U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Circular 1363

Western Mineral and Environmental Resources Science Center— 

Providing Comprehensive Earth Science

for Complex Societal Issues

Deposit Genesis Studies

Ecosystem Studies

Geophysics

Environmental Studies

Collaborative Data

Mineral Resources Regulatory Agencies

Department

of Interior 

Environment

Regional

Planning

National

Security

Mineral Resource

Issues

Agriculture

Geochemistry
This page left intentionally blank 
Western Mineral and Environmental Resources Science Center— 

Providing Comprehensive Earth Science

for Complex Societal Issues 

By David G. Frank, Alan R. Wallace, and Jill L. Schneider

Circular 1363

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey
U.S. Department of the Interior

KEN SALAZAR, Secretary

U.S. Geological Survey

Marcia K. McNutt, Director 

U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2010

This report and any updates to it are available online at:

http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/1363/

For more information on the USGS—the Federal source for science about the Earth, its natural and living resources, 

natural hazards, and the environment, visit http://www.usgs.gov or call 1-888-ASK-USGS

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visit http://www.usgs.gov/pubprod

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Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the 

U.S. Government.

Although this report is in the public domain, permission must be secured from the individual copyright owners to 

reproduce any copyrighted materials contained within this report.

Suggested citation:

Frank, D.G., Wallace, A.R., and Schneider, J.L., 2010, Western Mineral and Environmental Resources Science Center— 

providing comprehensive earth science for complex societal issues: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1363, 32 p.
 iii

Contents

Introduction.....................................................................................................................................................1

Western Mineral and Environmental Resources Science Center................................................2

Mineral-Deposit Studies...............................................................................................................................5

Copper-Silver Deposits of the Revett Formation, Montana and Idaho........................................5

Geology of the Ivanhoe Mercury-Gold District, Northern Nevada ..............................................5

Deposits in the Northern Great Basin, Western United States.....................................................6

Rocks of East-Central Alaska and Adjacent Yukon Territory ........................................................7

Mineral Assessments and Energy Resource Investigations..................................................................9

Mineral-Resource Assessments in Clark and Nye Counties, Nevada ........................................9

East Mojave National Scenic Area, California ................................................................................9

Humboldt River Basin, Northern Nevada .......................................................................................10

Marine Sand Resources Along the Atlantic Coast .......................................................................10

Assessment of Oil and Gas in the Arctic Region ..........................................................................11

Preliminary Non-Fuel Mineral-Resource Assessment of Afghanistan .....................................11

Geologic, Tectonic, and Hydrologic Studies ...........................................................................................13

Paleogeographic Evolution of Northeastern Nevada...................................................................13

Evolution of the Rio Grande Rift, Southern Colorado....................................................................13

Water Resources of Aquifer Systems in Adjacent Areas in Nevada and Utah .......................13

Mapping Water Seepage Down Penetrative Fractures, Southwestern Colorado Plateau....14

Hydrothermal Alteration at Mount Rainier Volcano—

Implications for Debris-Flow Hazards and Mineral Deposits........................................14

Environmental Studies ................................................................................................................................17

Impacts of Acid-Mine Drainage on a River in Vermont................................................................17

Flux of Metals from Beatson Mine, Alaska ....................................................................................17

Tungsten Concentration in Groundwater—An Example from Fallon, Nevada.........................18

Metal Concentrations of Floodplain Sediment in the Lower Coeur d’Alene River, Idaho ......18

Mercury Geochemistry in the Lower Clear Creek Area, Shasta County, California................19

Growth of Valley Fever Fungus in Soils...........................................................................................19

Ecosystem Studies.......................................................................................................................................21

Effects of Rock Type on the Flora and Fauna of the Great Basin................................................21

Understanding Metal Pathways in Mineralized Ecosystems ....................................................22

Importance of Sediment-Water Interactions in Lake Coeur d’Alene, Idaho ............................22

Earth-Science Studies in Support of Public Policy Development and 

Land Stewardship—Idaho and Montana..........................................................................23

Geochemical Controls on Selenium—A Comparison of Two Wetlands....................................23

Potentially Toxic Trace Metals Affected by Copper Mining in 

Prince William Sound, Alaska.............................................................................................23

GIS/Database Synthesis, Modeling, and Analysis.................................................................................25

Spatial Data Analysis and Modeling Approaches to Natural-Resource Assessment 

and Regional Planning and Development ........................................................................25

Spatial Database for the Geology of the Northern Rocky Mountains—

Idaho, Montana, and Washington......................................................................................26
Database for the Geology of the Northern Rocky Mountains—

Idaho, Montana, and Washington......................................................................................27

Large-Scale Digital Geologic Map Databases and Reports of the 

North Coal District in Afghanistan......................................................................................27

Training ..........................................................................................................................................................29

Short Course Introduction to Quantitative Mineral-Resource Assessments...........................29

The Life Cycle of a Mineral Deposit—A Teacher’s Guide for 

Hands-On Mineral Education Activities ............................................................................29

A GIS Spatial Analysis Course..........................................................................................................29

References....................................................................................................................................................30
Mineral-deposit

studies

Mineral and 

energy 

resource 

studies

Environmental 

studies

Geologic

and tectonic 

studies

Ecosystem 

studies

Hydrogeologic 

studies

GIS/database 

synthesis 

modeling and 

analysis 

Minerals in the environment and products manufactured from mineral 

materials are all around us and we use and come into contact with 

them every day. They impact our way of life and the health of all that 

lives. Minerals are critical to the Nation’s economy and knowing where future 

mineral resources will come from is important for sustaining the Nation’s 

economy and national security.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Mineral Resources Program (MRP) 

provides scientific information for objective resource assessments and unbiased research results on mineral resource potential, production and consumption statistics, as well as environmental consequences of mining. The MRP 

conducts this research to provide information needed for land planners and 

decisionmakers about where mineral commodities are known and suspected in 

the earth’s crust and about the environmental consequences of extracting 

those commodities. As part of the MRP scientists of the Western Mineral and 

Environmental Resources Science Center (WMERSC or “Center” herein) coordinate the development of national, geologic, geochemical, geophysical, and 

mineral-resource databases and the migration of existing databases to standard 

models and formats that are available to both internal and external users. The 

unique expertise developed by Center scientists over many decades in response 

to mineral-resource-related issues is now in great demand to support applications such as public health research and remediation of environmental hazards 

that result from mining and mining-related activities. 

WMERSC staff use geographic 

information systems (GIS) 

to synthesize and analyze 

data from a wide variety of 

scientific disciplines and, 

ultimately, to deliver results to 

collaborators and cooperators.

Western Mineral and Environmental Resources Science Center— 

Providing Comprehensive Earth Science 

for Complex Societal Issues

By David G. Frank, Alan R. Wallace, and Jill L. Schneider

Introduction
Western Mineral and 

Environmental Resources 

Science Center

Menlo Park

Spokane

Reno

Tucson

ARIZONA

UTAH

NEVADA

WASHINGTON

OREGON

CALIFORNIA

IDAHO

2 Western Mineral and Environmental Resources Science Center

Results of WMERSC research provide timely and unbiased analyses of minerals and inorganic materials to (1) improve stewardship of public lands and 

resources; (2) support national and international economic and security policies; (3) sustain prosperity and improve our quality of life; and (4) protect and 

improve public health, safety, and environmental quality. The MRP supports 

approximately 40 USGS research specialists who utilize cooperative agreements with universities, industry, and other governmental agencies to support 

their collaborative research and information exchange. 

Scientists of the WMERSC study how and where non-fuel mineral resources 

form and are concentrated in the earth’s crust, where mineral resources might 

be found in the future, and how mineral materials interact with the environment 

to affect human and ecosystem health.

Natural systems (ecosystems) are complex—our understanding of how ecosystems operate requires collecting and synthesizing large amounts of geologic, geochemical, biologic, hydrologic, and meteorological information. Scientists in the 

Center strive to understand the interplay of various processes and how they affect 

the structure, composition, and health of ecosystems. Such understanding, which 

is then summarized in publicly available reports, is used to address and solve a 

wide variety of issues that are important to society and the economy.

WMERSC scientists have extensive national and international experience in 

these scientific specialties and capabilities—they have collaborated with many 

Federal, State, and local agencies; with various private sector organizations; as 

well as with foreign countries and organizations. Nearly every scientific and 

societal challenge requires a different combination of scientific skills and capabilities. With their breadth of scientific specialties and capabilities, the scientists 

of the WMERSC can provide scientifically sound approaches to a wide range 

of societal challenges and issues. The following sections describe examples 

of important issues that have been addressed by scientists in the Center, the 

methods employed, and the relevant conclusions. New directions are inevitable 

as societal needs change over time.

Western Mineral and 

Environmental 

Resources Science Center
Scientists of the WMERSC have a diverse set of skills and capabilities and 

are proficient in the collection and integration of new and existing data and in the 

use of those data to arrive at scientifically sound conclusions. Scientific specialties 

and capabilities include, but they are not limited to:

Economic geology and petrology—understanding ore-forming processes and the 

controls that affect the distribution of ore deposits to develop descriptive, genetic, as 

well as grade and tonnage mineral-deposit models

Geochemistry and biogeochemistry—determining distributions of elements, particularly metals and metalloids, in rock, water, soil, and vegetation and defining the 

processes that affect their concentration, transport, and fate in natural systems

Geophysics—determining and interpreting gravity, magnetic, electromagnetic, and 

seismic signatures of geologic settings to identify subsurface features and processes

Remote sensing—determining surface geology, subsurface geologic structure, 

hydrology, vegetation and other land cover for large, inaccessible areas

Integrated geologic analysis—determining geologic, structural, and tectonic history; hydrologic setting of geologically complex areas; as well as ongoing natural 

processes that affect these areas

Mineral-resource assessments—conducting research on new methods to evaluate 

resource potential, analyzing economics of mineral commodities, understanding the 

geologic history and characteristics of an area, defining what processes formed the 

mineral deposits, and identifying keys to predicting undiscovered deposits 

Integrated ecosystem analysis—determining the relationships between geologic 

environments and habitat conditions and health, including human health, particularly in mineralized settings

Geographic information system skills—compiling, numerically modeling, and analyzing complex geoscience data

Introduction 3

A panel of USGS and other 

geoscientists collaborate on a 

mineral-resource assessment for 

platinum-group-metal deposits.
Mercury

Copper

Silver
Many different types of mineral deposits form as a result of igneous, 

sedimentary, metamorphic, biologic, and tectonic processes that 

occur in a particular region. Even similar deposits within a region 

can show subtle, but important, variations in their evolution, modification, 

and occurrence. The more knowledge we have about these factors, the better equipped we are to discover new deposits to meet growing demands for 

commodities and to develop improved methods for more efficient extraction 

with reduced environmental impact. To reliably develop new and improve 

existing mineral-deposit models, many different aspects of known deposits are 

thoroughly examined—these include geologic structure and history, tectonic 

framework and history, as well as economic factors. In addition, geochemical, 

geophysical, isotopic, fluid-inclusion, and remote-sensing data are collected. 

The diverse information and data are integrated to develop the spatial-temporal 

framework and genetic model for a specific mineral deposit and also to refine 

the generic model for that deposit type.

At the request of the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), WMERSC scientists compiled the regional stratigraphy and mineralogy of the Revett Formation and 

performed a mineral-resource assessment of Revett-type copper-silver deposits. 

An analysis of the data helped to define the spatial distribution of copper-silver 

mineralization in the Revett Formation—this analysis revealed that approximately 556 square miles of mostly USFS administered lands are favorable 

for undiscovered copper-silver deposits. These interpretations will serve as a 

useful guide for future mineral-resource exploration and will allow the USFS to 

incorporate geoscience information into its land-management process and landuse decisions in which mineral-resource development must be weighed against 

other uses such as habitat preservation and recreation. For a more detailed 

discussion about the copper-silver deposits of the Revett Formation, see Frost 

and Zientek (2006). 

Ongoing research by WMERSC scientists into the origins of mercury-gold 

deposits in northern Nevada has shown that, approximately 15 million years 

ago, a combination of volcanism, extensional faulting, and lacustrine sedimentation resulted in the formation of near-surface mineralization, such as the mercury-gold deposits of the Ivanhoe district. Since the time they were deposited, 

Mineral-Deposit Studies

Copper-Silver Deposits 

of the Revett Formation, 

Montana and Idaho

Geology of the Ivanhoe 

Mercury-Gold District, 

Northern Nevada

USGS scientists recently 

completed an assessment of 

copper-silver deposits in the 

Revett Formation in northwestern 

Montana and northern Idaho. This 

photograph shows an outcrop of 

Revett Formation quartzite beds in 

the Coeur d’Alene mining district of 

northern Idaho.

USGS photograph by Jeffrey Mauk
Copper-silver deposits

of the Revett Formation

Utah

Idaho

Nevada

Oregon

Washington

California

Montana

Epithermal gold-silver deposits

Ivanhoe mercury-gold district

Circles show approximate locations and boundaries.

6 Western Mineral and Environmental Resources Science Center

erosion has exposed varying levels of the underlying mineralized systems. The 

mineral-deposit model proposed by WMERSC scientists has allowed the evaluation of new potential gold bearing areas and has led to a better understanding 

of the mineralization in this mining district. The results of this study were also 

incorporated into a much broader study of long-term landscape evolution in 

northern Nevada, which provides insight into regional pre-, syn-, and postmineralization in a wide variety of gold deposits in northern Nevada. For more 

information about the Ivanhoe mining district, see Wallace (2003). 

Many major epithermal gold-silver deposits, including the Comstock, Tonopah, 

Goldfield, and Midas deposits, were formed in the northern Great Basin of 

the western United States between 21 million and 4 million years ago. These 

deposits can be grouped into two categories, each of which is closely associated 

both spatially and temporally with a distinct magmatic assemblage. Andesites 

tend to host gold-silver deposits that are rich in base metals (copper, lead, and 

zinc, for example) and sulfides (pyrite and galena, for example), whereas basaltrhyolite suites tend to host gold-silver deposits that have low base-metal and 

sulfide contents. Both assemblages are widespread across the Great Basin and 

largely reflect differences in the tectonic environments in which the magmas 

were generated and emplaced. Comparison of Great Basin deposit types and 

their magmatic settings to similar deposits in other parts of the world suggests 

that these relations may be common. This insight has important ramifications 

for mineral exploration worldwide. These epithermal gold-silver deposits of 

the Great Basin are discussed in more 

detail in John (2001). 

Deposits in the 

Northern Great Basin, 

Western United States

Gold ore from Olinghouse Mine in Washoe County, Nevada.
Alaska

Yukon

 Territory

Volcanogenic

massive sulfide

deposits

Mineral-Deposit Studies 7

This study was initiated in response to new discoveries in Yukon, Canada, of 

volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) deposits, an important source of zinc, 

lead, copper, gold, and silver. The work was part of the Ancient Pacific Margin National Mapping Program, a five-year cooperative geoscience agreement 

between Canadian provincial and national geological surveys and the USGS. 

Scientists of the WMERSC investigated the Paleozoic evolution of, and the 

genesis and distribution of mineral deposits within, a 500-km-long belt of rocks 

extending from east-central Alaska to southern British Columbia. Detailed 

examinations to determine the age, composition, and structure of these rocks 

were performed. Results of this study show that highly elevated levels of certain trace elements in metamorphosed rhyolites, whose major-element compositions have been altered during metamorphism, are an important prospecting 

tool for volcanic-hosted sulfide deposits. This new understanding of how VMS 

deposits formed can be used to predict 

where similar deposits may be found in 

other areas with comparable geologic 

and tectonic characteristics. For more 

information on volcanogenic massive 

sulfide deposits in the Yukon Territory, 

see Dusel-Bacon and others (2006). 

Rocks of East-Central Alaska 

and 

Adjacent Yukon Territory

Approximate location of where VMS 

deposits in Alaska and Yukon Territory 

might be present shown in red.
USGS photo: Alan R. Wallace

The Coeur Rochester Mine in the Humboldt River Basin is the largest 

operating silver mine in the conterminous United States. The silver-rich ores 

are being mined with open-pit methods, which is a common technique for 

mining silver and gold in the region. In 2003, mining in Nevada produced $50 

million of silver (56 percent of U.S. consumption) and $2.7 billion of gold (82 

percent of U.S. production). 
Nevada

Arizona

Utah

California

Mineral resources of the East 

Mojave National Scenic Area

Mineral-resource assessment

of the Humboldt River Basin

Mineral-resource assessment

of areas in southern Nevada

Circles show approximate

locations of assessment areas.

Ensuring a secure supply of mineral commodities depends on knowing the 

location, quality, and quantity of those resources. The WMERSC conducts 

studies that produce scientifically accurate and reproducible mineralresource assessments. In a targeted area of known mineralization, research studies 

are conducted to understand the geologic history and characteristics of that area, 

define which processes formed the mineral deposits, and identify the parameters 

that indicate the presence of those deposits. Center scientists can then use this data 

to evaluate the quality and quantity of potential mineral deposits in similar geologic terrains. Assessments at a variety of scales provide valuable information to a 

range of users, including Federal, State, and local land-use managers.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) tasked WMERSC scientists with 

providing information for use in BLM’s long-term land-use planning process in 

southern Nevada. Existing geoscience data were compiled about the target areas, 

including geology, geophysics, geochemistry, and mineral-deposit information, 

and field studies of selected areas and mineral occurrences were conducted to 

determine their geologic setting and metallogenic characteristics. Numerous 

areas were delineated where the presence of undiscovered mineral resources 

is likely. The assessment was conducted in partnership with the University of 

Nevada, Las Vegas, and the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, a part of the 

University of Nevada, Reno. A substantial part of the funding for this activity was 

provided to these two partners through cooperative agreements with the USGS. 

To read the complete mineral-resource assessment, see Ludington (2006). 

By evaluating model-based criteria, 

USGS scientists concluded that much 

of the East Mojave National Scenic 

Area (East Mojave study area) may 

contain concealed mineral deposits 

that formed at or near the earth’s 

surface. While the presence of any 

mineralization in covered areas is 

yet unknown, igneous rocks in the 

East Mojave study area bear striking 

physical and chemical similarities to 

those in adjacent mountain ranges 

that do contain mineral deposits. 

Discovery of near-surface deposits 

is difficult because they are usually covered by a thin cap of gravels 

and they do not respond to standard 

geophysical methods of detection, 

particularly at the coarse spacing 

of the data-collection points available for evaluation. Nevertheless, 

significant concentrations of many 

metals may remain to be discovered 

in various parts of the East Mojave 

study area—the igneous rocks there 

are indicative of a metallogenic environment that may have given rise to 

mineral-deposit types not yet recognized by the exploration community. 

Mineral Assessments and Energy Resource Investigations

Mineral-Resource 

Assessments in Clark and Nye 

Counties, Nevada

East Mojave National 

Scenic Area, California
Virginia

Delaware 

Maryland

New

Jersey

North Carolina

South

Carolina

Florida

Georgia

Sand resources study areas on 

the Atlantic continental shelf

10 Western Mineral and Environmental Resources Science Center

In preparation for the East Mojave study, the known mineral resources of the 

eight areas formerly recommended as Wilderness Study Areas by BLM, as well 

as of all others recommended for wilderness designation within the California 

Desert Conservation Area, were examined by the U.S. Geological Survey and the 

U.S. Bureau of Mines, and a Mineral Summary was prepared as background data 

for the California Desert Protection Act of 1987. These studies were preliminary 

and recommended additional investigations before any land-use decisions were 

made, particularly where substantial mineral resources were identified. To read 

the complete report, see Theodore (2007). 

The Humboldt River Basin in northern Nevada has been one of the world’s most 

important sources of gold, silver, copper, mercury, and tungsten. In 2003 Nevada 

was the third largest producer of gold in the world and the largest producer of silver in the United States. Nevada covers approximately 16,600 square miles (43,000 

km2) of arid to semiarid land, much of which is publicly owned and administered 

by the BLM. Minerals-related activities, including mineral exploration, are among 

the multiple uses of these lands. Scientists from the WMERSC completed and 

published a major assessment of metallic-mineral resources in the Humboldt River 

Basin and adjacent areas of northern Nevada. The report identifies large areas 

of the region that may contain undiscovered metallic mineral deposits and that 

may be suitable as sites for future mining activities. The results of the assessment 

are portrayed on three maps of the region, along with extensive accompanying 

descriptions (see Wallace and others, 2004). These results can be integrated into 

BLM’s long-term land-use planning for the Humboldt River Basin. 

Governments with jurisdictions that include 

coastal areas and beaches face challenges in 

both trying to safeguard these environments 

from erosion, as well as to mitigate the effects 

of such erosion. In these efforts, marine sand 

is used to protect and rebuild areas, harbors, 

and coastal roads. The U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers and other Federal agencies have 

crucial roles in helping local governments deal 

with coastal erosion—they need to know how 

much usable marine-sand resources may be 

present offshore and what might be available 

to supply coastal states and local governments. By studying cape- and ridge-associated 

marine-sand deposits, which constitute the 

best sources for high-quality sand on the U.S. 

Atlantic Coast, WMERSC scientists used 

computer simulation to identify three areas 

between eastern Long Island of New York and 

southern New Jersey where these deposits are 

predicted to contain a total of 3.9 billion cubic 

meters of marine-sand resources. This is the 

first time this particular approach has been 

used, but already several new areas have been 

outlined on the other parts of the East Coast of 

the United States for study. The USGS Marine 

Aggregates Resources and Processes Project 

supported this modeling research. For more 

details on modeling these marine-sand deposits, see Bliss and others (2009; 2010). 

Humboldt River Basin, 

Northern Nevada

Marine Sand Resources 

Along the Atlantic Coast
Greenland

Russia

Alaska

Canada

Arc ti c Oc e a n

Arc ti c Oc e a n Mineral Assessments and Energy Resource Investigations 11

To improve the understanding of the petroleum resources in this area, the USGS 

is undertaking a multi-year research effort, termed the Circum-Arctic Resource 

Appraisal (CARA), to produce a comprehensive, unbiased, scientifically 

determined estimate of undiscovered petroleum resources in the high northern 

latitudes. This research effort is being conducted in collaboration with several 

U.S. and international entities. When completed, the results from the CARA 

will provide the first publicly available petroleum resource estimate of the area 

north of the Arctic Circle in its entirety. Scientists from the WMERSC assisted 

USGS Energy Resources Program scientists in completing an assessment of 

undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources in the Arctic region (all area 

north of the Arctic Circle line of latitude). Using a geology-based probabilistic 

methodology, the scientists estimated the occurrence of undiscovered oil and 

gas in 33 geologic provinces thought to be prospective for petroleum. The sum 

of the mean estimates for each province indicates that 90 billion barrels of oil, 

1,669 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and 44 billion barrels of natural gas liquids may remain to be found in the Arctic, of which approximately 84 percent 

is expected to occur in offshore areas. To read this assessment, see Gautier and 

others (2009). 

Between 2005 and 2007, the U.S. Agency for International Development 

(USAID) funded the USGS to assess Afghanistan’s non-fuel mineral resources. 

Mineral-resource assessments provide government decisionmakers, potential private investors and mineral-exploration companies with information on 

where undiscovered mineral resources may be located, what kinds of resources 

are likely to occur, and how much metal may exist in them. This information 

makes wise management of natural resources possible. The USGS compiled all 

published and unpublished reports, maps, and satellite imagery of the country 

into a geographic information system (GIS) software package and used the data 

to compile a preliminary assessment. Twenty mineralized areas were identified 

that merit further study. The assessment was conducted in cooperation with 

the Afghan Geological Survey, and USGS scientists provided training to their 

scientists in modern methods of resource assessments. This preliminary assessment sets the stage for more targeted resource assessments that are designed 

to increase the knowledge base and accuracy of the potential mineral-resource 

reserves in Afghanistan. These refined, more detailed assessments may assist 

USAID in fostering economic development in various parts of Afghanistan. 

This mineral-resource assessment of Afghanistan is available from the U.S. 

Geological Survey website (Peters and others, 2007).

Assessment of Oil and Gas 

in the Arctic

Preliminary Non-Fuel 

Mineral-Resource Assessment 

of Afghanistan

Areas above the Arctic circle 

where oil and gas might be found.
Using a preliminary geologic map, WMERSC staff work 

with collaborators to interpret information in the field.
Astrong understanding of the geologic evolution of a region provides 

fundamental information on the resources found in that area. This 

understanding comes from integrating geologic, stratigraphic, structural, hydrologic, and geophysical studies. In addition to mineral deposits, 

water is a critical resource in the western United States, where the population 

is growing rapidly and much of the climate is semi-arid. Integrated studies 

provide essential scientific data and interpretations that can be used by public 

and private entities to find, develop, manage, and preserve important water 

resources. These studies are also valuable for mineral-resource exploration and 

assessments, as well as for evaluating and mitigating various geologic hazards.

The landscape of northeastern Nevada has evolved over the past 20 million years 

as a result of many tectonic, sedimentary, geomorphic, and igneous processes. 

Geologic mapping and detailed geochronologic studies by WMERSC scientists 

were merged to unravel the area’s geologic history and to show how those various 

processes led not only to the erosion and concealment of older mineral deposits, 

such as Carlin-type gold and porphyry copper-molybdenum-gold deposits, but also 

to the formation of younger hot-spring (epithermal) gold-silver-mercury deposits. 

The results, utilized by industry and USGS scientists, also provided important 

information on Tertiary aquifers in the region and showed how different lithologies 

and faulting control the flow of groundwater used for agriculture and mining. The 

results of this study are described in detail in Wallace and others (2008). 

The Rio Grande Rift is a complex zone of crustal extension that extends north 

from the southern New Mexico border to northern Colorado. Its evolution 

has influenced the distribution of various mineral deposits and groundwater 

resources, and continued extension has produced active faulting and seismic 

hazards in some parts of the San Luis Basin. Mapping, geochronology, and 

structural analyses were conducted along the southeastern margin of the San 

Luis Basin in southern Colorado to better understand these resources and 

hazards within their geologic framework. As a result of this work, the relative 

ages of the mineral deposits were determined (the gold deposits are older than 

the fluorite deposits), and the documented lithologic and structural partitioning 

of the groundwater resources provided important information for agricultural 

uses in the area. Because faulting migrated westward through time, many of 

the active faults and associated seismic hazard areas extend several kilometers 

into the basin from the range front. The results of this study are available in 

Wallace (2004). 

Water is one of the most important commodities in the Great Basin, and it 

rarely is located in heavily populated areas where it is needed most. In response 

to concerns about water availability and limited hydrogeologic information, 

Federal legislation (Section 301(e) of the Lincoln County Conservation, Recreation, and Development Act of 2004: PL 108-424) was enacted in December 

2004 that directs the Secretary of the Interior, through the U.S. Geological 

Survey, the Desert Research Institute (DRI), and a designee from the State of 

Utah, to conduct a water-resources study of the basin-fill and carbonate-rock 

aquifers in White Pine County, Nevada, and smaller areas of adjacent counties 

in Nevada and Utah. The primary objectives of the Basin and Range carbonaterock aquifer system (BARCAS) study were to evaluate: (1) the extent, thickness, and hydrologic properties of aquifers, (2) the volume and quality of water 

stored in aquifers, (3) subsurface geologic structures controlling groundwater 

flow, (4) groundwater flow directions and gradients, and (5) distributions and 

Geologic, Tectonic, and Hydrologic Studies

Paleogeographic Evolution 

of Northeastern Nevada

Evolution of the 

Rio Grande Rift, 

Southern Colorado

Water Resources of Aquifer 

Systems in Adjacent Areas 

of Nevada and Utah
Aquifer

Older basalt Perched

groundwater

Fracture

Water flow

arrows

Wells

Well

Sandstone

Basalt

Fracture

14 Western Mineral and Environmental Resources Science Center

rates of recharge and groundwater discharge. Geologic, hydrologic, and geochemical information are integrated to determine basin and regional groundwater budgets. The resulting report was prepared in cooperation with the BLM. 

At the request of the NPS, new studies are focusing on similar aquifers in and 

around Great Basin National Park, Nevada. For more information about the 

Great Basin aquifer systems, see Welch and others (2007). 

Some aquifers of the southwestern Colorado Plateau are deeply buried and overlain by several impermeable lithologic units. Hence, recharge to these aquifers is 

most likely by seepage down penetrative fracture systems. The purpose of this 

integrated study with the National Park Service was to develop a method for mapping the probable locations of these penetrative fractures by correlating gravity 

and aeromagnetic anomalies with surficial fracture data and satellite imagery. The 

resultant database catalogs the estimated recharge locations, and recent studies 

identify a sub-set of possible penetrative fractures and define in detail the deep 

structure of the southwestern Colorado Plateau. This new methodology correctly 

identified known deep-fracture systems and many new ones, but it does not give 

any indication as to whether the fractures are open or closed—in other words, 

whether the fracture is capable of carrying fluids or not. Because deep fractures 

are important in structural definition and often control mineral-resource locations, 

the method has broader application in diverse tectonic and mineral-resource investigations. For more information on this study, see Gettings and others (2005). 

This study examined the history of hydrothermal alteration at Mount Rainier 

during the 500,000-year episodic growth of its edifice. Whereas some alteration 

environments were spatially associated with dikes intruded on the volcano’s 

east and west flanks, the most intense alteration developed within the highly 

permeable and porous breccias that formed near the volcano’s conduit system 

and summit. These altered breccias are physically unstable, and the remnants 

of them in Rainier’s Sunset Amphitheater present a continuing collapse hazard. 

Similar near-vent breccias at other active volcanoes may also be highly altered 

and present comparable hazards. The study also looked at mineral compositions and concluded that Mount Rainier’s hydrothermal mineral assemblages 

and their areal distributions bear a strong resemblance to those developed at 

ore deposits formed in similar settings. Although frequent eruptions supplied 

sufficient fluids to hydrothermally alter the upper interior of the volcano, the 

magma reservoir may be too deep to foster the formation of economic mineral 

deposits within or at shallow depths beneath Mount Rainier. To read more about 

the debris-flow hazards at Mount Rainier, see John and others (2008). 

Mapping Water Seepage 

Down Penetrative Fractures, 

Southwestern Colorado Plateau

Hydrothermal Alteration at 

Mount Rainier Volcano—

Implications for Debris-Flow 

Hazards and Mineral Deposits

Generalized cross section of the 

southwestern Colorado Plateau 

showing how groundwater 

moves through the subsurface.
Geologic, Tectonic, and Hydrologic Studies 15

Ash beds erupted during collapse of the top and 

north side of Mount Rainier and formation of the 

Osceola Mudflow at about 5,600 years before 

present. Light-colored beds contain abundant 

fragments of altered rock and hydrothermal 

minerals, including pyrite in gray zone near the 

bottom of photograph. Thin dark-gray bed near 

the center of exposure mostly consists of newly 

formed volcanic rock. The exposure is located 

near the head of Granite Creek on the northeast 

side of Mount Rainier.

View of an early 20th century rock fall that covers 

the toe of the Tahoma Glacier on west side of 

Mount Rainier. The orange color is caused by 

oxidation of pyrite contained in hydrothermally 

altered blocks in the rock fall. The rock fall 

originated in Sunset Amphitheater (ice-covered 

background) near the top of Mount Rainier.

View of Glacier Basin looking west showing 

466,000-year-old dike complex intruding 

approximately 470,000 year old volcanic rocks. 

Hydrothermal alteration is generally weakly 

developed around the walls of the dikes despite 

strong discoloration. The 5,600-year-old Osceola 

Mudflow is exposed in the bottom of the basin.
Area of seepage from copper mining near the Elizabeth Mine in Vermont.
WMERSC scientists develop tools and techniques that are designed to (1) 

understand what happens when mineral deposits are weathered or mined, 

(2) anticipate the environmental effects of developing new mineral deposits, 

and (3) recognize the challenges and hazards associated with abandoned mines. These 

assessments provide specific information on the potential release and cycling of contaminants within the environment. Such issues are of concern to a wide range of land 

managers in the Federal sector, including those managers who manage our National 

Parks, National Forests, and Wild and Scenic Riverways, as well as to private-sector 

environmental groups and the general public.

WMERSC scientists assisted the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 

evaluating the concentration, chemical speciation, and toxicity of metals in a river 

downstream from the Elizabeth Mine superfund site (as defined by the EPA) in 

Vermont. The evaluation required multiple analytical and modeling tools and integration of results from field and laboratory studies. USGS studies have focused on 

understanding the chemical and hydrologic processes by which the rocks and waste 

piles weather to produce acid mine drainage. Cooperative efforts with the Elizabeth 

Mine Study Group have concentrated on assessing toxic heavy metal loads from the 

upper part of the watershed. To date, USGS scientists have helped train the group 

in water-sampling protocols, and they have also provided analytical support and 

assistance in data interpretation. Additional USGS efforts have also concentrated on 

defining the complexity of mine drainage environments at the site. Reconnaissance 

studies are also underway at other mines in the Vermont Copper Belt. For more 

information about acid-mine drainage at the Elizabeth Mine, see Balistrieri and 

others (2007). 

In the early 20th century, approximately 6 million metric tons of copper ore were 

mined from numerous deposits along the shorelines of fjords and islands in Prince 

William Sound (PWS), Alaska. The effect of mining-related discharge from these 

abandoned mines on shoreline ecosystems is unknown. To determine the magnitude 

of mining effects at the Beatson Mine, trace-metal concentrations and flux were 

measured in surface run-off from the remnant mineralized workings and waste 

rock. It was discovered that rainfall raised the concentrations of copper and lead in 

the stream draining the mine workings, but it lowered the concentrations of nickel 

and zinc. Over a 60-day observation period, the mass of metals transported from 

the mine to the PWS shoreline included 196 kg zinc, 87 kg copper, 1.9 kg lead, and 

1.9 kg nickel. The results of these studies have been published (Shanks and others, 

2005; Stillings and others, 2008).

Environmental Studies

Impacts of Acid-Mine Drainage 

on a River in Vermont

Flux of Metals from 

Beatson Mine, Alaska

Mine waste piles from the oldest 

phase of historic copper mining at 

the Elizabeth Mine, which closed 

in 1958. Reddish surface soils 

in the center of the photo are 

hematite-rich and mark the sites 

of historic copper works where 

ore was roasted and processed.
18 Western Mineral and Environmental Resources Science Center

Tungsten is used in a variety of industrial, commercial, and military applications. Despite these extensive uses, information on its biological effects, toxicity, and behavior in natural environments is scarce. This study investigated the 

geochemistry of tungsten in groundwater aquifers near Fallon to determine the 

chemical form and mineralogy of tungsten in the aquifer sediments as well as 

to conduct experiments that allow prediction of tungsten concentrations in the 

aquifers. Research results show that tungsten is found associated with organic 

material as well as with both crystalline and non-crystalline iron minerals in 

the aquifer sediments. Although the data for tungsten retention by iron minerals can be used to successfully predict tungsten concentrations in groundwater, 

more research is needed to understand the effect of organic material on tungsten mobility in aquifers. For a more detailed discussion about tungsten in the 

groundwater near Fallon, see Stillings (2008). 

As part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) evaluation 

of the impacts of historical mining activities on the health of the environment and biota in the lower Coeur d’Alene River valley, WMERSC scientists 

conducted studies to determine the depositional rates and composition of 

floodplain sediments in that part of the river basin. Those studies indicated 

that floodplain sediment covers about three-quarters of the valley floor and 

is enriched in antimony, arsenic, cadmium, copper, iron, lead, manganese, 

mercury, and zinc. The sediment is derived mainly from mill tailings in the 

Coeur d’Alene mining district that, prior to 1968, were discarded directly into 

tributary streams. Frequent floods continue to re-mobilize sediment onto the 

floodplain from the river’s bed, banks, alluvial terraces, and natural levees. 

Maps of the composition of surface sediment in the lower valley, published in 

collaboration with the Coeur d’Alene 

Tribe, were used to guide remediation work that was done to minimize 

health impacts to residents and visiting human and wildlife populations. 

For more information about metals 

in sediment of the Coeur d’Alene 

River valley, see Balistrieri and others (2002) and Bookstrom and others 

(2001). 

Tungsten Concentration in 

Groundwater—An Example 

from Fallon, Nevada

Metal Concentrations of 

Floodplain Sediment in the 

Lower Coeur d’Alene River, 

Idaho

WMERSC scientists developed a 

modified vibracore device to collect 

3- to 5-m samples of the tailingscontaminated sediment from the channel 

of the lower Coeur d’Alene River, Idaho.
Environmental Studies 19

Habitat restoration in streams where gold-placer mining has occurred raises 

concerns about the possible release of mercury from newly disturbed dredge 

tailings and the subsequent availability of that mercury to biota in those 

streams. Clear Creek, at the northwestern edge of the Sacramento Valley, is one 

stream where, in addition to historic gold dredging, aggregate mining removed 

large quantities of gravel from its lower floodplain. This creek is an important 

salmon stream, and habitat restoration here is critical to repair damage from 

mining and to improve conditions for spawning and rearing of salmon fry. 

Because dredge tailings are being used to increase the area of spawning gravels 

and to fill gravel pits in the floodplain, it was necessary to discover if, how 

much, and in what form mercury might be released. The purpose of this study 

was to identify sources, transport, and dispersal of mercury in the lower Clear 

Creek area and to identify environments in which bioavailable methylmercury 

is produced. Analytical data acquired included total mercury and methylmercury concentrations in sediments, tailings, and water. These data were evaluated with respect to levels of mercury in biota prior to and after creek restoration. 

To learn more about the geochemistry of the Lower Clear Creek area, see Ashley 

and Rytuba (2008). 

Valley Fever is a pulmonary disease caused by the wind-borne spores of the 

fungus Coccidioidomycosis. Although most infected individuals are asymptomatic, the disease can cause flu-like symptoms, pneumonia, and, in some 

cases, death. Because the fungus spends a significant part of its life cycle in the 

soil, its habitat was studied as part of an investigation of the interrelationship 

between its environment and human health. After analyzing historic climate 

data in the Tucson area, a model for the spread and survival of the fungus was 

developed. Factors affecting the establishment and growth of new Coccidioidomycosis colonies include wind direction and intensity; soil geology, texture, and 

moisture content; surface and soil temperatures; and a sufficient time interval 

of favorable conditions for colony survival. These results, together with supporting studies, show that both geologic and environmental soil factors control 

the location of infectious sites. The model explains what is known of the distribution of actual sites and provides constraints useful in mapping potentially 

infected sites and in mitigation work to control the disease. To read more about 

Valley Fever fungus in soils, see Gettings and others (2005). 

Mercury Geochemistry in the 

Lower Clear Creek Area, 

Shasta County, California

Growth of 

Valley Fever Fungus 

in Soils

Wetlands and ponds 

constructed on an alluvial 

terrace previously mined 

for placer gold, lower Clear 

Creek, California.
A scientist collects samples from a stream. These samples 

will be analyzed for mineral concentrations to determine if 

contaminants are present.
The move towards ecosystem-based management requires an understanding of both the current relations among the physical and biogeochemical 

components of an ecosystem and the tools that predict how an ecosystem is expected to respond to natural and anthropogenic change. Scientists 

within WMERSC are able to provide this interdisciplinary and integrated 

science by employing three strategies. The first is to understand an area’s 

geology, geochemistry, and the processes responsible for the formation of 

geologic landscapes and the re-distribution of water, sediment, and associated 

elements within environmental systems. The second strategy is recognizing 

how the distribution, cycling, and bioavailability of chemical elements are 

linked and how these linkages affect human and ecosystem health. And the 

third strategy is producing and interpreting GIS layers of information and 

using predictive modeling tools to aid their understanding of the spatial and 

temporal relations among geology, geochemistry, and biology within an ecosystem. This methodology is being used to aid Federal, State, and local land 

managers in their decisionmaking processes.

Plants and animals in the Great Basin live above a wide variety of rock types 

that, in places, can have a major effect on the distribution and health of biota. 

Scientists from WMERSC, in collaboration with biologists from the USGS, 

BLM, and other organizations, have begun to evaluate this rock-biota connection in an ongoing research effort. For example, they have found that a 

rare species of buckwheat grows only in soils developed above diatomitebearing rocks. Thus, documenting the distribution of those rock units in the 

region might identify presently unknown areas that contain this and other rare 

buckwheats. Similarly, empirical data collected during geologic field studies 

showed a strong correlation between specific Miocene and Quaternary sedimentary rock units and the documented breeding sites of Burrowing Owls, 

which are a U.S. Fish and Wildlife species of concern. As such, the distribution of rock units in the Great Basin may serve as an indicator for the favored 

breeding areas of the owls. In both cases, the results of the studies provide 

land-use and wildlife managers with important tools for finding and evaluating rare to threatened biologic species. For more information about diatomite 

deposits, see Wallace, Frank, and Founie, (2006).

Ecosystem Studies

Effects of Rock Type on the 

Flora and Fauna of the 

Great Basin

A scientist collects water 

samples from a stream 

to test for mercury and 

other contaminants.
Metal pathways in mineralized ecosystems

SOURCE

Mineralized ecosystems

Physical, chemical, and biological 

PROCESSESPROCESSES

Dissolved

metals

Particulate

metals

BIORECEPTORS

Humans, wildlife, and plants

Mixing

Hydrologic transport 

Reduction/oxidation

Dissolution/precipitation

Adsorption/desorption

Organic/inorganic complexation

Biological productivity and respiration

Mining and processing Natural weathering

Bioavailability

22 Western Mineral and Environmental Resources Science Center

Adverse impacts to the quality of water and sediment and to the health of 

humans and other biota are part of the legacy of approximately 11,000 abandoned hard-rock (mainly those containing metals) mine sites in the western 

United States. For ecosystems where total remediation of environmental problems 

is not financially or technically feasible, long-term management of potential risks 

is the only viable option. Successful management of such systems requires an 

understanding of the distribution of potentially toxic elements within the system 

and of the processes that transport, chemically transform, and make them available to biota. Using a combination of field, laboratory, and modeling approaches 

at a number of mining-impacted sites in the western United States, WMERSC 

scientists identified processes that influence the distribution, concentration, and 

bioavailability of potentially toxic elements, such as arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, selenium, and zinc, that have the greatest immediate and long-term impact 

on the environment and health of biota. This information provided the scientific 

foundation for making decisions, developing strategies, and assessing mitigation 

and remediation alternatives by local, state, and other Federal agencies charged 

with managing those ecosystems. For a more information about metal pathways, 

see Ashley and others (2002) and Balistrieri and others (2007a, b).

A century of historical mining activities in the Coeur d’Alene mining district 

resulted in the dispersion of metal-enriched water and sediment throughout the 

Coeur d’Alene River basin, including into Lake Coeur d’Alene. The stakeholders, which include the U.S. EPA, Coeur d’Alene Tribe, Idaho State agencies, 

and local residents, are concerned that changes in the biogeochemical conditions 

within the lake could result in the release of metals from the bottom sediments 

into the lake’s water. WMERSC and other USGS scientists worked with colleagues from the University of Idaho and the Centre for Water Research at the 

University of Western Australia to characterize the exchange of metals between 

sediment and bottom water and to model the biogeochemical conditions that 

would enhance that exchange. The results of the studies suggested that the consequences of upstream remediation of metal sources, the increasing urbanization 

around the lake, and the effects of larger nutrient concentrations on metal release 

from bottom sediment must all be considered in a long-term management plan for 

the lake. For more detailed information about this research, see Balistrieri (1998). 

Understanding Metal Pathways 

in Mineralized Ecosystems 

Importance of Sediment-Water 

Interactions in 

Lake Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

Physical, chemical, and 

biological processes transport 

and biogeochemically transform 

elements as they are redistributed 

from mineralized sources (ore 

deposits and mine wastes) to 

biological organisms. 
Ecosystem Studies 23

The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) is working to integrate geoscience information into 

its land-planning decisions in the national forests of eastern Washington, northern 

Idaho, and western Montana, areas in the northern Rocky Mountains known for 

their world-class deposits of gold, copper, silver, platinum, garnet, and talc. To assist 

the USFS in achieving their goal, WMERSC scientists and collaborators studied 

the large, undeveloped copper deposits in northern Idaho and northwestern Montana and the copper-cobalt deposits in Idaho, and they looked at the relation among 

mineral deposits, locations of ancient faults, and the geochemistry of mined and 

unmined geologic terrains. The scientists prepared a geologic map, which involved 

reviewing and revising pertinent datasets for consistency and accessibility. These 

datasets included regional compilations of geologic information, locations of active 

mines and significant mineral deposits, and geophysical information about the distribution of rocks beneath the surface. The USFS is using this information to model 

different scenarios that relate land use, forest health, and landslide and wildfire hazards, and to assess the area’s mineral-resource potential, which is critical for planning future mineral exploration and mining in areas managed by the USFS. Details 

about these studies have been published in a USGS report (Zientek and Lund, 2005; 

Zientek and Kropschot, 2005).

Selenium toxicity, resulting from bioaccumulation in their forage, is a serious threat 

to livestock and waterfowl in the western United States. Selenium may be released 

into surface waters during phosphate mining operations, and wetland soils and plants 

are known to concentrate this metal, thereby promoting its entry into the food chain. 

Understanding how selenium cycles through wetland systems will aid in minimizing 

this bioaccumulation and the consequent health risks. WMERSC scientists conducted studies in two areas: one wetland downstream from mined phosphate deposits 

in southeastern Idaho, and a second wetland in a nature park affected by runoff from 

Las Vegas, Nevada. During a five-month observation period, the Idaho wetland 

retained 88 percent of the selenium present in its inflowing waters, mostly due to 

uptake by plants and iron minerals. In contrast, the Nevada wetland retained only 24 

percent of the selenium from its inflow waters, which had a much higher flow rate 

and less contact time with sediments and plants. As a result, land-management agencies are attempting to decrease the amount of selenium delivered to these two wetlands. The USFS in Idaho is using soil amendments and seed mixtures to immobilize 

selenium within the waste-rock source, and the Clark County Department of Parks 

and Recreation in Nevada is diverting another source of inlet water to that wetland. 

To read the complete abstract about this research, see Stillings and others (2007).

Waste from historical copper mining operations is located on the shorelines of 

islands and fjords in Prince William Sound (PWS), Alaska. Local residents, as well 

as the Chugach Alaska and Tatitlek Native Corporations, are concerned about the 

potential effects of this mining debris on the intertidal ecosystem, which contains 

filter-feeding shellfish that are locally harvested. This project investigated miningimpacted shoreline sites in PWS that were similar in ore deposit chemistry and 

climatic conditions, but differed in the types and quantity of tidal zone debris. By 

analyzing metal concentrations in clams collected from the sites, it was shown that 

waters of near-neutral pH and higher concentrations of dissolved organic carbon 

favor diverse microbial communities that accelerate the formation of iron minerals that remove trace metals from solution, thereby lowering the bioavailable metal 

content. Acidic waters with lower concentrations of dissolved organic carbon favor 

a more homogeneous microbial community and the precipitation of iron minerals 

that do not remove trace metals from solution. Clams in this type of environment 

had the highest metal concentrations of the three sites in this study. Funding for this 

research was provided by the USGS, the agency formerly known as Minerals Management Service (MMS), and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

(NOAA). To read a complete abstract about this study, see Foster and others (2005).

Earth-Science Studies in 

Support of Public Policy 

Development and 

Land Stewardship— 

Idaho and Montana

Geochemical Controls on 

Selenium—A Comparison of 

Two Wetlands

Potentially Toxic Trace Metals 

Affected by Copper Mining in 

Prince William Sound, Alaska
Information gathered in the field is entered into a 

geographic information system that allows scientists 

to synthesize and analyze the data.
 

Geospatial technologies and analyses are important to many natural 

resource assessment activities. Geographic information science integrates the techniques and concepts of geographic information systems 

(GIS), global positioning systems (GPS), and remote sensing and involves the 

acquisition, transformation, management, and quantitative analysis and modeling 

of geographically referenced data. These methods allow for more rapid, efficient, 

and comprehensive data synthesis, which yields assessments that are broader 

in scope and more accurate and dynamic in nature. However, digital geologic 

maps, a major building block of minerals-related assessments, do not exist at 

an intermediate (1:100,000) or large scale (1:24,000) for most of the western 

United States, and digital maps that have been produced by other organizations 

cannot easily be combined due to inconsistent database structures. The Center 

GIS staff fulfill an ongoing need for acquisition, creation, analysis, publication 

and archiving of digital spatial geoscience datasets for use by staff throughout 

the entire Mineral Resources Program and for our other customers (including 

the Bureau of Land Mangement and the U.S. Forest Service, who are requiring 

that data be provided in an Arc/Info GIS format). In addition, the staff assists 

colleagues in performing minerals-related assessments by utilizing the spatial 

analytical capabilities inherent in GIS. The results facilitate access to our data 

and allow us to meet customer needs, which require results in a digital format that 

can be incorporated into other GIS datasets.

Mineral-resource applications of GIS science have included the development 

of rapid reconnaissance methods of assessment, an analysis of gold and silver 

mineralization in the Nevada Great Basin, an assessment of the Humboldt River 

Basin in northern Nevada, a preliminary non-fuel mineral-resource assessment 

of Afghanistan, an analysis of sedimentary rock-hosted gold deposits in China, 

and a diamond assessment in Mali and the Central African Republic. GIS sciencebased natural-resource analyses are becoming increasingly essential components 

in larger environmental/socioeconomic evaluations, where mineral-resource 

GIS/Database Synthesis, Modeling, and Analysis

Spatial Data Analysis and 

Modeling Approaches to 

Natural-Resource Assessment 

and Regional Planning and 

Development 

Rugged notebook computers 

equipped with GPS and GIS 

software allow geoscientists 

to carry out real-time 

geologic mapping and 

plot the exact locations of 

observations and samples.
IDAHO

MONTANA

OREGON

WYOMING

WASHINGTON

NEVADA UTAH

Spokane

Billings

Boise

Boundary of Northern Rocky 

Mountains physiographic 

province.

Regional

geologic

database

26 Western Mineral and Environmental Resources Science Center

potential, particularly in the form of an assessment, contributes to regional planning and development strategies. The details and results of these various modeling approaches are discussed in various reports (see Ludington, 2006; Mihalasky, 

2001; Mihalasky and Moyer, 2004; and Raines and Mihalasky, 2002).

A regionally consistent and integrated geologic spatial database for the Northern Rocky Mountains physiographic province of Montana, Idaho, and eastern 

Washington brings together forty-three 1:100,000- to 1:250,000-scale digital 

geologic maps into a common database format. The database represents the 

original content of the published maps and provides consistent and easily used 

attribute content, in addition to new information-based interpretations of published reports. In particular, attribute information was added that (1) classifies 

igneous rocks by age, composition, and name, and (2) allows the creation of 

derivative maps based on mineral composition and structure of rocks. Three 

schemes based either on the original map units or on igneous map units, are 

used to classify polygons and lines in the database. The database can be queried 

to address an assortment of geologic questions and to produce a variety of 

derivative geologic maps. Digital themes derived from this database are being 

used by the U.S. Forest Service for planning and research purposes and by the 

USGS to facilitate research and conduct mineral-resource assessments. Secondary spatial databases released in the report include a georeferenced and mosaicked raster image of the primary source maps as well as a simple index map 

showing the footprint of each source map (see Zientek and others, 2005).

Spatial Database for the 

Geology of the Northern Rocky 

Mountains—Idaho, Montana, 

and Washington

A spatial database map for the 

Northern Rocky Mountains of 

Montana, Idaho, and eastern 

Washington, brings together 

forty-three 1:100,000- to 1:250,000-

scale digital geologic maps into a 

common database format.

Northern Rocky Mountains
Kabul

A F G H A N I S T A N

Areas of potential coal

GIS/Database Synthesis, Modeling, and Analysis 27

This relational database was created to prepare and organize the geologic mapunit and lithologic descriptions for input into the spatial database (Zientek and 

others, 2005) for the geology of the northern Rocky Mountains. It was released 

in the Microsoft Access format and contains tables for data, definitions, 

relationships, and hierarchies, as well as forms used to enter data and queries 

used to extract data. In addition to the descriptive geologic information for 

the northern Rocky Mountains region, the database also contains a substantial 

bibliography of geologic literature for the area. This database is available from 

the USGS website (Causey and others, 2008).

Coal is the main source for power generation in Afghanistan; however, 

development of Afghanistan’s coal is limited by a lack of understanding about 

the locations and reserves of the coal deposits. Afghanistan also lacks the 

technology to effectively exploit the obvious deposits. From 2004 through 

2007, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) contracted the 

USGS to assess the potential locations and reserves of coal within Afghanistan. To understand the geologic, structural, and tectonic development of the 

country, GIS databases were compiled for all existing reports, maps, and data 

associated with rock units that might contain coal within Afghanistan, as well 

as satellite imagery to better interpret the rock units. All the maps, with and 

without geographic control, were registered to a controlled satellite image 

base before GIS compilation. This compilation was conducted in cooperation 

with the Afghan Geological Survey (AGS). The collaboration not only provided training to AGS personnel in modern methods for coal assessment but 

also preserved the country’s scientific archives. The USGS 

is now using these databases to develop a 

better understanding of Afghanistan’s 

potential coal resources. The results 

of this effort are published 

in USGS report available 

on the web (Hare and others, 2008).

Database for the Geology 

of the Northern Rocky 

Mountains—Idaho, Montana, 

and Washington

Large-Scale Digital Geologic 

Map Databases and Reports 

of the North Coal District in 

Afghanistan
Element

Approximate percent by weight

Oxygen 46.6

Silicon 27.7

Aluminum 8.1

Iron 5.0

Calcium 3.6

Sodium 2.8

Potassium 2.6

Magnesium 2.1

All others 1.5

Table 1.

fied from Nave, 2000).

 Abundances of the elements in the Earth’s crust (modiMineral Deposits

The Earth’s crust contains more than 100 naturally occurring 

elements. The crust, which ranges from 6 to 30 miles (10 to 50 

km) thick, can be subdivided into two distinctly different parts—

the oceanic crust and the continental crust—which differ in composition. Some of the common elements that make up the crust 

are in order of abundance oxygen (O), silicon (Si), aluminum (Al), 

iron (Fe), calcium (Ca), sodium (Na), potassium (K), and magnesium (Mg) (table 1). Although the same elements are present 

in both types of crusts, their concentrations are slightly different. 

The first eight elements listed in table 1 constitute more than 98 

percent of all crustal material. Thus, one can refer to the distribution of elements in terms of their average crustal abundance. Many 

useful mineral commodities in the crust are present in very low 

abundances (table 2.). The mining industry cannot use most rocks 

in the Earth’s crust as sources of metals or other elements because 

concentrations are too low to warrant extraction. Instead, the mining geologist looks for rocks where the desired mineral has been 

concentrated by some natural process.

Mineral deposits occur in various tectonic and geologic settings (fig. 1. and activity 1). Some mineral deposits may be formed 

in one place but be transported to another geographic location as 

a result of tectonic forces or other geologic processes. Thus, the 

study of tectonic processes and regional geology is important in 

understanding the distribution of mineral deposits.

Gold, for example, can be concentrated with other minerals 

in veins that form in fractures in rocks deep underground 

B

Figure 1.—Continued

(typically, igneous rocks). Tectonic forces uplift these rocks 

forming mountain ranges where weathering and erosion expose 

the veins at the Earth’s surface. Because mountain ranges are 

constantly worn down by erosion caused by water, ice, and 

wind, some of the gold veins are eventually deposited as nugWhere and How Do Mineral Deposits Occur? 3

http://rst.gsfc.nasa.gov/Homepage/Homepage.html (section 5 

is titled Geological Applications II—Minerals and Petroleum 

Exploration).

How Big is the Deposit and How Much 

is it Worth?

The next step in the mining life-cycle is to identify and 

measure the known resources in order to determine if the 

mineral deposit has enough value to be mined. Identifying 

the size and grade of the deposit is accomplished by collecting drill-core samples of the ore body (see activity 3). These 

samples are analyzed for the concentration of elements of economic value. For a metallic commodity like gold, analyses are 

usually reported in ounces of pure gold (Au) per ton of rock. 

In other words, for every ton of rock removed, one can expect 

to retrieve a predetermined number of ounces of the desired 

commodity based on the results of an average sampling over 

the entire ore body. This measurement is called “grade of ore.” 

Ore grades for metals such as iron, copper, lead, and zinc are 

often expressed in weight percent. A higher grade means more 

of the commodity per ton of rock.

For a nonmetallic commodity, such as sand and gravel or 

limestone, the resource is identified in terms of volume (cubic 

yards or meters) or weight (short or metric tons). The quality 

of ore is based on the amount and distribution of various grain 

sizes, from fine sand to gravel and boulders, or for limestone, 

the percent of calcium.

Examples of Mining Methods

Three main types of mining methods used to recover 

metallic and nonmetallic minerals are (1) underground mining, 

(2) surface (open pit) mining, and (3) placer mining. The location 

and shape of the deposit, strength of the rock, ore grade, mining 

costs, and current market price of the commodity are some of the 

determining factors for selecting which mining method is used.

Higher-grade metallic ores found in veins deep under the 

Earth’s surface can be profitably mined using underground 

methods, which tend to be more expensive. Large tabularshaped ore bodies, having long vertical or horizontal dimensions, or ore bodies lying more than 1,000 feet (300 m) below 

the surface are generally mined using underground methods 

as well. The underground mining method is accomplished 

by drilling and blasting rock, in order to access and separate 

ore from the surrounding waste rock. The blasted material is 

called muck. The muck is moved to the surface by truck, belt 

conveyor, or elevator. Once at the surface, the material is sent 

to a mill.

Lower grade metal ores found closer to the surface may 

be profitably mined using surface mining methods, which 

generally cost less than underground methods. Many industrial 

minerals are also mined using surface mining methods, as these 

ores are usually low in value and were deposited at or near the 

Earth’s surface. Generally in a surface mine, hard rock must be 

drilled and blasted, although some minerals, such as diatomite, 

are soft enough to mine without blasting. Large mechanical 

shovels fill trucks with the broken rock that is then trucked out of 

the mine for processing. 

Placer mining is used to recover valuable minerals from 

sediments in present-day river channels, beach sands, or ancient 

stream deposits. More than half of the world’s titanium comes 

from placer mining of beach dunes and sands (Kesler, 1994). 

In placer operations, the mined material is washed through a 

trommel to eliminate the coarse materials and a sluice box to 

concentrate the “heavies.” A trommel is a revolving cylindrical 

sieve used to size rock, and the bottom of the sluice has ridges 

Figure 2. Gold nuggets from Lucky Gulch, Valdez Creek district, Cook Inlet region, Alaska, 1910. Inset shows a gold nugget. 

(USGS photos.) 

Examples of Mining Methods 5

Activity 6—Minerals in Your Body

Suggested Grade Level: 5 through 8

STEP 1. Using table 4, have the student find the amount of 

minerals in their body, based on their weight.

STEP 2. Assign an element (preferably a mineral) to each 

student or group of students to study. Have the students present their findings to the class as part of a 

group discussion or as part of a writing assignment.

Evaluation and Discussion:

Once each student or group of students has obtained 

information on his/her element, have the student(s) present 

their findings to the class. Discussion items should include 

what biological functions (role) the element has for growth 

and development.

You can lead the class in a general discussion by asking 

the following questions:

1. Which elements are important for growth and development?

2. Does the makeup (distribution) of these elements 

change as you get older?

3. What is the biological role of these elements?

4. For Grades 9 to 12, have the students discuss the 

role of (certain elements)—Mg, Ca, Zn—as they 

are used by protein “enzymes” to run most of the 

body’s chemical reactions.

5. For Grades 9 to 12, have the students discuss the 

relation between minerals and vitamins.

Additional Resources:

American Salt Institute: [URL: http://www.saltinstitute.org/15.

html].

Mineral Information Institute, 2004a, The role of elements in 

life processes: [URL: http://www.mii.org/periodic/ 

LifeElement.html].

Winter, Mark, 2005, WebElementsTM Periodic Table: 

 [URL: http://www.webelements.com/].

Hands-On Activities 15

Objective: This is an exercise to help students learn about 

the distribution of elements in their bodies. Which elements 

are important for growth and development? Which of these 

elements are derived from minerals? Do the quantities of these 

elements change through time, as they grow?

Materials: 

Copy of table 4 for each student

Instructions:

Oxygen (O) is the most abundant element in the Earth’s 

crust and in your body. Remember, that an element is a substance whose atoms have the same atomic number, and a mineral may be composed of a single element like copper (Cu) or a 

compound of elements like halite or “salt” (NaCl). For a 66 pound 

(30 kg person) 40.3 pounds (18.3 kg) of oxygen (61% of total 

body weight) is found in the body in the form of water, proteins, 

nucleic acids, carbohydrates, and fats. 

Minerals in their elemental form are important as they are 

used by protein “enzymes” to run most of the body’s chemical 

reactions. More than 30 elements play a key role in helping plants 

and animals live a healthy life. Elements are the basic building 

blocks of life. Our bodies use various elements such as calcium to 

build strong bones, iron to make tendons and ligaments, and iron 

to help blood carry oxygen. The greatest source of these elements 

is the food we eat. Sometimes we need to take additional dietary 

supplements, such as vitamins, to assure that we maintain the 

proper chemical balance in our body.

U.S. Department of the Interior 

U.S. Geological Survey

The Life Cycle of a Mineral Deposit— 

A Teacher’s Guide for Hands-On Mineral 

Education Activities

General Information Product 17 Activity 3—Cupcake Core Sampling

Suggested Grade Level: 5 through 8

Objective: To demonstrate how geologists can find (discover) 

mineral deposits that are buried in the Earth’s crust and determine 

what their distribution is by collecting and analyzing cores.

Materials:

White cupcake mix

Foil baking cups

Drawing paper

Frosting

Plastic knives

Food coloring

Toothpicks

Plastic transparent straws 

Instructions:

Make white batter cupcakes with at least three layers of 

colored batter. You can use red for “zinc,” blue for “copper,” 

and yellow for “gold.” Thickness differences and irregularities 

in the layers are encouraged. Frost each cupcake. Provide each 

student with a cupcake, clear straw, toothpick, and drawing 

paper. Foil baking cups and frosting will prevent the students 

from seeing the interior of the cupcakes in much the same way 

that a geologist can’t see the interior of the Earth.

STEP 1. Give each student a cupcake and a piece of drawing 

paper or photocopies of figure 4.

STEP 2. If drawing paper is used, ask the students to fold it 

into four sections (see fig. 4). Have them draw on 

one of the sections what they think the inside of the 

cupcake would look like if there were three different layers present (use fig. 4

STEP 3.

A).

 Ask the students how they might get more information about the internal structure of the cupcake 

without peeling the foil or cutting it open with a 

knife. (Discussion)

STEP 4. Someone may suggest using the straw to take a 

“core sample.” Demonstrate to the students how to 

rotate and push the straw to “drill” into the cupcake 

and pull out a sample (straws can be cut to a length 

slightly longer than the depth of the cupcake).

STEP 5. Have the students take a core sample from the center of the cupcake.

STEP 6. The students should make a second drawing of their 

cupcake based on the information from the core 

sample (use fig. 4B). This would represent the first 

exploration drill hole.

STEP 7. Have the students take two additional core samples 

either side of the center hole (line up the drill holes 

across the cupcake). The students should make a 

new drawing based upon this new data (use fig. 4C).

STEP 8. Have the students cut open their cupcakes, bisecting 

the drill holes. Have the students make a final cross 

section of the inside of their cupcake and compare 

it to their previous drawings (use fig. 4D). Discuss 

how additional drill holes give a better understanding of the “mineral deposit.”

[Hint: Keep relating what the students are doing to what 

real-life geologists do. Nobody eats until the discussion is 

complete!]

Evaluation and Discussion:

Questions to have the students answer are:

1. How are your cross sections different from the 

initial cross section you made before collecting core 

samples? Does the collection of additional information help determine where the various layers are?

2. Were the mineral deposits—red layers for zinc, blue 

layer for copper, and yellow layer for gold—evenly 

distributed in the cupcake?

3. If you could collect two, three, or four cores from 

the cupcake, where would you drill your cores and 

why?

4. Can the cores tell you how deep the various layers 

are?

5. If you could not collect cores, discuss another 

method for collecting data to determine what the 

subsurface material would be like.

Hands-On Activities 11
The USGS stresses the importance of partnerships with the academic 

community and other Federal and State agencies in maintaining the 

health of USGS scientific activities. Cooperative agreements currently 

exist between WMERSC and a number of universities throughout the western 

United States. These formal agreements extend our research capabilities and 

resources through student and faculty interaction, by providing access to facilities and support services not available in Center offices, and by exposing staff 

to a synergistic working environment. These interactions sometimes provide 

opportunities for Center staff to design and develop training materials and provide hands-on seminars that appeal to a wide variety of end users. 

To provide the unbiased information needed in decision-support systems 

regarding an area’s mineral potential, USGS scientists recommend a threestep process in which (1) the geology of the area to be assessed is evaluated for 

similarities to that of known mineral deposits, (2) frequency distributions of 

tonnages and grades of well-explored deposits serve as models for grades and 

tonnages of possible undiscovered deposits, and (3) the number of undiscovered 

deposits in an area is estimated probabilistically by type. The internally consistent descriptive, grade and tonnage, deposit density, and economic models used 

in this type of assessment reduce the chances of biased estimates. This short 

course was developed by a WMERSC scientist to assist policymakers in evaluating the consequences of alternative courses of action with respect to land use 

and possible mineral-resource development; it presents three sets of slides and 

supplemental text outlining the general principles, guidelines, and assumptions 

that are used to produce quantitative mineral-resource assessments. This short 

course is available for free at a USGS website (Singer, 2008).

This teacher’s guide defines what a mineral deposit is, how it is identified 

and measured, how the resources are extracted, and how the mining site is 

reclaimed. It also addresses how minerals and mineral resources are processed 

and how we use mineral resources in our everyday lives. Included are 10 

activity-based learning exercises that educate students on basic geologic concepts; the processes of finding, identifying, and extracting the resources from 

a mineral deposit; and the uses of minerals. The guide is intended for grades 5 

through 8 science teachers and students and is designed to meet the National 

Science Content Standards as defined by the National Research Council (1996). 

Several of these activities can be modified to meet the National Science Content 

Standards for grades 9 through 12. The complete teacher’s guide (Frank and 

others, 2005) is available for free from the USGS.

Resource materials for a GIS spatial analysis course were designed by one 

of the scientists of the WMERSC. The goal of the class is to introduce the 

concepts of GIS modeling in which multiple categorical and ordered spatial 

datasets are combined to predict the distribution or occurrence of the product of 

some complex process. Examples of the types of applications addressed might 

be predictive models of animal habitat, occurrence of infectious disease, or 

undiscovered mineral resources. These types of models are all characterized 

by complex and sometimes poorly understood processes; that is, the models are 

not prescriptive, but they are often fuzzy or probabilistic in nature. The course 

includes exercises that provide experience with multi-disciplinary problems—

the kind of problems commonly faced by organizations or groups that manage 

either land or natural resources. This GIS spatial analysis course (Raines, 2006) 

is available on the Web.

Training

Short Course Introduction to 

Quantitative Mineral-Resource 

Assessments

The Life Cycle of a Mineral 

Deposit—A Teacher’s Guide for 

Hands-On Mineral Education 

Activities

A GIS Spatial Analysis Course
30 Western Mineral and Environmental Resources Science Center

References

WMERSC staff publishes both within the USGS and in 

outside publications. The majority of the publications listed 

below are available on-line from the USGS, and may be 

accessed via the URL links (if given). One way to locate online outside publications is to perform a Google search using 

the scholar feature found at http://scholar.google.com/.

Ashley, R.P., Bailey, E.A., Balistrieri, L.S., Foster, A.L., 

Gough, L.P., Gray, F., Koski, R.A., Rytuba, J.J., Seal, R.R., 

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sources to bioreceptors, chap. 1, in Balistrieri, L.S., and 

Stillings, L.L., eds., Pathways of metal transfer from mineralized sources to bioreceptors—A synthesis of the Mineral 

Resources Program’s past environmental studies in the 

western United States and future research directions: U.S. 

Geological Survey Bulletin 2191, 7 p. [http://pubs.usgs.

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lower Clear Creek area, Shasta County, California—Report 

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Balistrieri, L.S., Seal, R.R., II, Piatak, N.M., and Paul, B., 

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of dissolved metals during mixing of acid-mine drainage 

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5, p. 930–952.

Balistrieri, L.S., 1998, Preliminary estimates of benthic fluxes 

of dissolved metals in Coeur d’Alene Lake, Idaho: U.S. 

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Balistrieri, L.S., Box, S.E., Bookstroom, A.A., Hooper, R.L., 

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Stillings, L.L., eds., Pathways of metal transfer from mineralized sources to bioreceptors—A synthesis of the Mineral 

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Bliss, J.D., Williams, S.J., and Bolm, K.S., 2009, Modeling capeand ridge-associated marine sand deposits—A focus on the 

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Bliss, J.D., Williams, S.J., and Arsenault, M.A., 2009, Mineral 

resource assessment of marine sand resources in cape- and 

ridge-associated marine sand deposits in three tracts, New 

York and New Jersey, United States Atlantic continental 

shelf: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 2209-N, 6 p. [http://

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Bookstrom, A.A., Box, S.E., Campbell, J.K., Foster, K.I., and 

Jackson, B.L., 2001, Lead rich sediments, Coeur d’Alene 

River Valley, Idaho—Area, volume, tonnage, and lead content: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 01-140, 77 

p., 2 sheets. [http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2001/of01-140/].

Causey, J.D., Zientek, M.L., Bookstrom, A.A., Frost, T.P., 

Evans, K.V., Wilson, A.B., Van Gosen, B.S., Boleneus, 

D.E., and Pitts, R.A., 2008, Relational database for the geology of the Northern Rocky Mountains—Idaho, Montana, 

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Dusel-Bacon, C., Hopkins, M.J., Mortensen, J.K., Dashevsky, 

S.S., Bressler, J.R., and Day, W.C., 2006, Paleozoic tectonic 

and metallogenic evolution of the pericratonic rocks of eastcentral Alaska and adjacent Yukon Territory, in Colpron, M., 

and Nelson, J.L., eds., Paleozoic evolution and metallogeny 

of pericratonic terranes at the ancient Pacific margin of 

North America, Canadian and Alaskan Cordillera: Geological Association of Canada Special Paper 45, p. 25–74.

Foster, A.L., Munk, L., Koski, R.A., Shanks, W.C., and Stillings, 

L.L., 2005, Microbial communities in mine-impacted environments of Prince William Sound, Alaska [abs.]: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 37, no. 7, p. 49–50.

Frank, Dave, Galloway, John, and Assmus, Ken, 2005, The life 

cycle of a mineral deposit—A teacher’s guide for hands-on 

mineral education activities: U.S. Geological Survey General 

Information Product 17. [http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/2005/17/].

Frost, T.P., and Zientek, M.L., 2006, Copper-silver deposits 

of the Revett Formation, Montana and Idaho—Origin and 

resource potential: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2006-

3072. [http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2006/3072/].

Gautier, D.L., Bird, K.J., Charpentier, R.R., Grantz, Arthur, 

Houseknecht, D.W., Klett, T.R., Moore, T.E., Pitman, J.K., 

Schenk, C.J., Schuenemeyer, J.H., Sørensen, Kai, Tennyson, 

M.E., Valin, Z.C., and Wandrey, C.J., 2009, Assessment of 

undiscovered oil and gas in the Arctic, 2009: Science, v. 

324, no. 5931, p. 1,175–1,179.
References 31

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Produced in the Western Region, Menlo Park, California

Manuscript approved for publication, October 6, 2010

Edited by Carolyn Donlin

Design and layout by David R. Jones

Cover and illustrations by Jeanne DiLeo
Frank and others—Western Mineral and Environmental Resources Science Center—Providing Earth Science for Complex Societal Issues—Circular 1363