Eastern Mineral Resources
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Quantitative Global Mineral-Resource Assessments
In response to the growing demand for information on the global mineral-resource
base, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is conducting the Quantitative Global
Mineral Resource Assessment Project (GMRAP), an 8-year
cooperative international project, begun in 2002, to assess the world's undiscovered
nonfuel mineral resources. This project is described in USGS
Fact Sheet FS-053-03.
- The primary objectives of GMRAP are:
- to outline the principal land areas in the world that have potential for selected
undiscovered mineral resources, and
- to estimate the probable amounts of those mineral resources to a depth of 1
kilometer below the Earth's surface.
Further GMRAP objectives include:
- Provide a consistent, comprehensive level of information and analysis of
global nonfuel mineral resources based on the most up-to-date information
available. Assessments will be conducted on a regional multinational basis
with the cooperative participation of interested national geologic institutions.
Regional teams will compile and integrate a variety of existing information
at scales of 1:1,000,000 or smaller using GIS technology,
and including: databases and maps of the location, sizes, and geologic types
of known mineral resources; maps and explanations of geology, geochemistry,
and geophysics; and information about regional mineral exploration history.
- Develop and/or improve methods for conducting large-region assessments,
and new models and predictive tools for the analysis and application of global
assessment results to issues of sustainable resource development and environmental
management. Assessing undiscovered mineral resources of large regions presents
many challenges for tract delineation, deposit estimation, and data analysis.
- Advance understanding of the origin and evolution of mineralizing systems
through integrated metallogenic and tectonic analysis.
- Advance international cooperation between government, nongovernmental organizations,
and industry through organization and sponsorship of various workshops, trade,
and scientific and technical exchanges.
