Mineral Resources Research
Mineral Resources Research
Filter Total Items: 21
Geophysical Imaging for Critical Mineral Resources in the Southern Basin and Range
Reliance on imports for many critical mineral commodities (including rare earth elements) puts the U.S. at high risk for supply disruption. Undiscovered deposits of some of these critical and strategic minerals undoubtedly exist in the United States, but a lack of modern geological, geophysical, and topographic data makes exploration challenging. This project plans to improve our knowledge of the...
Multidisciplinary Investigations of REE Mineralization at Mountain Pass and in the Southeast Mojave Desert, California
In this time of increased focus on renewable energy technologies, rare earth elements (REEs) are of critical importance. For example, neodymium (Nd) is a REE used in the generator and motor magnets of wind turbines and electric vehicles. Reliance on REE imports puts the U.S. at high risk for supply disruption. The project will integrate geology, geophysics, petrology, geochronology, and economic...
Large Magmatic Systems for Minerals
This project continues work on large magmatic systems in the U.S., where critical mineral commodities important to clean energy technologies can be concentrated. Modeling of large mafic intrusion extents will continue, and new geophysical methods will be applied to improve understanding of magmatic systems.
MinFrame - Methodological infrastructure needed for resource assessment, modeling, and evaluation
Assessing the mineral resources of the United States represents a core function of the Energy and Minerals Mission Area since the inception of the U.S. Geological Survey under the Organic Act of 1879. As reaffirmed by the Energy Policy Act of 2020, assessment of identified and undiscovered resources of critical mineral commodities continues to form a focal point of the Mineral Resources Program...
Geophysical Studies on the Architecture of Large Igneous Systems Hosting Magmatic Ore Deposits
Platinum group elements, also known as PGEs, are a group of elements that have specific properties which make them useful for various applications in industry. One geologic setting that contains large concentrations of platinum group elements is layered mafic intrusions. This project will use new and preexisting geophysical datasets to characterize the internal structure of layered intrusions...
Sediment-Hosted Copper Deposits in the Lake Superior Portion of the Midcontinent Rift System
This project is focused on the sediment-hosted copper deposits of the Midcontinent Rift, with three main objectives: 1) describe the ore mineralogy and geochemistry of the White Pine and Copperwood deposits, 2) evaluate whether hydrothermal alteration in footwall rocks can be used as a vector towards ore, and 3) provide a careful scoping study to evaluate whether unconventional platinum-group...
Lithium from Source to Sink: Genesis and Evolution of Li Brines and Clays
The purpose of this project is to trace the lithium (Li) geochemical cycle in the Great Basin, with an emphasis on the pathways that lead to the development of lithium clay and brine resources.
Systems Approach to Critical Minerals Inventory, Research, and Assessment
This project supports the Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (EarthMRI) by developing a mineral systems approach for defining focus areas. This project is investigating domestic sources of critical minerals in three sequential stages: inventory, research, and assessment. 1) Inventory the abundance of critical minerals in ore, minerals, and processed materials from major deposits in each system...
Antimony In and Around the Yellow Pine Deposit, Central Idaho
Project objectives are to document the origin of the Yellow Pine gold-antimony deposit and, by extension, the origin of this deposit type. Our goal is to understand the structural, tectonic, and magmatic setting of the deposit, the character of the ore-transporting fluids, the conditions of ore deposition, and the regional stratigraphic framework and geochemical ore controls of metasedimentary...
Platinum-Group Elements in Layered Intrusions Associated with the Midcontinent Rift
Platinum-group elements (PGE) are critical commodities. They are essential for the U.S. economy; however the U.S. imports about 90 percent of the platinum-group elements that we need to use. The project objective is to assess the Duluth Complex and related mafic-ultramafic intrusions in the 1.1 Ga Midcontinent Rift System in the Lake Superior region. Our current activities focus on a Keweenawan...
Magmatic-Tectonic History and Component Sources of Major Precious Metal Deposits in the Tonopah, Goldfield, and Comstock Lode Districts, NV
Project objectives are refinement of stratigraphy, structure, and magmatic-hydrothermal evolution of the Tonopah, Goldfield, and Comstock Lode districts, and determination of the sources of hydrothermal mineral components. Results are expected to include refined geologic and tectonic maps of important districts in the Walker Lane, reduced uncertainty in sources of elements in ore deposits...
Magmas to Metals: Melt Inclusion Insights into the Formation of Critical Element-Bearing Ore Deposits
This project applies innovative melt inclusion and mineralogical techniques to characterize several distinctive magma types occurring together with prodigious, critical rare earth elements (REE) and gold-(antimony-tellurium) ore deposits within the U.S. We will characterize the pre-eruptive/pre-emplacement magmatic conditions in several districts. The goal is to determine the role of magmatism in...