14-11 Meeting Future U.S. Mineral Resource Needs: The Role of the U.S. Geological Survey Mineral Resources Program

Session: Linking Mineral Resources and the Geologic Framework of North America: The USGS Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (Earth MRI) and Related Activities

Presenting Author:

Carol Frost

Authors:

Frost, Carol Denison¹, Eggert, Rod², Bodnar, Robert J.³, Dunbar, Nelia W.⁴, Grocke, Stephanie⁵, Hampton, Rachel⁶, Hollett, Doug⁷, Lazo-Skold, Cecilia⁸, Masterman, Steve⁹, Olson Hoal, Karin E.¹⁰, Smith, Richard¹¹, Zhen Yin, David¹², Tucker, Jonathan¹³

(1) University of Wyoming, Laramie, WY, USA, (2) Colorado School of Mines, Boulder, CO, USA, (3) Virginia Tech Dept of Geosciences, Blacksburg, VA, USA, (4) N.M. Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, Socorro, NM, USA, (5) Syncline Consulting, Reno, NV, USA, (6) KoBold Metals, Reno, NV, USA, (7) MH Technology Partners, Arlington, VA, USA, (8) Regeneration Enterprises, Washington, DC, USA, (9) Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys, Fairbanks, AK, USA, (10) Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA, (11) Laurentian University, Sudbury, ON, Canada, (12) Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA, USA, (13) National Academy of Science, Washington, DC, USA,

Abstract:

For nearly 150 years, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) has been the federal agency mandated to study and understand the nation’s mineral resources. In recent years the USGS Mineral Resources Program (MRP) has developed new methods to assess mineral resources and model their supply chains, examine potential mineral resources in legacy mine wastes and waste streams of modern mines, apply artificial intelligence and data science to accelerate assessments of mineral resources, and accelerate surface and subsurface mapping efforts.

The USGS requested that the National Academies undertake a consensus study to provide an independent assessment of MRP. In response, the National Academies formed an ad-hoc committee of experts with backgrounds in economic geology, mineral exploration, geometallurgy, exploration geophysics, mineralogy and petrology, mineral economics, data science, and geologic resource policy.

The committee was asked to consider the USGS Mineral Resources Program science portfolio and how well it meets current and future U.S. mineral resources needs. In particular, the committee charged to:

• Assess the alignment of MRP’s research and products with current needs of federal and non-federal MRP partners and stakeholders, including other USGS mission areas, federal agencies, tribes, and domestic and international partners;

• Identify gaps in the science portfolio that may preclude meeting those partner and stakeholder needs at present and in the future;

• Summarize the greatest challenges to meeting U.S. mineral resource needs over the next decade and recommend:

  o Ways that MRP's science portfolio, expertise, and role should evolve to address those challenges and the needs of its present and future partners and stakeholders, and

  o How MRP can leverage its partners and stakeholders to better inform decisions related to mineral resource challenges expected over the next decade.

The committee engaged in extensive information-gathering, including from USGS, federal partners, international sister agencies, academia, and industry. In this presentation, committee members will share conclusions and recommendations from their report and their vision for the role of the USGS in MRP in meeting future U.S. mineral resources needs.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Program. Vol. 57, No. 6, 2025

doi: 10.1130/abs/2025AM-9986

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