A PROPOSED U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM TO MAP AND IMPROVE THE NATION’S UNDERSTANDING OF ITS SUBSURFACE GEOLOGY AND CRITICAL MINERAL RESOURCES

In response to Executive Order 13817, “A Federal Strategy To Ensure Secure and Reliable Supplies of Critical Minerals” and Secretarial Order 3359, “Critical Mineral Independence and Security”, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Mineral Resources Program (MRP), National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program, and National Geospatial Program prepared a “Draft U.S. Geological Survey Partnership Plan to Map and Improve the Nation’s Understanding of Subsurface Critical Mineral Resources” (the Plan). The Plan will be included, with additional input on marine critical minerals from the USGS Coastal and Marine Hazards Program, as part of a government-wide strategy for supporting critical mineral supply chains to be published by Department of Commerce in Fall 2018. Originally referred to as 3DEEP, the Plan calls for a coordinated, long-term program to maximize the Nation’s understanding of its subsurface geology and critical mineral resources by acquiring and interpreting high-resolution 3-dimensional geophysical, geologic, and topographic data across the Nation. This advanced mapping of the Nation’s subsurface would also enhance the understanding of domestic resources of other economically valuable minerals, energy resources, groundwater resources, and geologic hazards. Based on experiences in other countries, this Federal investment in basic geological, geophysical, and topographic data would be expected to substantially enhance private sector economic activity. The USGS 2019 President’s proposed budget included an additional $10.598 million for USGS MRP to initiate this program. Although funding levels remain to be determined by Congress, much of this funding would be spent via cooperative agreements with state geological surveys for geologic mapping, and via contracts to private sector vendors for geophysical and lidar data acquisition. This presentation will describe key aspects of the proposed program, including: types of information needed; prioritizing critical minerals and geographic regions for new data collection; partnerships with state geological surveys, private sector, and academia; new uses of resulting interpretive products (such as 3-dimensional geologic maps of the subsurface); and how the massive data sets will be stored and made accessible for public use.