The rock samples (cores and cuttings) that have been collected during the drilling of wells at Utah FORGE are available for research purposes. These samples will be preserved and made available to the R&D community upon request via a form at the bottom of this page. We anticipate that fluid samples that are obtained during circulation testing will become available in the future.
Drill cuttings were routinely sampled at 10 ft intervals in all wells drilled to date (58-32, 68-32, 78-32, 16A(78)-32, 56-32, 78B-32 and 16B(78)-32). In addition, core is currently available from three wells (58-32, 16A(78)-32 and 78B-32), with additional core from 16B(78)-32 becoming available in the coming months. Images of the available core are shown below. *Note: these images depict all recovered core and do not account for intervals that have been sent to R&D researchers and are no longer available.
*Click image to zoom
*Click images to zoom
*Click image to zoom
*Click image to zoom
Supplementary information about the rock-forming minerals, hydrothermal alteration, and open-space fillings is provided by laboratory thin section and XRD analyses of samples of cuttings taken at minimum of 100-foot intervals within the granitoid and multiple samples from the drill core. Drill core tests comprise triaxial shear strength, Brazilian and fracture toughness, and permeability/porosity measurements. All of these results have been published on GDR. These same sampling and analytical protocols will be applied to all the new rock materials obtained from drilling wells going forward.
A significant collection of cuttings and core samples (list below) from legacy wells are available for study at the Utah Core Research Center (UCRC) at the Utah Geological Survey and the EGI Sample Library. These include cuttings from the Acord-1 well, which are housed at the UCRC, and cuttings and core from more than two dozen shallow to deep gradient and exploration wells, which are housed at the EGI Sample Library.
*Click table to zoom
UCRC Sample Laboratory
Both the UCRC and the EGI Sample Library will be accessible to researchers investigating samples from the Utah FORGE site. The UCRC is under the control and supervision of the curator, Mr. Ammon McDonald, at the Utah Geological Survey, whereas the EGI Sample Library is under the supervision of Mr. David Langton. All work at the repositories will need to be reserved ahead of time to ensure the proposed work does not conflict with other commitments.
EGI Sample Library
All activities will be subject to the safety and core handling policies of the repositories. Retrieval of material from the shelves will be carried out by staff members. Core and cuttings that arrive at the repositories will be logged in upon arrival and entered into the respective databases. A listing of the samples and other supporting data including photographs and logs will be accessible to the public through the GDR.
Rock samples can be requested via the sample request link below. We strive to ensure fair and equitable access to the samples and to provide priority to those groups funded by the project. Both non-destructive and destructive testing of samples are expected. Researchers requesting core materials will need to justify their request in their application for material. All methods and resulting analytical data must be reported to Utah FORGE in a timely manner, and workers are strongly encouraged to publish their data in peer reviewed journals. In all cases, interim reports may be required. All unused sample must be returned to the sample repository with a description of the testing that was conducted.
Rock samples can be requested via the sample request link below. We strive to ensure fair and equitable access to the samples and to provide priority to those groups funded by the project. Both non-destructive and destructive testing of samples are expected. Researchers requesting core materials will need to justify their request in their application for material. All methods and resulting analytical data must be reported to Utah FORGE in a timely manner, and workers are strongly encouraged to publish their data in peer reviewed journals. In all cases, interim reports may be required. All unused sample must be returned to the sample repository with a description of the testing that was conducted.
Use this form to request Utah FORGE drilling & well materials, including cores, cuttings, and water samples.
