Geochemical Analyses of Geologic Materials from Areas of Critical Environmental Concern, Clark and Nye Counties, Nevada

An assessment by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Nevada Bureau of Mines and
Geology (NBMG), and University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is in progress of
known and undiscovered mineral resources of selected areas administered by the
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Clark and Nye Counties, Nevada. The purpose
of this work is to provide the BLM with information for use in their long-term
planning process in southern Nevada so that they can make better-informed
decisions.

Existing information about the areas, including geology, geophysics,
geochemistry, and mineral-deposit information is being compiled, and field
examinations of selected areas and mineral occurrences have been conducted.
This information will be used to determine the geologic setting, metallogenic
characteristics, and mineral potential of the areas.

Twenty-five Areas of Critical Environmental Concern (ACECs) have been
identified by BLM as the object of this study. They range from tiny (less than
one square km) to large (more than 1,000 square km). This report includes
geochemical data for rock samples collected by the USGS and NBMG in these ACECs
and nearby areas. Samples have been analyzed from the Big Dune, Ash Meadows,
Arden, Desert Tortoise Conservation Center, Coyote Springs Valley, Mormon Mesa,
Virgin Mountains, Gold Butte A and B, Whitney Pockets, Rainbow Gardens, River
Mountains, and Piute-Eldorado Valley ACECs.

[Summary provided by the USGS.]