USGS Science⌕ Search

SEARCH · USGS Science

Results for “Mining Geology”

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 1,297 records · Page 72Linked to original sources
USGS1998

Database of significant deposits of gold, silver, copper, lead, and zinc in the United States

It has long been recognized that the largest mineral deposits contain most of the known mineral endowment (Singer and DeYoung, 1980). Sometimes called giant or world-class deposits, these largest deposits account for a very large share of historic and current mineral production and resources in industrial society (Singer, 1995). For example, Singer (1995) shows that the largest 10 percent of the world’s gold deposits contain 86 percent of the gold discovered to date. Many mineral resource issues and investigations are more easily addressed if limited to the relatively small number of deposits that contain most of the known mineral resources. An estimate of known resources using just these deposits would normally be sufficient, because considering smaller deposits would not add significantly to the total estimate. Land-use planning should treat mainly with these deposits due to their relative scarcity, the large share of known resources they contain, and the fact that economies of scale allow minerals to be produced much more cheaply from larger deposits. Investigation of environmental and other hazards that result from mining operations can be limited to these largest deposits because they account for most of past and current production. The National Mineral Resource Assessment project of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has compiled a database on the largest known deposits of gold, silver, copper, lead, and zinc in the United States to complement the 1996 national assessment of undiscovered deposits of these same metals (Ludington and Cox, 1996). The deposits in this database account for approximately 99 percent of domestic production of these metals and probably a similar share of identified resources. These data may be compared with results of the assessment of undiscovered resources to characterize the nation’s total mineral endowment for these metals. This database is a starting point for any national or regional mineral-resource or mineral-environmental investigation.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2021

Water and sediment chemistry of selected existing and potential habitats of the Mohave tui chub, Mojave National Preserve, California, 2018

The Mohave tui chub ( Siphateles bicolor mohavensis ) was nearly extirpated from the Mojave River drainage in California by the mid-twentieth century and was listed as endangered in 1970. A source population of Mohave tui chub exists at MC Spring in Zzyzx, California, and has been used for several re-establishment efforts in previous decades. Two potential habitats in the Mojave National Preserve with perennial sources of water were identified by the National Park Service as candidates for additional Mohave tui chub re-establishment: West Pond and Rainbow Wells Pond. West Pond, an artificial pond at Zzyzx near MC Spring, contained a population of Mohave tui chub that died off in 1985 because of changes in water quality. The pond was rehabilitated in the past several years through re-excavation and by pumping fresh groundwater into the pond. Rainbow Wells Pond is an abandoned excavated mine site in the Cima Dome area. The bottom of the excavation intersects the water table, forming a pond. In cooperation with the National Park Service, the U.S. Geological Survey monitored water-quality conditions at West Pond and Rainbow Wells Pond for 1 year to characterize the suitability of spring habitat for re-establishment of Mohave tui chub populations. Data were also collected at three existing Mohave tui chub habitats in Mojave National Preserve to provide further information on the range of acceptable physical and chemical conditions. Initial water-quality results at West Pond indicate the pond has similar water quality as existing Mohave tui chub habitats. Initial water-quality results at Rainbow Wells Pond indicate the dissolved oxygen concentrations and springtime water temperatures are less than the long-term tolerable ranges for Mohave tui chub.

California↗
USGS2009

Report from Ground Zero: How geoscientists aid in the aftermath of environmental disasters

People around the world remember when they first learned of the attacks on New York City’s World Trade Center towers on Sept. 11, 2001. For me, the memories are vivid — my feelings of shock, horror and sadness were similarly etched on the faces of all the attendees of a mining and the environment workshop in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where I was speaking. At that time, I had no idea that our small research group at the U.S. Geological Survey in Denver, Colo., would soon be called upon to help public officials understand the potential health and environmental implications of the disaster and the ensuing rescue, recovery and cleanup efforts.

Earth Magazine↗
USGS2000

NASQAN: The design and implementation of a large-river suspended sediment and trace element flux programme

In 1996 the US Geological Survey (USGS) began a national flux-based water quality monitoring programme in the Mississippi, Columbia, Colorado, and Rio Grande basins. Suspended sediment flux estimates for periods greater than a year are generally accurate within ??15%. Discharge and suspended sediment concentrations varied much more than chemical levels. Most trace element concentrations are not elevated except Zn and Hg in the Ohio River, and Ag, Cu, Pb, Zn, Cd, Cr, Co, Ba, Mo, Sb, Hg, and Fe in the upper Columbia River, which is impacted by mining waste. The majority (???70%) of Cu, Zn, Cr, Ni, Ba, P, As, Fe, Mn, and Al are transported by suspended sediment; Sr transported seems dominated by the dissolved phase, whereas the transport of Li and TOC seem to be divided equally between both phases.In 1996 the US Geological Survey (USGS) began a national flux-based water quality monitoring programme in the Mississippi, Columbia, Colorado, and Rio Grande basins. Suspended sediment flux estimates for periods greater than a year are generally accurate within ??15%. Discharge and suspended sediment concentrations varied much more than chemical levels. Most trace element concentrations are not elevated except Zn and Hg in the Ohio River, and Ag, Cu, Pb, Zn, Cd, Cr, Co, Ba, Mo, Sb, Hg, and Fe in the upper Columbia River, which is impacted by mining waste. The majority (???70%) of Cu, Zn, Cr, Ni, Ba, P, As, Fe, Mn, and Al are transported by suspended sediment; Sr transported seems dominated by the dissolved phase, whereas the transport of Li and TOC seem to be divided equally between both phases.

Conference Paper↗
USGS2017

Fractional crystallization-induced variations in sulfides from the Noril’sk-Talnakh mining district (polar Siberia, Russia)

The distribution of platinum-group elements (PGE) within zoned magmatic ore bodies has been extensively studied and appears to be controlled by the partitioning behavior of the PGE during fractional crystallization of magmatic sulfide liquids. However, other chalcophile elements, especially TABS (Te, As, Bi, Sb, and Sn) have been neglected despite their critical role in forming platinum-group minerals (PGM). TABS are volatile trace elements that are considered to be mobile so investigating their primary distribution may be challenging in magmatic ore bodies that have been somewhat altered. Magmatic sulfide ore bodies from the Noril’sk-Talnakh mining district (polar Siberia, Russia) offer an exceptional opportunity to investigate the behavior of TABS during fractional crystallization of sulfide liquids and PGM formation as the primary features of the ore bodies have been relatively well preserved. In this study, new petrographic (2D and 3D) and whole-rock geochemical data from Cu-poor to Cu-rich sulfide ores of the Noril’sk-Talnakh mining district are integrated with published data to consider the role of fractional crystallization in generating mineralogical and geochemical variations across the different ore types (disseminated to massive). Despite textural variations in Cu-rich massive sulfides (lenses, veins, and breccias), these sulfides have similar chemical compositions, which suggests that Cu-rich veins and breccias formed from fractionated sulfide liquids that were injected into the surrounding rocks. Numerical modeling using the median disseminated sulfide composition as the initial sulfide liquid composition and recent DMSS/liq and DISS/liq predicts the compositional variations observed in the massive sulfides, especially in terms of Pt, Pd, and TABS. Therefore, distribution of these elements in the massive sulfides was likely controlled by their partitioning behavior during sulfide liquid fractional crystallization, prior to PGM formation. Our observations indicate that in the Cu-poor massive sulfides the PGM formed as the result of exsolution from sulfide minerals whereas in the Cu-rich massive sulfides the PGM formed by crystallization from late-stage fractionated sulfide liquids. We suggest that the significant amount of Sn-bearing PGM may be related to crustal contamination from granodiorite, whereas As, Bi, Te, and Sb were likely added to the magma along with S from sedimentary rocks. Large PGM that are scarce and randomly distributed may account for most of the whole-rock Pt budget. Based on our results, we propose a holistic genetic model for the formation of the magmatic sulfide ore bodies of the Noril’sk-Talnakh mining district.

Siberia↗
USGS1996

Ramah Member of the Crevasse Canyon Formation - A new stratigraphic unit in the Zuni Basin, west-central New Mexico

Nonmarine deposition accompanying and following a regression of the Cretaceous Interior Seaway during late Turonian time left a sedimentary sequence consisting of fluvial channel sandstones, thin overbank sandstones, and paludal shales containing thin coal beds. This unit is herein designated the Ramah Member of the Crevasse Canyon Formation. The Ramah Member is locally well exposed in the Zuni Basin of west-central New Mexico where it rests on the Gallup Sandstone (marine) and is overlain by the distinctive, feldspathic Torrivio Member of the Crevasse Canyon Formation (formerly of the Gallup Sandstone) Near Ramah, New Mexico the sequence overlies the F member of the Gallup but northward it overlies progressively younger members. These younger members are discrete sand-stone units associated with minor oscillations of relative sea level during a major regional-scale regression. North and east of Puerco Gap, near Gallup. New Mexico, the Ramah Member thins appreciably, and where unmappable it may be included with the Torrivio Member Southward from Gallup in the Zuni Basin. the Ramah locally approaches 150 ft in thickness and contains minable coal beds. The interval was previously referred to as the coal-bearing member of the Gallup (Mapel and Yesberger, 1985) or the Ramah unit (Anderson and Stricker, 1904). In the northern part of the Zuni Basin a problem may exist locally in determinig the top of the Ramah Member. This is due to the presence of fluviel sandstone with coarse-grained facies that looks much the s ame as the Torrivio Member, but underlines it Two criteria may be employed to distiguish the lower sandstone from the Torrivio and properly place it in the strartigraphic succession: (1) the lower sandstone is generally not as feldspathic as the Torrivio nor do the coarse-grained facies contain pebble-size material; and (2) the lower sandstone is not nearly as widespread as the overlying Torrivio. which has a blanket geometry. The type section of the Ramah Member is in the SE1/4 NW1/4 sec. 16 T10N R16W approximately 4 mi southwest of the town of Ramah. The principal coal lies near the top of the member and was mined during the 1920s to supply coal for the Zuni Pueblo schools.

New Mexico Geology↗
USGS1969

Geologic map of the Myrtle Point area, Coos County, Oregon

The mapped area lies in theo southern end of the Coos Bay coal field. Coal occurs onle in the upper and lower members of the Coaledo Formation. Nearly all the coal mined in the Coos Bay coal field was from the upper member of the Coaledo Formation. In the mapped area, most of this member has been eroded; only a few hundred feed of the basal strata remains. Allen and Baldwin (1944, p. 131, 116) reported 2 feet 7 inches of coal and bone along Hall creek in the NW1/4NW1/4 sec. 11, T. 29 S., R. 13 W., and 4 feet of coal and bony coal at the Albee prospect near the center of the NE1/4 sec. 4 T. 29 S., 13 W.

Oregon↗
USGS2008

Reported Historic Asbestos Mines, Historic Asbestos Prospects, and Natural Asbestos Occurrences in the Southwestern United States (Arizona, Nevada, and Utah)

This map and its accompanying dataset provide information for 113 natural asbestos occurrences in the Southwestern United States (U.S.), using descriptions found in the geologic literature. Data on location, mineralogy, geology, and relevant literature for each asbestos site are provided. Using the map and digital data in this report, the user can examine the distribution of previously reported asbestos occurrences and their geological characteristics in the Southwestern U.S., which includes sites in Arizona, Nevada, and Utah. This report is part of an ongoing study by the U.S. Geological Survey to identify and map reported natural asbestos occurrences in the U.S., which thus far includes similar maps and datasets of natural asbestos occurrences within the Eastern U.S. (http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2005/1189/), the Central U.S. (http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2006/1211/), and the Rocky Mountain States (http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2007/1182/. These reports are intended to provide State and local government agencies and other stakeholders with geologic information on natural occurrences of asbestos in the U.S.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1991

Economic effects of western Federal land-use restrictions on U.S. coal markets

Current regulations on land use in the Western United States affect access to surface minable coal resources. This U.S. Geological Survey study analyzes the long-term effects of Federal land-use restrictions on the national cost of meeting future coal demands. The analysis covers 45 years. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has determined the environmental, aesthetic, and economic values of western Federal coal lands and has set aside certain areas from surface coal mining to protect other valued land uses, including agricultural, environmental, and aesthetic uses. Although there are benefits to preserving natural areas and to developing areas for other land uses, these restrictions produce long-term national and regional costs that have not been estimated previously. The Dynamic Coal Allocation Model integrates coal supply (coal resource tonnage and coal quality by mining cost for 60 coal supply regions) with coal demand (in 243 regions) for the entire United States. The model makes it possible to evaluate the regional economic impacts of coal supply restrictions wherever they might occur in the national coal market. The main factors that the economic methodology considers are (1) coal mining costs, (2) coal transportation costs, (3) coal flue gas desulfurization costs, (4) coal demand, (5) regulations to control sulfur dioxide discharges, and (6) specific reductions in coal availability occurring as a result of land-use restrictions. The modeling system combines these economic factors with coal deposit quantity and quality information--which is derived from the U.S. Geological Survey's National Coal Resources Data System and the U.S. Department of Energy's Demonstrated Reserve Base--to determine a balance between supply and demand so that coal is delivered at minimum cost.

Circular↗
USGS1985

Quality of ground water in Monitor and Williams Townships, Bay County, Michigan

Migration of mineralized water from abandoned subsurface coal mines in Monitor and Williams Townships was thought by many residents to have affected the quality of domestic ground-water supplies in the area. To investigate the possibility, wells were installed to obtain geologic data and water samples for chemical analysis; analysis also was made of concurrent related data collected by other agencies. The principal rock units are glacial deposits and the Saginaw Formation. Glacial deposits, 75 to 175 feet thick, are primarily clay underlain in places by sand and gravel. This sand and gravel is the primary source of ground water. Underlying the glacial deposits is the Saginaw Formation--a unit that is mostly shale and silty shale containing beds of siltstone, sandstone, and coal. Specific conductance of water from wells indicate that dissolved-solids concentration increases with depth. About 50 percent of specific conductance values of water from wells more than 100 feet deep were equal to or greater than 5,000 microsiemens, whereas only 13 percent of the values of water from wells less than 100 feet deep were equal to or greater than 5,000 microsiemens. Results of chemical analyses indicate no apparent correlation between concentration and source for most constituents. Plots of chloride/sulfate ratios versus specific conductances indicate that water from the Saginaw Formation is as likely to influence the quality of water in glacial deposits as is water from abandoned mines.

Michigan↗
USGS1980

Goat paddock cryptoexplosion crater, Western Australia

Goat Paddock, a crater slightly over 5 km in diameter (18??20??? S, 126??40???E), lies at the north edge of the King Leopold Range/Mueller Range junction in the Kimberley district, Western Australia (Fig. 1). It was noted as a geological anomaly in 1964 during regional mapping by the Bureau of Mineral Resources, Geology and Geophysics and the Geological Survey of Western Australia. The possibility of its being a meteorite impact crater has been discussed1, although this suggestion was subsequently ignored2. Two holes were drilled by a mining corporation in 1972 to test whether kimberlite underlay the structure. Here we report the findings of five days of reconnaissance in August 1979 which established that Goat Paddock is a cryptoexplosion crater containing shocked rocks and an unusually well exposed set of structural features. ?? 1980 Nature Publishing Group.

Nature↗
USGS2000

Alaska resource data file, Chignik quadrangle

Descriptions of the mineral occurrences can be found in the report. See U.S. Geological Survey (1996) for a description of the information content of each field in the records. The data presented here are maintained as part of a statewide database on mines, prospects and mineral occurrences throughout Alaska.

Alaska↗
USGS2003

Alaska resource data file: McCarthy quadrangle

Descriptions of the mineral occurrences shown on the accompanying figure follow. See U.S. Geological Survey (1996) for a description of the information content of each field in the records. The data presented here are maintained as part of a statewide database on mines, prospects and mineral occurrences throughout Alaska.

Alaska↗
USGS2003

Alaska resource data file: Nabesna quadrangle

Descriptions of the mineral occurrences shown on the accompanying figure follow. See U.S. Geological Survey (1996) for a description of the information content of each field in the records. The data presented here are maintained as part of a statewide database on mines, prospects and mineral occurrences throughout Alaska.

Alaska↗
USGS2003

Alaska resource data file: Wiseman quadrangle

Descriptions of the mineral occurrences shown on the accompanying figure follow. See U.S. Geological Survey (1996) for a description of the information content of each field in the records. The data presented here are maintained as part of a statewide database on mines, prospects and mineral occurrences throughout Alaska.

Alaska↗
USGS2003

Alaska resource data file: Juneau quadrangle

Descriptions of the mineral occurrences shown on the accompanying figure follow. See U.S. Geological Survey (1996) for a description of the information content of each field in the records. The data presented here are maintained as part of a statewide database on mines, prospects and mineral occurrences throughout Alaska.

Alaska↗
USGS2003

Alaska resource data file: Talkeetna Mountains quadrangle

Descriptions of the mineral occurrences shown on the accompanying figure follow. See U.S. Geological Survey (1996) for a description of the information content of each field in the records. The data presented here are maintained as part of a statewide database on mines, prospects and mineral occurrences throughout Alaska.

Alaska↗
USGS1998

Alaska resource data file: McCarthy quadrangle

Descriptions of the mineral occurrences shown on the accompanying figure follow. See U.S. Geological Survey (1996) for a description of the information content of each field in the records. The data presented here are maintained as part of a statewide database on mines, prospects and mineral occurrences throughout Alaska.

Alaska↗