Baseline Study Reports - Johns-Manville Proposed Operation - Stillwater Complex, Montana

The specific area investigated in this work is located in portions of Stillwater & Sweet Grass counties of Montana in the Northern Rocky Mountains & Northwestern PlainsThorne Ecological Institute, Boulder, ColoradoEnvironmental Impact, etc.Spiral Bound8 1/2 x 11 inches
Volumes:Wildlife by Robert L. EngArchaeology and History by Larry A. LahrenGeology by Darrel E. DunnHydrology by Charles LeafVisual by W. J. McLaughlinRecreation by W. J. McLaughlinAquatic Ecology by Robert W. PennakSoils by Gerald A. Nielsen & Larry C. MunnSocioeconomic by Dr. Raymond Gold, Rick Palzer, et alVegetation by Wallace M. Johnson
Sweet Grass County is a county located in the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 3,651. Its county seat is Big Timber. The county was founded in 1895.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,862 square miles (4,820 km2), of which 1,855 square miles (4,800 km2) is land and 6.8 square miles (18 km2) (0.4%) is water.-------------------------Stillwater County is a county located in the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 9,117.] Its county seat is Columbus.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,805 square miles (4,670 km2), of which 1,795 square miles (4,650 km2) is land and 9.2 square miles (24 km2) (0.5%) is water.-------------------------The Stillwater igneous complex is a large layered mafic intrusion (LMI) located in southern Montana in Stillwater, Sweet Grass and Park Counties. The complex is exposed across 30 miles (48 km) of the north flank of the Beartooth Mountain Range. The complex has extensive reserves of chromium ore and has a history of being mined for chromium. More recent mining activity has produced palladium and other platinum group elements.
The Stillwater complex is a large layered intrusion with many similarities to the Bushveld igneous complex of South Africa. The complex was intruded into existing gneisses during the Archean at about 2700 Mya. The region was subsequently intruded by a quartz monzonite stocks and underwent extensive metamorphism, faulting and folding during the Archean at about 2500 Mya. The area was intruded by north trending mafic dikes before being unconformably covered by a middle-Cambrian sedimentary rock sequence. The intrusion forms a linear body stretching some 30 miles (48 km) and striking roughly N 60 °W and dipping from 50° to near 90° to the northeast. The exposed thickness is around 18,000 feet (5500 m) with an additional estimated 5000 to 15,000 feet having been removed from the top by pre-Cambrian erosion.
The cumulate stratigraphy comprises three distinct zones:
The basal zone consists of a chilled fine grained gabbro overlain by gabbro, norite and feldspar pyroxenites. Thickness up to 700 feet (210 m).The ultramafic zone is composed of a lower peridotite member consisting of alternating dunite, chromitite, harzburgite and bronzite pyroxenite. The upper third is massive bronzite pyroxenite. The ultramafic zone averages around 3500 feet (1100 m) in thickness.The banded zone is composed of alternating norite, gabbro and anorthosite. The banded zone has a maximum thickness of 14,000 feet (4300 m).
The chromium orebodies are restricted to the peridotite member of the ultramafic zone. The platinum group orebodies are located in the lower part of the banded zone within a horizon referred to as the J-M reef.
The J-M Reef is similar to the Merensky Reef of the Bushveld complex of South Africa. It is a continuous layer near the base of the banded zone. It consists of one to three meter thick pegmatitic peridotite and troctolite with disseminated sulfide minerals. Common sulfides include pyrrhotite, pentlandite (containing up to 5% Pd), and chalcopyrite along with lesser amounts of moncheite ((Pt,Pd)(Te,Bi)2), cooperite ((Pt,Pd,Ni)S), braggite ((Pt,Pd,Ni)S), kotulskite (Pd(Te,Bi)1-2) and platinum-iron alloys. Overall the reef contains an average of 20-25 ppm platinum plus palladium in an average two meter thickness. It has a Pd/Pt ratio of about 3.6.----------------------------------Platinum and palladium (platinum group metals) are important to industrial and defense technology. Additionally, the United States Government has classified them as Strategic Metals. Platinum is used primarily as a catalyst in pollution control devices. Palladium is used primarily in space age electronics micro-circuitry, as a catalyst in the chemical industry, and in dental alloys.
Demand for platinum and palladium is growing. Platinum has a worldwide demand of about 4.7 million troy ounces annually (Engineering and Mining Journal 1996). As the European countries implement the use of automotive catalytic converters, the demand for platinum is expected to increase substantially. Worldwide demand for palladium is about 5.9 million troy ounces annually. The U.S. demand for both metals is about one-half of the total worldwide demand.
Historically, the Republic of South Africa and Russia have supplied the worldwide demand for platinum and palladium. The Stillwater Complex, which is the primary source of platinum group metals ore at the Stillwater Mine, holds the only significant primary source of platinum and palladium outside South Africa and Russia. SMC's mining claims extend for more than 27 miles along the Stillwater Complex. Proven and probable reserves of ore at the Stillwater Mine are estimated at approximately 10.5 million tons.
Currently, the Stillwater Mine can supply about five percent of World's annual demand for platinum group minerals, but only a portion of the U.S. demand. The current political situations in South Africa and Russia and the increasing demand for these strategic metals suggest demand for Stillwater ore may increase.
Concentrations of cadmium, copper, iron, lead, and zinc at sites upstream and downstream of the mine site have been above water quality standards set by DEQ (Hydrometrics 1997). For example, the maximum concentrations of cadmium, copper, lead, and zinc observed at the upstream site exceed the chronic aquatic standard (Table 3-1). The average concentration of copper at the upstream site exceeds the chronic aquatic standard. The maximum concentration of iron exceeds the human health standards. The maximum concentrations of cadmium and copper exceed the chronic aquatic standard at the downstream site. The maximum concentration of copper also exceeds the acute standard at the downstream site. Mean concentrations of specific conductance, total dissolved solids (TDS), hardness, bicarbonate, sulfate, nitrate, and phosphorus are mildly elevated at the downstream surface water site, SMC-1 1, on the Stillwater River compared with the upstream surface water site, SMC-1 A. These elevated levels are a result of the weathering of ultrabasic rocks of the Stillwater Complex and as a result of LAD application of adit water enriched in these constituents.
The granitic Stillwater Complex is a non-acid generating ore body. Although low concentrations of sulfur exist, annual testing of the acid-base potential conducted since the mine was developed have never identified zones of elevated acid potential. Results from the most recent sampling of waste rock and tailings are shown in Table 3-2. Generally, values of acid potential less than 20 tons CaCOj equivalents per 1000 tons of waste material reflect a neutral geochemistry. The acid-base potential of the samples confirm the low potential to generate acid.
Groundwater is contained in bedrock of the Stillwater Complex within the area of the mine site, landslide deposits, colluvium (sheetwash deposits), and unconsolidated alluvium (stream deposits) landslide deposits. ------------------------------Johns Manville is an American corporation based in Denver, Colorado that manufactures insulation, roofing materials, and engineered products. For much of the 20th century, the then-titled Johns-Manville Corporation was the global leader in the manufacture of asbestos-containing products, including asbestos pipe insulation, asbestos shingles, asbestos roofing materials and asbestos cement pipe.
Johns Manville stock was included in the Dow Jones Industrial Average from January 29, 1930 to August 27, 1982 when it was replaced by American Express. In 1981, Johns-Manville Corporation was renamed simply "Manville". In 1982, facing unprecedented liability for asbestos injury claims, Johns Manville voluntarily filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code.
Berkshire Hathaway bought the company in 2001. Chairman & CEO Jerry Henry retired in 2004; Steve Hochhauser became Chairman, President & CEO. Todd Raba succeeded him in the summer of 2007; Raba came from MidAmerican Energy Holdings, another Berkshire Hathaway company. In November 2012, Mary Rhinehart was named President & CEO.
Founded in 1858, the modern Johns-Manville entity was the result of the merger of two early construction products manufacturers. At the age of 21, Henry Ward Johns had already patented roofing and insulation products. He founded the H. W. Johns Manufacturing Company in New York City. Likewise, in 1885, the Manville Covering Company was founded in Wisconsin by C. B. Manville. C. B. Manville's grandson was the much-married socialite Tommy Manville.
In 1901, H. W. Johns Manufacturing and Manville Covering Co. merged to form H. W. Johns-Manville Company. In 1926, the company was renamed Johns-Manville Corporation. In the 1930s, the industrialist Lewis H. Brown was president of the Johns-Manville Corporation. In 1949, the Canadian branch of the corporation was involved in the Asbestos Strike at its mines in Asbestos, Canada. In 1958, Johns Manville bought Glass Fibers, Inc. based in Toledo, OH from Randolph Barnard. This purchase propelled Manville's insulation division. At the time Dominick Labino was working for Glass Fibers, Barnard and Labino both joined Johns Manville. Glass Fibers had several plants in Waterville and Defiance, those are still in operation under Johns Manville,
Beginning just after World War II, sculptor Beverly Bender spent thirty-two years working in the art department of Johns Manville, creating animal sculpture in her free time.---------------------------Thorne Nature Experience, formerly Thorne Ecological Institute, was founded by Dr. Oakleigh Thorne, II in Boulder, Colorado in 1954. During its first three decades, the organization focused on a diverse array of environmental projects ranging from land conservation, to educating governments, businesses, adults, and children locally and nationally about the Principles of Ecology and how these relate to economics, human welfare, and the health of the environment. Since the environmental movement became more mainstream in the 1980's and 90's, there has been significant growth in the number of specialized businesses and nonprofits engaged in the protection of natural areas and conservation of natural resources. In response, Thorne has streamlined its programming to focus on what has always been its core competence, environmental education for Boulder and Denver Metro Area youth. The success of Thorne's natural science programming has led to the development of permanent teaching facilities at Sombrero Marsh in Boulder and Waterton Canyon in Littleton. During the past six decades, Thorne has connected more than 275,000 children and adults to nature and become a nationally recognized leader in the field of environmental education.