Borate deposits of the Mojave Region, California

Smith, Ward C. · 1958 · Report

Output of the United States borate producers reached approximately 1,000,000 tons in 1957, nearly four times the average annual production of 1941-45.…

Public-domain full text preserved in the Mountain Man Mining Library. Original source: pubs.usgs.gov.

U. S. Geolo~ical Su vev. enorts, open-file, no. 440.

U. s. Geological Survey. Reports, Open-file, no. 440, 1958.

Borate Depo81 ta ot tbe Mojave Region, C&litornia_/ By W&rd c? · f.nth U. S. Geological Survey Cl.&re110nt, C&llf'ornia U. s. Geological Survey 2PEN FILE REPORT This report ia prellJiinary and has not been edited or reviewed tor conformity with Geological Survey standard~ or nomenclature. / 'lhis article is essentially the same as a taJ.k presented at the Annual Meeting of the Cclorado Mining Association at Denver, Colorado, February 81 1958

CONTENTS Abstract .. Introduction Uses of boron and borates Products of boron users . Commercial compourds of boron Boron Dd.nerals . . Production in the tJnited states . World. ocourrencea Tibet . . . Italy; Germany; Russia Australia ; Asia . South America. . . . . . U. s. Borate Deposits. . General teaturea. Searles Lake example . . . . . . Results of baain drilling . Kramer District example Results of drilling near Kramer . Outlook for new diacoveries. . References . . . . . . . . . Pap

Borate Deposita of the Mojave Region 1 Call fomia By W&rd c. Sm1 th Abstract Output of the United States borate producers reached approx!Jately 1,000,000 tons in 1957, nearly four times the average ann\al production of 1941-45. Increasing consumption for long-established uses and several new ones accounts for the rise further rise, tor nev uses such aa hiatt energy tuels, lies &head. Among known borate deposita, the largest are at Searles Lake and Kramer, which supply 90 percent of the world' s recorded production. 'lhe Kramer ore body, which is very l&rp, consists of re-.rkably pure sodium 'bora tee in Tertiary lake beds . At Searles lake, also large 1 the borax is produced from brines pu.ped out of salt layers which are the residue of a desioated. Pleistocene lake . Prospectins tor borates is now more active than it bas been tor ~rs. 'l'he best prospecting ground is in the alluvial-covered baaina of western Navada and particularly southeastern C&l.1f'orn1a, in concealecl sections of Tertiary continental aedints. Several playas or salt flat s tb&t resemble Searles Lake were teat-drilled ror the U. S. Oeolog1cal Survey by a contractor but the holes encountered no borate a. Drill holes near Kramer 1 however, encountered a depoa1 t ot coleuani te in lake beds .

Introduction During recent years, a number ot nevepaper and asuine articlea havs discussed pos8ible uew use a ot boron . In July 1957 datense apncies announced that certain ~~&nufacturtng plants proclucing "hip ners;y" 1\Jela to1 ita.ry aircraft vere being enlarpd, and tbat in these t\.lela the ain components are hyd.ropn and boron. n. ve yKrs earlier, in 19521 the U. 8 . Geological Survey be!&O an 1nveat1sat1on ot the 4omeatic depoaita ot borate minerals. Tbie waa at the request of tbe U. 8. ltavy, Bureau or Mron&utics . 31nce 1952, therefore, the l,eOlOC)" or borate depoaite, and many of their special aspects, have been st\died by a sizable group ot geologists, minera.losiats, and other 8pscial1ata of the CJeologic&l Survey. '!hi a report contains .. teriaJ. gathered b7 our group ettorta. Ra.turally, I voulcl like to a.cknovled811 here tbe contributions ot all vbo haw been active in the group, and I regret that it 1e ~tical to cite each of tht!m by name

Uses of boron &nd boratea '1'be producers of boron supply a broad arket, becu the conaw.ra bQron compounds are spread. widely in our econ~. !Ddi viduala use ._, in borax soap powders, in cOIDIIOD household borax, and in the borGDlMtaring sasoline recently arkete4 in several parts of the aountey. Industrial users take large q1ant1 ties; tbe glaa& -.nufacturers, for example, consume &bout a fourth ot the production. )t)at individuals &o not realize that a great number ot tlU.np tlud.liar to thea ,..quire boron compounds f'or their Janldacture or prooeaainc. A tew typical products listed below bring out the importance ot boron in 4aily life.

Industry Consumer Products Ceramics Glass making Metal products Agriculture, Forestry Industrial Products Products of boron users T,ypical products Soaps Fbarmaceutica.ls "Boron ga.sollne" Glazed ware of all 1-'..inds Automobile headlight units Fiber glass Optic glasses Heat-resisting glass ("Pyrex") Fluxing cQIII.pOunds De-oxidizing compounds Mold retardant in food processing Trace element in fertilizers Weed killers Insecticides Fire retardant I.Atather preservative Paper glaze component Abrasives

Commercial comp-ounds of boron Boron e nters commerce mostly as eodi um borate --borax and anhydroua borax--and as boric acid Chemical coaaposi t ion and ~0:3 content of the ae e~unds are as follows: Principal commercial boron coapounda Boron content Cc:amercial· name Cheaical name Cheal cal percent percent ccaposition B

llorax Sodium borate NaaB4~·lOH2o ( decahydrate) Anhydrous borax (Sodium borate Na2:B4°7 (anhydrous ) Boric acid Boric acid. B(OH)) Users also obtain boron in a vide variety or other toras, ranging from elemental boron to organic c011p0unde. 'b producins caapanies have large chemical plante and reaearch taf'ts and tbe list of their products is always increasing.

Boron 111nerale The boron minerals ot greatest econ<lld.c ~rt&Dce in tbe l.h1 ted States are borax, ulexi te 1 and coleani te. 'lbeir cheat cal relationrahips are indicated by listins them, with acae Jlinor Dd.neral.a, p-ouped by couaposi tion. (See also Pal.acbe and others, 1951, p. 320-21). 1!le Ust does not include h1dftted borate& ot cal.c1 aneai\a &M sneaium, which are -.jor minerals in deposits el.aevbare in tbe worl4 but found only in aaall amounts in d01111stio depoeite, nor does it include other borates of less iaportance. Principal hydrated borate ainerala Borao content' Cbemica.l group Mineral name CheJaical percent percent cOIIQ)081tion B Kernite ( "Basori te" ) 0..,. 411c20 Sodium borates Borax ("Tineal") Probertite Naea.B509.~0 Sodium-calcium borates Ulexite NaCaB5 o9 Coiemanite calcium berates Meyerboft.ri te Inyoite ca2B6o11 .131120

.Among the minerals 1 borax ia espec1~ Ulportt.Dt. Borax wa 'the n.rst borat mineral satned. ln the ~ted at.te 1864 at Borax IAke, Ce.li ontia, north ot San J'ranci ao. (fur detaila ot the history of borax p.roduotion in tbe Uo1ted States, ... B&nka, 1883, and Ver Planck, 1956). Frau. 1&72 to 1890, both borax am. ulexi" were mined from the ttlonacences in the salt tlats, or "b01"$te marshes" , of western 1lna4a and eoutbeaetem california .. xt, colema.ni te bee- the lee41ng borate ld.aeral Jd.nlna ll(.)ftd fr<D the marsh deposits to the Tertiary bedded depoeits in t.be bills. Since 192'(, borax has been dominant . It 1a the ore lllineral at ~r, the lea.di dc=-aat1e producer 1 and it is &lao OOIIIDOD to speak ot borax at Searles lAke, tboulh m.in1na there oonaiats of P'JJ19ing brines tbat contain the so4ium borate in sol\.ltion, alon& With potash IWd other va.lU&ble component. a .

Production in the United states Domestic production of borate minerals has been rising steeply tor several years because of steady increases in established uses and tbe development of new uses other than military. '1he uae of boron in hip energy fuels bas not yet had a significant ettect on O.OU.atie production. Rounded figures for domestic production, \lbich bas come entirely from southeastern California, are as follows (Arund&le, 1956, p. l39J calif. Div. Mines, 1958, p. 8-9): Period 1941-45 (averap) 1946-50 (average) 1951-55 (averap) 1957 (estiuated) Procluction per year ( tona of borates) 273,000 500,000 730,000 944,950 1,000,000! According to the latest author! tati ve t1surea, vh.ich are tor 1956, when 944,950 tons were prcduced., our ~atic borate production vu valued at $39 1 591,953. 'lbe indicated averap val.ue--e.bout $40 per taD-- is the price at the producing plants in C&l1tornia.

World Occurrences A few notes on world production of borate& will gl.ve additional back· p-ound to our picture of our domestic industry. We do not have reliable igures for world production, because certain countries do not release figures. We believe that the United States, Vhic:h exports from a fifth to a fourth of i t s production, has been supplying t,he world vi th about 90 percent of 1 t s requirement for soma thirty years . Borate a produc outside the Un1 ted State a ( Stipp and Marks, 1957, p . 9-10) Production Count ry (Metric tons) Product Ar nti a 13,000 Ulexite Germany, West - 40,470 Boron compounds Italy 3, 1()( Boric Acid Turkey 42,186 Boron mineral A few highlights ot the occurrence and production of borates outeicie the United Sta.tes follow. ( See also Anonymous, 1933, p . 20-44 ). Tibet and nearby parts of the high region north of India contain borate deposits that are noted as the world ' s first important source ot borax or rce . Carried to Europe at first by caravan, begi.nning about 1250 (the time ot Marco Polo), the borax from Tibet was the chief supply until about t he Jliddle ot the 19th century. The deposits are little known, and they auat be mall. 'lbeir geolosi.c types Mem to include hot-spring aprona and desert baain salines. u

Italy developed a small but steady production in the Ddddle of the 19th century, and displaced the supply from Tibetan sources. The strildng feature of the Italian production, which still continues, is ita source: r he boron is recovered from steam and hot water poured out of tumarolic vents in TUscany. The waters yield boric acid B(OH)3. ( 1he mineral of this compos! tion is sasso11 te). In Germany, at the famous Stassfurt 1oc&li ty, the marine sediments of Permian age that are mined mainly for potash, also yield some borate (hydroboracite, CaMgB6o11 ·H20). The Russians produce borax in the region of the Inder Lake, in western Kazakhstan. The quantity produced is not reported, but it appears to be large enough to meet the needs of the country. Mineralogic reports ( God1evsky, 1937, p. 315-368) indicate that there are deposits of several kinds. 'lbe primary deposits are in Pei"'Ilian marine sediments. These contributed boron to more valuable secondary accumulations in (Tertiary?) continental deposits 1 am also to the brine ot a salt lake. Turkel has produced minor quantities o! borate tor years. After a decrease in production of priceite (Ca4B10o19·7H20) (see Balache and others, 1951, p. 341-343) trOIIl the well-known locality near Fanderma, with exhaustion of the deposit there, new production came f'r<n a nearby deposit discovered in 1951. In the new deposits, the chief borate is colemanite, but they incl\¥ie other borates (Meixner, 1953, p. 86-92).

Australia and (other than 'l'i bet 1 ntione4 above) to lack borate a. Africa aleo !a lacking, so tar as pro4uct1on recorda 10, thou&b poaai bly borate a occur in potaah proapecta in B:r1 trea 1 a ted by Italians in the early 1930's. When we consider South ~rica' a bora tea alon& v1 th tho ot the Un:lt ed States, we realize that the watern heai.aphere ia well enclowd with known, usable depoatte . Boratea are toun4 in a n~r ot ext naive aa.lt nata ( "ea1area") 1n the 4r.f b&aina ot the Aolea ot Arpntina, Chile, Bolivia and Peru (Miller and Sin lei, 1919 ; Singewald, 1943). It i i nteresting to know tbat South rica &leo has, in a441 tion to the .. sal.are" type ot borate a , a tev be44e4 depoa1 ta i n Terti ary cont inental sediments One contains kern1te, the eo41ua borate long known only at Kruaer ( Ahlfeld and An lelli , 1948 ; eats and All n, 1957 1 p . 426-437). The borates produced fr011 some of the South "'-r1can sal.area w:re 110at iaportant in world trade i n the latter part of the 19th century, but exports shrank as C&l1t'orn1a procluct1on be~ 4011! D&Dt. 'to4ay a tew localities produce sall quantities, ue4 tor nat10D&l conau.ption. lit>st ot the South rtoan cl.eposi t are WlVOrUd. beeauae their ll'4e ie low, or becaua their locat1on, remte h"C* world arkets, aua the cost of transportation hip.

u. s. borat,e apoai ta A nouworthy teat UN of the bol'&t.e 1D4uatey 1n the Un1 t.a State a, s.a that tM steatlily r1aina 41 nDla tor borate raw teriala are by two sources ot auppl.y in ao\ltbeaatem C&litornia: the tiat.rict, which suppllea tvo·thinla 0%' mre ot tbe production, an4 lear lea I.&ke. Other 41atr1cta contribute only mnor qtantltiee. Noet .. uer depoe1 tw have been icllA ever since the two bi& sources eu~t 1nto tull pro4uctiol!, Uout 1917, ud proapectora bave M4 little nuon tor persisting 1n a search tor new borate deposita. In tbe last two ye&re or ao, hOW'VU", 1ntenat 1n ,roqectinS has risen percept! bly, and in January 19571 t1 ve holea wre dr1lle4 in the KNMr 41etrict to teet tor bora tea.

General Features The known borate deposits ot the United State a geographically are limited to california, western Nevada, and southern Oregon. Practically all the springs and wells known to contain 1110re boron than averap sw .. fe.ce vaters are lind ted to the same area. We assu. theae surface oc c m~rence s reflect the presence ot subsurtace rocks that contain, and yield to the surface more boron than generally found in the earth's crust . It seems likely that the boron content of the subsurface rocks of the ooron -bearing province need be only sl.i ghtly h.igb.er than the figure computed as the average in the earth's crust, 3 parts per million (Mason , 1952, p. 41) . In geologic mode of occurrence, our domestic borate deposits ot commercial value (past or present) are essentially saline aaterials 1 accumulated with other continental sed1 vi thin basins of interior drainage. 1 major essential process in the concentration of soluble constituents i n such basins is desiccation. The process builds accumulations vi thi n periods ot ti that are pologically rather short.

In geologic age 1 the borate accumulations range :trc. Recent back Ulrough the Tertiary at least as tar as a144le Miocene 1 perhaps tarther. !he oldest deposits may be as old as Cretaceous; they consiat of bedded eolemanite in non-fossiliferous beds in Clark County, near lAs Vegas, Jevada (Longwell, 1949, p 935).

C&11co MoWlt&ina cole-.nite leposits are well-dated as mid-Miocene (Lewis, G. E., written cOIIDunication, 1954). The colemanite-ulexite deposits ot the Furnace Creek 4istrict, Death Valley, are probably Pliocene {loble, 1941, p. 954-956), and the Kramer deposit 1 s probably Pli oceDe (Gale 1 191tt>, p . 33 5 ) also. 1be Searles Lake brine and salt layers are ot Quaternary ap; the upper part rests on mud layers which are 25,000 to 10,000 years old, according to c14 determinations (Libby, 1954, p. 739).

Seulae I.aU interest in& both u a '"17 l&rp ai~ral. 4Apoa1 t &P4 as an example ot vbat surtac. proee ... a can do to concentrate minor ec.ponents and put in reach ot proti table enraeti<m. Dle Sear lea Lake borax ia produeed, along vith aeveral copro4uota, from brinea paaptd out or two porous bodiea or cryat&1.1.1M salt that un4erl1e a l&lt flat In brief, then or;yatalline salt bodies and their en r·losed brines are the residues ot water whicll, during late Pleiatocene tt.e, entered the ba.ain rrca a long dr&inap, eaeent1all.y that or the OW!Ina liver (Gale, H. s., 1914, p . ~l-323).

Some nsures -- tbe sin ot the Searle Lake clepoa1t tangible. About l2 square ailea ot salt an exposed in the atd4le ot tbe bU1n 1 and about 'Z'( more square lliles at the -.rpn are covencl by aevera.l teet ot slope wash. '!be expoMd. aalt ia tbe top ot an "Upper Salt Body", which has a MX1 .. thickness ot 95 teet; it rests on a "Parting Mud" layer, (about 15 teet thick) which in tum is underlain by a "Lower Salt Body" with a -.xillUa thiokneae ot 54 teet. The salt bodies are crystalline and they are l.&,.red. 1be daainant saline mineral changes w1 th depth, the eeq,uence in the upper layering being halite, hanksite, and trona. With theM lliner&l.a are other chloride, sultate, and carboaate COJilPOunds ot sodiua. Borax crystala aDd layers ot borax form a minor part ot the l&l.t bodies; 1n ~pte, the solid borax contains more boron than is 1n the brine, but only brine 1a worked. The brine makes up 3 5 to 50 percent or tM voluae ot the crystal bodies . Ol average it containa about 1 .0 percent the total dissolved solids being 35 percent ot tbe brine (Bainea, D. V. 1 and Slllith1 G. I. 1 written communication, 1957).

From data such as those just given, the total boron content or lear lea Lake has been calculated t'roa time to tU.. A repreaentati ve fUblisbed figure is that ot Turrentine (1926), vbo eatU.ted 17,350,000 \ons or B2'1 in the brine and solid crystals ot tbe "Upper Salt Body" alone. This, and all the associated aa.l.ine ter1&1, is the concentrate trom a lake that began to receive inflow (or a revived intlow), about 15,000 years ago. 'lbe date is b&&ed on the deterainationa ot C in the "Parting Mud" ( L:l. bby 1 1954) 'lbe boron content ot the infiow ie a~sted by measurements of the dissolved solids carried by the OWens River in recent years. Reliable figures (Wilcox, written cOIIDW'licatioo 1946) indicate that the lower river carries about 700 tOllS ot per year. If this were the averaae :for 25,000 years, the total would be 17,500,000 tons. 'Ibis near coincidence With f1pres above is accidental, because other fac"ors must enter into a complete appraisal ot intlov, but obviously the figures involved are o'f the right order of size.

ot apeei&l interest and significance is another result of the thoroup search for boron in the 0\iens River and 1 ta \r1butar1es t.bat was -.de 10 to 20 years ago (Wilcox, written c~1cat1on, 1946). It was shown that nearly rour-fittha of the boron that is nov carried in the lover OWens R1 ver trom one P'0\1P ot hot aprinp alons Hot Creek, which is in the headw.tera, near ttu.oth LAke and the )bno Craters. Analyses and streu .aau.re.ants of these springs, ade over a ten .. yea.r span (1936·1947), 1nd1cate tbat they supply water containing 8 to 11 parts per million ot boron. 'lhis is three or four times the average of tbe earth a crust. Preal.lll&bly the springs pour out a mixture of surface wter (no boroo) and boron·bearing hot water. 'lbe ratio in tbe ld.xture is Wllalovn. It we knew wbere the spring get their boron, we would b&ve this pologic story complete : Prima.r7 sourea, ore -tOl'ming fluid, processes of transport and deposition, and c~rci&l ore body.

'lbe toreaoiD& account ot Searles lake CDits Sa.! important parte ot the story. It caa1 ta 4eta1la ot Pleistocene clinatic cbansee, eonHCl\lent cba.nps ot the rate of intlov to Searles Lake, &Dd b&laDoiD& periods ot desiccation. Otber interestina details relate to tbe taot that Searles I.a.ke basin is tha Bd.ddle baa1D ot a chain ot five Daatu. 'l'he basins upstream were catchment a tor detritus and prel1tU nary "treat.nt tanks", while those downstream took owrnow the Pleistocene lake stood at the hi@b-w.ter strand (about 6oo teet above the present salt flat) '!be general trend ot lonaer ccapl1 cated treatment is to aeparate soluble salt from detritus and one salt trom another. 'nle treat.nt My isolate teriale 1D MJ&r&te buina. Or, within a basin, the salts may beca. ae~A-.ted (i.,ertectly) ino 8\1Qeees1 ve l.ay~rs, or into zone a distributed laterally t'rolll arpn to aenter.

Re sult s of basi r. drilling With the Searles lAke depoai t as an eX&JDple ot vbat aiibt acc\.DUlate 1n a pologically short period of time, the U. S. Oeolog1cal SUrvey tested tbe playas and salt tlats in several ba.s1ns in the MoJave re&ion by drilling. The guides for prospecting seemed clear: (l) Select a salt flat or a dry lake with large dra.inap area tributary to it, or Vi.th hisb shore linea; (2) sive preference to a of a chain of b&ains; (3) expect a lake salt to be flat-lying and widespread (hence drill only one or two holes in a basiL); 4+.) moderate depth is enough. ( ,Ihe Survey holes wre leas tb&n l,OOO feet deep, except one tbat was 1,070 teet). ~st holes vere drilled in eisbt baaina tbat bad never been tested a4equately before. No new saline discovert a ea. troJa this group holes, but they served to elilainate several b&ains trail the olasa ot "possible Searles Lake" deposits. (For cletaila, - Slaith1 G. I., and Pratt, W. P., 1957, and subsequent chapters of U. S. Oeolog1eal Survey Bulletin 1045).

District e-apl.e ore Do4y baa been a cba1 len., t J80 ora ver a1nee 1 t was cliaeoven4. '!be t1ret 41aocrle17 a x:r-r was acc1clentali the calc1 borate oolur D1te atNek 1D a wll dr1lle4 tor water 1n 1912. hnller 4rill1D&, a nod ot 15 years, reveale4 a1n on Doty, vbioh au ao41 boratea, borax &D4 m1 MN a \bat clo not outcrop; they l1e belleath 10-..r aaD4a la, at depths ot 150 to 11100 teet. lake a are Ntel.7 t1lte4 and. faulted. Scme la,era that are ot a1Di tbielme a ue ~1.7 pure boraX. The &ft ll'K ot ore is not wn e 17 DT Gale, but 1 t seems to be hip. '!he eise ot the ore be4;y 1 vert 1.&r

Aecortins to B. s. Gale (19~), the in ore l.m4erU e about 500 acres of ground, 1 t is as much a 150 te t thick, &rl4 1 t contaiu nearly 100,000,000 tons ot ore.

'l'he proapector vbo 1a attracted to tbe western MoJave DaMrt 'by the t1Dda that the deposit Ues 1n the aid4le of about 31000 ,quare miles ot aubd.\IH topoarapb.y ot Basin &ad Iianp tne. !be u. s. CJtolo&ical SUne;y stu&lied tbe watern MoJave 1n aever&l -.ya: A &~ol0&1c was prepared in moderate detail, w1 th apeoial attention to the tratigraphy and structure ot the Tertiary rocks. Qeo})h7aice crewe ot tbe Survey Jate ground surveys vith -.netic, Hiaaie, aD4 (110at ettecti vely} grav1Mtr1e ..tho4a, to 4etenairw be4rock contipration below the ba.sin tills . A larp part ot the area was aurveyecl Vi th the airborne anetometer, in search of structures bidden belov &llurl\a. The a prince and wellJ were canvaeud and aa.pled in eearch of traoea of boroll, u t.n41cator of concealed berates. Vi th the pological eurveya for backp-ound, three sites were selected for teat 4rilllq. A map of the vicinity of Kruer currently being prepared by T. W. Dibblee e.nd D. R. Mabey ahowa features of the geology &rd. grav1aetr1c data that are typical ot the MoJave. Alluviua covers three -tourtba ot the ground, outcrops ot tbe Tertiary roclta (which are expected to contain any borates tbat -.y exist) cover only a tenth, &Del tbe reaillder 1& pre -Tertiary oeystalllne rocks. Each ai te drilled Wlder tbe direction ot the Geoloslcal. Burvwy is on a block of p-ound selected becauee 1t is ( 1 ) near Kruer; ( 2) alluvial covered.; ( 3 ) arUcl by ~rtiary outenpa around the -.; ( 4) underlain, aceorclins to sravt.tric &DC1 seia1c surveys, by a block ot H41.-nta and not b7 tAin p-awl on a ped1Mnt on oryatalline rocks; ( 5) not adAMluatelJ t.eete4 by previoua drillin&.

Resul.ta of drilling near 1he results ot the drilling are to be g1 ven 1n a report now be in& prepared for publication. 'lbe a1n results are as follow. Hole 1, eouth ot Four Corners, and Hole 2, west ot the 4e~it, proved to be barren of traees of borate&. The reaulta illustrate tbat a thick section or sedimants is no guarantee that borate a will be found. Holes 31 4, e.nd 5, whieh lie a aile apart along a north-south line about 8 miles east or the Kramer deposit, encountered the ealciua borate colemanite in lake beds at depths of 1,020 to l,46o. content, in layers 2 teet or more thick, ranges troll 7 to 20 percent. Col&mani te was particularly abundant in Hole 5: determinations of the acid-soluble borate in S&lllples from this hole showed that 76 feet of core recovered fran the depth interval 1,051 to 1,131 feet averapd above 14 percent ot ~D:3. '!he enclosing lake beds are mineralogical.ly like those containing calciUIB borates at the 111nin& area, cona ma.gnetic iron sulfide, and anal.cU.. It MeJI8 clear that these beds formed in a lake very similar to that in vhlah tor.d, it not in the or a connected lake.

OUtlook tor new d1acoverie '!he seo.losic st\diea iDU.oaw tMt bonte Upoa1~a an to be tn ~rtiar7 eODtiMDtal. Mdiweuta in tM Buin &Dd. pnvtnee. 'Die outcrops in the 1'&1.\P baw bMD JNSpeO a4eclMl7, but extenaive blocks of rtiaq rooks oonoe&lM. below youn r aU\lYi&l fall &rl4

oanio depoai t. bave not. '!be outlinea ot t.be bloou ue 1n41oate4 by pol.ogic &Xld sr&"Vt.tric SUI'fty&, but to teat them \liN 4J1.ll1 &18· At the present tiM, aubsta.ntial private t expluatory 4rilllna likely t.bat tbeae will make one or more ai nitica.nt addi tiona t.o our national re rve of borate ore.

Reporte tbat 4eacr1be the corea trca teat holea, &ol otMr naulta of the U. s. Geoloaloal Survey borate inveetip.tioaa, are beln& prepancl tor publieation. 1'be Norte publlahed eo :tar, and tboae available tor publle inspection b7 placing thea in open tile, are llated below 1 , receding an alpbabetia Uat of other l1 terature cited in this report. U. s. GeolQiic&l Survey Bulletin Oeoloatc 1nveat1&&t1ona in MoJave Desert and adjacent reaton, California. (a) Core lop troa cr~>ene, China, Searles, and ~nt bu1rus, c.l.1 tom1a, by G. I. Sll1 th aDd W. P. Pratt . p. 1-62, pl. l, fig. 1-2. (b) Core lop tram two teet holea near n..r, Ban !ernardino County, C&Uto:mta, by D. D. Dickey. p. 63-79, pl. 2, fig. 3. (c) Core lop tr'oa Soda I&lat, Ban Bernardino County, C&Utomia, by s. 162He1a, a. R. White, ad F. K. Byara, Jr. 1957. p. Bo-96, pl. 3, tig. -·

lal!fS! tg 9!! t1le (Available tor 1napeet1cm at the u. s. a.olollcal Survey llbN.ry, W&ah1Agt01l1 D. C. Oeol.ogl.e reconnaiaeance and teat -wll drilling at ca.p Irvin, C&litol'Dia, by P're4 KtlllUl and r. s. Riley, 1956, 56 p., 1 pl. Geologlo of tbe Al vor4 Mowltaill qu.4ranale, C&l1torn1&1 by F. M. !yen, Jr., 1956, 1 p, 2 poloclo tn&ature &eCtion8. Geology an4 pet,rolos.Y ot tbe Iava McNDtaina 1 by G. I. Sl&1 tb, 1956, 230 P, 59 1Uus. , l5 table a. PrelJJIS.nary polosto ap ef JUt ot tbe MUtM&at.ern llojaft DeMrt1 San martino County, C&l1torn1&, b7 D. B r an4 A. K. luMtt, 1956. Core lop fi'OII Sevlee lake, SU lamardino CO\Ult,-, b;y D. V. Ba1nea, 1957. Groun4-vater noOIUlAiaaanoe 1n the watern part of tbe )loJaw lleMrt1 C&litom1&1 With J&l"t1cul&r NBJMt to the Deroll OODMDt. of Wll Mr, b7 R. S. 8MD81 19511 l02 p., 13 pla. Sillp11t1ed. aeoloclc ap of the wnern Mojaw Dert, cal1tonia, 07 1'. w. D!bbl.M, h., 1957.

~ua, 193l, Boratea, !:! !M alDaNl 1Dtlutrr of ta. Britt& &D&l tore1111 countrtee, 2nd ed., 1910·19Sia toa&tan, IIIJer.t&l 1Dat1t~. p. 20-44. Ahlteld, F., arJ4 AnplAUi, V., 1948, 1M laJeC1ea ICI.alea c1e 1a RepubUaa Arpntina: Univ. lac. '1\lcu.n, Ibat. CIMl. J IU.n., Jujuy I fub 4581 p 162 -1.68 Arundale, J C , 1956, Boron, Miner&l. h.c~a and PNbl.aa a U. S. Bur. Bull. 556, J· 137141. Arundale, J. C., and 1fentch1 F. B., 19561 Boron, !!!, MlneNla Yearbook 1953: U. s. Bur. ~nes, v. 1, p. 251-26o. C&l.itornia Divia101l ot Mines, 1957, Boron: Calif. Div. Ml.nea, Mineral Information Service, v. 10, no. 10, p. 15. 1958, !Uneral productiQO review, C&Utornia, 1957: C&lit. Div. Miua, MiDer&l. Information Service, "· ll, no. l, p. 8, 9. Qal.e1 H. s., 1914, S&l.ines in the OWens, Searles and ~nt. !Uiu, aoutheanern california: u. s. Geol. Survey Bull. 58ot, p . 251-313. 1946, Qeolos;y ot the Kramer borate diatr1ct, brn eo.,,., C&Utoni&s C&lit. Jour. Mine and Geolou, Ita, J· 325378. Oo41eYNr 1 M. N., 1937, Miner&l.ostcal 1nYeft.181UOD of the IDler loft.te clePi tas lllso1rea de l& Societe Ru- 4e NlMNlosta, LIVI, I, 315·368. BulU, a. o., 1883, l:lltpon 011 tbl bona cleJ011' ot cautonta aa4 llna4aa C&ltt. M1n. Bur. 3, pt. a, Ul Libby, V. r., 19511.1 Chi._ ratioutlw daua Vt Setence, Y. 120, DO. 3123, 739. LoD&WU, c. a., 19119, etnac, ... ot tba llol'tMm IIIMltalD uea, Qeol. Sec. Mui.oa Bull., 60, rao. 51 p. 935·

Naaou, lb1.an, 1952, Prinotplea ot ocbud.atey: lin York, J &b4 Sons, p. 41. MaiDer, Be ina, 1953, lev 'l'urkiah borate 4epoat ta (with a -.:~.anu. par&auetio ol..usitication ot all borate lliDenla): leq- lm4 lllltte~. Mona tech IIOilt&n Leobea. v. 98, p. 86-91. lltller, B L. , and. Sinpwal.d, J. T. Jr. , 1919, \be ld.Mral clepo1ti te of South AMriea: lew York, 163Graw-H1ll Book Cc . , Ina Mueaa1 , 81 gtried, and Allen, R. D. 1 1951, Escurri te ( · 5J\a03 ·TBtO), a new eocliua borate trom AraenttDa - occ\l.ITU.Ce, atDeN.loey, an4 aasoc1&ted ld.neral.a: Eaon. <leol.OQ, v. 52, no. 4, p. 416..-37. loble, L. F. , 1941, Structural feature of the Virlln Spriap u., Death V&l.ley, C&JJ.tornia: Oeol. Soo. Merica BW.l., 52, p. 94l-999. Pal&ehe, Char lea; Ber.n., Barry, and FroDde.l, Cllttor4, 19511 Daa.' system ot mineralogy, Y. II, Boratea: v York, Jolm Wiley &D4 Sons, p. 320-321 and p. 334-368. wald, J. T., Jr., 1943, Bibliography ot c~o aeol017 of South America: Qeol. Boe. AMrica Special Paper 50. Sad. th, 0. I., &D4 Pratt, W. P. 1 1957, Core lop troa OVens, China, C&litornia: U. s. Gaol. Survey Bull. lo45A. st1pp, H. E., and tara, A. L., 1957, Boron, !!. Mlaenl.a Tal-book 1955: U. s. Bur. Nl.nea, preprint, p. 910. 1'urelrt1M, J. w. , 1926, Potuh, a renew, eattate, aa1 torecut: Jobn Wiley and Sou, 1lw York, 186 p., quoted in calif. Div. ICI.Jlea, Mineral Intonation Service, v. 10, no. 10, p. 1·5· Ver Pluck, w. E. , 1956, Biatory of benz production iD the UDited Stateat calif. Jour. JC1Me &D4 <Jeol.oQ, v. 52, DO. 3, P· 113-291.

w~ld - 2548 For DilvrEDIATE RELEASE UNITED STATES DEP AR'I}lENT OF THE INTERIOR GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Washington, D. c. March 12, 195B The Geological Survey is releasing in open files the following report. Copy is available for consultation in the Geological Survey Library, 1033 General Services Bldg., Washington, D. C. Bor&te deposits of the Mojave region, California, by Ward C. Smith. 30 p.