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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

How useful is landslide hazard information? Lessons learned in the San Francisco Bay region

Landslides, worldwide and in the United States, are arguably the most costly natural hazard. Substantial landslide information is available, but much of it remains underutilized, as a disconnect exists among geologists, decision makers, and the public. The lack of a national landslide insurance policy exacerbates this situation and promotes litigation as the principal recourse for recouping landsl
Authors
D. G. Howell, D.W. Ramsey, E. E. Brabb

Spectroscopy of rocks and minerals and principles of spectroscopy

Spectroscopy is the study of light as a function of wavelength that has been emitted, reflected or scattered from a solid, liquid, or gas. In this chapter I will primarily discuss the spectroscopy of minerals, but the principles apply to any material. No single chapter can cover this topic adequately, and one could argue, not even a single book. Thus, in some ways, this chapter may fall short of e
Authors
Roger N. Clark

A simplified economic filter for open-pit gold-silver mining in the United States

In resource assessments of undiscovered mineral deposits and in the early stages of exploration, including planning, a need for prefeasibility cost models exists. In exploration, these models to filter economic from uneconomic deposits help to focus on targets that can really benefit the exploration enterprise. In resource assessment, these models can be used to eliminate deposits that would proba
Authors
Donald A. Singer, W. David Menzie, Keith R. Long

Gravel deposits of the South Platte River valley north of Denver, Colorado

No abstract available.
Authors
David A. Lindsey, William H. Langer, Linda Scott Cummings, John F. Shary, Joseph E. Taggart, Gregory P. Meeker

Tertiary uplift of the Mt. Doonerak antiform, central Brooks Range, Alaska: Apatite fission track evidence from the Trans-Alaska crustal transect

The Mt. Doonerak antiform is a northeast-trending, doubly plunging antiform located along the axial part of the central Brooks Range. This antiform is a crustal-scale duplex estimated to have a vertical displacement of ~15 km. The antiform folds the Amawk thrust, which separates relatively less displaced lower plate rocks in a window in the core of the antiform from allochthonous upper plate rocks
Authors
P. B. O'Sullivan, Thomas E. Moore, J.M. Murphy

Digital geologic map of the Spokane 1:100,000 quadrangle, Washington and Idaho: A digital database for the 1990 N.L. Joseph map

Geologic data from the geologic map of the Spokane 1:100,000-scale quadrangle compiled by Joseph (1990) were entered into a geographic information system (GIS) as part of a larger effort to create regional digital geology for the Pacific Northwest. The map area is located in eastern Washington and extends across the state border into western Idaho (Fig. 1). This open-file report describes the meth
Authors
Bruce R. Johnson, Pamela D. Derkey

International strategic mineral issues summary report– Tungsten

Scheelite and wolframite are the principal minerals currently mined for tungsten. Both occur in hard-rock deposits; wolframite is also recovered from placer deposits. Most current mine production of tungsten is from vein/stockwork, skarn, porphyry, and strata-bound deposits. Minor amounts are produced from disseminated, pegmatite, breccia, and placer deposits.   Most tungsten is used to make tungs
Authors
Antony B. T. Werner, W. David Sinclair, Earle B. Amey

Field trip road log—geology and tectonics of the Gualala block

The Pacific Section, S.E.P.M. 1998 Fall Field Trip will traverse rocks of the Gualala block of northern California. Seven stops (Figure 1) will be made in one and a half days and will examine a variety of geologic features and rock types in this significant area. The field trip is an outgrowth of a symposium held at the 1998 Annual Meeting of the Pacific Section, S.E.P.M. in Ventura, California, w