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Assessing undiscovered nonfuel mineral resources in southeast Asia, Australia, and the western Pacific is an important part of the U.S. Geological Survey Global Mineral Resource Assessment Project (GMRAP). The region includes the countries of Australia, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, East Timor, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Marshal Islands, Nauru, Nepal, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, the Pitcairn Islands, the Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam.
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The geochemistry of the Earth's surface has evolved from the underlying rocks through natural processes such as weathering and erosion as well as from human activity such as industrialization, urbanization, mining, waste disposal, and agriculture. We have initiated a project to study the resulting "geochemical landscape."
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As part of its basic mission, the U.S. Geological Survey Mineral Resources Program studies the geochemistry of mined and unmined mineral deposits as they weather. The goal of the Modeling Near-Surface Processes in Mineral Systems Project is to develop models that describe the effects of several mineral deposit types on surrounding soils and water in various climatic and geologic settings. By understanding and quantifying these processes, the levels of metals and other weathering products to be expected before and after mining can be forecast as a function of deposit type, climate, and geology of the surrounding land surface.
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Three regional industrial mineral projects that are funded by the USGS Mineral Resources Program are designed to promote the study of issues associated with industrial minerals. The projects investigate the scientific relationships among the geologic, economic, and surficial-related characteristics of priority industrial mineral commodities and deposit types. The research within each region tends to focus on issues and geology found within that region. However, project research is not restricted by regional or national boundaries. Industrial mineral projects address a range of issues including geology, petrology, surficial expressions, public health, reclamation, and aesthetics.
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