Publications

Previous PRISM reports discuss a variety of industrial minerals. Gypsum, phosphate, salt, stone, sulfur, and ilmenite command the majority of the attention in the earlier geologic reports. (Ilmenite is evaluated in a separate U.S. Geological Survey report in the current study). Asbestos, arsenic, barite, fluorite, and kaolin are listed in indices (occurrence datasets) as potential...

High-grade hematitic iron ores (or HIF, containing 60–65 percent Fe) have been mined in Mauritania from Superior-type iron deposits since 1952. Depletion of the high grade ores in recent years has resulted in a number of new projects focused on lower grade magnetite ores in Algoma-type banded iron formation (or BIF, containing approximately 35 percent Fe). Large deposits of oolitic-type...

Although Mississippi Valley-type (MVT) deposits have not been recognized in Mauritania there are permissive tracts for these deposits in the regionally extensive Proterozoic carbonate rocks of the Taoudeni Basin. Permissive tracts for undiscovered MVT Pb-Zn-Ag deposits in the Proterozoic carbonate units are supported by the occurrences of MVT mineral and alteration assemblages, presence...

In Mauritania, mineral occurrences of the polymetallic Pb-Zn-Cu vein deposit type are found near the Florence-El Khdar shear zone in northeast Mauritania. The deposits visited were deemed representative of other similar occurrences and consist of quartz veins with trace sulfides. The low sulfide and Pb-Zn-Cu content in the quartz veins is unlike producing polymetallic Pb-Zn-Cu vein...

The Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys (DGGS) conducted fieldwork during the summer of 2014 in the Susitna basin as part of an ongoing evaluation of the hydrocarbon potential of frontier basins, particularly those near the Railbelt region (for example, Decker and others, 2013; Gillis and others, 2013). Topical studies associated with this recent work include sedimentary...

In 1996, at the request of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, a team of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists produced a strategic plan for the acquisition, improvement and modernization of multidisciplinary sets of data to support the growth of the Mauritanian minerals sector and to highlight the geological and mineral exploration potential of the country. In 1999...

In 1996, at the request of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, a team of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists produced a strategic plan for the acquisition, improvement and modernization of multidisciplinary sets of data to support the growth of the Mauritanian minerals sector and to highlight the geological and mineral exploration potential of the country. In 1999...

Three ore deposits databases from previous studies were evaluated and combined with new known mineral occurrences into one database, which can now be used to manage information about the known mineral occurrences of Mauritania. The Microsoft Access 2010 database opens with the list of tables and forms held within the database and a Switchboard control panel from which to easily navigate...

Review of PRISM-I documents and the National inventory of mineral occurrences suggests that resources of U, Th, Nb, Ta, Be, rare earth elements (REEs) and fluorite are known in Mauritania and have been exploited in the past at the Bou Naga alkaline complex. Several different deposit types are indicated by the available data. Pegmatitic veins are recorded in several areas of the Archean...

Potential for base- and precious-metal-bearing volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits (VMS) exists in Mauritania in the greenstone belts of the southwestern Rgueïbat Shield and in the allochthonous portions of the central and southern Mauritanides. Additional potential exists for VMS deposits within the Tiris Complex of the central Rgueïbat Shield. Volcanosedimentary successions of...

The Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys (DGGS) and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) are implementing ongoing programs to characterize the petroleum potential of Cook Inlet basin. Since 2009 this program has included work on the Mesozoic stratigraphy of lower Cook Inlet, including the Middle Jurassic Tuxedni Group between Tuxedni and Iniskin bays (LePain and others, 2013...

The authors regret that the application of the t-plot to determine the presence of micropores in the three sorbents needs the following corrections: (1) Fig. 1a, c, e are N2(g) adsorption and desorption isotherms” (remove “BET”). This correction applies to descriptions in the text as well. (2) Table 2, the column titled “Micropores” is mislabelled, and should be labelled “Film thickness”...