Critical minerals mapping, reconnaissance gets infusion of cash, personnel

Critical minerals mapping and geologic reconnaissance in Alaska is ramping up with an infusion of new federal and state funds. The state Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys, or DGGS, is also adding professional staff this year with new funds that were approved by the Legislature and the state administration, according to David LePain, director of the division.

Combined federal and state funding will be over $10 million in state Fiscal Year 2023, the bulk of the increase coming from the federal U.S. Geological Survey, which saw its Alaska minerals research funding to DGGS increase from about $1.5 million to $7.5 million a year through the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden last year.

The state Legislature also stepped up to add about $2.75 million in state funds for DGGS’ minerals-related work in the current state budget, FY 2023 LePain said. The Legislature also provided funds through the capital budget to hire the additional DGGS staff.

“We are seeing an exciting amount of investment in critical minerals mapping and expanding the team of qualified people at the division,” LePain said. “With this focus, the State of Alaska can lead the way towards national security and support U.S. economic goals.”

LePain was one of several speakers at the University of Alaska critical minerals conference held August 22 and 23 in Fairbanks. He outlined the status of DGGS’ minerals research program including a key milestone this summer, completion of geologic mapping across 8,000 square kilometers in the Yukon-Tanana Upland of eastern Interior Alaska.

The Yukon-Tanana Upland is a key minerals province that includes the 40-Mile River area, which is famous for historic placer gold production. The geologic mapping required a lengthy 70-day field season with two crews of state geologists working.

Geologic mapping requires boots-on-the-ground to get samples and is combined with airborne magnetic and radiometric surveys, which can penetrate vegetation and soil overburden. Samples from the ground allow geologists to “ground truth” aerial work.

Most of Alaska’s mineral belts have been mapped geologically at small scales but lack detail needed by modern explorers. Newer mapping is being done at a larger scale that is more useful.

Detailed geologic mapping at 1:100,000 scale, or larger, and airborne magnetic surveys of about a third of the state’s high-potential mineralized areas are now done, with lesser percentages of geochemistry done, LePain told the minerals conference.

If funding can be sustained the more detailed geologic mapping can be completed in 25 years, with the surface work to supplement airborne geophysics being the most time consuming.

Airborne geophysical surveys by themselves can be completed in 10 years.

Airborne geophysical surveying of the Yukon-Tanana Upland is now almost complete, and DGGS is now working on contracts to do surveys of the Seward Peninsula this winter, with work in southwest Alaska planned next summer.

In another initiative DGGS is stepping up reassessment of thousands of stream sediment samples gathered since the 1960 and 1970s with modern laboratory techniques. Analytic techniques available today are far improved.

In the early work the presence of many minerals in the sediments was simply missed due to higher detection limits. Fortunately the samples were archived. DGGS’ goal is again to complete this reassessment in 10 years, LePain said.

An asset for the division is a close working relationship with the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Department of Geology. DGGS traditionally hires graduate and sometimes higher-level undergraduate geology students as interns, and this year four were hired.

The division also benefits from retired and currently working UAF faculty “moonlighting” as professional staff on a non-permanent basis. Rainer Newberry, retired after many decades as a professor at UAF, is now helping at DGGS, as is Sean Regan, currently a professor.