Mineral Resources and the Environment

Photo from "Aquatic Assessment of the Pike Hill Copper Mine Superfund Site, Corinth, Vermont" by Mineral Resources Program scientists.

The Mineral Resources Program conducts research on the interactions of mineral resources with the environment, both natural and as a result of resource extraction, to develop geochemical baseline parameters and better predict the degree of impact that resource development may have on human and ecosystem health. These activities include efforts to better understand emerging environmental geochemical challenges for future mining and the uses, characteristics, and environmental/health implications of metal and mineral commodities in the built environment.

Current Studies

• Emerging Geoenvironmental Issues Related to Proposed Mining in the Lake Superior Region
• Geoenvironmental Model Refinement and Advancement
• Metal Transport in Mineralized Mountain Watersheds
• Processes Controlling Groundwater Quality in Uranium In-Situ Recovery (ISR) Mining
• Sources, Forms and Extractability of Metals in Non-Ore Deposit Sources
• Trace Metal Mobility in the Yellow Pine Mining District, Idaho
• USGS Response to Possible Metals Contamination from Legacy Mines in the Patagonia Mts. Region and Adjacent Areas, Southeast Arizona and a Template for Future Mineral Environmental Emergency Response

Completed Studies

• Application of the National-Scale Soil Geochemical and Mineralogical Data for the Conterminous United States
• Environmental Geochemistry to Evaluate Risks of Past and Future Mining in the Lake Superior Region
• Geoenvironmental-Health Models of Mineral Deposits
• Metal and Mineral Commodities in the Built and Waste Stream Environments—Uses, Characteristics, and Environmental/Health Implications
• Potential Toxicity of Multiple Metals Associated with PGE Deposits
• Soil Geochemical Landscapes of the Conterminous United States (collaborative with Mexican Geological Survey and NRCS)