{"id":11103,"date":"2025-09-29T17:33:40","date_gmt":"2025-09-29T17:33:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/northamericanmining.com\/?p=11103"},"modified":"2025-10-01T20:01:59","modified_gmt":"2025-10-01T20:01:59","slug":"usgs-supports-13-states-on-mine-waste-inventory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/northamericanmining.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/29\/usgs-supports-13-states-on-mine-waste-inventory\/","title":{"rendered":"USGS supports 13 states on mine waste inventory"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Mine
Mine waste on the landscape in Copper Flat, N.M., with USGS staff just visible on top.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The U.S. Geological Survey has awarded nearly $3 million in cooperative agreements to state geological surveys in 13 states to study critical minerals in mine waste at active and legacy sites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe USGS is mapping the critical minerals needed for the U.S. economy and national security across the country. Mine waste from former and active mines is an accessible, aboveground source of those minerals, and these agreements allow the states to collaborate with us on work that\u2019s important for the nation \u2013 with potential to offset the cost of cleanup, and grow the mineral economy in their states,\u201d said Jamey Jones, science coordinator of the USGS Earth Mapping Resources Initiative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Agreements have been reached in the following states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Virginia and Washington.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The USGS will help support these states as they work on mine waste inventory, which involves reviewing databases and historic records of legacy mining to contribute to the national mine waste inventory that the USGS is compiling. Additionally, the USGS will support mine waste characterization efforts, which involve field sampling and analysis of the minerals present in mine waste. This helps determine the presence and quantity of critical minerals, as well as potential challenges for remediation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The funding is part of a broader initiative to explore the potential of these resources. On July 24, the Department of the Interior announced that it is taking decisive steps to recover critical minerals essential to America\u2019s economic strength, national defense, and energy future from mine waste, coal refuse, tailings and abandoned uranium mines. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This effort aligns with Executive Order 14241, \u201cImmediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production,\u201d and Secretary\u2019s Order 3436, \u201cUnlocking Critical and Strategic Minerals from Mine Waste, Cutting Red Tape, and Restoring American Dominance in Strategic Mineral Production.\u201d The Secretary\u2019s Order directs the USGS to map and inventory publicly owned mine waste resources as a first step in identifying opportunities to recover critical minerals from these wastes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cooperative agreements are offered through the USGS Earth MRI, a partnership with state geological surveys, industry and educational institutions.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source: <\/em>USGS<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The U.S. Geological Survey has awarded nearly $3 million in cooperative agreements to state geological surveys in 13 states to study critical minerals in mine waste at active and legacy sites.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[495],"tags":[1132,2506,4081,882],"coauthors":[1633],"class_list":["post-11103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-latest-news","tag-critical-minerals","tag-mine-waste","tag-u-s-geological-survey","tag-usgs"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t