Search USGS⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search USGS

Results for “Industrial Minerals”

Search indexed USGS publications on groundwater, aquifers, geologic maps, mineral resources and earthquakes. Explore source records by subject and place.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 217 records · Page 12Linked to original sources
USGS2002

Sociocultural dimensions of supply and demand for natural aggregate; examples from the Mid-Atlantic region, United States

The United States uses large quantities of natural aggregate to build and maintain a continuously expanding infrastructure. In recent years, per capita demand for aggregate in the United States has grown to about 9.7 metric tons (10.7 tons) per person per year. Over the next 25 years, the aggregate industry expects to mine quantities equivalent to all aggregate mined in the United States over the past 100 years. The issues surrounding supply and demand for aggregate in the mid-Atlantic states of Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia illustrate competing requirements for industrial minerals and many simultaneous social and environmental objectives.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2004

Digital mapping techniques '04, workshop proceedings : May 16-19, 2004, Portland, Oregon

The Digital Mapping Techniques ‘04 (DMT’04) workshop was attended by about 100 technical experts from 40 agencies, universities, and private companies, including representatives from 22 state geological surveys (see Appendix A). This workshop was similar in nature to the previous seven meetings, held in Lawrence, Kansas (Soller, 1997), in Champaign, Illinois (Soller, 1998), in Madison, Wisconsin (Soller, 1999), in Lexington, Kentucky (Soller, 2000), in Tuscaloosa, Alabama (Soller, 2001), in Salt Lake City, Utah (Soller, 2002), and in Millersville, Pennsylvania (Soller, 2003). This year’s meeting was hosted by the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries, from May 16–19, 2004, on the Portland State University campus in Portland, Oregon. As in the previous meetings, the objective was to foster informal discussion and exchange of technical information. This objective was well met, as attendees continued to share and exchange knowledge and information, and to renew friendships and collegial work begun at past DMT workshops. All the DMT workshops have been coordinated by the Association of American State Geologists (AASG) and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Data Capture Working Group, which was formed in August 1996, to support the AASG and the USGS in their effort to build a National Geologic Map Database (see Soller, Berg, and Stamm, this volume, and http://ngmdb.usgs.gov/info/standards/datacapt/ ). The Working Group was formed because increased production efficiencies, standardization, and quality of digital map products were needed for the National database—and for the State and Federal geological surveys—to provide more high-quality digital maps to the public. At the 2004 meeting, oral and poster presentations and special discussion sessions emphasized: 1) methods for creating and publishing map products (here, “publishing” includes Web-based release); 2) field data capture software and techniques; 3) digital cartographic techniques; 4) migration of digital maps into ArcGIS Geodatabase format; 5) analytical GIS techniques; 6) continued development of the National Geologic Map Database; and 7) progress toward building and implementing a standard geologic map data model and standard science language for the U.S. and for North America.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2006

Seaside, Oregon tsunami pilot study— Modernization of FEMA flood hazard maps

FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) guidelines do not currently exist for conducting and incorporating tsunami hazard assessments that reflect the substantial advances in tsunami research achieved in the last two decades; this conclusion is the result of two FEMA-sponsored workshops and the associated Tsunami Focused Study. Therefore, as part of FEMA's Map Modernization Program, a Tsunami Pilot Study was carried out in the Seaside/Gearhart, Oregon, area to develop an improved Probabilistic Tsunami Hazard Assessment (PTHA) methodology and to provide recommendations for improved tsunami hazard assessment guidelines. The Seaside area was chosen because it is typical of many coastal communities in the section of the Pacific Coast from Cape Mendocino to the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and because State Agencies and local stakeholders expressed considerable interest in mapping the tsunami threat to this area. The study was an interagency effort by FEMA, U.S. Geological Survey and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in collaboration with the University of Southern California, Middle East Technical University. Portland State University, Horning Geosciences, Northwest Hydraulics Consultants, and the Oregon Department of Geological and Mineral Industries. Draft copies and a briefing on the contents, results and recommendations of this document were provided to FEMA officials before final publication.

Oregon↗
USGS2007

Preliminary Results of Subsurface Exploration and Monitoring at the Johnson Creek Landslide, Lincoln County, Oregon

The Johnson Creek landslide is a translational, primarily bedrock landslide located along the Oregon coast about 5 km north of Newport. The landslide has damaged U.S. Highway 101 many times since construction of the highway and at least two geological and geotechnical investigations of the landslide have been performed by Oregon State agencies. In cooperation with the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries and the Oregon Department of Transportation, the U.S. Geological Survey upgraded landslide monitoring systems and installed additional monitoring devices at the landslide beginning in 2004. Monitoring devices at the landslide measured landslide displacement, rainfall, air temperature, shallow soil-water content, and ground-water temperature and pressure. The devices were connected to automatic dataloggers and read at one-hour and, more recently, 15-minute intervals. Monitoring results were periodically downloaded from the dataloggers using cellular telemetry. The purposes of this report are to describe and present preliminary monitoring data from November 19, 2004, to March 31, 2007.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2009

Geologic Map of the Carlton Quadrangle, Yamhill County, Oregon

The Carlton, Oregon, 7.5-minute quadrangle is located in northwestern Oregon, about 35 miles (57 km) southwest of Portland. It encompasses the towns of Yamhill and Carlton in the northwestern Willamette Valley and extends into the eastern flank of the Oregon Coast Range. The Carlton quadrangle is one of several dozen quadrangles being mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries (DOGAMI) to provide a framework for earthquake- hazard assessments in the greater Portland, Oregon, metropolitan area. The focus of USGS mapping is on the structural setting of the northern Willamette Valley and its relation to the Coast Range uplift. Mapping was done in collaboration with soil scientists from the National Resource Conservation Service, and the distribution of geologic units is refined over earlier regional mapping (Schlicker and Deacon, 1967). Geologic mapping was done on 7.5-minute topographic base maps and digitized in ArcGIS to produce ArcGIS geodatabases and PDFs of the map and text. The geologic contacts are based on numerous observations and samples collected in 2002 and 2003, National Resource Conservation Service soils maps, and interpretations of 7.5-minute topography. The map was completed before new, high-resolution laser terrain mapping was flown for parts of the northern Willamette Valley in 2008.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1974

Economic geology of the Isla de Mona Quadrangle, Puerto Rico

Limiting this tableland In the northern part of Isla de Mona are sheer sea cliffs chiefly exposing the Isla de Mona Dolomite. Around the southern part of the island are Irregular cliffs and steep slopes that chiefly expose the Lirio Limestone. The structure of Isla de Mona consists of two gentle complex folds a broad anticline that trends and plunges gently south-southeast through the central and western parts of Isla de Mona, and a parallel syncline through-the eastern part of the Island that also has a chiefly south-southeast plunge. A near-vertical fault that strikes northwest, then north from the central part to the north coast of Isla de Mona displaces bedrock of the eastern block downward about 10 m. Many caves, including one cave system more than 100,000 m2 in total area, are localized in the lower 10 m of the Lirio Limestone, adjacent to the cliffs peripheral to the upland surface, and numerous small caves occur higher in the Lirio. A few small caves also are found In the Isla de Mona Dolomite. However, the total floor area of all caves on Isla de Mona probably is less than 1 percent of the area of the Island. Almost all caves on Isla de Mona contain phosphorite, which was mined extensively during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Phosphorite accumulation locally may have exceeded 3.5 m in thickness, but probably averaged less than 1.5 m thick. A fair estimate of original reserves of phosphorite in 12 surveyed caves is about 151,000 m3 of which about 125,500 m3 probably has been removed in mining. Original reserves in the entire island are estimated to have been in the range 158,000 to 235,500 m3. Converted to metric tons, remaining reserves of cave phosphorite probably are considerably less than 50,000. The very pure limestone and calcitic dolomite that form the bedrock of Isla de Mona are abundant industrial-mineral resources. In addition, these carbonate rocks and the beach deposits are sources of construction materials for some classes of engineering works. The structure of Isla de Mona suggests some possibility of favorable zones for accumulation of oil and gas, but no source rocks are known, and there are no confirmed reports of oil and gas from any nearby area. Known supplies of fresh water on Isla de Mona are very small, but wells dug in coastal lowlands or drilled In the upland surface might yield moderate quantities of groundwater.

Open-File Report↗
USGS1980

Lithologic log of drill cuttings for DOGAMI heat flow hole CR-SB, Mount Hood, Oregon

CR-SB is one of three shallow (-82.0 m) heat flow holes drilled in 1976 at Mount Hood, Oregon by the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries (DOGAMI). Drill hole CR-SB was located on the southern flank of the mountain near the Snow Bunny ski lodge at an elevation of 1167.7 m (T 3 S, R 8.5 E, Sec. 25 AA) (Fig. 1). Temperatures, measured at 5.0 m intervals, and geothermal gradient data for the drill hole are given in Hull, Blackwell, and Black (1978) and are reproduced in Table 1 and Figures 2 and 3 in this report. Blackwell and Steele (1979) give an average thermal conductivity, based upon 6 samples of drill cuttings, of 4.53 (standard error =0.26) but indicated that the data obtained from the drill hole are unsuitable for heat flow calculations. Splits of the drill cuttings were obtained courtesy of J. F. Riccio (DOGAMI). The drill cuttings were wet sieved through a 200 mesh (0.074 mm) screen and both fractions were air dried and saved. Representative rock types and alteration material were hand-picked from the coarse fraction using a binocular microscope. Slurry slides of finely-ground cuttings were routinely run at 1/2°/min. from 3° to 37° 20 using unfiltered CuK radiation on a Norelco 1/ X-ray diffractometer equipped with a focusing monochrometer.

Oregon↗
USGS1981

Data from geothermal test wells near Mount Hood, Oregon

This report includes well specifications, drillers ' logs, and temperature logs of geothermal test wells drilled at 7 sites near Mt. Hood, Oreg. The wells were drilled in 1979 and 1980 under contract to the U.S. Geological Survey. The project, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, was part of an interagency effort to determine the geothermal potential of Mt. Hood. The agencies involved were, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Geological Survey, and Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries. (USGS)

Open-File Report↗
USGS1964

Geology of the central and northern parts of the Western Cascade Range in Oregon

This report pt·esents a description of the stratigraphy, structure, and petrology of the volcanic rocks of the central and northern parts of the Western Cascade Range of Oregon. The study is a part of a long-range cooperative program between the U.S. Geological Survey and the Oregon State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries to prepare a geologic map of Oregon. The map area, about 7,500 square miles, lies in the densely forested western slope of the Cascade Range. It is bounded approximately by lat 43° N. and lat 45°30' N. on the south and north, the crest of the range on the east, and long 123° W. and the edge of the Willamette Valley on the west. The geology, which was mapped by reconnaissance methods, is chiefly based on examination of rock exposures along roads. The Cascade Range in Oregon comprises two physiographic divisions: the Western Cascade Range, which includes a wide, deeply dissected belt of volcanic formations making up the western slope of the range, and the High Cascade Range, which includes chiefly younger cones and lava flows forming the nearly undissected crest of the range. The volcanic rocks of the Western Cascade Range are deformed and partially altered flows and pyroclastic rocks that range in age from late Eocene t·o lute Miocene, as determined chiefly from fossil plants from more than 50 localities. These volcanic rocks overlie or interfinger westward with marine sedimentary rocks, and in the southwestern part of the map area they overlie pre-Tertiary plutonic and metamorphic rocks of the Klamath Mountains.

Oregon↗
USGS1954

Monazite in Atlantic shore-line features

This report is a survey of present and potential production of monazite from part of the Maryland-Florida section of the Atlantic Coastal Plain. The part of the Coastal Plain covered here is the outer (shore-ward) half. In this area, all the large heavy-mineral placers so far discovered occur in sand bodies that, by their shape, size, orientation, and lithology, appear to be ancient beaches, spits, bars, or dunes. Smaller placers have produced from recent shore-line features. The inner part of the Coastal Plain, to be treated in another report, is underlain generally by older rocks, ranging in age from Cretaceous to older Pleistocene. Only two large heavy-mineral placers are now in production at Trail Ridge, and near Jacksonville, both in Florida. Production is planned for the near future near Yulee, Fla.: in Folkston, Ga.: and at one or two localities in eastern North Carolina. Each of these three will produce monazite as a byproduct; the total new reserve for the three placers is about 33,000 tons of monazite. In large heavy-mineral placers of this type, monazite has not been found to run more than about 1 percent of total heavy minerals. In some large placers, notably Trail Ridge, it is almost or completely lacking. No reason for its sporadic occurrence has been found in this investigation. Two placers of potential economic value have been found by this project in Virginia, one west and one east of Chesapeake Bay. Neither is of promise for monazite production, but if they serve to open up exploration or production in the area, there is a chance for monazite as a byproduct from other placers. A discovery of considerable scientific interest has to do with the occurrence of two different suites of heavy minerals in the Coastal Plain, at least south of Virginia. One, an “older” suite, lacks epidote, hornblende, and garnet; this suite occurs in all older formations and in Pleistocene deposits lying above about 50 or 60 feet above sea level. The other, “younger” suite contains these three minerals: it is restricted to recent beaches and streams, and to Pleistocene deposits at low altitudes. Monazite may occur with either of these suites. The percentage of titania (TiO 2 ) in illmenite is of both scientific and economic interest. Illmenite is by far the most sought-for mineral in present exploration, and whether it contains the “normal” 53 percent of titania or, as it commonly does in Florida, 60 percent, is often of decisive importance in its exploitation. The nature, time, and place of this “enrichment” in titania has not been worked out. The heavy-mineral industry of the area seems to give promise of considerable expansion in the near future, and a greater monazite production seems assured.

Florida;Maryl;North Carolina;South Carolina;Virgin↗
USGS1999

Great Salt Lake, Utah

This document is intended as a source of general information and facts about Great Salt Lake, Utah. This U.S. Geological Survey information sheet answers frequently asked questions about Great Salt Lake. Topics include: History, salinity, brine shrimp, brine flies, migratory birds, and recreation. Great Salt Lake, the shrunken remnant of prehistoric Lake Bonneville, has no outlet. Dissolved salts accumulate in the lake by evaporation. Salinity south of the causeway has ranged from 6 percent to 27 percent over a period of 22 years (2 to 7 times saltier than the ocean). The high salinity supports a mineral industry that extracts about 2 million tons of salt from the lake each year. The aquatic ecosystem consists of more than 30 species of organisms. Harvest of its best-known species, the brine shrimp, annually supplies millions of pounds of food for the aquaculture industry worldwide. The lake is used extensively by millions of migratory and nesting birds and is a place of solitude for people. All this occurs in a lake that is located at the bottom of a 35,000-square-mile drainage basin that has a human population of more than 1.5 million.

Utah↗
USGS1972

Availability of water in Kalamazoo County, southwestern Michigan

Kalamazoo County comprises an area of 572 square miles in the southwestern part of Michigan. It includes parts of the Kalamazoo, St. Joseph, and Paw Paw River basins, which drain into Lake Michigan. The northern two-thirds of the county is drained by the Kalamazoo River and its tributaries. A small area in the western piart of the county is drained by the Paw Paw River, and the rest, by tributaries of the St. Joseph River. Glacial deposits, containing sand and gravel, form an upper aquifer and a lower aquifer underlying large parts of the county. Areas of high transmissibility and thick saturated deposits are sufficiently localized to be considered as separate ground-water reservoirs having limited areal extent and definite hydrologic boundaries. Ground-water runoff from the basins constitutes a large part of the streamflow. Hydrograph separation shows that ground-water runoff composed 65 and 73 percent of the discharge of Kalamazoo River at Comstock and 75 and 79 percent of the discharge of Portage River near Vicksburg in 1965 and 1966, respectively. Based on the hydrologic budgets for the same years, ground-water recharge was 9.1 and 9.0 inches in the Kalamazoo River basin and 12.2 and 11.6 inches in the St. Joseph River basin. Ground-water recharge in the Kalamazoo River basin extrapolated for the 34-year period 1933-66 ranged from 4 to 13 inches and averaged 9 inches. In the St. Joseph River basin average recharge was about 9 inches for the same period. There is a wide range in runoff in the county. Augusta Creek, Portage Creek near Kalamazoo, and Gourdneck Creek have the highest annual runoff and maintain high yields even during periods of deficient precipitation. Spring Brook also reflects large ground-water contributions to streamflow. Storage in these basins could provide additional water during low flows for municipal and industrial needs. The primary use of lakes in the county is for recreational and esthetic purposes. Maintaining lake levels is therefore of the utmost importance. Levels at Crooked and Eagle Lakes have been maintained by pumping from lower aquifers. Diversion of water from Gourdneck Creek to West and Austin Lakes has helped in maintaining levels. Several relatively undeveloped lakes could be utilized as reservoirs whose storage could be used to augment streamflow or for water supply. Water in streams is generally of good chemical quality; however, several streams, including the Kalamazoo River downstream from Kalamazoo, have been degraded by municipal and industrial waste disposal. Water in the lakes is generally of good chemical quality with the exception of Barton Lake, which has been degraded by waste disposal. There is sufficient surface water available in Kalamazoo County to meet requirements for development of large quantities of water. The total available supply (average discharge of a stream) is about 680 mgd (million gallons per day). The dependable supply (7-day Q 2 , or average 7-day low flow having a recurrence interval of 2 years) is about 303 mgd. By developing artificial recharge facilities, surface runoff during winter and spring could be utilized to recharge ground-water reservoirs. Surface-water withdrawal in 1966 was about 58 mgd, of which 33 mgd was withdrawn from the Kalamazoo River. The quantity of water now being withdrawn from the ground and surface sources is small compared to the total that may be obtained in the area through full utilization of these resources. Mathematical models were used to simulate hydrologic conditions in the ground-water reservoirs and to evaluate maximum drawdowns for periods of little or no recharge. The practical limits of development as determined for the ground-water reservoirs are estimated to be at the following average withdrawal rates: Kalamazoo, 39 .mgd; Schoolcraft, 17 mgd; Kalamazoo-Portage, 24 mgd; and several small reservoirs, 67 mgd. These total 147 mgd. Further development would require additional artificial recharge facilities. Average ground-water withdrawal in 1966 was about 54 mgd. The Kalamazoo River ground-water reservoir furnished about 28 mgd, the Kalamazoo-Portage ground-water reservoir, about 21 mgd, and the other reservoirs, about 5 mgd. Thus, further development without artificial recharge is estimated to be about 11 mgd in the Kalamazoo River reservoir, 17 mgd in the Schoolcraft reservoir, 62 mgd in the several small reservoirs, and only 3 mgd in the Kalamazoo-Portage reservoir. The ground water is generally of good chemical quality and is suitable for most uses; however, it is Usually very hard and may contain objectionable amounts of iron. Some deterioration of water quality- has .been observed in several areas because of seepage from stockpiles of industrial minerals. The presence of many inland lakes, streams having high ground-water runoff, and, in places, relatively undeveloped ground-water reservoirs provides -flexibility in water management.

Michigan↗
USGS2003

Geomedia: Mapping Colorado at a fine scale

Currently, only 24 percent of Colorado's spectacular geology has been mapped at the fine scale of 1:24,000. At the same time, the state hosts many geologic hazards. Most maps of Colorado are at much broader scales, failing to show detail of basic geology crucial to safe engineering and building practices in a state that had the third-fastest-growing population during the 1990s. And the 2000 Census showed that the state, despite some economic woes, remains one of the fastest growing. Detailed geologic maps also aid the mineral industries that help fuel such growth. Since 1992, the Colorado Geological Survey (CGS) has mapped 1:24,000-scale quadrangles in high-impact areas under the STATEMAP component of the National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program. In 2002, CGS completed its 43rd geologic quadrangle map. The long-range plan for the state is to complete 116 high-priority quadrangles in the next 15 years. The survey's approach is to select rapidly growing areas with relatively high potential for hazards and map contiguous quadrangles. In addition to mapping bedrock, CGS geologists have mapped the Quaternary deposits at the surface. Understanding these deposits is extremely important for implementing sound engineering practices because of potential for subsidence and landslides. The CGS mapping has not only yielded information about potential hazards, but also advanced scientific understanding of the state.

Geotimes↗
USGS2011

Pumice, pumicite review

The article focuses on the industrial mineral pumice. It mentions the estimated production of pumice in the U.S. in 2010, price range, and total U.S. exports and imports. Described as an igneous volcanic rock, pumice has low density which allows it float on water and porous enough to be used as building aggregate. Pumice may also function as an absorbent material, a filter aid, and a polishing agent among others.

Mining Engineering↗
USGS2003

Ball clay

Part of the 2002 industrial minerals review. Statistics on ball clay consumption, production, prices, trade, and trends are presented.

Mining Engineering↗
USGS2000

Common clay and shale

Part of the 1999 Industrial Minerals Review. The clay and shale market in 1999 is reviewed. In the U.S., sales or use of clay and shale increased from 26.4 million st in 1998 to 27.3 million st in 1999, with an estimated 1999 value of production of $143 million. These materials were used to produce structural clay products, lightweight aggregates, cement, and ceramics and refractories. Production statistics for clays and shales and for their uses in 1999 are presented.

Mining Engineering↗
USGS2004

Common clay and shale

Part of the 2003 industrial minerals review. The legislation, production, and consumption of common clay and shale are discussed. The average prices of the material and outlook for the market are provided.

Mining Engineering↗
USGS2003

Common clay and shale

Part of the 2002 industrial minerals review. The production, consumption, and price of shale and common clay in the U.S. during 2002 are discussed. The impact of EPA regulations on brick and structural clay product manufacturers is also outlined.

Mining Engineering↗