Eastern Mineral and Environmental Resources Science Center

USGS Mineral Resources Program Highlights for the Summer 2020 Edition of the USGS Energy Quarterly Newsletter

Interior to Support Critical Minerals Strategy through Faster Permitting, Better Information, Nationwide Examination of Minerals Potential

The first great geologic expeditions of the United States set off in the mid-1800s, equipped with mules, rifles, and early scientific instruments. Their goal: to uncover the great mineral wealth of the United States and learn about its earliest geologic history.

It would be no exaggeration to say that without minerals, no aspect of our daily lives would be possible.

Slag. Depending on where you’re from, it may be an insult, a term meaning trash, or, in our case, the waste left over from metal smelting or refining. Outside of the construction industry, it might seem that uses for slag are considered limited.

We're putting our assessments on the map...literally!

A high-resolution airborne survey to study the rocks within the St. Francois Mountains will be conducted by U.S. Geological Survey scientists starting this week.

A new approach to ranking copper resources could result in identifying future supplies of copper while saving both time and money, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

More than 180 million metric tons of undiscovered copper resources may be found in an area of the Middle East that covers Turkey, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran, western Pakistan and southwestern Afghanistan, according to a recent assessment by the U.S. Geological Survey.

SPOKANE, Wash. — Significant amounts of undiscovered copper may be present in northeast Asia according to a new U.S. Geological Survey report. USGS scientists evaluated the potential for copper in undiscovered porphyry copper deposits in Russia and northeastern China as part of a global mineral resource assessment.

Mining companies, land managers, and regulators now have a wealth of tools to aid in reducing potential mining impacts even before the mine gets started. USGS and various research partners released a special edition of papers specifically targeted at providing modern environmental effect research for modern mining techniques.