Mineral Resources Program
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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
Helicopter Making Low-Level Flights over North-Central Idaho
Residents and visitors should not be alarmed to see a low-flying helicopter over Lemhi and Custer Counties west of Salmon, Idaho from September 6 to October 18, 2021.
The Unexpected Activity of Frozen Soils: New USGS Research Discovers Permafrost and Frozen Winter Soils May Be More Alive than Previously Thought
Newly published research indicates permafrost, or seasonally frozen, soils may be an overlooked source of greenhouse gases (GHG) prior to complete thaw, which could have implications for how thawing of this thick subsurface layer of soil will impact the global carbon budget and how future climate conditions are studied.
Global Mineral Science Data Portal Unveiled by International Partnership
Geoscience Australia, the Geological Survey of Canada, and the U.S. Geological Survey have released a new online portal and the world’s largest database of critical mineral concentrations in and around mineral deposits.
Publications
Reconnaissance study of the major and trace element content of bauxite deposits in the Arkansas bauxite region, Saline and Pulaski Counties, central Arkansas
The Arkansas bauxite district, which comprises about 275 square miles (710 square kilometers) of central Arkansas, produced an order of magnitude more bauxite and alumina than the other bauxite districts in the United States combined. Bauxite was mined in the region continuously from 1898 to 1982. These bauxites are laterite deposits, formed from...
Van Gosen, Bradley S.; Choate, LaDonna M.
Dating fault damage along the eastern Denali fault zone with hematite (U-Th)/He thermochronometry
Unraveling complex slip histories in fault damage zones to understand relations among deformation, hydrothermal alteration, and surface uplift remains a challenge. The dextral eastern Denali fault zone (EDFZ; southwest Yukon, Canada) bounds the Kluane Ranges and hosts a variety of fault-related rocks, including hematite fault surfaces, which have...
McDermott, Robert G.; Ault, Alexis K.; Caine, Jonathan
Improved Automated Identification and Mapping of Iron Sulfate Minerals, Other Mineral Groups, and Vegetation using Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager Data, San Juan Mountains, Colorado, and Four Corners Region
Multispectral remote sensing data acquired by the Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) sensor were analyzed using a new, automated technique to generate a map of exposed mineral and vegetation groups in the western San Juan Mountains, Colo., and the Four Corners Region of the United States. Band ratio results were combined into displayed...
Rockwell, Barnaby W.; Gnesda, William R.; Hofstra, Albert H.