Salable minerals, also known as mineral materials, include common varieties of sand, stone (such as decorative stone), gravel, pumice, clay, rock and petrified wood. These non‐energy-related materials are typically used in construction, agriculture, and decorative applications. Under the BLM mineral materials program (43 CFR 3600), the BLM manages exploration, development, and disposal of salable minerals by sale (disposal) or free use. Recreational collection of this material is allowed, but large-volume removal requires a mineral sale. The BLM does not sell salable minerals at less than fair market value. Salable minerals in the Planning Area are an important component of the regional economy.

The Planning Area contains a variety of geological features and landforms that give rise to a diverse assortment of salable minerals. The primary salable minerals found in commercial quantities in the Planning Area are sand and gravel (aggregate), limestone, and decorative/construction stone (sandstone or limestone). Other salable minerals known to occur in the Planning Area in lesser quantities include flagstone and petrified wood.

Sand and gravel deposits consist of durable rock fragments (pebbles, cobbles) and particles. They are the result of bedrock that has been weathered and broken down into fragments that have been subsequently transported and deposited. Alluvial sand and gravel, terrace sand and gravel, and conglomeratic sand and gravel deposits are all found in the Bighorn Basin (Map 24).

As of April 2008, the CYFO and WFO had authorized a total of approximately 5 million cubic yards of sand and gravel disposals and 550,000 tons of rock disposals. The estimated annual production of salable minerals for the Planning Area is approximately 220,000 cubic yards per year (BLM 2008e). Map 8 shows the mineral materials sites in the Planning Area. Table 3-17 lists active community pits (16), free use permits (51), and contract sales (16) authorized in the Planning Area (by field office) as of January 1, 2009.

As of June 2008, disturbances related to various types of salable mineral disposals in the Planning Area totaled 3,760 acres (BLM 2008c). This includes disturbances from free use permits totaling approximately 1,780 acres, from community pits totaling 1,630 acres, and from noncompetitive contract sales totaling 345 acres (Map 8).

With an increase in construction and general growth, nationwide demand for salable minerals is increasing, particularly in western states. Matching this trend, the Planning Area has seen an increase in the amount of salable minerals sold and in the number of contracts and requests for contracts for salable minerals. The Planning Area has seen an increase in the amount of inquiries related to obtaining decorative stone, “moss rock,” and field stone or boulders. These types of salable minerals are common throughout Wyoming and the Planning Area, and are typically composed of sandstone, granite or limestone partially covered with colorful lichens (not moss), or not covered.

Large estimated quantities of salable mineral reserves are present in the Planning Area; therefore, a sustainable level of mineral resources is available to meet demand. The salable minerals industry working in the Planning Area has been able to sustain or increase its production in response to increasing demand for their product, despite fluctuating gas prices and occasional equipment and labor shortages.

Readers can find additional information about salable minerals in the Planning Area in the Solid Mineral Occurrence and Development Potential Report (BLM 2009c).

Management Challenges

Management challenges associated with disposal of salable minerals result from salable mineral mining activities. Salable mineral mining activities in areas close to housing create noise associated with equipment, odors associated with hot mix plants, and air quality concerns related to processing of salable minerals (chiefly involving dust or PM). Additional management challenges associated with salable mineral mining activities include impacts from surface disturbance; proximity of existing and potential mineral materials sites to important wildlife and their habitat, such as sagebrush and greater sage-grouse; and the impacts to sensitive species.

Construction/dimension stone or flat slabs of flagstone are not widely available in the Planning Area. One negotiated sale has been processed for a small quantity of thin lime flagstone from the Sundance Formation north of Greybull, Wyoming. However, demand for this material is up due to the increase in residential and commercial construction in Big Horn and Park Counties. The BLM will likely need to identify additional sites on public lands during the next planning cycle to help meet this demand.

Illegal (unpermitted) trespass removal of mineral materials, including decorative stone, is an additional management challenge associated with salable minerals in the Planning Area. Another management challenge involves handling the demand, availability, and location of salable minerals in response to anticipated demand, both locally and nationally.