Earth Mapping Resources Initiative Cooperative Agreement for Geochemical Reconnaissance:

The Kansas Geological Survey led a three-year collaborative project supported by the U.S. Geological Survey Earth Mapping Resources Initiative to evaluate critical mineral potential in Pennsylvanian black shales across the US Midcontinent. The effort brought together seven state geological surveys, working across several major regional basins to better understand how these minerals are distributed.

Across the Cherokee-Forest City Basin, the Illinois Basin, and parts of the Appalachian Basin, teams collected new geochemical data from drill cores and outcrops and combined fieldwork with laboratory analyses, including portable X-ray fluorescence. Several state surveys also conducted organic carbon and sulfur studies, along with mineralogical investigations. All data were integrated into a shared multistate database maintained by the KGS, allowing for direct comparison across regions.

The results highlight widespread enrichment of key elements such as vanadium, molybdenum, nickel, zinc, uranium, and phosphorus in multiple shale units across the study area. In Kansas, units such as the Stark and Hushpuckney members stand out for their elevated concentrations, emphasizing their importance for future resource evaluation.

These critical minerals play an important role in modern life, supporting energy technologies, advanced manufacturing, and research, while also contributing to national security and economic development. This project provides a regional framework that helps guide future assessments and improves understanding of how these resources occur across the Midcontinent.

  Work Done

These were all integrated into a shared multi-state database maintained by the Kansas Geological Survey. In several black shale units, results showed significant enrichment of elements.

  Elements Found

These elements are essential to Kansas economic growth because they support high-technology manufacturing, energy development, and advanced materials research. They also are vital to national security because they are required for aerospace systems, renewable energy technologies, and defense applications.

Results from this project help improve understanding of how critical minerals occur and are distributed within Pennsylvanian black shales across the Midcontinent.

This regional effort, which ran from January 10, 2023, through May 2026, built a unified scientific framework that supports national evaluations of critical mineral resources and helps the public understand how these natural materials contribute to modern life.