Disclaimer: This earthcache is not meant to be Pro or Anti Fracking. This is a controversial, and therefore emotional, topic for a lot of folks. This is just supposed to be educational regarding sand mining in Arkansas and some of the local uses for that sand
There are several ways that industrial sand mining is conducted in Arkansas.
Types of Industrial Sand Mining
There is Room and Pillar method, where rooms are cut into the area being mined and pillars are left standing to support the mine. Once dried the loose sand is sorted into various desired sizes. This produces sand for glass manufacture, foundry sand and hydraulic frac sand.
There is Dredging, where sand is dredged from the river, cleaned, acidized, dried and sized. This produces a hydraulic frac sand.
And there is Open pit mined sand from Quaternary deposits located along the Arkansas River. This produces a hydraulic frac sand.
Hydraulic Frac sand is used in the oil and gas industry where it is injected into fractures in existing shale formations, locally the Fayetteville Shale, and the sand props open fractures so that gas can escape. Frac sand is produced in a range of sizes from as small as 0.1 millimeter in diameter to over 2 millimeters in diameter depending upon customer specifications. Most of the frac sand consumed is between 0.4 and 0.8 millimeters in size. Frac sand should be of a uniform size and nicely rounded shape.
The Fayetteville Shale
The Fayetteville Shale is an unconventional natural gas reservoir located on the Arkansas side of the Arkoma Basin, ranging in thickness from 50 to 550 feet and ranging in depth from 1,500 to 6,500 feet. The shale is a Mississippian-age shale that is the geologic equivalent of the Caney Shale found on the Oklahoma side of the Arkoma Basin and the Barnett Shale found in north Texas.
The Fayetteville Shale play stretches across Arkansas from approximately Fort Smith east to beyond Little Rock, Arkansas. It is approximately 50 miles wide from north to south.
The most active area of natural gas development is from western Conway County through eastern White County. Development further to the east is anticipated to proceed very slowly because the shale is considerably deeper, making gas extraction less economical.
Frac Sand Processing Plants
Frac sand is not used straight from the ground. It requires processing to optimize its performance. After mining it is taken to a processing plant. There it is washed to remove fine particles.
After washing the sand is stacked in piles to allow the wash water to drain off. This operation is done outdoors and is restricted to times of the year when temperatures are above freezing. After the sand is drained it is placed in an air dryer to remove all moisture. The dry grains are then screened to obtain specific size fractions for different customers.
Sand that is not suitable for fracking is separated and sold for other uses.
**********************************************************************************************************
To claim this Earthcache, please email/message me the following information. Do not post your answers in your found log. Once you've emailed me the answers, feel free to go ahead and log your find. I will contact you if there are any issues. :
- GC code and “Fracking Sand”
- Looking southeast, which type of industrial sand mining is occurring?
- Do you see sand on the ground near you? If so examine it…would it make good frac sand? If so, why?