Resource Assessments

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...

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.

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...

This project uses geologic and geophysical mapping to build an earth-science framework for scientific investigations that include assessments of critical resources, such as groundwater, and of hazards, such as those resulting from earthquakes, in California west of and including the Sierra Nevada and Cascade arc. Questions of particular interest include: What are the geometries, slip rates, and...

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...

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...

Project objectives are to develop a modern probabilistic quantitative mineral resource assessment of Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands and adjacent geologically similar areas that examines the potential for minerals-based economic development and trade within the region.

The Development of Assessment Techniques and Analysis Project (DATAPII) objective is to modernize the application and development of USGS mineral resource and integrated multiresource assessment methodologies and capacity that are applicable at a variety of spatial and temporal scales, and national and international in scope.

Our objectives are to: 1) collect and assimilate digital geospatial data in a standardized format for minerals-related research and assessments, 2) develop and improve analytical procedures for using geospatial data in minerals products, 3) provide support for timely, quality, and reproducible mineral assessments, 4) provide easy access to the data, and 5) report results of our work in a digital...

The USGS Mineral Resources Program completed a comprehensive assessment and inventory of potential mineral resources covering approximately10 million acres of federal and adjacent lands in Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming and Montana.

In response to the growing demand for information on the global mineral-resource base, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) completed assessments for undiscovered resources of porphyry and sediment-hosted copper, platinum-group elements, and potash.