Mineral Resources Program
Home
The USGS Mineral Resources Program (MRP) delivers unbiased science and information to increase understanding of ore formation, undiscovered mineral resource potential, production, consumption, and how minerals interact with the environment. MRP supports data collection and research on a wide variety of non-fuel mineral resources that are important to the Nation’s economic and national security.
Mineral Statistics and Commodity Information
Statistics and information on minerals and materials essential to the U.S. economy, the national security, and the flow of materials through production, supply chains, recycling and sustainability.
Minerals InformationMineral Resources Online Spatial Data
Interactive maps and downloadable data for regional and global geology, geochemistry, geophysics, and mineral resources.
Find DataScience Priorities
We study geologic processes that concentrate known mineral resources at specific localities in the Earth's crust, and assess quantities, qualities, and areas of undiscovered mineral resources, or potential future supply.
Minerals Information and Material Flow
Characterization and Identification of Critical Mineral Resources
Regional Studies and Mineral Resources
Discover Our ScienceNews
USGS April 2 Open House in Silverton Colorado Well Received
On April 2, the USGS hosted an Open House in Silverton, Colorado, about planned airborne geophysical surveys in the Silverton region.
U.S. Mines Produced an Estimated $82.2 Billion in Minerals During 2018
U.S. mines produced an estimated $82.2 billion of raw mineral materials in 2018 – a 3 percent increase over the revised total of $79.7 billion in 2017– the U.S. Geological Survey announced in its annual Mineral Commodity Summaries published Feb. 28.
POSTPONED due to weather: Ask Questions and Learn More About the Low-Level Helicopter Flying Above the Mississippi Alluvial Plain
Media: Please join the U.S. Geological Survey, CGG Airborne and various partners for a demonstration of the low-flying helicopter and description of what scientists are seeking in and around the Mississippi Alluvial Plain.
Publications
Rare earth element mineral deposits in the United States
Because of their unique special chemical properties, many of the metals in the group of rare earth elements (REEs) have essential applications in 21st century technologies. Examples of products that use REEs are cell phones, computers, fluorescent and light-emitting-diode lights, flat-screen television and computer monitors, and in high-strength...
Van Gosen, Bradley S.; Verplanck, Philip L.; Emsbo, Poul
Focus areas for data acquisition for potential domestic sources of critical minerals—Rare earth elements
Rare earth elements (REEs) are critical mineral commodities for the United States. In response to a need for information on potential domestic sources of REEs in mineral deposits, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) identified broad focus areas throughout the conterminous United States and Alaska as a guide for selecting new geoscience research...
Hammarstrom, Jane M.; Dicken, Connie L.
Effect of size-biased sampling on resource predictions from the three-part method for quantitative mineral resource assessment—A case study of the gold mines in the Timmins-Kirkland Lake area of the Abitibi greenstone belt, Canada:
The three-part method for quantitative mineral resource assessment is used by the U.S. Geological Survey to predict, within a specified assessment area, the number of undiscovered mineral deposits and the quantity of mineral resources in those undiscovered deposits. The effects of size-biased sampling on such predictions are evaluated in a case...
Ellefsen, Karl J.