Images

USGS Mineral Resources Program coloring page for the critical mineral barite.

Barite, chemical formula BaSO₄, is a critical mineral. Fun fact: barite is one of the heaviest minerals that isn't a metal.

Critical Mineral Crossword Puzzle: Rhenium.

Rhenium is listed as "critical mineral". Learn about where we get rhenium and how we use it by solving the crossword puzzle clues!

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USGS Mineral Resources Program Critical Mineral Word Scramble Puzzle: Tantalum

View from the summit of Mt. Beristadt near Georgetown, Colorado, overlooking several historical mining districts of the Colorado Mineral Belt.

View looking west from Red Mountain No 1 across upper Corkscrew Gulch and the Red Mountain mining district, associated with breccia pipes, base and precious metal veins, and an extensive porphyry system lithocap, with the western San Juans in the background. Photo taken from the summit of Red Mountain No. 1, Ouray County, Colorado.

Critical Minerals Coloring Sheet: lepidolite

The critical mineral lithium is sourced from lithium brines, spodumene (LiAlSi₂O₆), petalite (LiAlSi₄O₁₀), and lepidolite (a Li-rich mica). Fun fact: lithium is the lightest metal!

Abandoned mine, including exposed shaft and mine dump features, located outside of Boulder, Montana.

Screenshot of initial view for geonarrative, "Investigating the mineral potential of the Boulder batholith", available at https://geonarrative.usgs.gov/investigatebbmineralpot/.

Purified zircon mineral separate from a Middle Miocene ash fall in Croatia, which yielded a U-Pb ages of 15.345 ± 0.011 Ma. Geochronology data from Brlek et al. (2020). Image was taken on a microscope.

Frame from a short video is of a post laser ablation crater using a nanosecond 193nm laser ablation system of a glass slide using a 210 micron spot diameter and 250 shots.  It shows a flat bottom crater indicative of a homogenized laser beam, though the measured diameter of the crater appears to be 25 microns smaller the diameter set.  The 3D crater image

Side by side images of legacy (old) magnetic data (Oshetski and Kucks, 2000; https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr0042) and recently collected Earth MRI magnetic data in the Southwest block of the Colorado Mineral Belt (U.S.

This infographic introduces an approach that could subsequently be used to prioritize environmental research for the full range of critical elements.

Pie chart showing relative amounts of copper produced by leading copper producing states in the U.S. in 2019 (derived from data in Flanagan, D.M., 2019, Copper, in Metals and minerals: U.S. Geological Survey Minerals Yearbook 2019, v. 1, p. 20.1-20.30.

Global map showing locations of porphyry copper deposits from John, D.A., Ayuso, R.A., Barton, M.D., Blakely, R.J., Bodnar, R.J., Dilles, J.H., Gray, Floyd, Graybeal, F.T., Mars, J.C., McPhee, D.K., Seal, R.R., Taylor, R.D., and Vikre, P.G., 2010, Porphyry copper deposit model, chap. B of Mineral deposit models for resource assessment: U.S.

Photograph of Ray Copper Mine, Arizona, taken by USGS Emeritus Mark Coker, September 1, 2007. Revised for USGS Webpage carousel for brightness, sharpness, contrast, color saturation, and cropping.

Table of annual water use in acre-feet per year by major copper mines in Arizona from 2004-2008 published by Singh (2010)

Map showing locations of copper producing mines in the Lower Colorado River Basin, produced by Eric Anderson of the Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center on August 19, 2024.

Pie chart showing copper production in leading copper producing U.S. states in 2020 by Eric Anderson of the Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center, August 2024

Screenshot of Colorado Legacy Mine Lands Watershed Delineation and Scoring Tool (WaDeS) showing Cadmium (Cd) metal concentration figure in samples sorted by rank in relation to chronic and acute toxicity values. Samples are grouped by concentration scores, displayed on the right axis.

Screenshot of Colorado Legacy Mine Lands Watershed Delineation and Scoring Tool (WaDeS) showing individual location information popup window. For more information, see https://geonarrative.usgs.gov/colmlwades/.

Screenshot of USGS web application Colorado Legacy Mine Lands Watershed Delineation and Scoring Tool (WaDeS) landing page, available at https://geonarrative.usgs.gov/colmlwades/.