Revising U.S. Geological Survey mineral-resource assessment methods

Lawrence J. Drew

doi:10.3133/70220366

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Revising U.S. Geological Survey mineral-resource assessment methods

Lawrence J. Drew

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Abstract

As a result of public controversy over recommendations related to the wilderness preservation system, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted a series of reviews of its mineral-resource assessment methods. The first review panel recommended several short- and long-term modifications to improve future mineral-resource assessments (Harris and Rieber, 1993). Implementation of some of these recommendations requires the development of new tools to augment USGS assessment procedures. The second panel identified the need to improve the classification of known mineral deposits according to USGS deposit models and to improve the delineation of areas that are favorable for the occurrence of particular mineral-deposit types (Barton and others, 1995). The panels' major recommendations, however, were to develop two new tools as a first priority -- empirical rate-of-occurrence models for important mineral-deposit types (which aid in the subjective assessment of the number of undiscovered deposits in a given area) and economic cost filters.

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Lawrence J. Drew. 1998. Revising U.S. Geological Survey mineral-resource assessment methods. https://doi.org/10.3133/70220366

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