T51 Linking Mineral Resources and Their Geologic Framework II: The USGS Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (Earth MRI) and Related Critical Minerals Research

Sunday, 22 September 2024
1:30 PM - 5:30 PM
212A

APPLICATION OF EARTH MRI DATASETS TO ADVANCED ENERGY SYSTEMS IN APPALACHIA: INSIGHTS FROM THE CENTRAL APPALACHIAN GEOCHEMICAL RECONNAISSANCE AND AIRBORNE GEOPHYSICAL TRANSECT STUDIES

Paper number: T51-3
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 1:50 PM – 2:10 PM

Authors

  • Jessica Moore Presenting Author
    West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey, Morgantown, WV

Abstract

Results from a geochemical reconnaissance study of high alumina underclays in the Pennsylvanian coal measures of Appalachia suggest regional enrichment of multiple critical minerals, including lithium, gallium, and rare earth elements, in clay beds associated with coals. Areas of critical mineral enrichment form distinct northeast-to-southwest linear trends through eastern West Virginia, western Maryland, and central Pennsylvania. These trends are commonly co-located or are in close proximity to magnetic and/or radiometric anomalies detected by the Earth MRI Central Appalachian Transect airborne geophysical surveys. When combined with other high-resolution regional datasets such as the Mid-Atlantic Geophysical Integrative Collaboration (MAGIC) transportable seismic array, Earth MRI datasets enable detailed characterization of mineral systems and frameworks in Appalachia that can be applied to a broad spectrum of advanced and clean energy systems, including battery technologies, deep-direct use geothermal energy, carbon storage, and production of natural hydrogen.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 56, No. 5

doi: 10.1130/abs/2024AM-404651

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