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Publications

Results from our Program’s research and minerals information activities are published in USGS publications series as well as in outside journals.  To follow Minerals Information Periodicals, subscribe to the Mineral Periodicals RSS feed.

Filter Total Items: 2587

Examining risk in mineral exploration Examining risk in mineral exploration

Successful mineral exploration strategy requires identification of some of the risk sources and considering them in the decision-making process so that controllable risk can be reduced. Risk is defined as chance of failure or loss. Exploration is an economic activity involving risk and uncertainty, so risk also must be defined in an economic context. Risk reduction can be addressed in...
Authors
Donald A. Singer, Ryoichi Kouda

An interpretation of the 1997 airborne electromagnetic (AEM) survey, Fort Huachuca vicinity, Cochise County, Arizona An interpretation of the 1997 airborne electromagnetic (AEM) survey, Fort Huachuca vicinity, Cochise County, Arizona

In March of 1997, an airborne electromagnetic (AEM) survey of the Fort Huachuca Military Reservation and immediate surrounds was conducted. This survey was sponsored by the U.S. Army and contracted through the Geologic Division of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Data were gathered by Geoterrex-Dighem Ltd. of Ottawa, Canada. The survey aircraft is surrounded by a coil through which a...
Authors
Mark W. Bultman, Mark E. Gettings, Jeff Wynn

Spectroscopy of rocks and minerals and principles of spectroscopy Spectroscopy of rocks and minerals and principles of spectroscopy

Spectroscopy is the study of light as a function of wavelength that has been emitted, reflected or scattered from a solid, liquid, or gas. In this chapter I will primarily discuss the spectroscopy of minerals, but the principles apply to any material. No single chapter can cover this topic adequately, and one could argue, not even a single book. Thus, in some ways, this chapter may fall...
Authors
Roger N. Clark

Foreshocks and aftershocks of the great 1857 California earthquake Foreshocks and aftershocks of the great 1857 California earthquake

The San Andreas fault is the longest fault in California and one of the longest strike-slip faults anywhere in the world, yet we know little about many aspects of its behavior before, during, and after large earthquakes. We conducted a study to locate and to estimate magnitudes for the largest foreshocks and aftershocks of the 1857 M 7.9 Fort Tejon earthquake on the central and southern...
Authors
A.J. Meltzner, D.J. Wald

How useful is landslide hazard information? Lessons learned in the San Francisco Bay region How useful is landslide hazard information? Lessons learned in the San Francisco Bay region

Landslides, worldwide and in the United States, are arguably the most costly natural hazard. Substantial landslide information is available, but much of it remains underutilized, as a disconnect exists among geologists, decision makers, and the public. The lack of a national landslide insurance policy exacerbates this situation and promotes litigation as the principal recourse for...
Authors
D. G. Howell, D.W. Ramsey, E. E. Brabb

Alaska resource data file: McGrath quadrangle Alaska resource data file: McGrath quadrangle

The unnamed occurrence was investigated by the reporter in 1978 during a 1:63,360 scale geologic mapping effort for the Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys in the McGrath quadrangle (Bundtzen and Laird, 1983). Two grab samples from the mineralized zone contained up to 222 ppm copper, 0.6 grams/tonne silver, and 100 ppm lead.
Authors
Thomas K. Bundtzen

Preliminary digital map of cryptocrystalline occurrences in northern Nevada Preliminary digital map of cryptocrystalline occurrences in northern Nevada

The purpose was to identify potential cryptocrystalline material sources for tools used by indigenous people of the northern Nevada portion of the Great Basin. Cryptocrystalline occurrence data combed from the U.S. Geological Survey's Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS, 1995) were combined with sites described in Nevada rockhound guides and entered into a geographic information system...
Authors
Lorre A. Moyer

Field trip guide to selected studies of the Southwest Mineral and Environmental Investigations Project in southeastern Arizona Field trip guide to selected studies of the Southwest Mineral and Environmental Investigations Project in southeastern Arizona

The Southwest Mineral and Environmental Investigations Project is designed to address issues raised by rapid urban development in the basins of the southwestern U.S. These issues require objective geoscientific data that can be used by land managers and stakeholders to develop informed land and water use strategies. The project integrates new and existing geologic, geophysical, and...
Authors
B. B. Houser, M. E. Gettings, M.W. Bultman, Floyd Gray, K.R. Caruthers, D.M. Hirschberg

Digital Map of Surficial Geology, Wetlands, and Deepwater Habitats, Coeur d'Alene River Valley, Idaho Digital Map of Surficial Geology, Wetlands, and Deepwater Habitats, Coeur d'Alene River Valley, Idaho

The Coeur d'Alene (CdA) River channel and its floodplain in north Idaho are mostly covered by metal-enriched sediments, partially derived from upstream mining, milling and smelting wastes. Relative to uncontaminated sediments of the region, metal-enriched sediments are highly enriched in silver, lead, zinc, arsenic, antimony and mercury, copper, cadmium, manganese, and iron. Widespread
Authors
Arthur A. Bookstrom, Stephen E. Box, Berne L. Jackson, Theodore R. Brandt, Pamela D. Derkey, Steven R. Munts
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