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Publications

Results from our Program’s research and minerals information activities are published in USGS publications series as well as in outside journals.  To follow Minerals Information Periodicals, subscribe to the Mineral Periodicals RSS feed.

Filter Total Items: 2294

Preliminary integrated geologic map databases for the United States: Digital data for the reconnaissance geologic map for the Kuskokwim Bay region of southwest Alaska

INTRODUCTION The growth in the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) has highlighted the need for digital geologic maps that have been attributed with information about age and lithology. Such maps can be conveniently used to generate derivative maps for manifold special purposes such as mineral-resource assessment, metallogenic studies, tectonic studies, and environmental research. This

Mineral deposit densities for estimating mineral resources

Estimates of numbers of mineral deposits are fundamental to assessing undiscovered mineral resources. Just as frequencies of grades and tonnages of well-explored deposits can be used to represent the grades and tonnages of undiscovered deposits, the density of deposits (deposits/area) in well-explored control areas can serve to represent the number of deposits. Empirical evidence presented here in
Authors
Donald A. Singer

Quickly erupted volcanic sections of the Steens Basalt, Columbia River Basalt Group: Secular variation, tectonic rotation, and the Steens Mountain reversal

The Steens Basalt, now considered part of the Columbia River Basalt Group (CRBG), contains the earliest eruptions of this magmatic episode. Lava flows of the Steens Basalt cover about 50,000 km2 of the Oregon Plateau in sections up to 1000 m thick. The large number of continuously exposed, quickly erupted lava flows (some sections contain over 200 flows) allows for small loops in the magnetic fiel
Authors
Nicholas A. Jarboe, Robert S. Coe, Paul R. Renne, Jonathan M. G. Glen, Edward A. Mankinen

Characterization of the shallow groundwater system in an alpine watershed: Handcart Gulch, Colorado, USA

Water-table elevation measurements and aquifer parameter estimates are rare in alpine settings because few wells exist in these environments. Alpine groundwater systems may be a primary source of recharge to regional groundwater flow systems. Handcart Gulch is an alpine watershed in Colorado, USA comprised of highly fractured Proterozoic metamorphic and igneous rocks with wells completed to variou
Authors
Katherine G. Kahn, Shemin Ge, Jonathan S. Caine, A. Manning

SHRIMP-RG U-Pb isotopic systematics of zircon from the Angel Lake orthogneiss, East Humboldt Range, Nevada: Is this really archean crust?

New SHRIMP-RG (sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe-reverse geometry) data confirm the existence of Archean components within zircon grains of a sample from the orthogneiss of Angel Lake, Nevada, United States, previously interpreted as a nappe of Archean crust. However, the combined evidence strongly suggests that this orthogneiss is a highly deformed, Late Cretaceous monzogranite derived fro
Authors
Wayne R. Premo, Pedro Castineiras, Joseph L. Wooden

Cathodoluminescence, laser ablasion inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, electron probe microanalysis and electron paramagnetic resonance analyses of natural sphalerite

Natural sphalerite associated with copper, silver, lead-zinc, tin and tungsten deposits from various world-famous mineral deposits have been studied by cathodoluminescence (CL), laser ablasion inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS), electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) to determine the relationship between trace element type and content an
Authors
M. Karakus, R.D. Hagni, A. Koenig, E. Ciftc

Limestone - A Crucial and Versatile Industrial Mineral Commodity

Limestone, as used by the minerals industry, is any rock composed mostly of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). Although limestone is common in many parts of the United States, it is critically absent from some. Limestone is used to produce Portland cement, as aggregate in concrete and asphalt, and in an enormous array of other products, making it a truly versatile commodity. Portland cement is essential t
Authors
James D. Bliss, Timothy S. Hayes, Greta J. Orris

Chemical data for precipitate samples

During studies of sulfide oxidation in coastal areas of Prince William Sound in 2005, precipitate samples were collected from onshore and intertidal locations near the Ellamar, Threeman, and Beatson mine sites (chapter A, fig. 1; table 7). The precipitates include jarosite and amorphous Fe oxyhydroxide from Ellamar, amorphous Fe oxyhydroxide from Threeman, and amorphous Fe oxyhydroxide, ferrihydri
Authors
Andrea L. Foster, Randolph A. Koski

Wild, scenic and rapid trip down the Colorado River trough: Desert Symposium field trip

This rapid trip will explore wild fluvial and tectonic events resulting in scenic and rugged topography. The extreme differences in elevation caused valleys to be choked by alluvium and incised by the Colorado River drainage system.
Authors
R. E. Reynolds, J. Faulds, P.K. House, Keith A. Howard, Daniel V. Malmon, C. F. Miller, P. A. Pearthree