Borderlands: Land and Mineral Resources Minerals Availability

1. Purpose and Objectives: The purpose and objective of this study is to respond to the anticipated increase in demand for industrial minerals and materials due to infrastructure development in the border area. It will respond by researching mineral locations on both sides of the border and comparing environmental standards of both countries.

2. Funding: This study was part of a multi-faceted project where many agencies and universities were involved and thus would make it very difficult to tabulate a total cost.

3. Partners: U.S. Bureau of Mines

4. Description and Methodology: The project will consist of three areas of research: mineral location and resource comparisons, pollution issues, and ecosystem and threatened and endangered species. Under the first category the project will create a database of borderland mineral locations and, possibly, economic analysis for the Bureau of Land Management. The project will also contain a competitive analysis of Mexican and U.S. coal, identification and economic evaluation of clays, zeolites, and other industrial minerals suitable for environmental mitigation.

In the second area of research on pollution issues, the project will conduct a comparison of environmental standards in Mexico and the U.S., determine the type and value of environmental technology exported from the U.S. to Mexico, pollution identification, prevention, and remediation on Federal and tribal lands, and evaluation of mine waste impacts on surface and ground waters in the San Pedro, Rio Grande, and lower Colorado River drainage basins. To address threatened and endangered species, BOM will work with the National Biological Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, and state universities, to supply a mineral data overlay to GAP analysis programs in Arizona, California, New Mexico, and Texas.

5. Status: Project is now complete.

6. U.S. Contacts: Elizabeth Hardy, Bureau of Mines, (202) 501-9750 Ted Drescher, Bureau of Mines, (303) 236-0428