Denver Microbeam Laboratory
The USGS Denver Microbeam Laboratory provides critical analytical and characterization support for a wide variety of internal USGS projects and external collaborators. In addition, the lab continually works to develop new methods or improve existing methods to analyze a variety of sample matrices.
News
Secretary of the Interior Visits Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center
Secretary of the Interior Visits Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey and Colorado School of Mines announce long-term partnership
U.S. Geological Survey and Colorado School of Mines announce long-term partnership
Investigating Lung Disease in Military Veterans
Investigating Lung Disease in Military Veterans
Publications
Combining scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray fluorescence to characterize shear zones at the Pogo gold deposit, Alaska Combining scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray fluorescence to characterize shear zones at the Pogo gold deposit, Alaska
This study employs a multi-method analytical approach to characterize the mineralogical, geochemical, and textural properties of fault rocks from the Pogo gold mine in the Yukon-Tanana Upland, central Alaska. Specifically, we examine cataclasites, to document the structural and geochemical evolution of shear zones and their associations with gold mineralization. To investigate the shear...
Deformation mechanisms in quartz veins and shear zones elucidate the origin of gold mineralization at Pogo, Alaska Deformation mechanisms in quartz veins and shear zones elucidate the origin of gold mineralization at Pogo, Alaska
Pogo is a quartz vein hosted, ca. 8 Moz gold deposit. Although it has similarities to orogenic and magmatic-hydrothermal deposits, its origin remains enigmatic. Observations from surface exposures, underground workings, and drill core provide new constraints on quartz vein origins with implications for mineralization. Abundant, largely barren metamorphic segregation quartz veins are...
New occurrences of the rare, REE minerals daqingshanite, törnebohmite, biraite, sahamalite, and ferriperbøeite from the Sheep Creek area, Montana, USA New occurrences of the rare, REE minerals daqingshanite, törnebohmite, biraite, sahamalite, and ferriperbøeite from the Sheep Creek area, Montana, USA
Over 30 small, discontinuous, tabular carbonatite bodies are located in the Sheep Creek area, Ravalli County, southwest Montana. The age and origin of these REE-Nb-rich deposits are currently being investigated. The purpose of this paper is to document the occurrence of several rare minerals, including daqingshanite, törnebohmite, biraite, sahamalite, and ferriperbøeite, in two of the...
Science
Trace Elements in Quartz, Rutile, and Zircon
Quartz is an ubiquitous mineral that forms in all geologic environments including diagenetic, metamorphic, plutonic, and volcanic settings. Quartz is relatively unreactive and is likely to preserve its geologic history. Trace elements in quartz offer clues to formation temperatures and pressures, fluid chemistry, and tectonic setting. Rutile and zircon are refractory minerals also found in a...
Rare Earth Element Microanalysis
Rare earth elements (REE) are critical elements in the technology and energy production sectors as they are used in everything from smartphones to wind turbines. The demand for these materials has seen steady growth and production is lagging. The laboratory supports several projects within the USGS that are characterizing rare earth element minerals from Bokan Mountain and Dora Bay, Alaska...
Denver Microbeam Laboratory: Mineral Resources Research Support
The USGS Denver Microbeam Laboratory provides chemical analysis and characterization of rocks, minerals, and environmental samples in support of a wide variety of USGS projects related to mineral resources, including research projects funded by the USGS Mineral Resources Program. The research applications for these projects range from mineral resource research and assessments, to geologic mapping...