Oct. 8, 2009—The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), Division of Geological Survey recently welcomed the 45th Forum on the Geology of Industrial Minerals back to Ohio by hosting the annual event—the first in the state since 1974—at the H. R. Collins Laboratory in Delaware.

Division geologist Mark Wolfe, who is also Forum secretary, chaired and moderated this year’s event, which opened with ODNR Director Sean Logan greeting an audience of industrial minerals experts, geologists, scholars, and citizens from Ohio and throughout the country. 

“It was a great pleasure for the Ohio Geological Survey to host the 45th Forum on the Geology of Industrial Minerals,” said Division Chief Larry Wickstrom, who began the technical sessions with a presentation on geologic carbon sequestration research in Ohio. “This was only the third time the forum has been held in Ohio and we were extremely happy to host it.”

Other Division staff members gave technical presentations, including Mapping Group Supervisor Mike Angle and geologist Mark Wolfe. Greg Schumacher, H. R. Collins Laboratory Coordinator, led a core workshop where participants had a chance to study core samples of limestone, salt, coal, clay, sand and gravel.

Also representing the ODNR was Tom Tomastik, geologist with the Division of Mineral Resources Management, who discussed the geology, mining, and uses of Ohio’s salt deposits. Among those representing the industrial minerals industry was Pat Jacomet, Executive Director of the Ohio Aggregates & Industrial Minerals Association.

The Forum concluded with a field trip to two large Delaware County quarries to study limestone and dolomite exposures, observe controls on aggregate quality, and collect rare fossils found in the Columbus Limestone formation.

Themed “Building the Future,” the 45th Forum continued a tradition founded by Ohio State University professor Dr. Robert L. Bates, who organized the first Forum in 1965 in Columbus, Ohio. Since then, the Forum has convened throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe.