USGS to invest $1.1 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding to district-scale hyperspectral survey of Arizona, New Mexico

The work will be conducted at the same time that NASA is collecting similar data in partnership with the USGS using high-altitude aircraft. The NASA-USGS partnership involves mapping large portions of the southwest United States for critical mineral potential using airborne hyperspectral imaging.

"This is an unprecedented opportunity to gain concurrent data across critical mineral and key mine waste targets across two states with a long history of mining," said Jamey Jones, USGS Earth MRI program manager.

The data will be collected by a commercial vendor who will conduct flights at an altitude approximately 9,000 feet above ground level over selected areas with active and legacy mine sites. Data will be collected using multi-spectral sensors over areas where ground measurements are also being taken.

"By leveraging NASA's flights with data acquired at various scales, USGS scientists can better calibrate and interpret the data collected through the Earth Mapping Resources Initiative," said Jones.

The USGS Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (Earth MRI) is a partnership between the USGS and State geological surveys that is revolutionizing our understanding of the nation's geology, in particular its critical mineral resources, which are vital to the U.S. economy, national security, and energy technology through a variety of geophysical survey techniques, including hyperspectral.

In addition to what is visible to the human eye, hyperspectral sensors measure light with wavelengths either too short or too long to see. These data reveal patterns of light absorption, called spectral fingerprints, associated with specific materials on the Earth's surface, including types of minerals.

Hyperspectral images are also valuable tools to identify materials left behind by historic mining.

This information then allows scientists and land managers to inventory mine waste material that may still contain valuable minerals, identify where mine wastes could affect water quality and predict what kinds of mineral deposits may lie beneath the Earth's surface.

The foundational data delivered through Earth MRI also support long-term strategies and planning for strengthening mineral supply chains.

The survey footprint overlaps ongoing geophysical survey mapping projects in New Mexico, where scientists are also collecting magnetic and radiometric data.

"The overlap of the hyperspectral surveys will complement the other data we're collecting across our state as we work to understand our mineral potential and will highlight areas with potential for mine waste that are challenging to see with just aerial imagery," said Virginia McLemore, New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources (NMGBMR) principal senior economic geologist.

The hyperspectral survey may be followed by additional investments, including new geologic mapping, geochemical sampling, and other techniques to better understand the region's geology.

Since 2021, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has advanced scientific innovation through a \$320 million investment for the USGS to better map the Nation's mineral resources, both still in the ground and in mine wastes, and to preserve historical geologic data and samples. Through the end of fiscal year 2024, more than \$198 million has been obligated for Earth MRI initiatives, propelling efforts to make once-in-a-generation advancements in the nation's geologic and geophysical data collections and mapping.