SENIOR GEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATE
Ruffin I. Rackley served over three years in the U. S. Navy during WWII, earned a BA and a MS in geology from the University of Tennessee. His first work was a geochemical prospecting program for New Jersey Zinc Co., in Virginia and North Carolina. In June 1957 he shifted to Utah Construction in Riverton, Wyoming, where he was charged with finding the ore control of uranium. In late July,1957, he led a three-man crew into Shirley Basin which led to the discovery of 20 million pounds of uranium oxide. Later in exploration there it was discovered that the uranium was deposited along the margin of large areas of oxidized sand where it contacted the original organic rich sand. This was a major breakthrough for uranium exploration. In 1968, Ruffin learned that the contact between the two environment was a reduction barrier caused by two much different sets of bacteria. That completed the basic framework of a model to direct exploration. After leaving Utah Ruffin was Manager for Teton Exploration Drilling Company, Vice President of Amax Uranium Co. and Mineral Exploration Manager for Energy Reserve Group. When the 1980’s uranium price bust, Ruffin and two others assembled other mineral prospects including gold and copper.
Along with the discovery of these mines, Mr. Rackley and his associates developed useful theories on the origin of uranium deposits that led to more efficient ways of doing exploration and evaluating properties. These theories were thoroughly researched and a number of professional articles by Mr. Rackley and others have been published. These theories and field experiences were incorporated into the SRI International computer-based Prospector Consultant System in which Mr. Rackley served as Expert — a program financed by The Office of Resource Analysis, U. S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia.
His publications are known worldwide:
Rackley, R.I., et al., 1968, Concepts and Methods of Uranium Exploration, Wyoming Geological Association Earth Science Bulletin, Sept., pp. 23-24.
Rackley, R.I., et al., 1968, Concepts and Methods of Uranium Exploration, Wyoming Geological Association Guidebook Twentieth Annual Field Conference, pp. 115- 124 (here).
Rackley, R. I., and R. L. Johnson, 1971, The Geochemistry of Uranium Roll-Front Deposits with a Case History from the Powder River Basin (Abstract – Economic Geology, Vol. 66, No.1, p. 125).
Rackley, R.I., 1972, The Environment of Wyoming Tertiary Uranium Deposits: AAPG Bulletin, v. 56, n. 4, pp. 755-774.
Rackley, R.I., 1975, Problems Converting Potential Uranium Resources into Mineable Reserves: Mineral Resources and the Environment Supplementary Report: Reserves and Resources of Uranium in the United States, National Academy of Science, Washington, D. C. , 1975, pp. 120-140.
Rackley, R.I., 1976, Origin of Western-States Type Uranium Mineralization, in Handbook of Strata-Bound and Strataform Ore Deposits, Chapter 3, K.H. Wolf (ed), Elsevier Sci. Pub. Company, Amsterdam, pp. 89-156.
Campbell, M. D., H. M. Wise, R. I. Rackely, 2007, “Uranium In-Situ Leach Development and Associated Environmental Issues,” Proc. Gulf Coast Geological Societies Conference, Fall, Corpus Christi, Texas, 17 p. – Peer Reviewed. PDF Version: (here)
Campbell, M. D., J. D. King, H. M. Wise, R. I. Rackley, 2008 “The Nature and Extent of Uranium Reserves and Resources and Their Environmental Development in the U.S. and Overseas,” AAPG – Energy Minerals Division Conference, April 23, 2008, Session: “Uranium Geology and Associated Ground Water Issues”, San Antonio, Texas – Peer Reviewed. (Click here).
Campbell, M. D., J. D. King, H. M. Wise, R. I. Rackley, and B. Handley, 2009, “The Nature and Extent of Uranium Reserves and Resources and Their Environmental Development in the U.S. and Overseas,” AAPG – Energy Minerals Division 2008 Report, revised for publishing in AIPG’s The Professional Geologist, Vol. 46, No. 5, September/October, pp. 42-51 – Peer Reviewed. (Click here).
Campbell, M. D., R. I. Rackley, R. W. Lee, M. David Campbell, H. M. Wise, J. D. King, and S. E Campbell, 2018, “Characterization of the Occurrence of Uranium, Thorium, Rare Earths and Other Metals in Basement Rocks as a Source for New Uranium Roll-Front District in the Tertiary Sediments in the McCarthy Marsh and Death Valley and Associated Metallogenic Areas in the Eastern Seward Peninsula, Alaska,” Journal Geology and Geosciences, Vol. 2(1), 2018, 65 p. (here).
Mr. Rackley presently plays a significant role for I2M Consulting, as a senior geological associate and provides exploration management and associated functions.
Feel free to contact us to discuss your project needs or to arrange a speaking engagement by one of our Associates for a professional training session, a technical conference, society meeting, or for a graduation ceremony or other function where the knowledge and experience of our Associates may be of interest to your group.
