Circular 138—Mineral resources and water requirements for New Mexico industries

By E. F. Sorensen, R. B. Stotelmeyer, and D. H. Baker, Jr., 1973, 26 pp., 9 tables, 1 fig.

Summary of mineral production along with estimates of water supplies required by 1980, 2000, and 2020. This paper outlines and summarizes (1) present and estimated future production of mineral resources in New Mexico, (2) location and utilization of these resources, and (3) the estimated water requirements for mineral industries for the years 1962, 1970, 1980, 2000, and 2020. This information supersedes similar data in an April 1970 memorandum by Sorensen and Stotelmeyer "Projected Water Requirements for New Mexico Mineral Industries for the years 1980, 2000, 2002" prepared for the State Water Plan.

The tables are organized in mineral commodity groups as follows: potash and other soluble salt minerals; uranium; copper; molybdenum; lead; zinc, and other metallic and nonmetallic minerals; industrial stone and minerals; petroleum and natural gas; processing of fossil fuels. Items for which water requirements were estimated include: mining, milling, and smelting operations of metallic and/or nonmetallic minerals; oil and gas well drilling; petroleum secondary recovery; natural gas transmission; and the processing of fossil fuels. The estimates do not include power requirements from fossil or uranium fuels.

The intent of the attached estimates is that sufficient water requirements for any future production mix in New Mexico are adequate. Consequently, the first approach in determining water requirements was to identify and locate mineral reserves and resources in each county of the state. A tabulation was made of past and present production, known mineral reserves, and the probability of future production in each of the counties. These data were then used as an indication of what requirements for water might be.