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USGS1983

Clay mineral formation and transformation in rocks and soils

Three mechanisms for clay mineral formation (inheritance, neoformation, and transformation) operating in three geological environments (weathering, sedimentary, and diagenetic-hydrothermal) yield nine possibilities for the origin of clay minerals in nature. Several of these possibilities are discussed in terms of the rock cycle. The mineralogy of clays neoformed in the weathering environment is a function of solution chemistry, with the most dilute solutions favoring formation of the least soluble clays. After erosion and transportation, these clays may be deposited on the ocean floor in a lateral sequence that depends on floccule size. Clays undergo little reaction in the ocean, except for ion exchange and the neoformation of smectite; therefore, most clays found on the ocean floor are inherited from adjacent continents. Upon burial and heating, however, dioctahedral smectite reacts in the diagenetic environment to yield mixed-layer illite-smectite, and finally illite. With uplift and weathering, the cycle begins again. Refs.

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A:↗

USGS2018

Dual-phase mass balance modeling of small mineral particle losses from sedimentary rock-derived soils

Losses of small mineral particles can be a significant physical process that affects the elemental composition of soils derived from sedimentary rocks. Shales, in particular, contain abundant clay-sized minerals that can be mobilized by simple disaggregation, and solutional weathering is limited because the parent rock is composed primarily of recalcitrant minerals previously subjected to continental weathering. Here, the dual-phase mass balance model is employed to quantify losses of small mineral particles as water dispersible colloids (WDCs) from three previously studied soil profiles along a hill slope at the Susquehanna Shale Hills Critical Zone Observatory (SSHO). WDCs were isolated from soil in the laboratory to determine their mineralogical and elemental compositions. Clay minerals dominated WDCs, including illite, vermiculite, and chlorite inherited from the parent shale, along with neoformed kaolinite. Quartz present in bulk soil was generally excluded from WDCs. Elements of low solubility and/or bound in recalcitrant forms, like Rb in illite, were employed in tracer ratios in the dual-phase model. Aluminum, Ga, and Rb were enriched in WDCs, and Zr and Hf were partially excluded. Six different combinations of elements into tracer ratios (Al/Zr, Ga/Zr, Rb/Zr, Al/Hf, Ga/Hf, Rb/Hf) each yielded similar model results. Mass losses of WDCs were large, ranging from − 68 ± 7% to − 15 ± 5% relative to soil parent material in different parts of the profiles. Mass losses via solution were smaller, ranging from − 7 ± 2% to a gain of 6 ± 1% in part of one profile. Losses of WDCs account for > 90% of total mass loss, surpassing chemical dissolution, and therefore dominate the weathering portion of denudation at SSHO. Zirconium concentrations were 97–158 ppm in the generally ≤ 1 μm WDCs, suggesting colloidal, Zr-bearing phases. Model-quantified losses of Zr via WDCs were large, with a median loss of 41% relative to parent material. Such losses indicate systematic underestimates of weathering by traditional mass balance that uses Zr as an index element. Losses of Ca, Mg, and K via WDCs exceeded losses via solution, countering assumptions of base cation losses primarily via mineral dissolution. The results illustrate a geochemical fingerprint of physical weathering and the ability of the dual-phase model to quantify that weathering process.

Chemical Geology↗

USGS1969

Geology and regional metamorphism of some high-grade cordierite gneisses, Front Range, Colorado

Cordierite is common in regional metamorphic gneisses of Precambrian age in the central part of the Front Range. It occurs in discontinuous stratigraphic units that are structurally a minor component, except locally, of the thick succession of biotite gneisses that comprise the widespread Idaho Springs Formation. The rocks have mineral assemblages, that are characteristic of the sillimanite grade of metamorphism. The cordierite occurs in three principal rock types: (1) potassic feldspar-bearing cordierite-garnet-sillimanite-biotite gneiss, (2) cordierite-biotite gneiss, and (3) cordierite-gedrite-biotite gneiss; each type contains several characteristic mineral assemblages. The rock types are gradational and overlap in areal distribution, and mainly owe their diversity in mineralogy to differences in bulk chemical composition. The field relations are consistent with an interpretation that the diverse cordierite rocks were derived from original sedimentary rocks, largely pelitic sediments. The potassic feldspar-bearing cordierite-garnet gneisses were formed from shales that contained more MgO and FeO than the more abundant sedimentary facies that yielded sillimanitic biotite gneisses. Cordierite-gedrite-biotite gneisses contain much aluminum, iron, and magnesium and little sodium and potassium as compared to the other biotite gneisses; they have an extremely low content of minor elements. Although their chemical compositions are unlike those of known modern sediments, the cordierite-gedrite gneisses are considered also to have been derived from sedimentary rocks. The physical properties and chemical compositions of the mineral phases vary somewhat from one rock type to another. Biotite varies systematically in composition, and the changes are closely related to rock type and thus to bulk composition; the MgO/FeO ratios range from 1.7 in the more mafic cordierite-gedrite rocks to 0.49 in potassic feldspar-bearing cordierite-garnet gneisses. Cordierite is magnesium-rich and intermediate in the range of composition of all analyzed cordierites (Leake, 1960); its MgO/FeO ratio is higher in the gedrite-bearing gneisses than in the potassic feldspar-bearing gneisses. The garnets consist dominantly of the almandine and pyrope molecules, and range from 64 to 75 percent almandine and from 14 to 27 pyrope. These crystals are zoned; their rims are slightly more ferrous and less magnesian than their cores. Both monoclinic and triclinic alkali feldspars coexist in the potassic feldspar-bearing cordierite-garnet gneisses. The potassic feldspars contain from 18 to 27 weight percent NaAlSi 3 O 8 . Plagioclase (oligoclase-andesine) is uncommon in the rocks. Gedrite has an MgO/FeO ratio ranging from 1 to 1.2. Associated minor minerals include iron oxides, andalusite, spinel and its alteration product högbomite, and corundum. The mineral assemblages can be correlated imperfectly with episodes of deformation and metamorphism. Relict staurolite and associated garnet occur locally as remnants of an assemblage formed early in regional metamorphism, presumably early in the first period of deformation. The dominant assemblage biotite-cordierite-garnet-magnetite-plagioclase-potassic feldspar-quartz-sillimanite and associated assemblages having fewer phases, were formed during period one and period two deformations, the principal episodes of regional dynamothermal metamorphism in the central part of the Front Range. A minor assemblage andalusite-biotite-magnetite-plagioclase-quartz was formed later, possibly coincident with a third period of deformation, largely cataclastic in effects, which was more local than the earlier deformations and metamorphism. Phase equilibria studies of the assemblage biotite-cordierite-garnet-magnetite-plagioclase-potassic feldspar-quartz-sillimanite and associated assemblages are interpreted to indicate that the cordierite assemblages approach a state of chemical equilibrium. The scatter of points in a distribution diagram can be interpreted in terms of at least two sets of equilibrium conditions that prevailed during the major plastic deformations. Other discrepancies indicating departure from a homogeneous equilibrium can be explained as a result of mosaic equilibrium involving limited diffusion of iron and magnesium for short distances. The mineral assemblages and the compositions of the ferromagnesian minerals in the cordierite rocks of this region are dependent primarily on the bulk composition of the rocks and variations in the mineral species that comprise the rocks and, to a lesser degree, on the grade of metamorphism. Biotite and cordierite are markedly more magnesian in the more mafic cordierite-gedrite-biotite gneiss than in the potassic feldspar-bearing cordierite-garnet-sillimanite-biotite gneiss. Associated microcline gneiss and biotite-sillimanite gneiss that contains muscovite as a primary stable mineral provides a means to define the metamorphic grade in the area of study. It is concluded from analyses of the assemblages with respect to theoretical phase relations in the system SiO 2 -Al 2 O 3 -Na 2 O-K 2 O-H 2 O that at least some of the rocks in the Central City-Nederland area are above the sillimanite-potassic feldspar isograd as defined by Evans and Guidotti (1966). In rocks of appropriate composition, muscovite is a stable phase in assemblages containing potassic feldspar and sillimanite. The cordierite assemblages and associated rocks are inferred to have formed in an environment having a load pressure of 3–5 kilobars (fluid pressure equaled load pressure) and a temperature somewhat in excess of 620° C.

Colorado↗

USGS1977

Application of Sr and O isotope relations to the petrogenesis of the alkaline rocks of the Red Hill complex, New Hampshire, USA

The Red Hill ring complex in central New Hampshire is composed of apparently cogenetic syenites, nepheline-sodalite syenite, and granite. The ages and petrogenetic relations among five of the six recognized units have been investigated by rubidiumstrontium and oxygen isotope analysis of whole rocks and separated minerals. Whole-rock samples from three syenite units are consistent with a single Rb-Sr isochron which gives an age of 198??3 m.y. and an initial (87Sr/86Sr)o ratio of 0.70330??0.00016 (??2 sigma; ??=1.42?? 10-11y-1). However, Sr isotope data for two other units, nepheline syenite and granite, are not consistent with this isochron but rather indicate higher initial ratios which range from 0.7033 to about 0.707. Whole-rock O isotope analyses give ??18O values which range from+6.2 to+9.3??? Sr and O isotope analyses on mineral separates indicate that observed whole-rock variations in (87Sr/86Sr)o are primary and are not due to any secondary process. The fact that the isotope systematics correlate with rock type, suggests that crustal interaction is likely to have played a significant role in the development of this over-and undersaturated association. Such process(es), while still not fully delineated, could be of fundamental importance to the genesis of associations of critically undersaturated and oversaturated intrusives. The data support the idea that interaction between magmas and crustal materials strongly influenced the compositional relations of similar complexes elsewhere including those of the White Mountain magma series. ?? 1977 Springer-Verlag.

Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology↗

USGS2023

Roles of regional structures and country-rock facies in defining mineral belts in central Idaho mineral province with detail for Yellow Pine and Thunder Mountain mining districts

The central Idaho metallogenic province hosts numerous mineral deposit types. These include Late Cretaceous precious-polymetallic vein deposits, amagmatic Paleocene–Eocene breccia-hosted gold-tungsten-antimony deposits, and Eocene mercury deposits in metasedimentary roof pendants and in Late Cretaceous granitoids. Hot-springs gold deposits in Eocene volcanic rocks are also included in the central Idaho province. New sensitive high mass-resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP) uranium-lead (U-Pb) ages for igneous rocks and for detrital zircon analyses of metasedimentary rocks along with geologic mapping clarify the geologic framework of the mineral deposits. This framework includes (1) structural controls for regional distribution of mining districts, (2) progressive structural development of individual districts, (3) regional sedimentary facies and their control of metals associations resulting in regional belts, and (4) influences of the several regional magmatic events. In central Idaho, 15 mining districts form two clusters that are grouped about a 200-kilometer (km) long system of normal faults. The northwestern cluster is in the regional hanging wall west of large, west-side-down faults, and the mineral deposits are located along smaller faults and fractures that cut the regional hanging wall. The southeastern cluster is in the regional hanging wall east of a linked large east-side-down fault and along and controlled by related hanging wall faults. At the southern extent of the regional fault system, the Yellow Pine-Thunder Mountain districts span a nearly 24-km-wide, east-tilted crustal block of normal-fault dominoes, exposing original crustal depths from 5 to 10 km deep on the west in the Late Cretaceous to shallow-surface depths on the east in the Eocene. Ore deposition in the northwestern district cluster was primarily Late Cretaceous and related to Idaho batholith plutons with only a single deposit related to a small Eocene intrusion; in the southeastern cluster, most deposits were initiated in the Late Cretaceous but with varying manifestations of overprinted Eocene mineralization activity. In the Yellow Pine-Thunder Mountain districts at the southern extent of the southern cluster, several mineralizing pulses occurred during hanging-wall collapse, such that (1) early deposits were multiply overprinted and (2) deposit depths, ages, and structural characteristics change progressively eastward. Originally deep-seated western Yellow Pine district deposits are Late Cretaceous viscoplastic mesothermal veins overprinted by Paleocene and Eocene breccia-hosted epithermal deposits. Central Yellow Pine district deposits contain early deeper vein systems but are primarily Paleocene and Eocene breccia-hosted epithermal deposits in Late Cretaceous plutonic rocks and Proterozoic–Paleozoic roof pendant rocks. Eastern district deposits are Eocene hot-springs-related deposits in the roof pendant. Thunder Mountain deposits farthest east are near-surface hot-springs deposits in Eocene volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks that overlie buried Cretaceous igneous and older roof pendant rocks. The mining district clusters are sited across several northwest-striking paleostratigraphic belts that are exposed in roof pendants and are offset by the regional normal fault system. A northeastern belt is Mesoproterozoic strata associated with gold-silver-copper±cobalt deposits. A central belt of Neoproterozoic rocks is not associated with mineral deposits in the central Idaho mineral province. A southwestern belt composed of probable Paleozoic deep-water miogeoclinal slope rocks and late Paleozoic epicratonic basinal rocks is thin and narrowly exposed but associated with gold-silver-antimony-tungsten±mercury deposits. These metasedimentary rocks (and their metal associations) are parts of regional mineral belts in which metal endowments are related to particular sedimentary facies belts and their Cretaceous thrust-fault juxtaposition and where these features have proximity to Late Cretaceous or Eocene igneous rocks. Offset and preservation or erosional stripping of these facies belts, thrust plates, igneous settings, and the associated regional mineral belts were controlled by the sense and magnitude of displacements across the regional normal-fault system.

Idaho↗

USGS1959

Iron-ore resources of the United States including Alaska and Puerto Rico, 1955

The importance of iron ore, the basic raw material of steel, as a fundamental mineral, resource is shown by the fact that about 100 million long tons of steel is used annually in the economy of the United States, as compared with a combined total of about 5 million long tons of copper, lead, zinc, and aluminum. Satisfying this annual demand for steel requires about 110 million tons of iron ore and 70 million tons of scrap iron and steel. The average annual consumption of iron ore in the United States from 1951 to 1955, inclusive, was about 110 million long tons, which is about twice the annual average from 1900 to 1930. Production of iron ore in the United States in this 5-year period averaged approximately 100 million long tons annually, divided by regions as follows (in percent): Lake Superior, 84.1; southeastern, 6.7; western, 6.7; northeastern, 1.4; and central and gulf, 1.1. Mining of iron ore began in the American Colonies about 1619, and for 225 years it was limited to eastern United States where fuel and markets were readily available. Production of iron ore from the Lake Superior region began in 1846; the region became the leading domestic source by 1890, and the Mesabi range in Minnesota has been the world's most productive area since 1896. Proximity of raw materials, water transportation, and markets has resulted in centralization of the country's iron and steel industry in the lower Great Lakes area. Increased imports of iron ore being delivered to eastern United States as well as demands for steel in nearby markets have given impetus to expansion in the steel-making capacity in this area. The four chief iron-ore minerals - hematite, liminite, magnetite, and siderite - are widely distributed but only locally form deposits of sufficient tonnage and grade to be commercially valuable at the present time. The iron content of these minerals, of which hematite is the most important, ranges from 48 percent in siderite to 72 percent in magnetite, but as these minerals are associated with other rock-forming minerals, the iron content of marketable ore has a lower range from 30 to 67 percent. Chemical constituents other than iron also are important in determining the marketability of iron ore. Although some iron ores can be used in the blast furnace as mined, others must first be improved either chemically by reduction of undesirable constituents, or physically by aggregation. Phosphorus and sulfur particularly are common deleterious elements; excessive silica is also undesirable but within certain limits can be controlled by additional flux. Lime and magnesia are beneficial in specified amounts because of their fluxing qualities, and a small amount of alumina improves the fluidity of slag. Manganese is especially desirable as a deoxidizing and desulfurizing agent. Titanium, chromium, and nickel must also be considered in the use of ore containing these elements. The principal iron-ore deposits in the United States have been formed by three processes. Hematite-bearing bedded deposits such as those at Birmingham, Ala., are marine sedimentary rocks which, except for weathering along the outcrop, have remained practically unaltered since deposition. Deposits of the Lake Superior region, also in sedimentary strata, originally had a slightly lower iron content than those at-Birmingham, but ore bodies of hematite and limonite were formed by removal of other constituents in solution after deposition of the beds, with a relative increase of iron content in the material remaining. Limestone adjacent to igneous intrusions has been replaced by magnetite deposits at Cornwall, Pa., and by hematite-magnetite deposits near Cedar City, Utah. Magnetite deposits in New Jersey and in the Adirondack Mountains of New York are generally believed to have been formed by replacement of grains of other minerals in metamorphic rocks. Iron-ore resources are made up of reserves of iron ore, material usable under existing economic and technologic conditions; and potential ore, material likely to become usable under more favorable conditions. The tonnage and grade of material of combined reserves and potential ore in each of the deposits known or believed to contain at least 200,000 long tons of iron-ore resources are tabulated in this report, and numerous sources of additional information are given in a selected bibliography. The total domestic iron-ore resources are estimated at approximately 75,000 million long tons of crude ore. About 10,000 million tons of the resources is reserves of crude ore that will probably yield 5,500 million tons of concentrates and direct-shipping ore. About 65,000 million tons is potential ore and may yield 25,000 million tons of concentrates and some direct-shipping ore.

Bulletin↗

USGS1987

Mineralogical basis for the interpretation of multi-element (ICP-AES), oxalic acid, and aqua regia partial digestions of stream sediments for reconnaissance exploration geochemistry

We have applied partial digestion procedures, primarily oxalic acid and aqua regia leaches, to several regional geochemical reconnaissance studies carried out using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-AES) analytical methods. We have chosen to use these two acids because the oxalic acid primarily attacks those compounds formed during secondary geochemical processes, whereas aqua regia will digest the primary sulfide phases as well as secondary phases. Application of the partial digestion technique has proven superior to total digestion because the concentration of metals in hydromorphic compounds and the sulfides is enhanced relative to the metals bound in the unattacked silicate phases. The aqua regia digestion attacks and leaches metals from the mafic chain silicates and the phyllosilicates (coordination number of VI or more), yielding a characteristic geochemical signature, but does not leach appreciable metal from many other silicates. In order to interpret the results from these leach studies, we have initiated an investigation of a large suite of hand-picked mineral separates. The study includes analyses of about two hundred minerals representing the common rock-forming minerals as well as end-member compositions of various silicates, oxides, sulfides, carbonates, sulfates, and some vanadates, molybdates, tungstates, and phosphates. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of leaching by acids of particular lattice sites in specific mineral structures.

Journal of Geochemical Exploration↗

USGS2005

Crystalline-rock ejecta and shocked minerals of the Chesapeake Bay impact structure, USGS-NASA Langley core, Hampton, Virginia, with supplemental constraints on the age of impact

The USGS-NASA Langley corehole at Hampton , Va., was drilled 2000 as the first in a series of new coreholes drilled in the late Eocene Chesapeake Bay impact structure to gain a comprehensive understanding of its three-dimensional character. This understanding is important for assessing ground-water resources in the region, as well as for learning about marine impacts on Earth. We studied crystalline-rock ejecta and shock-metamorphosed minerals from the Langley core to determine what they reveal about the geology of crystalline rocks beneath the Atlantic Coastal Plain and how those rocks were affected by the impact . An unusual polymict diamicton, informally called the Exmore beds (upper Eocene), is 33.8 meters (m; 110.9 feet (ft)) thick and lies at a depth of 269.4 to 235.65 m (884.0 to 773.12 ft) in the core . This matrix-supported sedimentary deposit contains clasts of Tertiary and Cretaceous sediment (ranging up to boulder size) and sparse pebbles of crystalline rock . The matrix consists of muddy sand that contains abundant quartz grains and minor glauconite and potassium feldspar. Significantly, the sandy matrix of the Exmore beds contains sparse quartz grains (0.1 to 0.3 millimeter (0.004 to 0.012 inch) in diameter) that contain multiple sets of intersecting planar deformation features formerly referred to as shock lamellae. As many as five different sets have been observed in some quartz grains. Planar deformation features also occur in quartz grains in reworked crystalline-rock clasts in the Exmore beds. Such grains are clearly of shock-metamorphic origin. The presence of these features indicates that the quartz grains have experienced pressures greater than 6 gigapascals (GPa) and strain rates greater than 10 6 /second. Thus, the shock-metamorphosed quartz grains, although rare, provide clear and convincing evidence that the Exmore beds are of hybrid impact origin. Identification of shocked quartz grains in the Langley core adds to the number of sites in the structure where their presence is confirmed. Most of the clasts of crystalline rock that are in and just below the Exmore beds are rounded, detrital, and typical of coastal plain sediments. However, a few have angular shapes and consist of cataclastically deformed felsite having aphanitic-porphyritic to aphanitic texture and peraluminous rhyolite composition. Three of these clasts contain quartz grains that display two sets of planar deformation features of shock-metamorphic origin. Shock-metamorphosed quartz is an integral part of the cataclastic fabric in these three clasts, indicating that both the fabric and the shocked quartz were produced by the same high-energy impact event. Some felsite clasts have spherulitic textures that may be features either of an impact melt or of preimpact volcanic rocks. A weighted-mean total-fusion 40 Ar/ 39 Ar age of 35.3±0.1 Ma (±lσ) for 19 analyses of 4 North American tektites records the age of the late Eocene Chesapeake Bay impact event.

Chesapeake Bay↗

USGS1979

Monazite in the granitic rocks of the southeastern Atlantic States: An example of the use of heavy minerals in geologic exploration

The principal part of this report is a discussion of the three monazite belts and the descriptions of the panned concentrates that justify their delineation, details that constitute an example of the use of heavy minerals in regional geologic exploration. The tenors of accessory minerals in rocks from the monazite belts in Viginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama are listed, and where possible these mineralogical data are translated into genetic interpretations. The origin of the monazite belts is discussed in the light of the mineralogical data, from which it is concluded that the beltlike distribution of monazite is analogous to a petrographic province.

Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, ↗

USGS1952

Heavy-mineral analysis of sedimentary rocks of northern Alaska

The Navy Oil Unit of the United States Geological Survey has been investigating the geology of Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 4, northern Alaska. As part of this program, heavy-mineral samples were prepared from cores of the test wells and core holes and studied to determine stratigraphic correlations. Using the following criteria: (1) presence of diagnostic minerals or mineral suites; (2) relative abundance of specific minerals; (3) degree of rounding of mineral grains; (4) distinction as to grain form; eight heavy-mineral zones have been recognized in Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous, and Quaternary sedimentary rocks. Correlations based on these zones are shown. Source areas and rocks are discussed in relation to geologic history and genesis of the Mesozoic and Quaternary sedimentary rocks.

Open-File Report↗

USGS1992

Mineral and energy resources of the BLM Roswell Resource Area, east-central New Mexico

The sedimentary formations of the Roswell Resource Area have significant mineral and energy resources. Some of the pre-Pennsylvanian sequences in the Northwestern Shelf of the Permian Basin are oil and gas reservoirs, and Pennsylvanian rocks in Tucumcari basin are reservoirs of oil and gas as well as source rocks for oil and gas in Triassic rocks. Pre-Permian rocks also contain minor deposits of uranium and vanadium, limestone, and associated gases. Hydrocarbon reservoirs in Permian rocks include associated gases such as carbon dioxide, helium, and nitrogen. Permian rocks are mineralized adjacent to the Lincoln County porphyry belt, and include deposits of copper, uranium, manganese, iron, polymetallic veins, and Mississippi-valley-type (MVT) lead-zinc. Industrial minerals in Permian rocks include fluorite, barite, potash, halite, polyhalite, gypsum, anhydrite, sulfur, limestone, dolomite, brine deposits (iodine and bromine), aggregate (sand), and dimension stone. Doubly terminated quartz crystals, called "Pecos diamonds" and collected as mineral specimens, occur in Permian rocks along the Pecos River. Mesozoic sedimentary rocks are hosts for copper, uranium, and small quantities of gold-silver-tellurium veins, as well as significant deposits of oil and gas, COa, asphalt, coal, and dimension stone. Mesozoic rocks contain limited amounts of limestone, gypsum, petrified wood, dinosaur remains, and clays. Tertiary rocks host ore deposits commonly associated with intrusive rocks, including platinum group elements, iron skarns, manganese, uranium and vanadium, molybdenum, polymetallic vein deposits, gold-silver- tellurium veins, and thorium-rare earth veins. Museum-quality quartz crystals in Lincoln County were formed in association with intrusive rocks in the Lincoln County porphyry belt. Industrial minerals in Tertiary rocks include fluorite, vein- and bedded-barite, caliche, limestone, and aggregate. Tertiary and Quaternary sediments host important placer deposits of gold and titanium, and minor silver, uranium occurrences, as well as important industrial commodities, including caliche, limestone and dolomite, and aggregate (sand). Quaternary basalt contains sub-ore-grade uranium, scoria, and clay deposits.

New Mexico↗

USGS2020

Statewide assessment of karst aquifers in New York with an inventory of closed-depression and focused-recharge features

Karst is a landscape formed from the dissolution of soluble rock or rock containing minerals that are easily dissolved from within the rock. The landscape is characterized by sinkholes, caves, losing streams, springs, and underground drainage systems, which rapidly move water through the karst. The two forms of karst in New York State include carbonate karst, which forms in carbonate rock (limestone, marble, and dolostone), and evaporite karst, which forms in rock that contains the evaporite minerals gypsum and halite. Past and recent studies of karst across the State have shown that areas of focused recharge in karstic carbonate rock allow contaminants to enter aquifer systems with little attenuation. Focused areas of recharge need to be identified to help prevent such contamination from sources on or adjacent to the karst. The New York State Departments of Environmental Conservation and Health are collaborating with the agricultural community to make farmers and farm-planning advisors more aware of karst and how to manage daily farming activities to reduce their impact on surface water and groundwater resources, especially in karst areas. There is also a need to make regulators, planners, and the general public aware of New York’s karst resources and to properly protect and manage these resources to protect the quality of groundwater and surface water that can flow into, through, and from karst bedrock. Using publicly available geospatial data, karst bedrock and closed depressions over or near karst rock were identified across New York. Carbonate, evaporite, and marble geologic units were selected from a statewide 1:250,000-scale bedrock geology dataset. The selected geologic units were intersected with 7.5-minute quadrangle maps to define the study area. The U.S. Geological Survey has compiled an inventory of closed depressions from statewide digital contour data, scanned 7.5-minute topographic maps known as a digital raster graphics, and light detection and ranging (lidar) digital elevation models. Analysis of the data resulted in the identification of 5,023 closed depressions statewide. The inventory was conducted to eliminate duplication of results from analysis of the three data sources. A series of overlay analyses was conducted using the closed depressions and thematic data known to be key factors in determining the probability of a closed depression contributing to focused groundwater recharge; the thematic data include bedrock geology, soil type, soil infiltration rate, and land cover. Though the extent of karst development is important in understanding the interaction between surface water and groundwater in karst terrains, some of the worst cases of groundwater contamination in karst can occur where only minor karst features might be present. The presence of karst—be it a short section of a solutioned fracture or an extensive cave system—requires careful consideration, forward-looking environmental planning, and consistent water-quality protection to preserve New York State’s water resources.

New York↗

USGS1976

Distribution and abundance of arsenic in bedrock, mineralized, vein, and altered rock samples, McCarthy quadrangle, Alaska

A geochemical survey was conducted in the McCarthy quadrangle Alaska, to identify areas containing anomalous concentrations of various metallic and nonmetallic elements. This study incorporates the results of analyses for arsenic from 827 rock samples collected in the quadrangle, and analyzed by the U.S. Geological Survey between 1961 and 1976 using semiquantitative emission spectrophotometry. The samples included both unaltered and hydrothermally altered rocks. The hydrothermally altered rock consist of ore grade material, gossans, fault gouge, vein materials, silica-rich boxworks, veins adjacent to faults, and fracture surfaces showing evidence of mineralization. Therefore, the analytical data set may be considered representative of most rock types known to occur in the study area. The accompanying map shows the distribution and relative abundance of arsenic in rocks collected. Geochemical analyses have been grouped and are represented by symbols on a base map, which includes topography and generalized geology. The range of analytical values and the symbol that represents it are shown on the histogram. Graphical representation of analytical values on the map permits easy observation of any large variation resulting from separate or duplicate samples collected at the same or nearby localites. All samples were crushed and ground to pass through a 180 micron opening sieve before being analyzed.

Alaska↗

USGS1981

Geochemical evidence for a Brooks Range mineral belt, Alaska

Geochemical studies in the central Brooks Range, Alaska, delineate a regional, structurally controlled mineral belt in east—west-trending metamorphic rocks and adjacent metasedimentary rocks. The mineral belt extends eastward from the Ambler River quadrangle to the Chandalar and Philip Smith quadrangles, Alaska, from 147° to 156°W. longitude, a distance of more than 375 km, and spans a width from 67° to 69°N. latitude, a distance of more than 222 km. Within this belt are several occurrences of copper and molybdenum mineralization associated with meta-igneous, metasedimentary, and metavolcanic rocks; the geochemical study delineates target areas for additional occurrences. A total of 4677 stream-sediment and 2286 panned-concentrate samples were collected in the central Brooks Range, Alaska, from 1975 to 1979. The −80 mesh (< 177 μm) stream sediment and the heavy (specific gravity > 2.86) nonmagnetic fraction of the panned concentrates from stream sediment were analyzed by semiquantitative spectrographic methods. Two geochemical suites were recognized in this investigation; a base-metal suite of copper-lead-zinc and a molybdenum suite of molybdenum-tin-tungsten. These suites suggest several types of mineralization within the metamorphic belt. Anomalies in molybdenum with associated Cu and W suggest a potential porphyry molybdenum system associated with meta-igneous rocks. This regional study indicates that areas of metaigneous rocks in the central metamorphic belt are target areas for potential mineralized porphyry systems and that areas of metavolcanic rocks are target areas for potential massive sulfide mineralization.

Alaska↗

USGS1983

Lithologic mapping using Landsat thematic mapper data

The Landsat-4 Thematic Mapper (TM), with its new near infrared bands centered at 1.65 μm and 2.20 μm and spatial resolution of 30 m has been used to distinguish rocks containing minerals having ferric-iron absorption bands in the visible and near-infrared and Al-O- and CO 3 absorption bands in the 2.1-2.4 μm regions. On the basis of characteristic absorption bands, digitally processed TM data were used to differentiate vegetated from non-vegetated areas, limonitic from nonlimonitic rocks, rocks containing minerals having absorption bands in the near-infrared region from rocks lacking infrared absorption bands. Specific minerals were detected in both the humid eastern and semi-arid western United States. The absorption bands in the near-infrared region were used to detect kaolinite in open-pit exposures of a kaolin mining district near Macon, Georgia; calcium carbonate in the back sands along the east coast of Floridia; and kaolinite, alunite, jarosite, sericite and gypsum in natural exposures near Boulder City, Nevada. These results show that the additional spectral bands in the near-infrared region and increased spatial resolution of the Thematic Mapper provide a valuable tool for distinguishing several significant geologic materials not distinguishable from space using previous imaging systems. They also show that TM data can be successfully used in a variety of geologic environments.

Pecora VIII Symposium↗

USGS2017

Zirconium and hafnium

Zirconium and hafnium are corrosion-resistant metals that are widely used in the chemical and nuclear industries. Most zirconium is consumed in the form of the main ore mineral zircon (ZrSiO 4 , or as zirconium oxide or other zirconium chemicals. Zirconium and hafnium are both refractory lithophile elements that have nearly identical charge, ionic radii, and ionic potentials. As a result, their geochemical behavior is generally similar. Both elements are classified as incompatible because they have physical and crystallochemical properties that exclude them from the crystal lattices of most rock-forming minerals. Zircon and another, less common, ore mineral, baddeleyite (ZrO 2 ), form primarily as accessory minerals in igneous rocks. The presence and abundance of these ore minerals in igneous rocks are largely controlled by the element concentrations in the magma source and by the processes of melt generation and evolution. The world’s largest primary deposits of zirconium and hafnium are associated with alkaline igneous rocks, and, in one locality on the Kola Peninsula of Murmanskaya Oblast, Russia, baddeleyite is recovered as a byproduct of apatite and magnetite mining. Otherwise, there are few primary igneous deposits of zirconium- and hafnium-bearing minerals with economic value at present. The main ore deposits worldwide are heavy-mineral sands produced by the weathering and erosion of preexisting rocks and the concentration of zircon and other economically important heavy minerals, such as ilmenite and rutile (for titanium), chromite (for chromium), and monazite (for rare-earth elements) in sedimentary systems, particularly in coastal environments. In coastal deposits, heavy-mineral enrichment occurs where sediment is repeatedly reworked by wind, waves, currents, and tidal processes. The resulting heavy-mineral-sand deposits, called placers or paleoplacers, preferentially form at relatively low latitudes on passive continental margins and supply 100 percent of the world’s zircon. Zircon makes up a relatively small percentage of the economic heavy minerals in most deposits and is produced primarily as a byproduct of heavy-mineral-sand mining for titanium minerals. From 2003 to 2012, world zirconium mineral concentrates production increased by more than 40 percent, and Australia and South Africa were the leading producers. Global consumption of zirconium mineral concentrates generally increased during the same time period, largely as a result of increased demand in developing economies in Asia and the Middle East. Global demand weakened in 2012, causing a decrease in world production of zirconium mineral concentrates and delaying the development of several new mining projects. Global consumption is expected to increase in the future, however, as demand from the ceramics, chemicals, and metals industries increases (driven by renewed growth in developing economies) and demand for zirconium and hafnium metal increases (driven by the construction and operation of new nuclear powerplants). The behaviors of zirconium and hafnium in the environment are very similar to one another in that most zirconium- and hafnium-bearing minerals have limited solubility and reactivity. Anthropogenic sources of zirconium, and likely hafnium, are from industrial zirconium-containing byproducts and emissions from the processing of sponge zirconium, and exposure to the general population from these sources is small. Zirconium and hafnium are likely not essential to human health and generally are considered to be of low toxicity to humans. The main exposure risks are associated with industrial inhalation and dermal exposure. Because of the low solubility of zirconium and hafnium, ecological health concerns in the aquatic environment and in soils are minimal. Heavy-mineral-sand mining may lead to increased erosion rates when the mining is managed improperly. In addition, surface mining requires removal of the overlying organic soil layer and produces waste material that includes tailings and slimes. The soil removal and mining activity disturbs the surrounding ecosystem and alters the character of the landscape. Dry mineral separation processes create high amounts of airborne dust, whereas wet mineral separation processes do not. In operations that restore the landscape to pre-mining conditions, the volume of waste and the impact on the landscape may be relatively temporary.

Professional Paper↗

USGS2011

Whole-rock and sulfide-mineral geochemical data for samples from volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits of the Bonnifield district, east-central Alaska

This Open-File Report presents geochemical data for outcrop and drill-core samples from volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits and associated metaigneous and metasedimentary rocks in the Wood River area of the Bonnifield mining district, northern Alaska Range, east-central Alaska. The data consist of major- and trace-element whole-rock geochemical analyses, and major- and trace-element analyses of sulfide minerals determined by electron microprobe and laser ablation—inductively coupled plasma—mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) techniques. The PDF consists of text, appendix explaining the analytical methods used for the analyses presented in the data tables, a sample location map, and seven data tables. The seven tables are also available as spreadsheets in several file formats. Descriptions and discussions of the Bonnifield deposits are given in Dusel-Bacon and others (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010).

Alaska↗

USGS1970

Determination of iridium in mafic rocks by atomic absorption

Iridium is determined in mineralized mafic rocks by atomic absorption after fire-assay concentration into a gold bead. Interelement interferences in the atomic-absorption determination are removed and Ir sensitivity is increased by buffering the solutions with a mixture of copper and sodium sulphates. Substantial amounts of Ag, Al, Au, Bi, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Fe, Ho, Hg, K, La, Mg, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Te, Ti, V, Y, Zn and platinum metals can be tolerated in the atomic-absorption determination. The sensitivity and detection limits are 3.2 and 0.25 ppm of Ir, respectively.

Talanta↗