These data will be collected through the USGS Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (Earth MRI), a partnership between the USGS and state geological surveys that is revolutionizing our understanding of the nation’s mineral- and geologic resources crucial to securing a reliable and sustainable supply of critical minerals. 

“The work being done through Earth MRI is transformative, innovative, and needed,” said David Applegate, USGS director. “Three years into the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding, we h been able to greatly expand our existing data collections; delivering the high-quality data needed to understand our nation’s geologic resources.” 

The airborne surveys will focus on mapping crystalline rocks in the Midcontinent Rift and the Elk Creek carbonatite. The area is known to host deposits of critical minerals, including niobium which is an important component in high-strength steels for pipelines and structural applications. While it has seen mineral exploration in the past, the region’s critical mineral potential is currently under mapped. 

“It’s important to understand the geologic settings that allows these minerals to form, such as the Elk Creek Carbonatite,” said USGS geophysicist April Allen Langhans, the lead USGS scientist on this survey. “The more we know about these different settings, the better we can find them in the future.” 

This survey was coordinated through close collaboration between the USGS, the Conservation and Survey Division of the Nebraska Geological Survey, and the Kansas Geological Survey, where officials say they are eager about another partnership success story.       

“This is the kind of work we would otherwise be utterly unable to do, and so we’re always enthusiastic about the opportunity to collaborate with the USGS and other state geological surveys,” said R. M. Joeckel, the state geologist of Nebraska. “I’m sure we’ll see in these surveys features we’ve never seen before, and the new data will only improve our understanding of the continent’s deep geologic structure.”

Joeckel also indicated that the new survey will accelerate the assessment of deep mineral resources in Nebraska.

“These surveys are the key element of our state-wide critical mineral evaluation,” said Brendan Bream, associate director at the Kansas Geologic Survey. “The director and I are excited to be a part of this program and collaborative effort to improve our large-scale data holdings.” 

These airborne geophysical surveys will collect a combination of magnetic and radiometric data. These data can be used to map rocks from just beneath trees and grass to several miles underground. Magnetic data can be used to identify ancient faults, igneous intrusions and other geologic features. The radiometric data indicate the relative amounts of potassium, uranium and thorium in shallow rocks and soil. Scientists use this information to help map rocks that may contain mineral deposits, faults that may rupture during an earthquake, areas that may be prone to increased radon, and areas likely to contain groundwater- or energy resources. 

The initial airborne geophysical survey may be followed by additional investments including new geologic maps, topographic surveys, geochemical sampling, and other products and techniques to study the chemistry of mine wastes and surrounding lands.

Since 2021, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has advanced scientific innovation through a \$320 million investment for the USGS to better map the Nation’s mineral resources both still in the ground and in mine wastes and to preserve historical geologic data and samples. Through the end of fiscal year 2024, more than \$160 million has been obligated for Earth MRI initiatives, propelling efforts to make “once-in-a-generation” advancements in the nation’s geologic and geophysical data collections and mapping. 

                                                                                                                         # # #