FLUORINE IN COLORADO OIL SHALE.

Oil shale from the lower part of the Eocene Green River Formation in the Piceance Creek Basin, Colorado, averages 0. 13 weight percent fluorine, which is about twice that found in common shales, but is the same as the average amount found in some oil shales from other parts of the world. Some fluorine may reside in fluorapatite; however, limited data suggest that cryolite may be quantitatively more important. To gain a better understanding of the detailed distribution of fluorine in the deeper nahcolite-bearing oil shales, cores were selected for study from two exploratory holes drilled in the northern part of the Piceance Creek Basin where the oil shales reach their maximum thickness and grade.