National assessment of Ni, Co, V, Cr, and PGE associated with mafic/ultramafic magmatic mineral systems
Many minerals critical for modern society are found only in a few places in the world. U.S. reliance on minerals imported from other countries can cause supply chain vulnerabilities. This project aims to evaluate critical commodities associated with mafic and ultramafic igneous rocks and highlight areas with mineral potential.
The project aims to assess critical minerals in mafic/ultramafic magmatic systems that are essential for energy storage (nickel, cobalt, and vanadium) and fuel cell (platinum group elements) applications. Chromium will also be assessed because of its association with this mineral system.
In order to develop domestic sources of critical minerals, decisionmakers need to know where these sources can be found. Our project plans to document known deposits and prospects and forecast how much mineralized rock may exist. Some basic research will be conducted to increase our understanding of the mineral system that forms deposits in ultramafic and mafic igneous rocks. The assessment will emphasize technically recoverable mineralized material that could be a significant source of supply for the United States.
Research conducted by two Mendenhall postdoctoral fellows support the activities of this project. The project also supports efforts to provide training in mineral resource assessment methods to early- to mid-career USGS scientists.
Examples of anticipated products include:
- Broad-scale mineral systems resource GIS and map of conterminous US and Alaska
- Intermediate-scale mineral resource potential GIS for critical minerals in mafic and ultramafic rocks
- Grade and tonnage model for conduit-type Cu-Ni-PGE deposits
- Quantitative assessment of conduit-type Cu-Ni-PGE deposits, Lake Superior region
- Quantitative assessment of contact-type Cu-Ni-PGE deposits, western margin, Duluth Complex
Methodology to Address Issue:
- Evaluate and select the deposit types to assess
- Select the assessment unit by considering process, mappable criteria, and data proxies
- Choose assessment approaches based on deposit shape (discrete versus stratiform)
- Using existing data, conduct a first iteration of an assessment to determine what can be done and to identity data and knowledge gaps
- Propose and conduct work to fill data gaps
- Conduct final assessment
