GIS for focus areas of potential domestic resources of 11 critical minerals—aluminum, cobalt, graphite, lithium, niobium, platinum group elements, rare earth elements, tantalum, tin, titanium, and tungsten (version 2.0, August 2020)

Dates

Publication Date: 2020-05-28
Last Revision: 2020-08-14

Citation

Dicken, C.L., and Hammarstrom, J.M., 2020, GIS for focus areas of potential domestic resources of 11 critical minerals—aluminum, cobalt, graphite, lithium, niobium, platinum group elements, rare earth elements, tantalum, tin, titanium, and tungsten (version 2.0, August 2020): U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9U6SODG.

Summary

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 35 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 critical minerals is the rationale for the USGS Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (Earth MRI). The program, which partners the USGS with State Geological Surveys, federal agencies, and the private sector, aims to collect new geological, geophysical, and topographic (lidar) data in key areas of the U.S. to stimulate mineral exploration and [...]

Summary

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 35 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 critical minerals is the rationale for the USGS Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (Earth MRI). The program, which partners the USGS with State Geological Surveys, federal agencies, and the private sector, aims to collect new geological, geophysical, and topographic (lidar) data in key areas of the U.S. to stimulate mineral exploration and production of critical minerals.

The first phase of Earth MRI focused on the study of rare-earth elements (REE) (https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/ofr20191023A). Phase 2 version 2 focuses on the following minerals: aluminum, cobalt, graphite, lithium, niobium, platinum group elements (PGE), rare earth elements, tantalum, tin, titanium, and tungsten. The USGS has identified broad areas within the U.S. to target acquisition of geologic mapping, geophysical data, and (or) detailed topographic information to aid research, mineral exploration, and evaluation of mineral potential in these areas. Focus areas were defined using existing geologic data including data on known deposits in the U.S. The focus areas are provided as geospatial data supported by tables that summarize what is known about the mineral potential and brief descriptions of data gaps that could be addressed by the Earth MRI program. A full discussion of Earth MRI and the rationale and methods used to develop the geospatial data are provided in the report by Hammarstrom, J.M., and others (in review).

Contacts

Point of Contact :: Connie Dicken
Process Contact :: Connie Dicken
Originator :: Connie Dicken, Jane M Hammarstrom
Metadata Contact :: Connie Dicken
Publisher :: U.S. Geological Survey
Distributor :: U.S. Geological Survey - ScienceBase
USGS Mission Area :: Energy and Minerals
SDC Data Owner :: Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center

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FocusAreas_Phase2_v2.xml Original FGDC Metadata	View	43.83 KB	application/fgdc+xml
11CriticalMinerals_RevisionHistory.txt “Revision History”		3.9 KB	text/plain
Phase2_DataRelease_abbreviations.csv “Abbreviations”		1.97 KB	text/csv
Phase2_DataRelease_explanation.csv “Explanation”		6 KB	text/csv
Phase2_DataRelease_full_table.csv “Full table”		824.2 KB	text/csv
Phase2_DataRelease_list_of_focus_areas.csv “List of focus areas”		84.08 KB	text/csv
Phase2_DataRelease_references.csv “References”		370.43 KB	text/csv
Phase2_DataRelease_csv.zip “5 csv files”		346.77 KB	application/zip
FocusAreas_Phase2_v2.gdb.zip “Phase 2 v2 focus area geodatabase”		61.35 MB	application/zip
Phase2_DataRelease_tables.xls “Phase 2 v2 data tables”		2 MB	application/vnd.ms-excel
States_StudyRegions.zip “State boundaries”		10.88 MB	application/zip
FocusAreas_Phase2_v2.zip “Phase 2 v2 focus area shapefile”		80.3 MB	application/zip
CriticalMineralsSamples.jpg “Critical Mineral Samples”		327.62 KB	image/jpeg

Related External Resources

Type: Citation

Focus Areas for Data Acquisition for Potential Domestic Sources of Critical Minerals—Rare Earth Elements	https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20191023A
GIS and Data Tables for Focus Areas for Potential Domestic Nonfuel Sources of Rare Earth Elements	https://doi.org/10.5066/P95CHIL0
The Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (Earth MRI): Mapping the Nation’s Critical Mineral Resources	https://doi.org/10.3133/fs20193007
Systems-Deposits-Commodities-Critical Minerals Table for the Earth Mapping Resources Initiative	https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20201042

Type: Related Primary Publication

Hammarstrom, J.M., Dicken, C.L., Day, W.C., Hofstra, A.H., Drenth, B.J., Shah, A.K., McCafferty, A.E., Woodruff, L.G., Foley, N.K., Ponce, D.A., Frost, T.P., and Stillings, L.L., 2020, Focus areas for data acquisition for potential domestic resources of 11 critical minerals in the conterminous United States, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico—Aluminum, cobalt, graphite, lithium, niobium, platinum-group elements, rare earth elements, tantalum, tin, titanium, and tungsten: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report, https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20191023B.	https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20191023B
Hammarstrom, J.M., Dicken, C.L., Woodruff, L.G., Andersen, A.K., Brennan, S., Day, W.C., Drenth, B.J., Foley, N.K., Hall, S., Hofstra, A.H., McCafferty, A.E., Shah, A.K., and Ponce, D.A., 2022, Focus areas for data acquisition for potential domestic resources of 13 critical minerals in the conterminous United States and Puerto Rico—Antimony, barite, beryllium, chromium, fluorspar, hafnium, helium, magnesium, manganese, potash, uranium, vanadium, and zirconium, chap. D of U.S. Geological Survey, Focus areas for data acquisition for potential domestic sources of critical minerals: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2019–1023, 65 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20191023D.	https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20191023D

Purpose

These geospatial data provide the locations of focus areas to be used for the planning and collection of geophysical, geological, and topographic (lidar) data pertaining to the Earth MRI study of aluminum, cobalt, graphite, lithium, niobium, platinum group elements (PGE), rare earth elements, tantalum, tin, titanium, and tungsten resources in the U.S. Focus areas are outlined solely on the basis of geology, regardless of political boundaries. Therefore, areas may include federal, as well as state, tribal, and private lands, which may or may not be open to exploration and mining activities. These data are shared to meet open data requirements and are suitable for use in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) or other database and geospatial software used to derive maps and perform geospatial analyses.

GIS for focus areas of potential domestic resources of 11 critical minerals—aluminum, cobalt, graphite, lithium, niobium, platinum group elements, rare earth elements, tantalum, tin, titanium, and tungsten (version 2.0, August 2020)

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