17 Geological Surveys and Resource Mapping/Evaluation Studies

This session highlights studies from state geologic surveys and the U.S. Geological Survey regarding natural resource evaluations. We welcome submissions with relevance to critical minerals, rare earth elements, various energy sectors, and the construction industry.

Tuesday, 10 March 2026
8:30 AM - 10:00 AM
RCC, 103

Spectroscopic investigations of critical mineral hosts in zinc mine waste at the Tar Creek Superfund Site, Oklahoma

Paper number: 17-7
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 9:26 AM – 9:41 AM

Authors

Abstract

Elements such as zinc, cesium, chromium, germanium, and 56 others are classified by the U.S. Geological Survey as critical minerals because they are essential to the economic or national security of the United States and have supply chains that are vulnerable to disruption. The recovery of critical minerals from mine waste is being evaluated across the United States as a possible domestic source of critical minerals. One of these sites, the Tar Creek Superfund site in Oklahoma, is a former lead and zinc mining area where both zinc and germanium are concentrated in the mineral hemimorphite in the waste piles. The original sulfide ore, which primarily hosted zinc and germanium in sphalerite (ZnS), is a silicified Mississippi Valley Type (MVT) deposit, so the mine waste is largely composed of chert and carbonate minerals, with small amounts of hemimorphite. This material was deposited in dozens of largely unvegetated piles, making hyperspectral remote sensing a useful tool for detecting and mapping the distribution of hemimorphite and associated minerals around the site. Here we present work illustrating the spectral detection limits of hemimorphite based on the analysis of laboratory-prepared mineral mixtures (e.g., chert, dolomite and hemimorphite) that simulate the mine waste found at the Tar Creek site. We also present the results of a high-resolution hyperspectral survey analysis at Visible, Near Infrared, and Shortwave Infrared (VNIR-SWIR - 0.38-2.5 μm, ~2.0 meters/pixel) and Thermal Infrared (TIR - 8.0-11 μm, ~4.0 meters/pixel) wavelengths. Through the USGS Earth Mapping Resources Initiative, these data were collected during an airborne hyperspectral survey covering a ~286 sq. km area along the Oklahoma-Kansas border that includes the Tar Creek Superfund site on September 7, 2025. Laboratory-based spectra of simulated mine waste were used to refine the interpretation of the hyperspectral survey data, and generate maps of the distribution and abundance of hemimorphite using the VNIR-SWIR data. The TIR data were valuable in spectrally identifying fine-grained material that concentrates hemimorphite at the site. These results can be used to identify mine waste that is enriched in hemimorphite and the critical minerals it hosts. These types of studies can be valuable in informing future efforts to prioritize materials for critical mineral extraction from mine waste.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 58, No. 1

doi: 10.1130/abs/2026SE-411766

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