USGS Mineral Resources Program Highlights
USGS Mineral Resources Program Highlights
Summer 2020 Edition of the USGS Energy Quarterly Newsletter
USGS Mineral Resources Program Highlights for the Summer 2020 Edition of the USGS Energy Quarterly Newsletter
As summer 2020 begins, here are a few highlights from the USGS Mineral Resources Program’s recent activities and publications.
Earth MRI Aeromagnetic Surveys
As the USGS Mineral Resources Program’s Earth Mapping Resource Initiative, or Earth MRI, wraps up its first year, some data acquisition highlights include those from the Hicks Dome, Omaha Dome, and the Coefield Anomaly of the central United States. Other Earth MRI projects, including those that are complete, ongoing, and planning to start soon, can be found here.
Identifying Targets for Earth MRI Phase 2
For FY2019, Earth MRI focused on rare earth elements in Phase 1. Based on lessons learned in Phase 1, Earth MRI will now broaden its focus to include 10 other critical mineral commodities, including aluminum, cobalt, graphite, lithium, niobium, platinum group elements, tantalum, tin, titanium, and tungsten. The USGS Mineral Resources Program has identified broad areas within the United States to target acquisition of geologic mapping, geophysical data, and detailed topographic information to aid research, mineral exploration, and evaluation of mineral potential in these areas. GIS and data focus products for these areas of interest can be found here.
Modernizing and Refining Existing Data
The USGS Mineral Resources Program’s USMIN database continues to refine and modernize its data, releasing updated datasets periodically for each mineral commodity tracked by the USGS. Germanium is the most recent commodity updated within USMIN. In addition, USMIN has been working to develop an updated geospatial database of mines, mineral deposits and mineral regions in the contiguous United States, and has finally covered both coasts.
Pyrrhotite-A Mineral to Avoid
The USGS has released its first-ever map of where the mineral pyrrhotite may occur in the contiguous United States. This research was mandated by Congress in the FY2019 appropriations bill for the USGS and was supported by the USGS Mineral Resources Program. Pyrrhotite becomes an issue in concrete manufacturing if pyrrhotite-bearing stone is crushed up and used as filler for the concrete. Thus, identifying where it may occur can help identify where there may be a risk of pyrrhotite being included in crushed stone production. The map can be found here.
Recent Publications:
More USGS Mineral Resources Program Publications can be found here.
Recent Data Releases:
More USGS Mineral Resources Program Data Releases can be found here.
To stay up-to-date on USGS Mineral Resources Science, follow us on Twitter!
Related Content
USMIN Mineral Deposit Database
Our objective is to develop a national-scale, geospatial database that is the authoritative source of the most important mines, mineral deposits, and mineral districts of the United States.
Argon data for Amazon Craton
This dataset accompanies planned publication 'Genesis of early Neoproterozoic gold deposits, southwestern Amazon Craton, western Brazil'. The Ar/Ar data is for samples that record the mineralization of the area. The geochronology provides time constraints for the mineralization studied in the manuscript. Samples were collected from the Amazon Craton region, and collection was done by
Airborne magnetic and radiometric survey, southeastern Illinois, western Kentucky, and southern Indiana, 2019
This publication provides digital flight line data for a high-resolution magnetic and radiometric survey over an area of southeast Illinois, western Kentucky, and southern Indiana. The survey includes airborne geophysical data collected as part of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Mapping Resource Initiative (Earth MRI) effort (Day, 2019). Earth MRI is a cooperative effort
GIS for focus areas of potential domestic resources of 11 critical minerals—aluminum, cobalt, graphite, lithium, niobium, platinum group elements, rare earth elements, tantalum, tin, titanium, and tungsten
In response to Executive Order 13817 of December 20, 2017, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) coordinated with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to identify 35 nonfuel minerals or mineral materials considered critical to the economic and national security of the United States (U.S.) (https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1021/ofr20181021....
Germanium Deposits in the United States
This data release provides data for the single site in the United States (U.S.) that has public record of germanium (Ge) production. Germanium, which is currently classified as a critical mineral in the U.S., is also extracted as a byproduct from deposits in Alaska, Washington, and Tennessee. However, there is no public information that documents germanium production from these
Geochemical data for stream water and stream sediment samples from the northeast part of the Tanacross quadrangle, Alaska
This data release is part of a study designed to test geochemical methods that best delineate known mineral deposits in the northeast part of the Tanacross 1° x 3° quadrangle, within the Yukon-Tanana Upland region, Alaska. The total area sampled is about 3,200 km2. Extensive tundra cover and patchy spruce/alder vegetation and very limited outcrop exposure characterize the area.
Prospect- and Mine-Related Features from U.S. Geological Survey 7.5- and 15-Minute Topographic Quadrangle Maps of the United States
Version 4.0 of these data are part of a larger USGS project to develop an updated geospatial database of mines, mineral deposits and mineral regions in the United States. Mine and prospect-related symbols, such as those used to represent prospect pits, mines, adits, dumps, tailings, etc., hereafter referred to as “mine” symbols or features, are currently being di
New USGS Map Helps Identify Where Pyrrhotite, a Mineral that Can Cause Concrete Foundations to Fail, May Occur
The USGS has released its first-ever map of where the mineral pyrrhotite may occur in the contiguous United States. This research was mandated by Congress in the FY2019 appropriations bill for the USGS and was supported by the USGS Mineral Resources Program.