Sand Mining in Western Wisconsin Overview

What is frac sand? Where is it in Wisconsin?

Source: Wisconsin DNR

Frac sand is a specific kind of quartz sand that is used for injection in oil and gas wells. It has been mined for over 100 years (3), but due to recent developments in a new oil and gas extraction method called hydraulic fracturing, it is now in much higher demand. It also appears that this boom will continue (2). This particularly affects western Wisconsin and eastern Minnesota because the best frac sand meets certain requirements. The Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey notes that it must be "nearly pure quartz, very well rounded, extremely hard, and of uniform size" to be able to be used in gas and oil extraction.
The image to the right shows the locations of the best sand for use in resource extraction. Note that western Wisconsin has extensive frac sand resources.

So what? Isn't it just sand?

The issue isn't losing our sand, it is the environmental and social implications of sand removal. There are many issues surrounding sand mining here in western Wisconsin, including contamination of air and water supplies. The inhalation of silica sand can cause silicosis, which has been known to lead to cancer, and other health problems. While the DNR monitors the emission of silica dust, there are no regulations in place that protect citizens from it. The DNR also recognizes impacts that the mining operations have on water resources, noting that they consume water for their workers, sometimes pump water to reach sand below the water table, and is used for processing the sand once it has been collected (1). Also, non-metallic mining operations can harm surface water resources via runoff carrying sediment, changing water temperatures, or contamination from human impact that is common in resource extraction. It is also worth noting that top soils are in the way of silica sands, so they must be removed as well.

What does this have to do with GIS?

Many sustainability issues can be viewed from the geospatial lense, and frac sand mining is no different! GIS could be used to model a number of different aspects of sand mining. For example, GIS could simply be used to map locations of mines along with nearby human and environmental features, thus mapping the hazard posed to them due to the proximity of the mines. GIS could also be used to model dispersion of contaminants like silica dust, unwanted sediment, or contaminated water.

Sources:

1. http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/Mines/documents/SilicaSandMiningFinal.pdf
2. http://www.minnpost.com/earth-journal/2014/09/frac-sand-mining-boom-accelerating-and-eluding-regulators-analysis-finds
3. http://wcwrpc.org/frac-sand-factsheet.pdf