The Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (Earth MRI): 

Mapping the Nation’s Critical Mineral Resources

What is Earth MRI?

The Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (Earth MRI; formerly known as 

3DEEP) is planned as a partnership 

between the U.S. Geological Survey 

(USGS), the Association of American 

State Geologists (AASG), and other 

Federal, State, and private-sector organizations. The goal of the effort is to 

improve our knowledge of the geologic 

framework in the United States and to 

identify areas that have the potential to 

contain undiscovered critical mineral 

resources. Enhancement of our domestic 

mineral supply will decrease our reliance 

on foreign sources of minerals that are 

fundamental to the Nation’s security and 

economy.

The intent of Earth MRI is to leverage 

the USGS’s existing relationships with 

States and the private sector to conduct 

state-of-the-art geologic mapping and 

airborne geophysical and topographic 

(lidar) surveys. Analyses of these datasets 

could point to potential buried critical 

mineral deposits. 

Why is Earth MRI Needed?

The motivations for starting Earth MRI 

and the potential returns on investment 

follow:

• The United States is 100-percent 

dependent on imports for 21 critical 

mineral commodities and is at least 

50-percent dependent on imports for 

another 28 critical mineral commodities (Lederer and McCullough, 2018).

• Undiscovered deposits of at least some 

of these critical and strategic minerals almost certainly exist in the United 

States, but mineral exploration by the 

private sector is hampered by the lack 

of modern geological, geophysical, and 

topographic data. In contrast, governments of other countries provide such 

datasets to the private sector.

• Studies in Australia and Canada have 

reported that investments by their 

federal governments in these basic 

geologic and geophysical datasets can 

be expected to lead to investments five 

times as large by the private sector 

(Duke, 2010; ACIL Allen Consulting, 

2015).

• Studies sponsored by Earth MRI will 

aim to identify areas with potential for 

undiscovered critical mineral deposits 

that could reduce U.S. mineral import 

dependence, thereby strengthening 

national security, creating jobs within 

the private sector, and generating ancillary economic and social benefits.

• Information acquired through this initiative could also advance our understanding of other economically valuable mineral resources (such as copper, 

zinc, gold, and industrial minerals), 

energy and groundwater resources, and 

geologic hazards (fig. 1). It could help 

address other pressing societal issues 

in need of detailed geoscience information, such as identifying earth resources 

needed for revitalizing the Nation’s 

roads, bridges, and other infrastructure 

systems. 

First Steps in Implementing Earth MRI

The USGS Mineral Resources Program 

will manage Earth MRI. Initial funding will 

focus on the highest priority regions of the 

United States. The proposed first steps are 

listed below:

• Forge cost-shared cooperative agreements between the USGS and State geological surveys and provide funding to 

State surveys for new geologic mapping 

and for data preservation through the 

USGS National Cooperative Geologic 

Mapping Program and National Geological and Geophysical Data Preservation 

Program, respectively.

• Establish contracts with private industry 

to conduct geophysical and lidar surveys.

• Offer partnership opportunities for 

collecting lidar data under the USGS 

3D Elevation Program broad agency 

announcement.

• In fiscal year (FY) 2019, focus new data 

collection on areas potentially containing rare earth element mineral deposits. 

In FY20 and beyond, target new priority 

critical mineral resources and identify 

new focus areas for integrated studies.

• Complete a preliminary national-scale 

data inventory of geologic framework 

and minerals data to define focus areas 

to guide future data collection efforts.

• Design and implement a digital geospatial platform to deliver the new data to 

the public. This platform will allow the 

user to access the USGS’s authoritative 

topographic, geologic, geophysical, geochemical, and mineral deposit information within a single portal.

• Collaborate with industry, State, and 

Tribal entities to identify their future 

science needs.

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Fact Sheet 2019–3007

ver. 1.1, March 2019 Printed on recycled paper
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Data Types in Each Discipline

Topography— 3D elevation lidar data

Geology— USGS and State geological survey maps

Geophysics— Aeromagnetic, radiometric, and gravity data

Geochemistry— Rocks, soils, and stream sediments

Mineral deposit databases— USMIN, MRDS, ARDF

Coreholes— Geophysical logs and core samples

Mineral deposits

Groundwater resources

Energy

Natural hazards

Applications

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Figure 1. Planned applications for data acquired during the Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (Earth MRI). 

Images are from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Sources for images in left column, from top to bottom: 

Topography: lidar image of Bingham Canyon open-pit mine, Utah (from USGS); Geology: State Geologic 

Map Compilation geodatabase (USGS Data Series 1052); Geophysics: aeromagnetic map of part of Colorado 

(USGS Open-File Report 01–0364); Geochemistry: soil geochemical landscapes of the conterminous United 

States (USGS Open-File Report 2014–1082); Mineral deposit databases: rare earth element production 

and resource sites in the United States (USMIN database); Coreholes: drill core of granite (from USGS). 

USGS databases: ARDF, Alaska Resource Data File (https://mrdata.usgs.gov/ardf/); MRDS, Mineral 

Resources Data System (https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/); USMIN, USGS Mineral Deposit Database 

(https://minerals.usgs.gov/science/mineral-deposit-database/).

References Cited

ACIL Allen Consulting, 2015, 

Exploration incentive scheme 

economic impact study: Perth, 

Western Australia, Geological 

Survey of Western Australia, 

78 p., accessed February 6, 

2019, at http://dmpbookshop.

eruditetechnologies.com.au/

product/exploration-incentivescheme-economic-impactstudy.do.

Duke, J.M., 2010, Government 

geoscience to support mineral 

exploration—Public policy 

rationale and impact (prepared for the Prospectors and 

Developers Association of 

Canada): National Geological 

Surveys Committee, 64 p., 

accessed February 8, 2019, 

at http://www.ngsccanada.

com/files/Government_

Geoscience_Duke_PDAC.

pdf.

Lederer, G.W., and McCullough, 

E.A., 2018, Meeting the 

mineral needs of the United 

States: Eos, v. 99, accessed 

February 7, 2019, at https://doi.

org/10.1029/2018EO102177.

— By Warren C. Day

For additional information, please contact:

Mineral Resources Program 

U.S. Geological Survey

913 National Center

12201 Sunrise Valley Drive 

Reston, VA 20192 

Email: Minerals@usgs.gov

Telephone: 703–648–6108

URL: https://minerals.usgs.gov/ ISSN 2327-6916 (print)

ISSN 2327-6932 (online)

https://doi.org/10.3133/fs20193007