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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.

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The feasibility of using lidar-derived digital elevation models for gravity data reduction The feasibility of using lidar-derived digital elevation models for gravity data reduction

Gravity data require submeter elevation accuracy for data processing, and differential global navigation satellite system (dGNSS) equipment is commonly used to acquire three-dimensional positional data to achieve such accuracy. However, lidar (light detection and ranging) data are commonly used to develop digital elevation models (DEMs) of Earth’s surface. Therefore, using elevations...
Authors
Jacob T. Murchek, Benjamin Drenth, James J. Reitman, Eric D. Anderson, Benjamin Magnin, James M. DeGraff

Bayesian mapping of regionally grouped, sparse, univariate earth science data Bayesian mapping of regionally grouped, sparse, univariate earth science data

Some earth science data are naturally grouped by region, and it is often desirable to map these data by region. However, if there are only a few samples within each region, then the map should be smoothed in an appropriate way to mitigate the problems that arise from having only a few samples. A smoothing algorithm based on a Bayesian hierarchical model is developed and presented in this...
Authors
Karl Ellefsen, Bronwen Wang, Margaret Goldman

Metal fingerprints of Eocene rhyolite magmas coincident with Carlin-type gold deposition in Nevada USA Metal fingerprints of Eocene rhyolite magmas coincident with Carlin-type gold deposition in Nevada USA

Eocene magmatic systems contemporaneous with world-class Carlin-type Au deposits in Nevada (USA) have been proposed by some researchers as a key ingredient for Au mineralization, though evidence conclusively demonstrating their genetic relationship remains tenuous. This study provides the first direct evidence of the pre-eruptive metal budget of volatile- and metal-charged silicic magmas
Authors
Celestine Mercer, Hannah R. Babel, Cameron Mercer, Albert Hofstra

USGS critical minerals review USGS critical minerals review

No abstract available.
Authors
Graham Lederer, James Jones, Darcy McPhee, Patricia J Loferski, Robert Seal, Paul Bedrosian, Patricia Macqueen, V. Grauch, Federico Solano, Joshua Rosera, David Pineault

Statistical approaches for modeling correlated grade and tonnage distributions and applications for mineral resource assessments Statistical approaches for modeling correlated grade and tonnage distributions and applications for mineral resource assessments

Correlations between grade and tonnage exist in mineral resource data compiled from published reports, but they are not always addressed during quantitative assessment of undiscovered mineral resources. Failure to account for correlated grade and tonnage distributions can result in geologically unrealistic assessment results. Current software tools simulate univariate ore tonnage and...
Authors
Joshua Rosera, Graham Lederer, John Schuenemeyer

In situ Re-Os geochronology of Re-rich Palaeogene molybdenite by LA-ICP-MS/MS In situ Re-Os geochronology of Re-rich Palaeogene molybdenite by LA-ICP-MS/MS

In situ Re–Os geochronology by LA-ICP-MS/MS was previously demonstrated by reacting Os with CH4 or N2O reaction gasses. However, for both reactions, a minor proportion of the Re parent isotope also reacts, potentially leading to significant isobaric interferences of 187Re on 187Os, especially for young samples with little radiogenic in-growth. Here we present an interlaboratory...
Authors
Stijm Glorie, Jay Thompson, Sarah E. Gilbert, Amanda Souders

Critical Minerals in Ores (CMiO) database Critical Minerals in Ores (CMiO) database

Critical minerals are commodities essential to modern industrial and strategic technologies and are highly vulnerable to supply chain disruption. The Critical Minerals Mapping Initiative (CMMI) is a collaboration among the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Geological Survey of Canada, and Geoscience Australia that aims to deepen global understanding of where critical minerals are...
Authors
George Case, Garth Graham, Christopher Lawley, Evgeniy Bastrakov, David Huston, Albert Hofstra, Vladimir Lisitsin, Steph Hawkins, Bronwen Wang

Structural analysis of brittle-plastic shear zones in the Sangre de Cristo Range, southern Colorado USA: Superposition of Rio Grande rift extension on Laramide contraction Structural analysis of brittle-plastic shear zones in the Sangre de Cristo Range, southern Colorado USA: Superposition of Rio Grande rift extension on Laramide contraction

The Sangre de Cristo Range in southern Colorado exposes some of the deepest Cenozoic structural levels in the Rocky Mountain region, including mylonitic shear zones associated with both the Laramide orogeny and Rio Grande rift. We investigated the relation between Laramide contraction and Rio Grande rift extension with detailed geologic mapping, kinematic analysis, and geochronometry in...
Authors
Michael C. Sitar, John Singleton, Jeffrey M. Rahl, Jonathan Caine, Jacob King, Andrew Kylander-Clark, Paul O’Sullivan

The abandoned mine inventory of the United States—A brief summary The abandoned mine inventory of the United States—A brief summary

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 required the Secretary of the Interior to establish a program to inventory abandoned hard-rock mines in the United States. The Department of the Interior’s Office of Environmental Policy and Compliance asked the U.S. Geological Survey’s Mineral Deposit Database project (USMIN) to use existing data sources to build an inventory of all...
Authors
Jeffrey Mauk, Nick Karl, Justin S. Pierson, Carma San Juan

The role of bedrock circulation depth and porosity in mountain streamflow response to prolonged drought The role of bedrock circulation depth and porosity in mountain streamflow response to prolonged drought

Quantitative understanding is lacking on how the depth of active groundwater circulation in bedrock affects mountain streamflow response to a multi‐year drought. We use an integrated hydrological model to explore the sensitivity of a variety of streamflow metrics to bedrock circulation depth and porosity under a plausible extreme drought scenario lasting up to 5 years. Endmember depth...
Authors
Rosemary W.H. Carroll, Andrew Manning, Kenneth H. Williams

Widespread occurrence of former anhydrite phenocrysts in Laramide-age magmas related to porphyry-skarn Cu mineralization at Santa Rita and Hanover-Fierro, New Mexico, USA Widespread occurrence of former anhydrite phenocrysts in Laramide-age magmas related to porphyry-skarn Cu mineralization at Santa Rita and Hanover-Fierro, New Mexico, USA

Reports of magmatic anhydrite are relatively rare, with only ~30 occurrences documented worldwide so far. However, magmatic anhydrite saturation is difficult to recognize because anhydrite decomposes rapidly in near-surface environments. In most cases, only anhydrite inclusions shielded within other phenocryst phases were able to survive. Alternatively, since anhydrite phenocrysts...
Authors
Andreas Audétat, Jia Chang, Sean Gaynor

Geophysical characterization of an alkaline‑carbonatite complex using gravity and magnetic methods at Magnet Cove, Arkansas, USA Geophysical characterization of an alkaline‑carbonatite complex using gravity and magnetic methods at Magnet Cove, Arkansas, USA

The Magnet Cove alkaline‑carbonatite complex (MCC), located in the Ouachita Mountains of south-central Arkansas in the United States, hosts an extensive variety of rare rock types and critical mineral resources with physical properties (density and magnetization) that contrast significantly with the sedimentary rocks into which they have intruded. Newly acquired ground-based gravity and...
Authors
Chelsea Amaral, Andrew P. Lamb, Gregory Dumond
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