U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

USGS Fact Sheet 093-00

2000

Research Activities in the Spokane, Washington, Field Office

SUPPORTING SOUND MANAGEMENT OF OUR MINERAL RESOURCES

US SG

 he U.S. Geological Survey

 (USGS) Western Region

Mineral Resources Team is a

geographically diverse,

multidisciplinary group of geologists, geophysicists, geochemists,

and geographic information

systems (GIS) and remote-sensing

specialists working together and

with cooperators to assess the

mineral resources and mineralrelated environmental problems of

the Western United States. In

addition to the Spokane, Washington, Field Office, the team has

offices in Anchorage, Alaska,

Menlo Park, California, Reno,

Nevada, and Tucson, Arizona.

Additional information about these

offices and ongoing project work

can be obtained from the team’s

Web site at http://minerals.usgs.

gov/west/.

U.S. Geological Survey scientists (photo below) are

tracking the pathways of

metals from mine-tailingsimpacted flood plains to the

Coeur d’Alene River to provide a scientific basis for

remediation strategies. The

research goals are to understand how these ore deposits formed, how much ore

and mining waste is present,

and how mining wastes have

affected the environment.

Research conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey at its Spokane Field

Office (in the building pictured above) has evolved to meet the changing needs of our Nation. The Spokane Field Office was established in

1942 to facilitate the Strategic Minerals Program during World War II.

Work conducted under this program established the existence of a

major zinc-lead ore body at Metaline, Washington, and the presence

of tungsten at the Yellow Pine antimony-gold mine at Stibnite, Idaho.

Both deposits were mined during the war.

Research conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) at its Spokane Field

Office has evolved to meet the changing

needs of our Nation. The Spokane Field Office was established in 1942 to facilitate the

Strategic Minerals Program during World

War II. Work conducted under this program

established the existence of a major zinclead ore body at Metaline, Washington, and

the presence of tungsten at the Yellow Pine

antimony-gold mine at Stibnite, Idaho. Both

deposits were mined during the war. Field

investigations by the USGS under the Strategic Minerals Program also led to discovery of significant reserves of cobalt in the

Blackbird mining district of Lemhi County,

Idaho.

After the war, several major research

projects were started in the Pacific Northwest and headquartered in Spokane. These

projects included the Western Phosphate

Project under the direction of Vince

McKelvey, an intensive study of the Coeur

d’Alene district under the direction of S.

Warren Hobbs, and a major study of the

Boulder Batholith, Montana, and its relation

to metalliferous-mineral deposits under the direction of Monte R. Klepper. Although these

studies focused on the identification of resources that would prove to be important to the

Nation, their research findings provide the

foundation for two current research projects,

which are considering both the resource and

environmental aspects of these mineralized

rocks.

In 1951, the Korean War created another

change in USGS work done from the Spokane

Field Office. With little mineral exploration being done by mining companies during the Depression of the 1930’s and during World War II,

most company activity was directed at mineral

production. At the onset of the Korean War, the

Nation’s mineral-resource base was at a low

ebb. To help correct that situation, the Federal

Government established the Defense Minerals

Exploration Administration (DMEA) to help

mining companies in the exploration for strategic and critical minerals. The USGS provided

geological expertise to the DMEA, and A.E.

Weissenborn, head of the Spokane Field Office, was designated by DMEA as Executive

Officer in charge of fieldwork done for DMEA

by the USGS and the U.S. Bureau of Mines in

the States of Montana, Idaho, Oregon, and

Washington. The Northwest became the most active mineral-exploration region in the United

States, and DMEA work resulted in several major mineral discoveries. The efforts of the USGS

Outreach and Technology Exchange project are

ensuring that the results of this program will be

available to researchers and the public.

Legislation passed in the 1970’s required that

management plans be developed for lands administered by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS)

and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

Beginning in the 1980’s, USGS staff began to

conduct mineral-resource assessments for the

USFS and BLM in Washington, Oregon, Idaho,

and western Montana. The initial work focused

on estimating mineral-resource potential for proposed Wilderness Areas; later mineral-resource

assessments were conducted for National Forests

and BLM Resource Areas to provide information

needed to develop management plans. The current Headwaters project reflects the evolution of

these studies to assess potential for development

and to conduct work on the relation of geology

to ecosystem function.

T
Dave Frank, Philip Moyle, Steve Box, and Mike Zientek

Graphic design by Judy Weathers

For more information contact:

U.S. Geological Survey

904 W. Riverside Avenue, Room 202

Spokane, WA 99201–1087

Telephone: (509) 368–3101

Fax: (509) 368–3199

http://minerals.usgs.gov/west/

Printed on recycled paper

Geologic and geoenvironmental studies of the

Western Phosphate Field

Large, high-grade phosphate deposits of the

Western Phosphate Field, a 135,000-squaremile area of the northern Rocky Mountains,

constitute an important economic resource that

has been mined for nearly 100 years. Phosphorus, the sought-after component of phosphate ore, is an essential element for plant and

animal nutrition. The principal use for phosphorus is as a fertilizer; other chemical applications include use in water softeners, detergents, and food additives. The development of

phosphate resources as a leasable commodity

provides income to the Government in the

form of royalties. Federal land-management

agencies, such as the BLM and the USFS,

must ensure that lease royalties reflect the fair

market value of the resource and that mining,

waste disposal, and processing are accomplished in an environmentally sound manner.

This project characterizes phosphate resources

in the Western Phosphate Field, the residence

time and behavior of potentially harmful trace

elements, such as selenium, and the impact of

the occurrences and development of phosphate

deposits on the environment. For more information about this project, contact Phil Moyle,

(509) 368–3109 / pmoyle@usgs.gov.

Coeur d’Alene life-cycle models

The Coeur d’Alene mining district in Idaho

is one of the world’s largest producers of silver and one of our Nation’s major historical

producers of lead and zinc. Although environmentally sound mining practices are conducted within the district today, historical oreprocessing methods and episodic floods have

dispersed metal-enriched sediment at least 150

miles downstream from the mining district.

Residents in and near the district, along with

local, State, and Federal agencies, are working

to reduce human and wildlife health effects

from the contaminated sediment and reduced

water quality. Research goals are to understand how these ore deposits formed, how

much ore and mining waste is present, and

how mining wastes have affected the environment. The major product of this work will be

an integrated, comprehensive life-cycle model

for Coeur d’Alene-type deposits, presented in

a series of digital maps, reports, journal articles, meeting presentations, and Fact Sheets.

For more information about this project, contact Steve Box, (509) 368–3106 / sbox@usgs

.gov or Laurie Balistrieri, (206) 543–8966 /

balistri@usgs.gov.

Headwaters Province, Idaho and Montana

This project is providing regionally consistent digital data themes and interpretations

and the results of process-based topical studies to the BLM and the USFS in Idaho and

Montana. These agencies intend to include

this information in GIS-based science integration and planning. The results can be applied

to forest-plan revisions, quick-response assessments (such as those conducted to address

issues that arise from listing of threatened and

endangered species), characterization studies

that are part of ongoing watershed-restoration

efforts, and research on the relation of geology to ecosystem function.

The major goals of the project are to: (1)

provide digital geoscience databases for the

province; (2) advance the understanding of

mineral resources within a geologic, economic, and environmental context; (3) establish a geologic context for ecosystem structure and function; and (4) forecast near-future

mineral exploration and development activities, using reproducible, GIS-based methods.

For more information about this project, contact Mike Zientek, (509) 368–3105 /mzientek

@usgs.gov or Karen Lund (303) 236–5600 /

klund@usgs.gov.

Outreach and Technology Exchange

This project helps provide users with easily

accessible, accurate, up-to-date mineral-resource information that is available from the

USGS. In Spokane, the Outreach and Technology Exchange project has archived files from

Defense Minerals Administration, Defense

Minerals Exploration Administration, and Office of Minerals Exploration programs.

From the early 1950’s through 1974, these

Federally funded programs provided financial

assistance, on a joint-participation basis, to

support exploration for strategically important

commodities. Nearly 5,000 dockets or files,

which were prepared as a result of these partnerships, have been indexed and archived for

easier access. Materials in these dockets may

contain correspondence, reports, maps, contracts, and sample analyses. The archives are

open to the public by appointment, and customers are asked to make an initial data inquiry to define their request. For more information about this project or the archives housed

at the Spokane Field Office, contact Dave Frank,

(509) 368–3107 / dfrank@usgs.gov.

Current research activities

Meeting the challenge of balancing America’s

needs for both nonrenewable resources and a

clean and healthy environment requires accurate

and unbiased scientific data. The ongoing work

of scientists at the Spokane Field Office helps to

provide information crucial to the creation of

sound policies that will ensure future supplies of

mineral resources while protecting the health of

our Nation’s citizens.

Map of the United States, showing the

number of Defense Minerals Administration, Defense Minerals Exploration Administration, and Office of Minerals Exploration properties (dockets) per State.

Nearly 5,000 dockets are housed at the

Spokane Field Office. Materials in these

dockets (at right) may contain correspondence, reports, maps, contracts, and

sample analyses.

Dockets per state

Map of Idaho and Montana, showing

past and present mining-claim activity. U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of

Land Management permits are shown

in pink, and open and closed claims

in green.This map is an example of

digital data themes and interpretations that the Headwaters Project is

providing.

IDAHO

MONTANA