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.
USMIN Mineral Deposit Database
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
Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (Earth MRI)
Discover Our ScienceNews
Critical Cooperation: How Australia, Canada and the United States are Working Together to Support Critical Mineral Discovery
Just as alloys make steel stronger, research allies make mineral science better. Geoscience Australia, the Geological Survey of Canada, and the USGS are coordinating their critical mineral mapping and research efforts to create a shared foundation of mineral information to help ensure a safe and secure supply of the materials needed for each country’s economy and security.
A Geologist Tongue Twister
Bring out your inner geologist and take the Geologist Tongue Twister Audio or Video challenge!
First, do an audio or video recording of you reading the Tongue Twister. Second, feature a rock or mineral from your rock collection or go outside and find yourself a rock; they are everywhere!
Be sure to hashtag your video #earthscienceweek and #...
Using Remote Sensing to Turn Trash into Treasure
There’s an old saying that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. At the USGS, we’re taking another look at old mine waste and tailings to see if there might still be mineral potential in them.
Publications
Focus areas for data acquisition for potential domestic resources of 11 critical minerals in the conterminous United States, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico—Aluminum, cobalt, graphite, lithium, niobium, platinum-group elements, rare earth elements, tantalum, tin, titanium, and tungsten
In response to a need for information on potential domestic sources of critical minerals, the Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (Earth MRI) was established to identify and prioritize areas for acquisition of new geologic mapping, geophysical data, and elevation data to improve our knowledge of the geologic framework of the United States. Phase 1...
Hammarstrom, Jane M.; Dicken, Connie L.; Day, Warren C.; Hofstra, Albert H.; Drenth, Benjamin J.; Shah, Anjana K.; McCafferty, Anne E.; Woodruff, Laurel G.; Foley, Nora K.; Ponce, David A.; Frost, Thomas P.; Stillings, Lisa L.
Focus areas for data acquisition for potential domestic resources of 11 critical minerals in Alaska—Aluminum, cobalt, graphite, lithium, niobium, platinum group elements, rare earth elements, tantalum, tin, titanium, and tungsten, chap. C of U.S. Geological Survey, Focus areas for data acquisition for potential domestic sources of critical minerals
Phase 2 of the Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (Earth MRI) focuses on geologic belts that are favorable for hosting mineral systems that may contain select critical minerals. Phase 1 of the Earth MRI program focused on rare earth elements (REE), and phase 2 adds aluminum, cobalt, graphite, lithium, niobium, platinum-group metals, tantalum, tin...
Kreiner, Douglas C.; Jones, James V.
Mineral resource database for deposits related to the Mesoproterozoic Midcontinent Rift System, United States and Canada
The Midcontinent Rift System (MRS) of North America is one of the world’s largest continental rifts and has an age of 1.1 Ga (giga-annum). The MRS hosts a diverse suite of magmatic and hydrothermal mineral deposits in the Lake Superior region where rift rocks are exposed at or near the surface. As part of the construction of a database summarizing...
Woodruff, Laurel G.; Schulz, Klaus J.; Dicken, Connie L.; Nicholson, Suzanne W.