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Mineral Resources Program


Summary


The preliminary screening process for environmental hazards from copper, lead, and zinc deposits is as follows:

  1. Information on probability of the deposit types for which permissive tracts have been defined in the National Mineral Resource Assessment for the region under consideration are determined.
  2. Layers for similar deposit types are combined.
  3. The number of undiscovered deposits estimated for each tract is used to evaluate the likelihood of occurrence of undiscovered deposits in the area under consideration.
  4. Geoenvironmental models for each deposit type are examined to evaluate potential environmental impacts from mineral deposits or concentrations.
  5. Information on probability of the occurrence of undiscovered deposits is combined with information on the level of potential environmental impact of deposits or metal concentrations to determine the priority of need for additional information.

Although the screening process is simple, it must be based on sound geological knowledge and expert judg ment in order to provide a valid interpretation. The priorities set forth in this example are only preliminary. The process to determine where additional information is needed for land use planning requires further analysis and must incorporate knowledge and judg ment of land managers with experience in the region.


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Contact: Sandra H. B. Clark (shbclark@usgs.gov)
U.S. Geological Survey
Mineral Resource Surveys
954 National Center
Reston, VA 20192 USA
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