Mineral System Life Cycles

The objective of this project is to provide targeted research results to benefit cooperators managing legacy mine land sites in the western U.S. by addressing three persistent scientific challenges: (1) determining the contribution of mining-related metal sources to water quality degradation when substantial natural background metal sources are also present; (2) adequately characterizing key...

The objective of this study is to characterize the regional impact of legacy mining in the context of framework geology for the Salmon Mountains in central Idaho. This objective is addressed through three interrelated tasks: 1) framework geology, 2) watershed biogeochemical processes, and 3) characterization of trace metals in colloids (fine particles suspended in water).

The main goal of this project is to provide a science-based approach for screening legacy mine land (LML) sites for remediation and identifying watersheds where relatively low-cost restoration efforts may yield substantial improvements to stream water quality. We are combing analysis of multiple existing regional data coverages with focused field studies to develop a protocol that land managers...

This project will produce maps of surface mineralogy at 15 m spatial resolution covering the largest contiguous area of hyperspectral imagery that has ever been assembled for the U.S., over 380,000 sq. km. in California and Nevada. We are developing new methods to apply these data to map critical minerals, including minerals critical for battery fabrication, and to evaluate resources available...

The primary objectives of this one-year scoping project are to determine the feasibility of extracting byproduct mineral commodities, such as critical minerals, from mine tailings. We plan to analyze the existing data and reports from an active mine site on the composition of their mill tailings pile, and collect preliminary reconnaissance samples to identify appropriate analytical techniques that...

The project goal is to investigate best approaches to integrating conceptual, (bio)geochemical, hydrological, and toxicological models to improve prediction of metal mobility and remediation at legacy mine land (LML) sites.

The overall project objective is a comprehensive analysis of the natural and anthropogenic consequences of extensive ore and trace mineralization in the southern midcontinent of the U.S. with a focus on Missouri. This will be conducted at two scales: 1) landscape and 2) process-level. 1) Landscape scale using geospatial and machine learning techniques to combine multiple geochemical and geologic...

The study objective is to conduct an integrated, interdisciplinary study on source areas, biogeochemical transformations, and physical and biological pathways for trace metal transport in a tributary of the Snake River watershed, focusing on the Sugar Creek watershed. The historical Cinnabar mercury mine site is at the headwaters of Cinnabar Creek, a tributary to Sugar Creek. This integrated...

USGS is conducting sampling, monitoring, and modeling in the Patagonia Mountains and nearby regions in Arizona to identify contaminant risk potential of legacy and proposed mine sites and to develop classification criteria for predicting vulnerabilities and targeted sources and sinks of metal contaminants.

The project's primary objective is to evaluate the reducing capacity of an aquifer down-gradient of a roll-front ore zone to assess the mobility of uranium and other associated elements (e.g. arsenic, selenium, molybdenum, and sulfur). Assessing the reducing capacity of the aquifer requires characterization of the mineralogy, geochemistry, and microbiology and their variation across the aquifer.

The USGS is using a set of advanced imaging and analysis tools to study the rocks within the eastern Adirondacks of upstate New York. The goal of these studies is to gain a better understanding of the geology and mineral resources in the area.

The overall objective of our project is to take the abundant geoenvironmental model research that the Mineral Resources Program has supported, and use it to refine the geoenvironmental model concept to make it more useable for our current stakeholders.