the Green River Formation in 

Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah be stored in the DOE Anvil 

Points oil-shale demonstration mine west of Rifle, Colorado.
About 600 of these pallets pallets are currently stored at 

the U.S. Geological Survey's Core Research Center, Lakewood, 

Colorado. About 120 pallets of drill cores and samples from 

Chevron Oil Company which are currently stored in Grand 

Junction, would be included.

An option to this proposal includes the preparation of about 

400 tons of raw and retorted oil shale and 18 barrels of 

shale oil stored in Laramie, Wyoming by the DOE Liquid Fuels 

Technology Branch. This office has indicated that it may 

want to store these materials in the mine. However, other 

options including disposal of these materials in a local 

landfill is also being considered.

The work includes (1) cleanup of a portion of the mine for 

long-term storage cores and crushed samples of oil shale, 

(2) banding and wrapping about 600 pallets of drill core and 

their transportation from the USGS Core Research Center, 

Lakewood, Colorado to the mine, (3) off-loading of pallets 

arriving from Denver (and possibly from Laramie) at a 

staging area at the foot of the mine road and transporting 

the pallets on smaller trucks into the mine, and 

optionally, (4) the preparation and (5) transportation of 

about 400 tons of crushed oil shale and 48 barrels of shale 

oil from Laramie, Wyoming, to the mine. These materials are 

currently stored by DOE Liquid Fuels Technology Branch, 

Laramie, Wyoming in the University of Wyoming Agronomy 

building several miles west of Laramie.

In addition to this proposal, a memorandum of understanding 

between the DOE and the U.S. Geological Survey should be 

prepared to include provisions for maintaining an inventory 

of materials being stored in the mine, how the mine can be 

accessed to retrieve and store additional oil-shale 

materials, and for inspection and maintenance of the cores 

in the mine, mine caretaker functions, mine road 

maintenance, and other aspects that may apply.

ANVIL POINTS MINE AS A CORE STORAGE FACILITY

The Anvil Points demonstration mine was originally developed 

by the U.S. Bureau of Mines as an experimental facility to 

investigate methods of mining and retorting of oil shale. 

The mine was last operated in 1983 and has been closed until 

1993, when it was reopened for removal of 10,000 tons of 

mine-run oil shale by New Paraho Corp. The Anvil Points 

selective mine, developed just east of the demonstration 

mine, is not considered for core storage in this proposal.

During the fall of 1993, two brief visits were made to the 

Anvil Points demonstration mine in company of Mr. Edward 

Cooley, manager of the New Paraho oil-shale plant. An area 

in the west part of the mine was tentatively chosen where
conditions appeared to be most favorable for core storage 

shown by a dashed line in figure 1. The proposed core 

storage area lies one pillar east of the north-south haulage 

way along the west side of the mine, which allows room for 

further mining and removal of oil shale from the mine 

without disturbing the core storage area.

In the proposed core storage area, the mine roof, which is 

at a height of 40 ft, is well bolted and shows no evidence 

of rock spalling or weak roof conditions. However, about 

150 ft to the southeast, roof falls have occurred and roof 

conditions are hazardous (figure 1). The area of hazardous 

roof conditions is marked with warning signs and should not 

affect the core storage area.

The west part of the demonstration mine appears to be dry 

except for the room in the northwest corner of the mine 

about 200 ft northwest of the proposed core storage area. 

Here, the room has been deepened about 15 ft and it serves 

as a sump for water seeping from the ribs in this part of 

the mine. Some moisture was also noted along fractures near 

the portals of adits 1 and 2. However, no water seepage was 

noted in the proposed core storage area.

Dust will probably be a problem, especially if additional 

mining is carried out. Therefore, it would be desirable to 

cover the pallets of cores and samples with plastic sheets. 

Because of the height of the mine, it would not be feasible 

to erect barrier walls of plastic sheeting to seal off the 

core storage area.

The proposed core storage area encompasses about 22,750 

square feet, which should be ample to store as many as 1,000 

pallets of standard size (36.5x45 inches), stacked two 

pallets high (figure 2). Several muck piles totaling about 

3,200 yards, will need to be moved to rooms east of the 

storage area. The floor of the area should be cleaned by 

hosing with water. Several truck loads of water would be 

required.

Workmen with mine safety training will be needed to truck 

the cores into the mine and to unload the trucks with a 

forklift. A 10-ton flatbed truck can be driven into the 

mine to the core storage area and the pallets removed by a 

forklift.

MINE VENTILATION

A six-foot diameter flexible cloth ventilation tube and fan 

are present along the west haulage way. A generator will 

need to be rented to operate the ventilation system when the 

workers are cleaning the core storage area and moving 

pallets into the mine.
MINE ROAD

The road from the foot of the cliff near the old Anvil 

Points retort facility to the mine bench is 5 miles long and 

includes several steep switchbacks. The road at the time of 

the last visit was in good condition and can accomodate 

about a 10-ton flatbed truck. Larger tandem-axle highway 

rigs would not be able to use the road. The mine road would 

not be useable during wet weather. It will be necessary to 

unload the pallets from 18-wheel flat bed truck/trailers at 

the base of the mine road, then haul the pallets into the 

mine to the core storage area on smaller trucks.

STAGING AREA

An area near the old Anvil Points retort site will be 

selected for unloading the pallets of cores and samples 

arriving from Denver, and possibly from Laramie for transfer 

to smaller trucks for hauling the core up the mine road into 

the mine.

ESTIMATED COSTS

Task 1. Mine work including moving several muck piles and 

cleaning the floor in the proposed core storage area.

A) Rental of generator set for operating the

mine ventilation system, @ $800/month for ' 2 months .................................. $1,600

B) Diesel fuel for a generator to operate the

ventilation system.......................... $500

C) Move about 3,200 yards of oil-shale muck 

several hundred ft into rooms east of the 

core storage area. Estimated 5 days work 

with a 10-yard loader @ $700/day 

including transportation of loader to and 

from the mine .............................. $3,500

D) Clean and wash floor in the proposed core

storage area ............................... $1,500

E) Plastic sheeting for covering palleted

cores in the mine .......................... $250
Task 2.

A) Preparation of about 600 pallets of core at 

the USGS Core Research Center for transportation to the Anvil Points mine includes 

banding and covering each pallet with 

plastic for shipping ....................... $2,500

B) Transportation of 600 pallets from the USGS 

Core Research Center, Lakewood, Colorado to 

the staging area at Anvil Points mine near 

Rifle, Colorado (27 truckloads @ $488/ 

truckload) ................................ $13,310

Task 3. Transportation of the cores and crushed

samples from the staging area to the core 

storage area in the mine by workers minesafety certified to work underground, 100 

truckloads @ $7S/truckload including 

forklifts for loading and unloading the 

pallets ................................... $22,750

Supervision of the work at the mine by a consulting geologist familiar with oil-shale drill cores 

@ $550/day including lodging, meals, and transportation for 15 days ............................. $8,250

i '- 

Grand total $54,160

WORK SCHEDULE

The work would began on about June 1, 1994 when the mine 

road is dry and safe to travel. The entire project to clean 

up the proposed area for core storage in the mine and 

shipping the cores from Denver and into the mine should be 

completed in 30 working days. The work at mine would be 

supervised by a consulting geologist, probably one a parttime basis (approximately 2-3 days per week) for the 

duration of the project.
NORTH 

2500

2400 +

2200 4-

2100 4-

2000 4-

1900 4-

1800

1700 4.

1800 4-

1500 4.

1400 4-

PROPOSED CORE STORAGE AREA

1200 1800 1400 1500 1000 1700 1800 1900 EAST

Figure 1. Plan of west side of the Anvil Points Demonstration Mine
PROPOSED CORE STORAGE AREA

MUCK PILES

Figure 2. Enlarged plan view of the proposed core storage area.
Department of Energy

Naval Petroleum and Oil Shale Reserves

in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming 

S07 N. Poplar, Suite 150 May 31, 

Casper, Wyoming 82601

1996

Serial No:DJN/041.655

Mr. Thomas Michalski

Chief, USGS Core Research Center

U.S. Geological Survey

Mail Stop 975, P.O. Box 25046

Denver, CO 80225-0046

Dear Mr. Michalski,

Enclosed is the signed MOU for Storage of Oil Shale Core at 

the Anvil Points Mine in Colorado. Thank you very much for 

your cooperation and initiative in making this project work.

If we can be of further assistance, please call Dan Newquist 

at (307) 261-5161, extension 5073.

D. Turner 

Director

Enclosure: 

As stated

cc: CAPT Hunter, FE-60 (w/o encl) 

Arney Smits, FE-62 (w/o encl)

lj/5810/wp
1 : 1936

RECEIVED

APR ^ 6 IQQn MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING

NP&3 WYO

BETWEEN

UNITED STATES 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

AND

UNITED STATES 

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

FOR

STORAGE OF

OIL SHALE CORE

AT ANVIL POINTS MINE
I. PURPOSE

The purpose of this Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is to 

establish general guidelines for the storage of oil shale cores within 

the custody of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) at the Department of 

Energy's (DOE) Anvil Points mine located on Naval Oil Shale Reserves 

No. 1 near Rifle, Colorado.

II. BACKGROUND

The Core Research Center of the USGS, located in the Denver Federal 

Center, has acquired a large collection of oil shale cores and crushed 

samples from exploratory drilling (by the DOE, USGS, and others) of 

the Green River oil shale deposits of Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah. 

This collection is an irreplaceable source of materials for testing new 

oil shale technologies and represents an original investment exceeding 

$20 million. With tightening budgets, this valuable collection of cores 

is in danger of being lost because the USGS no longer can afford the 

high cost of warehousing the collection at the Denver Federal Center.

III. AUTHORITY

A. Department of Energy Organization Act of 1977 (Public Law No. 

95-91), 42 USC 7101 etseq .

B. Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act of i076 public Law No. 

94-258), 10 USC 7420 ct scq .

C. 43 USC 31 etseq .

IV. GENERAL MANAGEMENT AND RESPONSIBILITIES

A. The interests of DOE and the USGS in Anvil Points and the oil shale 

cores, respectively, will not be regarded as changed or altered in any 

manner by this agreement. DOE retains exclusive jurisdiction and 

control over the Anvil Points mine and the space designated for 

storage of the core collection. The USGS retains ownership of all cores 

and samples in the collection, including cores and samples obtained at 

an earlier date from DOE.

B. The USGS will be responsible for management and maintenance of
core materials in the designated core storage area, and for records 

management. Oil shule cores I'rom deposits other than the Green 

River Formation may be added to the collection, but no non-oil shale 

cores will be stored in the mine.

C. DOE will reserve part of the Anvil Points mine for long-term 

storage of oil shale cores and samples. DOL:, to the maximum extent 

practicable, will condu-jt any future mining activities in a manner that 

will minimize the risk of damage to the cores or core storage area.

However, DOE assumes no liability for damage or loss of core while it 

is being stored in the mine. If mining takes place, availability of the 

core storage area for viewing or sampling rmiy be temporarily 

restricted.

D. The LJSGS and DOE will ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, 

that appropriate safety measures are implemented to protect ail 

persons entering the mine. Non-government visitors to the mine will 

be required to assume liability for their own safety.

E. DOE and USGS will prepare and implement project plans or 

interagency agreements which set forth specific cooperative 

arrangements and procedures for core storage. For example, project 

plans will specify the initial preparation, including the removal of 

muck piles and old equipment, of the portion of the Anvil Points mine 

set aside for the core storage. DOE and the USGS will consult from 

time to time regarding implementation of this MOU. Agency 

coordinators for this MOU are identified in Section X below.

F. The USGS and DOE will provide each other with reports, and other 

information as requested, within ninety days of the end of the fiscal 

year, giving the annual expenditures, sources of funding, and statistics 

of visits and usage, as applicable. Such reports will include a 

narrative description of specific work projects, to the extent this 

information is available, and will identify future needs.

V. OPERATING GUIDELINES

A. The core storage area will be open to the public (persons, other 

than USGS and DOE personnel, over 18 or accompanied by persons 

over 18) for examination during the last full work week of each 

month. This inspection period may change as road and mine
conditions, funding, weather, or interest in sampling or viewing the 

cores changes.

B. The core storage area will be open at other times to USGS and DOE 

personnel for core examination and sampling.

C. All core inspection or sampling will be coordinated through the 

USGS. The USGS will provide personnel to assist the public during the 

inspection period.

D. DOE will have access to the core storage area as needed for mine 

maintenance or safety inspections at no expense to the USGS.

E. The USGS will remove core stored in the mine:

(a) upon termination of the MOU and DOE's request that the cores be 

removed, and;

(b) if funds and manpower are available for this purpose.

VI. PROJECT FUNDING

A. The initial costs of preparing the designated portion of the mine 

for core storage and moving the core from the Denver Federal Center 

to the mine will be shared by the USGS and DOE.

B. This MOU shall not be used to obligate or commit funds or as the 

basis for the transfer of funds. The details of the levels of support to 

be furnished one organi/ution by ihe other v\ilh respect to funding 

will be developed in specific intenigency agreements or other 

appropriate funding documents, subject to the availability of funds.

C. Certain operating expenses associated with core storage at Anvil 

Points, including travel by USGS personnel to and from the mine, and 

lighting and ventilation in the core storage area when it is open to the 

public, will be paid by the USGS. Operating expenses for maintenance 

of the mine, mine access road, and underground access to the core 

storage area in the mine will be paid by the DOE. If the funds or staff 

are not available, the core storage area may be closed to the public.

VII. PUBLIC INFORMATION COORDINATION
Subject to the Freedom of Information Act (5 USC 552), decisions on 

disclosure of information to the public will be made following 

consultation between DOE and USGS.

VIII. AMENDMENT AND TERMINATION

This MOU may be amended by written agreement between DOE and 

the USGS and may be terminated by either DOE or the USGS on 90 

days advance written notice of termination.

IX. EFFECTIVE DATE

This MOU shall become effective when signed by both parties. It shall 

remain in effect for a five-year term from the effective date.

X. AGENCY CONTACTS

A. U.S. Department of Energy: 

Dan Newquist, Oil Shale Manager 

907 N. Poplar St., Suite 150 

Casper, Wyoming 82601 

307/261-5161, ext. 5073 

307/261-5817 (fax)

B. U.S. Geological Survey: 

J.R. Dyni

MS 939 Federal Center 

Denver, Colorado 80225-0046 

303/236-5544 (Office) 

303/665-6922 (home)

Thomas Michalski 

MS 975 Federal Center 

Denver, Colorado 80225-0046 

303/202-4852 (Office) 

303/202-4856 (fax)
XI. SIGNATURES

For the U.S. Department of Energy:

Date

Captain Ernest R. Hunter, CEC, USN

Deputy Assistant Secretary lor Naval Petroleum and Oil Shale Reserves 

U.S. Department of Energy

For the U.S. Geological Survey:

'Date

Thomas D. Fouch

Acting Regional Geologist, Central Region

U.S. Geological Survey