Butte, Montana was a hard rock mining town that supplied the United States with much-needed copper, due to the electrification of the nation. The documentary created by Independent Lens of PBS shows the hardship the miners and their families encountered. The Independent Lens website has a multitude of interactive features that adds depth and increased understanding to the film. To find when and...

The National Coal Resources Data System is an online database of analytical data, sample locations, descriptive information, analytical methods, sampling techniques, and bibliographic references for selected US coal samples provided by the USGS. Users are guided through several steps that include choosing the type of report to be generated, specifying sample search criteria, and whether to display...

The Bush administration yesterday overturned some of former President Clinton's eleventh hour legislation governing mining. The Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) explains that the new rule, amending the "3809" surface mining regulations, will eliminate "several unduly burdensome provisions of the current mining regulations." Among the provisions being eliminated is one...

This USGS handout is a page providing a good, brief summary of stable isotope techniques and applications in the geosciences. A map indicating the locations of current USGS stable isotopic studies accompanies the text. A discussion of mineral weathering effects and case studies from ore deposits in Maine and North Carolina complement the general overview.

The Energy and Minerals Mission Area of the United States Geological Survey (USGS) "conducts research and assessments on the location, quantity, and quality of material and energy resources, including the economic and environmental effects of resource extraction and use." Visitors to the site can click on thematic sections such as Energy Resources and Mineral Resources. Each of these areas...

"The Mineral Resources Program funds science to provide and communicate current, impartial information on the occurrence, quality, quantity, and availability of mineral resources." This website divides the mineral resource information, project descriptions, and products for the United States into four main regional categories: Eastern, Central, Western, and Alaska. Researchers can discover new...