Steve Hauck, Program Director Economic Geology

Position and Focus

Steven Hauck is the director of the Economic Geology Program within the Minerals Division of the Center for Applied Research and Technology Development. He has been the manager of the Economic Geology group since July 1985. He is an economic geologist with over eight years experience as an exploration geologist for uranium and iron oxide-copper-gold deposits for Union Carbide Corporation. His basic and applied research work in Minnesota has concentrated on Cu-Ni-PGE deposits in the Duluth Complex, volcanogenic massive sulfide mineralization in the Archean greenstone belts, SEDEX deposits in the Animikie basin, industrial clays in the Minnesota River Valley and clays throughout the remainder of the state and oxidized taconite deposits on the western Mesabi Iron Range. He is a Certified Professional Geologist (No. 8356) of the American Institute of Professional Geologists and also a Licensed Professional Geologist (No. 30349) in Minnesota.

Background

BA with Honors in Geology, Albion College, 1971 MS Geology, University of North Carolina, 1977

Project list for Steven Hauck :

(A link will go to the project's current report, an arrow will take you to a project's home page)

Validation of Wetland Mitigation In Abandoned Borrow Areas - Phase II
To develop cost effective methods for creating functional mitigation wetlands in abandoned borrow areas that meet regulatory permit requirements and are an integral part of road construction projects.

Compressed Air Energy Storage in Northern Minnesota Using Underground Mine Workings
The objective of this project is to explore the feasibility of utilizing underground Compressed Air Energy Storage(CAES)to capture the benefits of being able to shift intermittent energy production in the region to times of greater need and usage.

Northeast Minnesota White Cedar Plant Community Restoration Project
The first goal of the project will be to reverse the decline of northern white cedar wetland plant communities in Minnesota. The project will achieve its goals by evaluating and prioritizing white cedar stands for restoration and preservation and through the establishment of demonstration restoration and preservation projects. The project will restore and preserve critical wildlife habitat and winter thermal cover for white tailed deer, black bear, fisher, marten, and many songbirds in northeastern and north central Minnesota. The second goal of the project will be to improve the quantity and quality of white cedar plant communities in northeast and north central Minnesota. The project will accomplish this by development of a training program for local government resource managers regarding: • Restoration techniques for white cedar plant communities regarding site preparation and revegetation techniques and • Protecting white cedar from damage by poorly designed wetland crossings for roads and trails.

Utility of Taconite Materials as Road Patch for Highway Construction
To confirm the utility of using inorganically bound taconite aggregate and concentrate as highway road patching and construction materials.

By-Product Aggregate, Minnesota Mining Cluster - The Next Generation of Innovation
The program will focus on near-term implementation projects that introduce aggregate materials to targeted markets in project-sized quantities, value-added commercialization opportunities, and promising avenues of taconite-based applied research. The program includes: • An accelerated aggregate material qualification/certification program; • Development & deployment of mix and pavement designs using high quality taconite aggregate materials in their upper wear courses; • Production of value-added products from coarse taconite tailings, such as high friction bridge deck and airport runway surfacing aggregates; • Further development and implementation of innovative concepts, products and technologies such as: pothole/paving compounds and pursuing microwave-based technologies for all-season pothole and pavement repair; energy-absorbing materials for possible defense applications; and UV, solar, and geothermal heating and energy storage. This project area is highly dependent on private sector/private sector and private sector/public sector interactions, negotiations, and timetables. Collaboration with private and public sectors at local, state, and national levels will be a key for implementing these activities and leveraging project resources.

Erie Pier Dredged Material Beneficial Use Study
(1) Identify landowners willing to participate in demonstration projects and receive fine grained dredged material for restoration demonstrations. (2) Evaluate the cost and feasibility of using rail transportation to move Erie Pier fine grained dredged material to potential recipient sites. (3) Provide monitoring and results analysis of vegetative health, plant diversity and control of purple loosestrife for demonstration sites. (4) Evaluate the effectiveness of using microwave technology to sterilize seeds contained in Erie Pier fine grained dredged material. (5) Conduct a laboratory and field assessment of the stamp sand area near Gay, Michigan, within the context of this location being a potential recipient site for navigation channel material from the Duluth-Superior harbor and/or Erie Pier for establishing stamp sand-stabilizing vegetative cover.

Minnesota Mining Cluster - The Next Generation of Innovation - Product Development Support
NRRI to provide assistance with product development or improvement and processing design and efficiency to five projects, averaging $20,000/investment, with project entrepreneur/small business providing in-kind and/or cash match to expand the effort and to ensure that the entrepreneurs and small businesses are intimately involved in a hands on manner in the initiative.

Sediment for Biomass, Minnesota Mining Cluster - The Next Generation of Innovation
To conduct field trials of varieties of cellulosic feedstock on mineland tailings basins and other marginal lands using readily available soil amendment materials: clean sediments dredged from Duluth-Superior Harbor amended with treated municipal wastewater/biosolids. The objective is to conduct field-scale (>3-acres) research at one or more host taconite mines (or other brownfields/marginal lands location). Ultimate products will be: 1) identification of the most appropriate cellulosic feedstock species; 2) an assessment and proof-of-concept demonstration of overall waste and energy management planning and recycling in the region so long as sediment disposal challenges and mine land reclamation needs remain; and 3) energy development opportunity. Project findings would be applicable to other areas around Minnesota and the Great Lakes region, including tailings basins, gravel pits, brownfields, and other marginal lands.

Rare Earth Potential, Minnesota Mining Cluster - The Next Generation of Innovation
The purpose of this project is to conduct a multi-disciplinary geological and geochemical assessment of a variety of rock types in Minnesota for potentially economic rare earth elements (REE) mineral deposits.

Wetland Banking Fens Research Facility
To restore most of the effectively drained Fens Research Facility (Fens) to a variety of wetland types so new wetland credits can be deposited into a state wetland bank for future withdrawal as wetland mitigation credits.