From 2007 through 2010, scientists in the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) have been conducting exploration-oriented geochemical and geophysical studies in the region surrounding the giant Pebble porphyry Cu-Au-Mo deposit in southwestern Alaska. The Cretaceous Pebble deposit is concealed under tundra, glacial till, and Tertiary cover rocks, and is undisturbed except for numerous exploration drill holes. These USGS studies are part of a nation-wide research project on evaluating and detecting concealed mineral resources. This report focuses on exploration geochemistry and comprises illustrations and associated notes that were presented as a case study in a workshop on this topic. The workshop, organized by L.G. Closs and R. Glanzman, is called “Geochemistry in Mineral Exploration and Development,” presented by the Society of Economic Geologists at a technical conference entitled “The Challenge of Finding New Mineral Resources: Global Metallogeny, Integrative Exploration and New Discoveries,” held at Keystone, Colorado, October 2—5, 2010.

First posted September 27, 2010