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RESTON, Va. – The U.S. Geological Survey has announced it will invest approximately $2.8 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding to collect high-resolution geophysical data focused on areas with potential for critical mineral resources over Wyoming’s Laramie Mountains. 

The data collection will be conducted through the USGS Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (Earth MRI), a partnership between the USGS and state geological surveys that is revolutionizing our understanding of the nation’s geology and critical mineral resources which are vital to the U.S. economy, national security, and clean energy technology.  

“The data generated through Earth MRI are crucial in identifying and providing a fuller picture of the nation’s mineral and other geologic resources,” said David Applegate, USGS director.

The survey’s focus will include a geologic feature known as the Cheyenne Belt, the suture zone between the Wyoming Province to the north and Colorado Province to the south.

“This area of interest straddles the boundary between the Archean and much younger rock formations, and so the data will be very telling as we work to understand the tectonic history of the region,” said Ben Drenth, the lead USGS geophysicist for this survey

Drenth explained that such fundamental tectonic boundaries tend to preferentially house mineral deposits, but there are other important geologic insights that can be gathered from these surveys. The data provide information about potential groundwater and energy resources, as well as natural hazard and infrastructure remediation needs of the area. 

The survey footprint was designed in close collaboration with the Wyoming State Geological Survey, with the aim of improving understanding of the local geology. 

“The geology of the Laramie Mountains records multiple episodes of magmatism and deformation occurring over more than a billion years. Geologic understanding of the Cheyenne Belt corridor will be greatly improved by the data gathered through Earth MRI,” said Erin Campbell, State Geologist and Director of the Wyoming State Geological Survey. “These data will also be helpful for identifying resource potential and will guide future geochemical reconnaissance sampling projects as well as our regional mapping efforts.” 

These airborne geophysical surveys will collect a combination of magnetic and radiometric data. These data can be used to map rocks from just beneath trees, grass, and shallow sediment cover down to several miles underground. Magnetic data can be used to identify ancient faults, different rock types, and other geologic features and potentially the signatures of mineral deposits. Radiometric data indicate the relative amounts of potassium, uranium and thorium in shallow rocks and soil. 

Scientists use this information to help map rocks that may contain mineral deposits, faults that may rupture during an earthquake, areas that may be prone to increased radon, and areas likely to contain groundwater or energy resources.

The initial airborne geophysical survey may be followed by additional investments, including new geologic maps, geochemical sampling, and other techniques to better understand the region’s geologic framework.

Since 2021, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has advanced scientific innovation through a \$320 million investment for the USGS to better map the Nation’s mineral resources, both still in the ground and in mine wastes, and to preserve historical geologic data and samples. Through the end of fiscal year 2024, more than \$160 million has been obligated for Earth MRI initiatives, propelling efforts to make “once-in-a-generation” advancements in the nation’s geologic and geophysical data collections and mapping. 

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