Publications

A hydrogeochemical study using high resolution ICP-MS was undertaken at the giant Pebble porphyry Cu-Au-Mo deposit and surrounding mineral occurrences. Surface water and groundwater samples from regional background and the deposit area were collected at 168 sites. Rigorous quality control reveals impressive results at low nanogram per litre (ng/l) levels. Sites with pH values below 5.1...

The framework of Quaternary faults in Alaska remains poorly constrained. Recent studies in the Alaska Range north of the Denali fault add significantly to the recognition of Quaternary deformation in this active orogen. Faults and folds active during the Quaternary occur over a length of ∼500 km along the northern flank of the Alaska Range, extending from Mount McKinley (Denali) eastward...

Intense winter storms in the San Francisco Bay area (SFBA) of California, USA often trigger shallow landslides. Some of these landslides mobilize into potentially hazardous debris flows. A growing body of research indicates that rainfall intensity-duration thresholds are insufficient for accurate prediction of landslide occurrence. In response, we have begun long-term monitoring of the...

Demand for the rare earth elements (REE, lanthanide elements) is estimated to be increasing at a rate of about 8% per year due to increasing applications in consumer products, computers, automobiles, aircraft, and other advanced technology products. Much of this demand growth is driven by new technologies that increase energy efficiency and substitute away from fossil fuels. Production...

In 2011, U.S. apparent consumption of strontium (contained in celestite and manufactured strontium compounds) increased markedly to 18.4 kt (20,300 st) from 10.4 kt (11,500 st) in 2010. Gross weight of imports was 34.4 kt (38,000 st), of which 76 percent originated from Mexico.

The United States continues to be the world's leading producer and consumer of diatomite. Production of diatomite in the United States during 2011 was estimated to be 600 kt (661,000 st), a slight increase compared with 2010 production. The unit value of diatomite varied widely by end use in 2011. Diatomite used as a lightweight aggregate was priced at $8.82/t ($8/st), while specialty...

Ammonia was produced by 12 companies at 27 plants in 15 states in the United States during 2011. Sixty-one percent of total U.S. ammonia production capacity was centered in Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas because of those states' large reserves of natural gas, the dominant domestic feedstock. In 2011, U.S. producers operated at about 84 percent of their rated capacity (excluding plants...

In 2011, elemental sulfur and the byproduct sulfuric acid were produced at 109 operations in 29 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Total shipments were valued at about $1.6 billion. Elemental sulfur production was 8.2 Mt (9 million st); Louisiana and Texas accounted for about 53 percent of domestic production.

Four minerals represent 90 percent of the borates used by industry worldwide — the sodium borates, tincal and kernite; the calcium borate, colemanite; and the sodium-calcium borate, ulexite.

In 2010, the market appeared to bottom out with production continuing its downward trend and average unit values down for the first time since 1998.

Domestic production, consumption, exports and prices of perlite in the United States were all estimated to have decreased in 2011 compared with 2010, but not significantly. The weak economic conditions that prevailed in the United States for most of the 2011 probably accounted for these decreases. The only statistic that increased was imports, which were estimated to have risen by about...

Measurements of in-situ magnetic susceptibility were compiled from mainly Precambrian crystalline basement rocks beneath the Colorado Plateau and ranges in Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. The susceptibility meter used measures about 30 cm3 of rock and measures variations in the modal distribution of magnetic minerals that form a minor component volumetrically in these coarsely...