UNITED STATES MINERAL RESOURCES 



SULFUR 



By Alfred J. Bodenlos 



CONTENTS 



Page 



Abstract of conclusions 605 



Introduction 605 



Exploitation 606 



Geologic environment 607 



Geochemistry 607 



The inorganic cycle 607 



The organic cycle 608 



Atmospheric circulation 609 



Deposits and recoverable accumulations 609 



Inorganic sulfur 609 



Volcanic deposits 609 



Hydrothermal sulfide deposits 609 



Gypsum 610 



Organic sulfur 610 



Elemental sulfur deposits 610 



Gulf coast 610 



West Texas 611 



Sulfur-forming reactions 612 



Sulfur accumulations in hydrocarbons 612 



Sulfur accumulations in coal 613 



Resources 613 



The United States 613 



Recovery 615 



Canada and Mexico 615 



Other countries 616 



Prospecting for elemental sulfur deposits 617 



Problems for research 617 



References 617 



FIGURES 



Graph showing total sulfur production and pro- 

 duction, imports, and exports of elemental 

 sulfur of the United States, 1900-70 



Graph showing production of sulfur contained 

 in pyrites, recovered from petroleum and 

 natural gas, and recovered from base-metal 

 ores, 1900-70 



607 



608 



TABLES 



126. 



Identified, hypothetical, and speculative sulfur 



resources of the United States 



Sulfur resources of Canada and Mexico 



613 

 614 



ABSTR.\CT OF CONCLUSIONS 



Sulfur, an element in wide industrial use, currently is 

 mined or recovered in the United States from elemental sul- 

 fur deposits associated with evaporites, from sulfur-bearing 

 petroleum and natural gas, and from sulfide ores. The ele- 

 ment also occurs as a constituent in bedded gypsum and 

 anhydrite, coal, tar sands, and oil shale, as well as in 

 volcanic deposists, none of which is being used at present 

 as a domestic source of sulfur. Reserves are appreciable and 

 resources are vast, not only in the United States but in 

 many other parts of the world. 



Elemental sulfur is formed as a product of anaerobic 

 bacterial activity wherever both sulfate ions and organic 

 material are abundant; therefore, areas of potential sulfur 

 discovery include anhydrite units in any petroliferous 

 evaporite basins. Most accumulations of petroleum and 

 natural gas high in sulfur content also are found in evapo- 

 rite basins. Sulfide ores, in contrast, occur in a wide variety 

 of rocks in all parts of the world. Volcanic sulfur occurs 

 mostly in the circum-Pacific belt, but it also has been found 

 in volcanoes extending from the Mediterranean to the Hima- 

 laya Mountains. 



Most countries contain sulfur-bearing accumulations in one 

 form or another, but few contain large deposits of elemental 

 sulfur. The extraction of sulfur from such accumulations in 

 any given country depends largely upon recovery costs, 

 which must be competitive with the prevailing world price 

 of elemental sulfur. 



INTRODUCTION 



Sulfur, a soft yellow mineral that melts at 113°C, 

 has broad industrial use. Most sulfur is used in the 

 manufacture of sulphuric acid, and only a relatively 

 small amount is used in elemental form, as sulfur 

 dioxide, or as carbon disulfide. The world's sulfur 



U.S. GEOL. SURVEY PROF. PAPER 820 



605 



