T254 Metal Recovery and Remediation at Hard Rock Legacy Mine Sites

Wednesday, 12 October 2022
1:30 PM - 5:30 PM
607

PRIORITIZATION OF LEGACY MINE SITES FOR WORK: THE LARGEST PAST PRODUCERS OF BASE METALS, PRECIOUS METALS, AND CRITICAL MINERALS IN THE US

Paper number: T254-10
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 3:45 PM – 4:00 PM

Authors

  • Jeffrey Mauk Presenting Author
    Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center, Denver, CO
  • Jonathan Funk
    Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center, Denver, CO
  • Emma Boardman-Larson
    Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center, Denver, CO
  • Nick Karl
    Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center, Denver, CO
  • Jacob Melendez
    Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center, Denver, CO
  • Cheryl L. Novakovich
    Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center, Denver, CO
  • Carma San Juan
    Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center, Denver, CO

Abstract

World-class and significant deposits host a disproportionate percentage of Earth’s metal endowment. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 directs the USGS’ Earth Mapping Resources Initiative to map and collect data for areas containing mine waste to increase understanding of above-ground critical mineral resources in previously disturbed areas. To help prioritize legacy mine sites for work, the USGS Mineral Deposit Database Project (USMIN) has compiled a list of the 75 deposits or districts in the U.S. that are the largest past producers of Cu, Zn, Pb, Ag, Au and the critical minerals Co, Ga, Ge, graphite, Li, Nb, REE, Te, Sn, and W. This list includes 21 different deposit types: brine (n=2), carbonatite (n=1), Carlin (n=2), epithermal (n=1), flake graphite (n=6), greisen (n=1), intermediate-sulfidation epithermal (n=2), Keweenaw Cu (n=1), Kipushi (n=1), magmatic hydrothermal replacement (n=4), Mississippi Valley (n=8), non-sulfide zinc-lead ± Mn (n=1), orogenic (n=5), pegmatite (n=6), placer (n=9), porphyry (n=10), replacement polymetallic (n=1), sediment-hosted massive sulfide (n=4), skarn (n=6), vein (n=4), and vein graphite (n=1). These deposits or districts occur in 27 states with significantly different climate and vegetation cover: Alaska (n=10), Alabama (n=2), Arizona (n=6), California (n=7), Colorado (n=7), Florida (n=1), Idaho (n=4), Illinois (n=1), Iowa (n=1), Kansas (n=1), Michigan (n=1), Missouri (n=5), Montana (n=2), North Carolina (n=3), New Jersey (n=1), New Mexico (n=1), Nevada (n=7), New York (n=2), Oklahoma (n=1), Pennsylvania (n=2), South Dakota (n=4), Tennessee (n=1), Texas (n=1), Utah (n=4), Virginia (n=1), Wisconsin (n=1) and Wyoming (n=3). This compilation provides a diverse list of mineral deposits with significant past production that can help prioritize and select legacy mine sites for future work. Furthermore, because approximately half of the 50 critical minerals in the U.S. occur as byproducts (e.g., As, Bi, Ga, Ge, In, and Te), and the majority of those are recovered from base metal deposits, this compilation also helps prioritize mine waste sites that may contain significant endowments of byproduct critical minerals that were not reported or recovered in the past.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 54, No. 6

doi: 10.1130/abs/2022AM-380225

© Copyright 2022 The Geological Society of America (GSA), all rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted to the author(s) of this abstract to reproduce and distribute it freely, for noncommercial purposes. Permission is hereby granted to any individual scientist to download a single copy of this electronic file and reproduce up to 20 paper copies for noncommercial purposes advancing science and education, including classroom use, providing all reproductions include the complete content shown here, including the author information. All other forms of reproduction and/or transmittal are prohibited without written permission from GSA Copyright Permissions.