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At least 325 records · Page 18Linked to original sources
USGS2019

Rare earth element mineral deposits in the United States

Because of their unique special chemical properties, many of the metals in the group of rare earth elements (REEs) have essential applications in 21st century technologies. Examples of products that use REEs are cell phones, computers, fluorescent and light-emitting-diode lights, flat-screen television and computer monitors, and in high-strength magnets used by clean energy technologies such as the generators of wind turbines and batteries of hybrid and electric vehicles. REEs are used in many defense applications, such as in components of jet engines, missile guidance systems, antimissile defense systems, satellites, and communication systems. The rare earth elements have become vital to manufacturing numerous high-tech products, which has been accompanied by a large increase in their demand. At the same time, there has been concern by the United States and many other Nations about the near-monopoly of mining, processing, and supply of REEs from one Nation, China. Between 2011 and 2017, China produced approximately 84 percent of the world’s REEs, and during this time the United States only produced REEs between 2012 and 2015. The U.S. production came entirely from the Mountain Pass mine in California, providing only about 4 percent of the world REE supply. Because REEs are essential for technological applications and are primarily supplied by one Nation, there has been an increased concern in identifying new sources of REEs, including economic REE deposits. In response to these concerns, since 2009, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has conducted numerous studies focused on the distribution, geology, and potential resources for the REE-bearing mineral deposits in the United States. The basic characteristics of mineral deposit types that host REE enrichments in the United Sates are summarized in this report, with selected examples. Several types of REE-enriched mineral deposits are reviewed, including deposits in carbonatites, alkaline igneous rocks, sedimentary phosphate-rich rocks (phosphorite), regions containing REE-rich veins, iron oxide deposits containing REE-bearing apatite, monazite-xenotime-bearing placer deposits (heavy-mineral sands), and ion-adsorption clay deposits (REE in granite-derived regolith). A better understanding of these mineral deposits will assist in identifying domestic resources to help alleviate the dependence on imported REEs. The economic development of REE mineral deposits is affected by many factors beyond mining, such as commodity prices and mineral processing costs. Most of the REEs are hosted by minerals that have complex chemical formulas; this presents more challenges to process and extract the REEs. Continued advancements and refinements in mineral processing techniques may allow REE deposits with complex mineralogy to be economically developed in the future.

Circular↗
USGS2016

Discharge, water temperature, and water quality of Warm Mineral Springs, Sarasota County, Florida: A retrospective analysis

Warm Mineral Springs, located in southern Sarasota County, Florida, is a warm, highly mineralized, inland spring. Since 1946, a bathing spa has been in operation at the spring, attracting vacationers and health enthusiasts. During the winter months, the warm water attracts manatees to the adjoining spring run and provides vital habitat for these mammals. Well-preserved late Pleistocene to early Holocene-age human and animal bones, artifacts, and plant remains have been found in and around the spring, and indicate the surrounding sinkhole formed more than 12,000 years ago. The spring is a multiuse resource of hydrologic importance, ecological and archeological significance, and economic value to the community. The pool of Warm Mineral Springs has a circular shape that reflects its origin as a sinkhole. The pool measures about 240 feet in diameter at the surface and has a maximum depth of about 205 feet. The sinkhole developed in the sand, clay, and dolostone of the Arcadia Formation of the Miocene-age to Oligocene-age Hawthorn Group. Underlying the Hawthorn Group are Oligocene-age to Eocene-age limestones and dolostones, including the Suwannee Limestone, Ocala Limestone, and Avon Park Formation. Mineralized groundwater, under artesian pressure in the underlying aquifers, fills the remnant sink, and the overflow discharges into Warm Mineral Springs Creek, to Salt Creek, and subsequently into the Myakka River. Aquifers described in the vicinity of Warm Mineral Springs include the surficial aquifer system, the intermediate aquifer system within the Hawthorn Group, and the Upper Floridan aquifer in the Suwannee Limestone, Ocala Limestone, and Avon Park Formation. The Hawthorn Group acts as an upper confining unit of the Upper Floridan aquifer. Groundwater flow paths are inferred from the configuration of the potentiometric surface of the Upper Floridan aquifer for September 2010. Groundwater flow models indicate the downward flow of water into the Upper Floridan aquifer in inland areas, and upward flow toward the surface in coastal areas, such as at Warm Mineral Springs. Warm Mineral Springs is located in a discharge area. Changes in water use in the region have affected the potentiometric surface of the Upper Floridan aquifer. Historical increase in groundwater withdrawals resulted in a 10- to 20-foot regional decline in the potentiometric surface of the Upper Floridan aquifer by May 1975 relative to predevelopment levels and remained at approximately that level in May 2007 in the area of Warm Mineral Springs. Discharge measurements at Warm Mineral Springs (1942–2014) decreased from about 11–12 cubic feet per second in the 1940s to about 6–9 cubic feet per second in the 1970s and remained at about that level for the remainder of the period of record. Similarity of changes in regional water use and discharge at Warm Mineral Springs indicates that basin-scale changes to the groundwater system have affected discharge at Warm Mineral Springs. Water temperature had no significant trend in temperature over the period of record, 1943–2015, and outliers were identified in the data that might indicate inconsistencies in measurement methods or locations. Within the regional groundwater basin, Warm Mineral Springs is influenced by deep Upper Floridan aquifer flow paths that discharge toward the coast. Associated with these flow paths, the groundwater temperatures increase with depth and toward the coast. Multiple lines of evidence indicate that a source of warm groundwater to Warm Mineral Springs is likely the permeable zone of the Avon Park Formation within the Upper Floridan aquifer at a depth of about 1,400 to 1,600 feet, or deeper sources. The permeable zone contains saline groundwater with water temperatures of at least 95 degrees Fahrenheit. The water quality of Warm Mineral Springs, when compared with other springs in Florida had the highest temperature and the greatest mineralized content. Warm Mineral Springs water is characterized by a slight-green color, with varying water clarity, low dissolved oxygen (indicative of deep groundwater), and a hydrogen sulfide odor. Water-quality samples detected ammonium-nitrogen and nitrates, but at low concentrations. The drinking water standard for nitrate adopted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is 10 milligrams per liter, measured as nitrogen. Water samples collected at spring vents by divers on April 29, 2015, had concentrations of 0.9 milligram per liter nitrate-nitrogen at vent A and 0.04–0.05 milligram per liter at vents B, C, and D. Typically, the water clarity is highest in the morning (about 30 feet Secchi depth) and often decreases throughout the day. Analysis of existing data provided some insight into the hydrologic processes affecting Warm Mineral Springs; however, data have been sparsely and discontinuously collected since the 1940s. Continuous monitoring of hydrologic characteristics such as discharge, water temperature, specific conductance, and water-quality indicators, such as nitrate and turbidity (water clarity), would be valuable for monitoring and development of models of spring discharge and water quality. In addition, water samples could be analyzed for isotopic tracers, such as strontium, and the results used to identify and quantify the sources of groundwater that discharge at Warm Mineral Springs. Groundwater flow/transport models could be used to evaluate the sensitivity of the quality and quantity of water flowing from Warm Mineral Springs to changes in climate, aquifer levels, and water use.

Florida↗
USGS1968

Minor epigenetic, diagenetic, and syngenetic sulfide, fluorite, and barite occurrences in the central United States

Metallic sulfides, fluorite , barite , and celestite are widespread in the sedimentary rocks of the central United States . Many occurrences are epigenetic concentrations either in known major mineral districts or in clusters of deposits that warrant further exploration for potential ore. Evaluation of trace-element composition, of fluid inclusions, of depositional temperature, and of isotopic composition of sulfur may help discriminate potentially economic deposits from even more widespread, probably noneconomic, syngeneic occurrences . Known major mineral districts and many promising sulfide occurrences are located along complex major fault systems and particularly over structural domes at intersections of fault systems. Economically promising sulfide deposits occur along a west-trending fault system crossing Kentucky and Missouri near the 38th parallel, particularly at associated cryptoexplosion structures along it, at the intersection of the fault system with the Cincinnati arch. Elsewhere in the central United States , promising sulfide occurrences are located along the crest of the Findlay arch, near Serpent Mound, Ohio, along the northwest-trending Mount Carmel fault in southwestern Indiana, and buried at depth in oil fields of west- central Kansas.Other types of deposits that are productive or may have some future economic interest are locally economic and possibly syngenetic red-bed copper occurrences in Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, and Pennsylvania. Most widespread are the black shale and pyritic sandstone beds, some of which have been a source of pyrite for sulfur and sulfuric acid in conjunction with coal mining. Bedded barite deposits of possibly diagenetic origin have been mined in Arkansas. Diagenetic siderite concretions containing sulfides and barite were widespread sources of iron in the 19th century.

Economic Geology↗
USGS2005

Porphyry copper deposit density

Estimating numbers of undiscovered mineral deposits has been a source of unease among economic geologists yet is a fundamental task in considering future supplies of resources. Estimates can be based on frequencies of deposits per unit of permissive area in control areas around the world in the same way that grade and tonnage frequencies are models of sizes and qualities of undiscovered deposits. To prevent biased estimates it is critical that, for a particular deposit type, these deposit density models be internally consistent with descriptive and grade and tonnage models of the same type. In this analysis only deposits and prospects that are likely to be included in future grade and tonnage models are employed, and deposits that have mineralization or alteration separated by less than an arbitrary but consistent distance—2 km for porphyry copper deposits—are combined into one deposit. Only 286 deposits and prospects that have more than half of the deposit not covered by postmineral rocks, sediments, or ice were counted. Nineteen control areas were selected and outlined along borders of hosting magmatic arc terranes based on three main features: (1) extensive exploration for porphyry copper deposits, (2) definable geologic settings of the porphyry copper deposits in island and continental volcanic-arc subduction-boundary zones, and (3) diversity of epochs of porphyry copper deposit formation. Porphyry copper deposit densities vary from 2 to 128 deposits per 100,000 km 2 of exposed permissive rock, and the density histogram is skewed to high values. Ninety percent of the control areas have densities of four or more deposits, 50 percent have densities of 15 or more deposits, and 10 percent have densities of 35 or more deposits per 100,000 km 2 . Deposit density is not related to age or depth of emplacement. Porphyry copper deposit density is inversely related to the exposed area of permissive rock. The linear regression line and confidence limits constructed with the 19 control areas can be used to estimate the number of undiscovered deposits, given the size of a permissive area. In an example of the use of the equations, we estimate a 90 percent chance of at least four, a 50 percent chance of at least 11, and a 10 percent chance of at least 34 undiscovered porphyry copper deposits in the exposed parts of the Andean belt of Antarctica, which has no known deposits in a permissive area of about 76,000 km 2 . Measures of densities of deposits presented here allow rather simple yet robust estimation of the number of undiscovered porphyry copper deposits in exposed or covered permissive terranes.

Economic Geology↗
USGS1998

A simplified economic filter for open-pit gold-silver mining in the United States

In resource assessments of undiscovered mineral deposits and in the early stages of exploration, including planning, a need for prefeasibility cost models exists. In exploration, these models to filter economic from uneconomic deposits help to focus on targets that can really benefit the exploration enterprise. In resource assessment, these models can be used to eliminate deposits that would probably be uneconomic even if discovered. The U. S. Bureau of Mines (USBM) previously developed simplified cost models for such problems (Camm, 1991). These cost models estimate operating and capital expenditures for a mineral deposit given its tonnage, grade, and depth. These cost models were also incorporated in USBM prefeasibility software (Smith, 1991). Because the cost data used to estimate operating and capital costs in these models are now over ten years old, we decided that it was necessary to test these equations with more current data. We limited this study to open-pit gold-silver mines located in the United States.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2007

Proceedings for a workshop on deposit modeling, mineral resource assessment, and their role in sustainable development

The world's use of nonfuel mineral resources continues to increase to support a growing population and increasing standards of living. The ability to meet this increasing demand is affected especially by concerns about possible environmental degradation associated with minerals production and by competing land uses. What information does the world need to support global minerals development in a sustainable way? Informed planning and decisions concerning sustainability and future mineral resource supply require a long–term perspective and an integrated approach to resource, land use, economic, and environmental management worldwide. Such perspective and approach require unbiased information on the global distribution of identified and especially undiscovered resources, the economic and political factors influencing their development, and the potential environmental consequences of their exploitation. The U.S. Geological Survey and the former Deposit Modeling Program of the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS) of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) sponsored a workshop on "Deposit Modeling, Mineral Resource Assessment, and Their Role in Sustainable Development" at the 31st International Geological Congress (IGC) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on August 18–19, 2000. The purpose of the workshop was to review the state-of-the-art in mineral deposit modeling and resource assessment and to examine the role of global assessments of nonfuel mineral resources in sustainable development. The workshop addressed questions such as the following: Which of the available mineral deposit models and assessment methods are best suited for predicting the locations, deposit types, and amounts of undiscovered nonfuel mineral resources remaining in the world? What is the availability of global geologic, mineral deposit, and mineral exploration information? How can mineral resource assessments be used to address economic and environmental issues? Presentations included overviews of assessment methods applied in previous national and other small-scale assessments of large regions and of the resulting assessment products and their uses. Twenty-seven people from Canada, China, Finland, Germany, Japan, Peru, Slovenia, South Africa, United States, and Venezuela participated in the 2-day post-Congress workshop. The attendees represented academia, government, environmental organizations, and the mining industry.

Circular↗
USGS1938

Outlook for further ore discoveries in the Little Hatchet Mountains, New Mexico

The Little Hatchet Mountains contain two mining districts, the Eureka silver-lead-zinc district and the Sylvanite gold district, the deposits of each being associated with a mass of monzonite that intrudes Lower Cretaceous sediments. The same formations crop out in both districts, having been duplicated by a large post-ore fault, and the two monzonite masses and their accompanying mineralized zones lie at essentially the same stratigraphic position in the two fault blocks. The deposits of the Eureka district are mesothermal whereas those of the Sylvanite district are hypothermal, but the two groups are mineralogically similar in many respects.As the two monzonite exposures are several miles apart, the natural inference is that there are two separate intrusions. Contrary to this inference, the evidence of structure, mineralogy, and petrology indicates that the two monzonite masses are faulted parts of the same body and that the mineralized areas of the Eureka and Sylvanite districts were originally continuous and zonally related, the original igneous mass having been a flat-lying sill-like streamer, 7 miles or more long, that was bordered by a contact-metamorphic halo and that formed the core of a zone of mineralization.The economic implications of this interpretation are three-fold: (1) the mineralized zone is limited in thickness and is restricted, like a bedded deposit, to a particular sedimentary horizon; (2) the area between the Eureka and Sylvanite districts, hitherto considered barren, should contain mineralized ground at variable depths below the surface; and (3) the deposits change along the trend of the zone from the gold deposits of the one district to the silver-bearing base-metal deposits of the other. In structure and size the deposits in the hidden parts of the mineralized zone probably are similar to those already known. Under the alternative interpretation that the two districts are separate centers of activity, the outlook for future successful prospecting depends upon the depths at which the underlying Paleozoic limestones lie and the possibility of large deposits having been formed in them.

New Mexico↗
USGS2008

Central Colorado Assessment Project - Application of integrated geologic, geochemical, biologic, and mineral resource studies

Central Colorado is one of the fastest-growing regions in the Western United States. Population along the Front Range increased more than 30 percent between 1990 and 2000 (http://www.demographia.com/db-metro3newworld.htm) with some counties within the study area, such as Park County, experiencing greater than 100-percent growth (http://www.censusscope.org/us/s8/rank_popl_growth.html). This growth has caused tremendous demand for natural resources and has created challenging land-management issues related to the interface between wilderness and urban expansion. Management of this wilderness/urban interface will benefit from current digital geoscience information collected by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Central Colorado Assessment Project that began in 2003. Approximately 20,800 square miles (53,800 km2) of land divided almost equally between the public and private sectors were part of the assessment. The study area includes much of the Colorado Mineral Belt, a northeast-trending zone that contains 30 economically significant metal deposits. Historically, the area provided much of Colorado's metal production. The only active gold and molybdenum mines in Colorado lie within the study area. Recently, metal and uranium exploration activity has increased sharply in response to record prices for metals and uranium. This further underscores the need for up-to-date geoscience information presented in compatible GIS databases to facilitate rapid land-management decisions. Cooperative studies by USDA Forest Service, National Park Service supported by the USGS Mineral Resources Program (MRP), and National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Programs (NCGMP) contributed to the mineral-resource assessment and included regional geologic mapping at the scale 1:100,000, collection and geochemical studies of stream sediments, surface water, and bedrock samples, macroinvertebrate and biofilm studies in the riparian environment, remote-sensing studies, and geochronology. Geoscience information available as GIS layers has improved understanding of the distribution of metallic, industrial, and aggregate resources, location of areas that have potential for their discovery or development, helped to understand the relation of tectonics, magmatism, and paleohydrology to the genesis of the metal deposits in the region, and provided insight on the geochemical and environmental effects that historical mining and natural, mineralized rock exposures have on surface water, ground water, and aquatic life.

Fact Sheet↗
USGS2004

Exploration review

The worldwide budget for nonfuel mineral exploration was expected to increase by 27 percent in 2003 from the 2002 budget, according to the Metals Economics Group (MEG) of Halifax, Nova Scotia. The increase comes after five years of declining spending for mineral exploration.

Mining Engineering↗
USGS1983

The mineral resource potential of the Wadi al Jarir and Al Jurdhawiyah quadrangles, sheets 25/42C and 25/42D, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Areas with potential for metallic mineral deposits in the Wadi al Jarir and Al Jurdhawiyah quadrangles, northeastern Arabian Shield, have been identified by reconnaissance rock geochemistry, inspection of ancient prospects, and interpretation of previous work. The ancient prospects of Abraq Shawfan, Abraq Shawfan South, Ad Du'ibi, Ad Du'ibi West, and Ad Dirabi are not recommended for further study. The Bald al Jimalah East ancient lead-silver mine should be drilled to investigate its mineral potential at depth and to.determine its apparent relationship to the nearby Baid al Jimalah West tungsten-tin prospect. High precious metal and copper contents confirmed at the Jarrar ancient prospect suggest additional study. Preliminary results of core and percussion drilling at the Bald al Jimalah West tungsten-tin prospect indicate that the mineralized rocks decrease in grade with depth and are not suitable for current economic exploitation. Geochemically anomalous areas in both plutonic and layered volcanic and clastic terrane are possible sites of significant base metal, molybdenum, tin, tungsten, and rare-earth element mineralization.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1940

Ground water in the Oklahoma Panhandle

An investigation begun in 1937 by the United States and the Oklahoma Geological Surveys, has shown that the depth to the water table in the Oklahoma Panhandle ranges from less than 25 feet in parts of major valleys to about 3oo feet in parts of the uplands. In 8 upland areas the depth is between 50 and 100 feet. The thi kness of the zone of saturation differs widely in these areas, the most promising of which totals about 80 square miles in northeastern Texas County. The pervious sands and gravels of the Ogallala formation, of Pliocene age, furnish most of the ground water, and one well yielding 960 gallons a minute from them has been used for irrigation since x937. The formation ranges from less than xoo to more than 500 feet thick, the differences being due to relief on the pre-Ogallala topography and to post-Ogallala erosion. The alluvium is also an important source of water, as are the Dakota and Cheyenne sandstones, of Cretaceous age. A few wells yield water of variable quality from Jurassic and Triassic rocks, and many wells in the valleys of the eastern part of the area yield small supplies of highly mineralized water from Permian red beds. © 1940 Society of Economic Geologists, Inc

Oklahoma↗
USGS1993

Refinement of the evaluation of the role of CO2 in modifying estimates of the pressure of epithermal mineralization

Pressure is the most important of the intensive parameters for relating epithermal mineralization to the geologic setting. This paper describes the limitations on pressure (and therefore depth) of mineralization that may reasonably be derived from simple observations of the behavior of fluid inclusions (i.e., the existence of ice or CO 2 clathrate on the liquidus, the amount of expansion or contraction of the bubble as the host inclusion is crushed in oil on the microscope stage, and the freezing and homogenization temperatures for the inclusion). It is based on the reasonable model that mineralization occurs from a hydrostatically pressured NaCl-CO 2 -H 2 O fluid, consistent with the probability that H 2 O and CO 2 are the only gases contributing significantly to the total pressure. The pressure of CO 2 is, of course, a function of CO 2 content, but, from 100 degrees to 300 degrees C, it is a surprisingly minor function of either temperature or salinity. The presence of the clathrate in freezing studies of fluid inclusions indicates pressures of CO 2 that add at least 1 km to the probable depth of inclusion trapping compared to that estimated from CO 2 -free water. Thus undetected (i.e., no clathrates on cooling) CO 2 in fluid inclusions can nonetheless contribute very significantly to the possible depth of epithermal mineralization. On the other hand, the observation that fluid inclusions crushed in oil have bubbles that do not expand (i.e., <1 atm P (sub CO 2 ) at 25 degrees C), demonstrates CO 2 contents that could add at most a few tens of meters to the depth of mineralization.

Economic Geology↗
USGS1962

Geology and fluorspar deposits of the Levias-Keystone and Dike-Eaton areas, Crittenden County, Kentucky

The fault systems of the Levias-Keystone and Dike-Eaton areas, in the Kentucky-Illinois fiuorspar district, are a complex northeastward-trending sys- tem and a simple northwestward-trending system of steeply dipping normal faults, associated in part with a lamprophyre dike. Fluorspar mining started in the area about 1900 and, as of 1945, more than 200,000 tons of crude ore probably has been mined; most of the ore was from the Levias-Keystone area. A small quantity of zinc and lead ore also is present in the Dike-Eaton area. The deposits are localized along faults that displace fiat-lying or low-dipping limestones, sandstones, and shales of the Meramec and Chester series of Missis- sippian age. Movement along most of the faults was principally vertical, with displacement as much as 600 feet. Some horizontal movement occurred along at least one fault. Geologic mapping of the surface and data from underground workings have revealed 13 faults in an area of four-fifths of a square mile. Only a few of these faults are known to contain economically important deposits of fiuorspar. The most abundant vein minerals are calcite and fiuorite with subordinate quantities of sphalerite, galena, barite, and quartz. Some weathering products of sphalerite and galena are present also. The veins are dominantly calcite that contains fiuorite lenses but in places are mainly fiuorite having lesser quantities of calcite. Sphalerite- and galena-bearing deposits are present in the Dike-Eaton area. The ore bodies mainly are the result of fissure filling and replacement of calcite by fiuorite; in addition a small amount of limestone wallrock probably has been replaced. Residual concentrations of high-grade fluorspar in the overburden above faults have yielded some so-called gravel fiuorspar. The position of the veins within the faults may be related to one or more factors such as type of wallrock, change in dip of the fault, and amount of displacement.

Kentucky↗
USGS1989

International strategic minerals inventory summary report; natural graphite

Natural graphite is a crystalline mineral of pure carbon which normally occurs in the form of platelet-shaped crystals. It has important properties, such as chemical inertness, low thermal expansion, and lubricity, that make it almost irreplaceable for certain uses such as refractories and steelmaking. Graphite ore types are crystalline (flake and lump} or 'amorphous' (cryptocrystalline}. Refractory applications use the largest total amount of natural graphite, while the most important use of crystalline graphite is in crucibles for handling molten metals. All graphite deposits being mined today are found in the following metamorphic environments: (1) contact metamorphosed coal generally is a source of amorphous graphite; (2)disseminated crystalline flake graphite comes from syngenetic metasediments; and (3) crystalline lump graphite is found in epigenetic veins in high-grade metamorphic regions. Graphite may also occur as a trace mineral in ultrabasic rocks and pegmatites, but these are economically insignificant. The world's identified economically exploitable resources of crystalline graphite in major deposits are estimated to be about 9.7 million metric tons of concentrate. In-place resources of amorphous graphite are about 11.5 million metric tons. Of these, less than 2 percent of the crystalline ore and less than 1 percent of the amorphous ore are in western industrial countries. World mining production of natural graphite rose from 347,000 metric tons in 1973 to 659,000 metric tons in 1986, while the proportion produced by central economy countries increased from about 50 percent for the period from 1973 to 1978 to more than 64 percent in 1979 to 1986. It is estimated that crystalline flake graphite accounts for at least 180,000 metric tons of total annual world mining production of natural graphite, and amorphous graphite makes up the rest.

Circular↗
USGS2002

Sociocultural and institutional drivers and constraints to mineral supply; the meaning of scarcity in the 21st century: drivers and constraints to the supply of minerals using regional, national and global perspectives

The sociocultural dimensions of mineral supply at the outset of the 21st century are making the supply process increasingly complex. The dimensions encompass legal, financial, environmental, cultural, and global implications of mining, and are driving unprecedented change in the way minerals supply will be accomplished in the future. Minerals scarcity on a global scale is subordinate to other societal issues about mineral resources and reserves estimated to meet society's demands for decades to centuries in the future. This report reviews historical and present-day sociocultural drivers of change, and reactions of the minerals industry to these drivers. It is reflective primarily of conditions in the United States, but also uses examples from other countries. It expresses viewpoints on sociocultural drivers as seen by constituents of the minerals industry and several other communities of interest including Aboriginal peoples, non-government organizations; labor; mining-dependent communities; mining-affected communities; researchers; and government (federal, state/provincial, and local). It provides overviews of the demand for minerals in the United States, and the status of land available for mining. The report uses a case study of a metals mining project in Wisconsin to illustrate specific sociocultural drivers and constraints to minerals supply, and how these influence the minerals industry. Over the past 150 years, a progression of sociocultural movements under the headings of conservationism, environmentalism, and sustainable development have nurtured societal values that have come to influence the mineral supply process in important ways. These movements reflect a continuing tension between the demand for minerals and other resources, and the simultaneous demand for aesthetic, spiritual, ecological, cultural, and other attributes of the land. The tension is an important element in current international debates about the meaning and future of sustainable development. This report focuses on some of the social challenges to the minerals industry to supply minerals, while at the same time providing environmental protection, economic growth, and sociocultural acceptance. All these issues fall under the rubric of sustainable development. It also describes current industry responses to sustainability, including the Global Mining Initiative (2001a), an attempt to introduce major changes in global industry practices to begin the 21st century. This report complements other documents in the series on physical supply, technological advancement, and economic and policy drivers (Wilburn and others, 2001).

Open-File Report↗
USGS2015

A Crosswalk of Mineral Commodity End Uses and North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes

This crosswalk is based on the premise that there is a connection between the way mineral commodities are used and how this use is reflected in the economy. Raw mineral commodities are the basic materials from which goods, finished products, or intermediate materials are manufactured or made. Mineral commodities are vital to the development of the U.S. economy and they impact nearly every industrial segment of the economy, representing 12.2 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) in 2010 (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, 2014). In an effort to better understand the distribution of mineral commodities in the economy, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) attempts to link the end uses of mineral commodities to the corresponding North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes. The links between the end uses of mineral commodities and the NAICS codes provide an instrument for analyzing the use of mineral commodities in the economy. The crosswalk is also a guide, highlighting those industrial sectors in the economy that rely heavily on mineral commodities. The distribution of mineral commodities across the economy is dynamic and does differ from year to year. This report reflects a snapshot of the state of the economy and mineral commodities in 2010.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1976

Trace elements in some rocks and slag from the Yemen Arab Republic and their bearing on the iron ore near Sa'dah

Thirty-seven samples of rocks, saprolite, laterite, gossan, and slag were collected in the Yemen Arab Republic during June-July 1975 when field work was conducted to refine an interpretation of the regional geology made from LANDSAT-1 images by M. J. Grolier. These samples we reanalyzed in the laboratories of the U. S. Geological Survey, and the results were interpreted for use in programs of economic development as a guide for the evaluation of mineral resources in the Yemen Arab Republic. The work was undertaken as part of the program of the U. S. Agency for International Development with the cooperation of the Mineral and Petroleum Authority, Ministry of Economy, Yemen Arab Republic.

Open-File Report↗