Focus Areas for Data Acquisition for Potential Domestic Resources of 11 Critical Minerals in the Conterminous United States, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico—Aluminum, Cobalt, Graphite, Lithium, Niobium, Platinum-Group Elements, Rare Earth Elements, Tantalum, Tin, Titanium, and Tungsten
Links
- Document: Report (18.1 MB pdf)
- Chapters:
- Open-File Report 2019-1023-A - Focus Areas for Data Acquisition for Potential Domestic Sources of Critical Minerals—Rare Earth Elements
- Open-File Report 2019-1023-C - Focus Areas for Data Acquisition for Potential Domestic Resources of 11 Critical Minerals in Alaska—Aluminum, Cobalt, Graphite, Lithium, Niobium, Platinum Group Elements, Rare Earth Elements, Tantalum, Tin, Titanium, and Tungsten
- Open-File Report 2019-1023-D - Focus Areas for Data Acquisition for Potential Domestic Resources of 13 Critical Minerals in the Conterminous United States and Puerto Rico—Antimony, Barite, Beryllium, Chromium, Fluorspar, Hafnium, Helium, Magnesium, Manganese, Potash, Uranium, Vanadium, and Zirconium
- Open-File Report 2019-1023-E - Alaska Focus Area Definition for Data Acquisition for Potential Domestic Sources of Critical Minerals in Alaska for Antimony, Barite, Beryllium, Chromium, Fluorspar, Hafnium, Magnesium, Manganese, Uranium, Vanadium, and Zirconium
- Data Releases:
- Version History: Version History (3.32 KB txt)
- Download citation as: RIS | Dublin Core
Abstract
In response to a need for information on potential domestic sources of critical minerals, the Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (Earth MRI) was established to identify and prioritize areas for acquisition of new geologic mapping, geophysical data, and elevation data to improve our knowledge of the geologic framework of the United States. Phase 1 of Earth MRI concentrated on those geologic terranes favorable for hosting the rare earth elements (REEs). Phase 2 continued to address the REEs and also identified focus areas for potential domestic sources of 10 more of the 35 critical minerals on the U.S. critical minerals list (aluminum, cobalt, graphite, lithium, niobium, platinum-group elements, tantalum, tin, titanium, tungsten). This report describes the methodology, data sources, and summary results for mineral systems that host these 11 critical minerals in the conterminous United States, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico; Alaska is covered in a separate report. The mineral systems framework adopted for this study links critical mineral commodities to families of genetically related mineral deposit types. The mineral systems approach is an efficient approach, providing a simultaneous evaluation of geologic terranes through aggregation of genetically related mineral deposit types that are much larger than individual ore deposits. Geologic, geochemical, topographic, and geophysical mapping provided by Earth MRI will document geologic features that reflect the extent of individual mineral systems and provide information about critical mineral deposits that may not have been recognized previously.
Each critical mineral commodity is discussed in terms of importance to the Nation’s economy, modes of occurrence, mineral systems, and deposit types along with maps and tables listing examples of focus areas for each critical mineral. Important mineral systems for these critical minerals include chemical weathering systems for aluminum (bauxite); placer systems for titanium and REEs; metamorphic systems for graphite; mafic magmatic systems for platinum-group elements and cobalt; lacustrine evaporite and porphyry tin systems for lithium; and copper-molybdenum-gold (Cu-Mo-Au) systems for tungsten. REEs occur in many different mineral systems. Focus areas were developed by scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey in collaboration with scientists from State geological surveys and other institutions. This first national-scale compilation of focus areas represents an initial step in addressing the Nation’s critical mineral needs by screening areas for acquisition of new data to provide the geologic framework necessary for identifying domestic sources of critical minerals.
Suggested Citation
Hammarstrom, J., Dicken, C., Day, W., Hofstra, A., Drenth, B., Shah, A., McCafferty, A., Woodruff, L., Foley, N., Ponce, D., Frost, T., and Stillings, L., 2020, Focus areas for data acquisition for potential domestic resources of 11 critical minerals in the conterminous United States, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico—Aluminum, cobalt, graphite, lithium, niobium, platinum-group elements, rare earth elements, tantalum, tin, titanium, and tungsten (ver. 1.1, July 2022), chap. B of U.S. Geological Survey, Focus areas for data acquisition for potential domestic sources of critical minerals: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2019–1023, 67 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20191023B.
ISSN: 2331-1258 (online)
Study Area
Table of Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Background
- Methods
- Data Sources
- Delineation of Focus Areas
- Using Focus Areas
- Phase 2 Critical Mineral Commodities and Associated Mineral Systems
- Discussion
- Conclusions
- References Cited
- Appendix 1. Mineral Systems Framework
| Publication type | Report |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | USGS Numbered Series |
| Title | Focus areas for data acquisition for potential domestic resources of 11 critical minerals in the conterminous United States, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico—Aluminum, cobalt, graphite, lithium, niobium, platinum-group elements, rare earth elements, tantalum, tin, titanium, and tungsten |
| Series title | Open-File Report |
| Series number | 2019-1023 |
| Chapter | B |
| DOI | 10.3133/ofr20191023B |
| Edition | Version 1.0: September 2020; Version 1.1: July 2022 |
| Year Published | 2020 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | U.S. Geological Survey |
| Publisher location | Reston, VA |
| Contributing office(s) | Central Mineral and Environmental Resources Science Center, Crustal Geophysics and Geochemistry Science Center, Eastern Mineral and Environmental Resources Science Center, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center |
| Description | xiii, 67 p. |
| Country | United States |
| Online Only (Y/N) | Y |
| Additional Online Files (Y/N) | N |
| Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |