File Under: Hunting and Fishing, North Dakota -- Salmon Run

Link here to Minot Daily News.

The annual run of salmon is under way in a narrow stream below the Garrison Dam National Fish Hatchery.

The powerful fish surge several yards up the strong current, then find a place to rest behind a rock or slight turn in the creek before continuing their swim up stream. The journey completes the life cycle of the Chinook salmon.

They return upstream to lay their eggs, then die after spawning. Some of the fish never make it all the way. Their carcasses sometimes litter the edges of the creek where they become easy food for predators. The stream was constructed by fish hatchery personnel in 2006 and the salmon took to it immediately. The stream leads from the outdoor ponds at the fish hatchery to the Missouri River, a distance of perhaps a half mile.

The link takes you to a great story. 

Random Update of the Bakken: Oil-Price.net

Link to oil-price.net.

This link takes you to an ad-filled site, but for some folks it might be interesting.

Human Interest Story: Land Too Rocky to Farm: Now Huge Gravel Farm

Link to the Dickinson Press.

Dallas Moore doesn’t have oil wells on his ranch, but that doesn’t mean his land isn’t rich.

His property along U.S. Highway 2 just east of Stanley has a 120-acre gravel mine providing materials for road work and construction projects in northwest North Dakota.

Moore’s land has too much gravel to be suitable for farming, but now that rock is a hot commodity.

The mine opened in 2008 to supply material for a North Dakota Department of Transportation project, said Max Schriock, materials engineer and safety director of Aggregate Construction of Minot, which operates the mine.

Go to the link to read how much this gravel is worth. 

Oil-Price Net May Start Posting Bakken Spot at Clearbrook

A reader sent that information via a comment.

Here's the link to Oil-Price.net.

If this is not already linked at my "Data Links" page, I will link it now.

Kaolin-Rich Clay in Dunn County, Stark County -- October 14, 2012

Updates

October 23, 2012: updates on same story; link to Bismarck Tribune. 

Murphy said ideally, the alumina in the clay — a property that yields a light weight and strength to the ceramic product — is in the mid-30s percentile. Instead, the samplings are finding alumina is closer to 20 percent, but Murphy said chemical additives can make up the difference.

Some clay deposits in the two counties have higher alumina content than others and a map will help companies explore and decide, he said.

“These results are lower than our preliminary results, but we still have a number of sites that (alumina) averages in the mid-20 percent. That’s certainly encouraging enough, based on conversations with the industry,” Murphy said.

Original Post

Link here to The Dickinson Press.

Could a certain type of clay prominent in western North Dakota make the hydraulic fracturing process easier for energy companies while simultaneously providing even more of an economic boost to the Oil Patch? 

The foremost geologist in the state thinks both scenarios could become reality. “We’ve estimated that there are 1.7 billion tons of economically mineable kaolin in western North Dakota,” said state geologist Edward Murphy.

“This is something that could potentially be a boon for energy companies and for the state of North Dakota.”

1.7 billion tons x 2,000 lbs/ton --> huge number
huge number / 5 million lbs ceramic per well --> enough clay for 680,000 wells
unknown: how much ceramic does each ton of raw kaolin/clay yield?

By the way, this is the lead story at the on-line Dickinson Press.