USGS Science⌕ Search

SEARCH · USGS Science

Results for “The Alaska Miner”

Search indexed USGS publications on groundwater, aquifers, geologic maps, mineral resources and earthquakes. Explore source records by subject and place.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 577 records · Page 32Linked to original sources

Hard mineral resources around the U.S continental margin

The territorial waters surrounding the United States contain vast quantities of hard mineral resources. Some, such as sand and gravel in the New York Bight, Beaufort Sea, portions of southern California, and submerged lands near Hawaii are relatively well known and characterized by local need and immediate mining potential with available technology. Commoditie of interest to industry and having nearterm economic potential that might require new or innovative technology, inlcude phosphorites such as those in the south eastern Atlantic margin, and manganese nodules on the Blake Plateau (which have potential for catalyst material, manganese, cobalt, nickel, and platinum). Commodities having significant potential, but which are poorly known and which may require innovative recovery technology, include chrome, gold, platinum, and tin placer deposits, with special emphasis on the continental margins of northern California, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska; rock salt and evaporite minerals in the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic; titanium and other heavy minerals in the Atlantic continental margin, and calcium carbonate. A. U.S. Department of the Interior moratorium on offshore leasing in federal waters has existed since 1968. Leasing and regulatory systems will be required to begin commercial mining or intensive exploration of the above resources

Conference Paper↗

Mineral potential mapping in an accreted island-arc setting using aeromagnetic data: An example from southwest Alaska

The distribution of volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS), porphyry-epithermal, Alaska-type ultramafic-mafic complexes, intrusion-related Au, and granitoid Sn-W ore deposits in southwest Alaska supports current metallogenic models linking the formation of these deposit types to the emplacement of different suites of igneous rocks during the evolution of this convergent plate margin. Regional-scale aeromagnetic data provide a continuous set of observations over the deposits and show contrasting patterns over the igneous rock suites hosting the various deposit types. Combined with surface geologic data and regional metallogenic constraints, aeromagnetic data—filtered to enhance the anomalous magnetic field and map magnetic domains—were used to produce a mineral potential map across this accreted island-arc setting. The reduced-to-pole, upward continuation, and total horizontal gradient transform maps show anomalies that could represent porphyry-epithermal deposits within the intraoceanic- and continental-arc terranes. The tilt derivative transform highlights lineaments within the back arc that may represent zones with potential for VMS deposits. The truncations of tilt derivative lineaments outline a major magnetic domain boundary between the back-arc and craton margin, which is prospective for granitoid Sn-W deposits. Annular tilt derivative highs outline granitoids that could be associated with intrusion-related Au deposits within the craton margin. Shallow, magnetite-rich Alaska-type ultramafic-mafic complexes are mapped by their short-wavelength, high-amplitude anomalies. Successful mineral potential mapping across southwestern Alaska as performed in the present study suggests that filtered aeromagnetic data can be effectively used in mineral exploration in convergent continental margin settings.

Alaska↗

U.S. Geological Survey Activities Related to American Indians and Alaska Natives Fiscal Year 2002

Information is a resource for Native American governments, communities, organizations, and people. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) provides technical expertise, reports, and other impartial information sources that benefit Native Americans interested in subsistence issues, water, land use, and the health of many parts of the environment. Native self-sufficiency, economic development, and conservation are cultivated through Native decisions informed with USGS data and analyses. The USGS works in cooperation with American Indian and Alaska Native governments, conducting research on water and mineral resources, animals and plants of environmental, economic, or subsistence importance, natural hazards, and geologic resources. Digital data on cartography, mineral resources, streamflow, biota, and other topics are available to American Indian and Alaska Native individuals and institutions. The USGS recognizes the need to learn from and share knowledge with Native peoples. This report describes most of the activities that the USGS conducted with American Indian and Alaska Native governments, educational institutions, and individuals during Federal Fiscal Year 2002. Some of these USGS activities were carried out in concert with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). Others were conducted by Tribes, Tribal organizations, professional societies, and the USGS. A growing number of Tribal governments, educational institutions, and other Tribal organizations have begun using geographic information systems and other digital technologies in recent years. As Tribes become more interested in and more adept at managing digital information, they are seeking relevant data from the USGS more frequently. Using digital technologies provides Tribal governments with additional means of managing lands and resources for the benefit of current and future generations. The USGS recognizes the need to make its information available to Tribal governments, and to work with those governments and other institutions to advance data management capabilities. The USGS also recognizes that Tribal institutions have varying needs, interests, and capacities. The USGS strives to be sensitive to the unique circumstances of each of these institutions while supporting their self-driven evolution. The USGS is responding to these needs by increasing the transfer of scientific information to American Indian and Alaska Native governments and by training employees of those governments to conduct scientific studies and improve scientific data management. The USGS is also encouraging American Indians and Alaska Natives to pursue careers in science and seeking ways to hire Indian and Native students. By identifying, improving, and disseminating information about available hiring mechanisms, the USGS is working to make hiring such students easier, and, therefore, more likely, for USGS managers. The U.S. Geological Survey is the Federal science bureau within the Department of the Interior (DoI). The USGS is non-regulatory and is not a significant manager of Federal or Trust lands or assets. However, as described in this report, there are several types of USGS activities that involve American Indians, Alaska Natives, and their lands. One type of activity is the course of formal studies, conducted through existing USGS programs, that involves collection of specific types of data as well as investigative and research projects. These projects typically last 2 or 3 years, although a few are parts of longer-term activities. Some projects are funded through cooperative agreements, from monies provided to the USGS by individual Tribal governments, or by the BIA. The USGS provides matching funds for cooperative projects. These formal projects may also receive funding from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Indian Health Service (part of the Department of Health and Human Services), or other Federal agencies. The USGS routinely works with its sister bureaus in the Department of the Interior to provide the scientific information and expertise needed to meet the Department's science priorities. Within this context, the USGS and the BIA are cooperating to use USGS information resources to benefit American Indian and Alaska Native peoples and their lands. The second type of USGS activity is less formal, based on initiatives designed and conducted by USGS employees. Frequently involving educational activities, these endeavors are prompted by employee interests, often as collateral issues, that result from one or more USGS employees identifying and responding to an observed need. In these activities, USGS employees help fulfill a mission of the USGS--to prove scientific relevance--while helping their fellow citizens. Increasingly, some of the educational activities are becoming parts of formal USGS projects. USGS employees have also taken the initiative in assisting American Indians and Alaska Natives through participation in several organizations that were created to foster awareness of science among Native peoples and to help build support and communication networks. One such group is the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES). This group sponsors an annual national meeting in which USGS employees participate. USGS employees join this organization on a voluntary basis, bringing the benefits of this expanded network to the USGS, as many employees do with other professional organizations. Each part of the USGS has identified an American Indian/Alaska Native liaison. The USGS has a regional organizational structure, with Western, Central, and Eastern Regions. The regions work in concert with specific scientific disciplines to conduct the scientific mission of the USGS. The regional structure is intended to bring us closer to our customers; we hope that Native Americans and Alaska Natives will use the contacts listed at the end of this report.

Report↗

Geospatial analysis delineates lode gold prospectivity in Alaska

Comprehensive, data-driven geographic information system analyses utilize publicly available lithologic, geochemical, geophysical, and mineral occurrence datasets to delineate gold resource potential in Alaska. These prospectivity analyses successfully identify areas containing known lode gold occurrences, expand areas of high prospectivity around known occurrences, improve the precision of delineation of areas of high prospectivity for lode gold deposit types, and determine new areas that may have potential for gold deposits. These analyses indicate prospectivity in areas where exposure is good and in areas where exposure is poor, which provide useful guidance for land-use decisions and exploration strategies.

Alaska↗