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Show north arm into the south arm would improve their efficiency of mining of these minerals, but would it improve the balance of the ecosystem for the brine shrimp and other species? To avoid potential conflicts concerning ownership of minerals derived from the lake, an accounting of the location and quantities of lake mineral assets would be a necessity. Focus on only reporting changes in salt ponds when accounting for lake salts since these areas are stagnant. The statement that " salts are not currently fully accounted for or monitored in areas around GSL" is technically accurate but practically misleading. A 1994 USGS report states that 12 percent of the lake's total minerals are deposited in the West Desert therefore any other " unaccounted'' volumes are only a fraction of that figure. The lake contains 4.3 billion tons of salt now that 600 million tons were transferred to the West Desert. It is important for the state to know where lake salts are located. The removal of salt by the mineral extraction industries represents a very small percentage of the total salt load of the lake. Some 2- 3 million tons of salt are removed annually from the lake at the present time, which represents approximately 0.06 percent of the lake's 4.5 billion tons of salt. Certain industries selectively remove certain salts from the lake. Sodium chloride accounts for the largest percent of the salt that is removed. The removal of magnesium and potassium products accounts for a very small percentage. From this it can be seen that the removal of salt by the mineral extraction industries has a minimal effect on the overall salt content of the lake. Brine is extracted from both the south and north arms of the lake: Morton Salt, Cargill Salt and Magcorp take brines from the south arm of the lake. And, until a few years ago, North American Salt ( now IMC Salt) took brine from the south arm as well. IMC Kalium ( formerly Great Salt Lake Minerals) has always taken brine from the north arm. The northern railroad causeway, which divides the main body of the lake into its south and north arms and WDPP are responsible for the differences in salinity between the two parts of the lake. Nearly all the freshwater inflow to the lake enters the south arm of the lake. The north arm receives mainly salty water from the south arm. When the hydrologic conditions are right, there is south- to- north and north- to- south exchange through the causeway and its openings ( two 15 x 20- foot culverts, and the 300- foot breach). Under some hydrologic conditions, however, the majority of the flow is from the south arm, through the causeway, to the north arm. Under these conditions, there is a net loss of salt from the south to the north, and thus a freshening of the south arm. This freshening of the south arm has little if anything to do with the salt extracted from the lake by the salt industries. 291 |