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Mineral Resources Program images.

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Image: Copper-Stained Banded Siltite at the Blackbird Cobalt-Copper Mine
Copper-Stained Banded Siltite at the Blackbird Cobalt-Copper Mine
Copper-Stained Banded Siltite at the Blackbird Cobalt-Copper Mine
Copper-Stained Banded Siltite at the Blackbird Cobalt-Copper Mine

USGS scientist Art Bookstrom photographs copper-stained banded siltite, exposed in the Blacktail pit of the Blackbird cobalt-copper mine, Salmon River Mountains, east-central Idaho.

Image: Biotitic Mafic Dike at the Blackbird Cobalt-Copper Mine
Biotitic Mafic Dike at the Blackbird Cobalt-Copper Mine
Biotitic Mafic Dike at the Blackbird Cobalt-Copper Mine
Biotitic Mafic Dike at the Blackbird Cobalt-Copper Mine

USGS scientist John Slack holds his hammer to a biotitic mafic dike, intruded into twice-folded banded siltite, exposed in the Hawkeye adit of the Blackbird cobalt-copper mine, in the Salmon River Mountains of east-central Idaho. Biotite is a type of mica, and mafic refers to a high magnesium and iron content.

USGS scientist John Slack holds his hammer to a biotitic mafic dike, intruded into twice-folded banded siltite, exposed in the Hawkeye adit of the Blackbird cobalt-copper mine, in the Salmon River Mountains of east-central Idaho. Biotite is a type of mica, and mafic refers to a high magnesium and iron content.

Image: Southeast Missouri Helicopter Survey
Southeast Missouri Helicopter Survey
Southeast Missouri Helicopter Survey
Southeast Missouri Helicopter Survey

Residents and visitors should not be alarmed to witness a low-flying helicopter over southeastern Missouri starting in mid to late February, 2014.

Residents and visitors should not be alarmed to witness a low-flying helicopter over southeastern Missouri starting in mid to late February, 2014.

stibnite specimen
Stibnite Mineral Specimen
Stibnite Mineral Specimen
Stibnite Mineral Specimen

Specimen of stibnite, an ore mineral of antimony. Antimony compounds help to prevent skin burns, increase battery life, and refine the glass used in cell-phone screens.

Specimen of stibnite, an ore mineral of antimony. Antimony compounds help to prevent skin burns, increase battery life, and refine the glass used in cell-phone screens.

Image shows a sample of finchite with a quarter for scale
Finchite Mineral
Finchite Mineral
Finchite Mineral

A sample of finchite, a newly discovered uranium mineral. Finchite is the yellow material on the surface of the rock. Finchite is found in the late Pleistocene sediments deposited during the Illinoian glacial stage.

A sample of finchite, a newly discovered uranium mineral. Finchite is the yellow material on the surface of the rock. Finchite is found in the late Pleistocene sediments deposited during the Illinoian glacial stage.

Image shows a dry creek bed with two men standing on the banks
USGS Scientists Seeking Finchite by the Sulfur Springs Draw in Texas
USGS Scientists Seeking Finchite by the Sulfur Springs Draw in Texas
USGS Scientists Seeking Finchite by the Sulfur Springs Draw in Texas

Between Lamesa and Big Spring, Texas, runs the Sulfur Spring Draw, a dry creek. It's the site of an economic calcrete-type uranium deposit, the Sulfur Springs Draw Deposit, where a new mineral was discovered in 2015.

Image shows a sample of the mineral finchite with a chair wheel for scale
Finchite Mineral
Finchite Mineral
Finchite Mineral

A sample of finchite, a newly discovered uranium mineral. Finchite is the yellow material on the surface of the rock. Finchite is found in the late Pleistocene sediments deposited during the Illinoian glacial stage.

A sample of finchite, a newly discovered uranium mineral. Finchite is the yellow material on the surface of the rock. Finchite is found in the late Pleistocene sediments deposited during the Illinoian glacial stage.

USGS scientist leaning against a rock outcropping with trees in the background
Shearing of the Melozitna Granite
Shearing of the Melozitna Granite
Shearing of the Melozitna Granite

Geologist and cataclastic shear zones in the Melozitna granite in the Ruby batholith. This granite contains abundant monazite and high levels of thorium and rare earth elements.

Geologist and cataclastic shear zones in the Melozitna granite in the Ruby batholith. This granite contains abundant monazite and high levels of thorium and rare earth elements.

Image shows sand in a hand
Frac Sands in Hand
Frac Sands in Hand
Frac Sands in Hand

Frac sands used in unconventional oil and gas development.

Image shows a rock outcropping surrounded by desert vegation
Calcrete near Sulfur Springs Draw
Calcrete near Sulfur Springs Draw
Image shows a detail of a yellow mineral on white rock
Uranium-Vanadate Mineral in Calcrete
Uranium-Vanadate Mineral in Calcrete
Uranium-Vanadate Mineral in Calcrete

A uranium-vanadate mineral in calcrete. This sample came from near the Sulfur Springs Draw in Texas. USGS conducted an assessment of uranium resources in this region in 2015.

microscopic gold and lead particles
Microscopic Gold and Lead Particles
Microscopic Gold and Lead Particles
Microscopic Gold and Lead Particles

Microscopic gold and lead particles surrounded by organic and phosphorus-rich material in a municipal biosolids sample (combined surface topography and atomic weight images).

Microscopic gold and lead particles surrounded by organic and phosphorus-rich material in a municipal biosolids sample (combined surface topography and atomic weight images).

Image shows a scanning electron microscope image of finchite
Scanning Electron Microscope Image of Finchite
Scanning Electron Microscope Image of Finchite
Scanning Electron Microscope Image of Finchite

A scanning electron microscope image of the newly discovered mineral finchite. The Denver Microbeam Lab provided this scan of finchite in order to help describe and identify the mineral as a new one. Finchite is a uranium mineral first observed in Martin County, Texas.

A scanning electron microscope image of the newly discovered mineral finchite. The Denver Microbeam Lab provided this scan of finchite in order to help describe and identify the mineral as a new one. Finchite is a uranium mineral first observed in Martin County, Texas.

Scientist examining outcrops of strongly deformed and metamorphosed rock, Divide Mountain, Yukon-Tanana, eastern Alaska
Scientist examining strongly deformed and metamorphosed rock outcrops
Scientist examining strongly deformed and metamorphosed rock outcrops
Scientist examining strongly deformed and metamorphosed rock outcrops

USGS scientist examining outcrops of strongly deformed and metamorphosed rock along Divide Mountain in the Yukon-Tanana upland of eastern Alaska

Image: Blockade Glacier
Blockade Glacier
Blockade Glacier
Blockade Glacier

USGS geologist Richard Lease collects samples of granitic bedrock high above Blockade glacier, Neacola Mountains, Alaska.

USGS geologist Richard Lease collects samples of granitic bedrock high above Blockade glacier, Neacola Mountains, Alaska.

Helicopter arriving to move geologists from Redoubt Volcano, Alaska
Helicopter arriving to move geologists from Redoubt Volcano, Alaska
Helicopter arriving to move geologists from Redoubt Volcano, Alaska
Helicopter arriving to move geologists from Redoubt Volcano, Alaska

Helicopter arriving to pick up geologists after retrieving geophysical equipment from the flanks of Redoubt Volcano, Alaska, July 2015

Image: Ordovician Fracking Sand
Ordovician Fracking Sand
Ordovician Fracking Sand
Ordovician Fracking Sand

Frac sands courtesy of Unimin Energy Solutions.

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