Data

Electron microprobe analyses of sphalerite (ZnS) were collected on samples from current or past mining operations in the USA with a specific focus on germanium (Ge), a byproduct critical mineral recovered from sphalerite. Data and methods reported are part of a research study published in the 'Related External Resources' section below.

Oxidation state and bonding environment of Ge and Cu in ZnS and Zn mineral concentrates from a variety of sources [Central Tennessee mining district (TN), Metaline mining district, (WA), and Red Dog mine (AK)] were determined by linear combination fits from x-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) analysis. Sphalerites from the East Tennessee mining district contained Ge in concentrations that were too

Germanium (Ge) is an element deemed critical globally, and used in electronics, communication, and defense applications. The supply of Ge is limited and as demand for it increases, its criticality increases. Germanium is exclusively recovered as a byproduct of either coal mining or zinc (Zn) mining, and the main mineral hosting Ge in Zn deposits is sphalerite (ZnS). However, the mechanisms of Ge e

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) collected gravity data in the Wet Mountains, CO from September 2021 to July 2022 to compliment newly collected airborne magnetic data for surface and subsurface geologic mapping. A total of 261 measurements were collected across two Ediacaran-Ordovician alkaline complexes (Gem Park and McClure Mountain) and gabbroic outcrops suspected Ediacaran-Ordovician in age.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) collected rock magnetic susceptibility measurements to understand the causative sources of airborne magnetic survey anomalies in the Wet Mountains, Colorado. A total of 808 measurements were collected over 50 locations from August 2021 to June 2022 on rocks ranging from Paleoproterozoic to Oligocene age. These measurements aid the interpretation of newly collected

This dataset contains whole rock geochemical data for volcanic rocks, both extrusive rocks of the western part of the Thunder Mountain volcanic field and hypabyssal dikes in the Stibnite-Yellow Pine district and in the Pistol Creek dike swarm, which are in central Idaho. Major oxides and trace elements are included, which are reported as percentages and parts per million, respectively. Major oxide

This data release contains whole-rock major, minor, and trace element geochemical data for carbonatite samples from the Mountain Pass rare earth element (REE) deposit located in southeastern California. The Mountain Pass deposit is the largest REE deposit in the United States and in 2021, produced 43,000 metric tons (expressed as rare-earth-oxide equivalent; U.S. Geological Survey, 2022). Samples

This data release provides digital flight line data for a high-resolution airborne magnetic and radiometric survey over Virginia and North Carolina along and near the eastern U.S. 'Fall Zone', which represents the transitional area between Atlantic Coastal Plain sediments and Piedmont metamorphic and igneous rocks. The airborne data collection was funded by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Earth

This dataset accompanies the proposed publication, 'Geochronology and geochemistry of igneous and metasedimentary rocks of northeast Afghanistan: A refinement of the timing and origin of crustal terranes', which focuses on refining the geochronology and geochemistry of these rocks during multiple time periods of accretion, regional metamorphism, and magmatic activity. The analyses were performed

This data release provides access to an aeromagnetic survey and magnetization boundaries over Garlock, California and surrounding areas in southern California. The survey extends from the city of Bakersfield across the southern Sierra Nevada and Tehachapi Mountains and west over Indian Wells Valley and the towns of Mojave and Rosamond to just northwest of the town of Barstow. These data were acqui

HySpex by NEO (HySpex) VNIR-1800 and SWIR-384 imaging spectrometer radiance data were acquired on September 14, 2017 at the Cresson Pit of the Cripple Creek & Victor mine in Cripple Creek, Colorado. ASD FieldSpec® NG data were collected on September 13 and 14, 2017 at two calibration sites within the Cresson Pit imaged with the HySpex imaging spectrometers. The HySpex VNIR-1800 imaging spectromete

In response to Executive Order 13817 of December 20, 2017, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) coordinated with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to identify 36 nonfuel minerals or mineral materials considered critical to the economic and national security of the United States (U.S.) (https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2018/1021/ofr20181021.pdf). Acquiring information on possible domestic sources of these c