Isotope and Chemical Methods for Mineral and Geoenvironmental Assessments and Support of USGS Science Strategy
This Project integrates several geochemical tools—stable isotope geochemistry, noble gas geochemistry, active gas geochemistry, single fluid inclusion chemistry, and fluid inclusion solute chemistry—in studies of the processes that form mineral deposits and the processes that disrupt them during mining or natural weathering. Research is directed toward fundamental scientific questions or, in collaboration with other Mineral Resources Projects, toward case studies of individual deposits, deposit types, or districts. The ultimate objective is to improve the scientific basis for mineral deposit models, and thereby improve the accuracy of assessments of the Nation’s mineral wealth.
![scientists standing on outcrop](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/side_image/public/thumbnails/image/Pilot%20Knob.jpg?itok=g4s_g_qW)
Science Issue and Relevance
The core mandate of the Mineral Resources Program is to inform decision-makers on matters related to mineral resources on the Nation’s lands, including the consequences of mining and consequences natural weathering. To fulfill this mandate, genetic and geoenvironmental models must be developed for the various types of mineral deposits based on the best-available scientific understanding. This Project integrates several geochemical tools—stable isotope geochemistry, noble gas geochemistry, active gas geochemistry, single fluid inclusion chemistry, and fluid inclusion solute chemistry—in studies of the processes that form mineral deposits and the processes that destroy them during mining or natural weathering. Research is directed toward fundamental scientific questions or, in collaboration with other Mineral Resources Projects, toward case studies of individual deposits, deposit types, or districts. The ultimate objective is to improve the scientific basis for mineral deposit models, and thereby improve the accuracy of assessments of the Nation’s mineral wealth. The tools supported by this Project are applicable over a broad spectrum of Earth science research, so the Project also performs reimbursable work for other Programs consistent with the mandate of the USGS Science Strategy to leverage USGS skills in integrated studies that examine the Earth as a whole. This Project succeeds a similar Project that was summarized in U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1343.
Methods to Address Issue
Several labortories support the project objectives:
Stable Isotope Laboratory: Stable isotope geochemistry involves isotopic analysis of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur. These elements are abundant in common minerals and rocks, and they are the building blocks of most geologic fluids (surface waters, magmatic waters, hydrocarbon fluids, and others) and most biological compounds. Geologic metal deposits are in most cases precipitates from hot fluids. Stable isotope measurements can help to determine the source of the fluids, the sources of dissolved constituents, physicochemical parameters of ore formation such as temperature, and the trigger for metal precipitation. Stable isotope analysis can also reveal the broader geologic environment of ore formation, an essential part of any mineral deposit model.
![zinc ore](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/side_image/public/thumbnails/image/SterlingEqui.jpg?itok=t3SkegJh)
![zinc ore under uv light](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/side_image/public/thumbnails/image/SterlingUV2.jpg?itok=TF2OfFlr)
Noble Gas Laboratory: Helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, and radon are inert "gases" that have multiple isotopes. The relative abundances of the isotopes can reveal whether rock or water constituents came from the mantle, the deep crust, the shallow crust, or the atmosphere. In studies of mineral deposits, noble gas analyses are complementary to other types of chemical or isotopic analyses because they reveal how ore-forming systems fit into larger frameworks of crustal evolution and magma generation.
Active gases contained in hydrothermal minerals also give insights on ore formation. Active gases that are routinely measured include N2, CO2, CH2, H2, H2S, SO2, HCl, HF, H2O, and the light hydrocarbons. The data can reveal volatile evolution in hydrothermal systems, magma degassing histories, and fluid-rock chemical buffering.
![fluids within crystal](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/side_image/public/thumbnails/image/Fl.jpg?itok=itzd0sVq)
Single Fluid Inclusion & Melt Inclusion Laboratory: Inclusions trapped in hydrothermal minerals can contain remnants of the waters from which the minerals precipitated. Chemical and isotopic analysis of these miniscule inclusions provides a wealth of information on ancient hydrothermal systems and their role in the formation of mineral deposits. A variety of important parameters can be determined, including the mass of fluid required to produce the deposit, the chemical species that carried the metals, and the trigger that led to metal precipitation.
Fluid Inclusion Solute Laboratory: Certain cations and anions in fluid inclusions within hydrothermal minerals can be diagnostic of the source and history of the mineral-forming fluid. Particularly insightful are the abundances of the alkali metals lithium, sodium, and potassium, and the halides fluoride, chloride, bromide, and iodide. Analyses of these ions can reveal periods of evaporation, water-rock reactions within aquifers, and mixing of multiple fluids, all important inputs for mineral deposit models.
![V-rich rocks with pen](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/side_image/public/thumbnails/image/Gibellini.jpg?itok=5DGRdhMu)
![microscopic view of skarn minerals](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/side_image/public/thumbnails/image/SterlingTrans.jpg?itok=K9gNK_eb)
![heap leach operation](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/side_image/public/thumbnails/image/Std%20Hill.jpg?itok=ebPNyXYc)
![mine near lake](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/side_image/public/thumbnails/image/Red%20Dog%20mine2.jpg?itok=nZMvsa8M)
Return to Mineral Resources Program | Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Below are data or web applications associated with this project.
Below are publications associated with this project.
Depositional conditions for the Kuna Formation, Red Dog Zn-PB-Ag-Barite District, Alaska, inferred from isotopic and chemical proxies
The fate of cyanide in leach wastes at gold mines: an environmental perspective
Pre-eruptive conditions of the Hideaway Park topaz rhyolite: Insights into metal source and evolution of magma parental to the Henderson porphyry molybdenum deposit, Colorado
Improved arrival-date estimates of Arctic-breeding Dunlin (Calidris alpina arcticola)
Magmatic gas emissions at Holocene volcanic features near Mono Lake, California, and their relation to regional magmatism
Quality and age of shallow groundwater in the Bakken Formation production area, Williston Basin, Montana and North Dakota
Carbonate margin, slope, and basin facies of the Lisburne Group (Carboniferous-Permian) in northern Alaska
Metamorphosis alters contaminants and chemical tracers in insects: implications for food webs
Mercury cycling in agricultural and managed wetlands, Yolo Bypass, California: Spatial and seasonal variations in water quality
Noble gas isotopes in mineral springs within the Cascadia Forearc, Washington and Oregon
Prodigious degassing of a billion years of accumulated radiogenic helium at Yellowstone
Noble gas geochemistry investigation of high CO2 natural gas at the LaBarge Platform, Wyoming, USA
Below are partners associated with this project.
This Project integrates several geochemical tools—stable isotope geochemistry, noble gas geochemistry, active gas geochemistry, single fluid inclusion chemistry, and fluid inclusion solute chemistry—in studies of the processes that form mineral deposits and the processes that disrupt them during mining or natural weathering. Research is directed toward fundamental scientific questions or, in collaboration with other Mineral Resources Projects, toward case studies of individual deposits, deposit types, or districts. The ultimate objective is to improve the scientific basis for mineral deposit models, and thereby improve the accuracy of assessments of the Nation’s mineral wealth.
![scientists standing on outcrop](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/side_image/public/thumbnails/image/Pilot%20Knob.jpg?itok=g4s_g_qW)
Science Issue and Relevance
The core mandate of the Mineral Resources Program is to inform decision-makers on matters related to mineral resources on the Nation’s lands, including the consequences of mining and consequences natural weathering. To fulfill this mandate, genetic and geoenvironmental models must be developed for the various types of mineral deposits based on the best-available scientific understanding. This Project integrates several geochemical tools—stable isotope geochemistry, noble gas geochemistry, active gas geochemistry, single fluid inclusion chemistry, and fluid inclusion solute chemistry—in studies of the processes that form mineral deposits and the processes that destroy them during mining or natural weathering. Research is directed toward fundamental scientific questions or, in collaboration with other Mineral Resources Projects, toward case studies of individual deposits, deposit types, or districts. The ultimate objective is to improve the scientific basis for mineral deposit models, and thereby improve the accuracy of assessments of the Nation’s mineral wealth. The tools supported by this Project are applicable over a broad spectrum of Earth science research, so the Project also performs reimbursable work for other Programs consistent with the mandate of the USGS Science Strategy to leverage USGS skills in integrated studies that examine the Earth as a whole. This Project succeeds a similar Project that was summarized in U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1343.
Methods to Address Issue
Several labortories support the project objectives:
Stable Isotope Laboratory: Stable isotope geochemistry involves isotopic analysis of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur. These elements are abundant in common minerals and rocks, and they are the building blocks of most geologic fluids (surface waters, magmatic waters, hydrocarbon fluids, and others) and most biological compounds. Geologic metal deposits are in most cases precipitates from hot fluids. Stable isotope measurements can help to determine the source of the fluids, the sources of dissolved constituents, physicochemical parameters of ore formation such as temperature, and the trigger for metal precipitation. Stable isotope analysis can also reveal the broader geologic environment of ore formation, an essential part of any mineral deposit model.
![zinc ore](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/side_image/public/thumbnails/image/SterlingEqui.jpg?itok=t3SkegJh)
![zinc ore under uv light](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/side_image/public/thumbnails/image/SterlingUV2.jpg?itok=TF2OfFlr)
Noble Gas Laboratory: Helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, and radon are inert "gases" that have multiple isotopes. The relative abundances of the isotopes can reveal whether rock or water constituents came from the mantle, the deep crust, the shallow crust, or the atmosphere. In studies of mineral deposits, noble gas analyses are complementary to other types of chemical or isotopic analyses because they reveal how ore-forming systems fit into larger frameworks of crustal evolution and magma generation.
Active gases contained in hydrothermal minerals also give insights on ore formation. Active gases that are routinely measured include N2, CO2, CH2, H2, H2S, SO2, HCl, HF, H2O, and the light hydrocarbons. The data can reveal volatile evolution in hydrothermal systems, magma degassing histories, and fluid-rock chemical buffering.
![fluids within crystal](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/side_image/public/thumbnails/image/Fl.jpg?itok=itzd0sVq)
Single Fluid Inclusion & Melt Inclusion Laboratory: Inclusions trapped in hydrothermal minerals can contain remnants of the waters from which the minerals precipitated. Chemical and isotopic analysis of these miniscule inclusions provides a wealth of information on ancient hydrothermal systems and their role in the formation of mineral deposits. A variety of important parameters can be determined, including the mass of fluid required to produce the deposit, the chemical species that carried the metals, and the trigger that led to metal precipitation.
Fluid Inclusion Solute Laboratory: Certain cations and anions in fluid inclusions within hydrothermal minerals can be diagnostic of the source and history of the mineral-forming fluid. Particularly insightful are the abundances of the alkali metals lithium, sodium, and potassium, and the halides fluoride, chloride, bromide, and iodide. Analyses of these ions can reveal periods of evaporation, water-rock reactions within aquifers, and mixing of multiple fluids, all important inputs for mineral deposit models.
![V-rich rocks with pen](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/side_image/public/thumbnails/image/Gibellini.jpg?itok=5DGRdhMu)
![microscopic view of skarn minerals](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/side_image/public/thumbnails/image/SterlingTrans.jpg?itok=K9gNK_eb)
![heap leach operation](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/side_image/public/thumbnails/image/Std%20Hill.jpg?itok=ebPNyXYc)
![mine near lake](https://d9-wret.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets/palladium/production/s3fs-public/styles/side_image/public/thumbnails/image/Red%20Dog%20mine2.jpg?itok=nZMvsa8M)
Return to Mineral Resources Program | Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Below are data or web applications associated with this project.
Below are publications associated with this project.
Depositional conditions for the Kuna Formation, Red Dog Zn-PB-Ag-Barite District, Alaska, inferred from isotopic and chemical proxies
The fate of cyanide in leach wastes at gold mines: an environmental perspective
Pre-eruptive conditions of the Hideaway Park topaz rhyolite: Insights into metal source and evolution of magma parental to the Henderson porphyry molybdenum deposit, Colorado
Improved arrival-date estimates of Arctic-breeding Dunlin (Calidris alpina arcticola)
Magmatic gas emissions at Holocene volcanic features near Mono Lake, California, and their relation to regional magmatism
Quality and age of shallow groundwater in the Bakken Formation production area, Williston Basin, Montana and North Dakota
Carbonate margin, slope, and basin facies of the Lisburne Group (Carboniferous-Permian) in northern Alaska
Metamorphosis alters contaminants and chemical tracers in insects: implications for food webs
Mercury cycling in agricultural and managed wetlands, Yolo Bypass, California: Spatial and seasonal variations in water quality
Noble gas isotopes in mineral springs within the Cascadia Forearc, Washington and Oregon
Prodigious degassing of a billion years of accumulated radiogenic helium at Yellowstone
Noble gas geochemistry investigation of high CO2 natural gas at the LaBarge Platform, Wyoming, USA
Below are partners associated with this project.