Index to the United States Minerals Exploration Assistance Records from the DMA, DMEA, OME Mineral Exploration Programs, 1950-1974 U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 03-94 2003 By David G. Frank1, John P. Galloway2, Judy Weathers2 Thor H. Kiilsgaard1, and John Wallis3 This report is preliminary and has not been reviewed for conformity with U.S. Geological Survey editorial standards and stratigraphic nomenclature. Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Geological Survey. U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey http://geopubs.wr.usgs.gov/of03-94/ 1 U.S. Geological Survey, Spokane Washington 2 U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, California 3 Information Systems Management, Spokane 1 TABLE OF CONTENT Information About This Report, Accompanying Maps, and Data Base Introduction to the Index Using the Index Docket Contents Docket Access Property Files from Federal Government Exploration-Assistance Programs (1950-74) Historical information about the Programs Defense Production Act (Public Law 774) Defense Minerals Administration (DMA) Defense Minerals Exploration Administration (DMEA) Mineral Exploration Public (Law 85-701) Office of Minerals Exploration (OME) Filing practices for DMA, DMEA, and OME data Information compiled under the DMA, DMEA, or OME programs Field Team application report Exploration contract Exploration contract operator’s reports Monthly progress report Final report Field Team reports Interim report Final report Description of database References Cited Map of the United States showing distribution of DMA, DMEA, OME docket information U.S. Map Including Alaska and Hawaii Alabama Arizonia Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Florida Georgia Idaho Illinois Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming DMEA Data Base Dockets by State Dockets Without State/County 2 Information About This Report, Accompanying Maps, and Data Base Introduction to the index This report and accompanying maps and table present information on the Defense Minerals Administration (DMA), Defense Minerals Exploration Administration (DMEA), and Office of Minerals Exploration (OME), mineral exploration programs in the United States. Under these programs, the federal government participated in the exploration costs for certain strategic and critical minerals. Federal funds for mineral exploration under the programs were available from 1950 to 1974, although limited funds for OME administrative work were continued until 1979. Contracts that were granted with these agencies provided financial assistance for exploration on a joint-participation basis. Applications are documented in over 5,000 property files (called “dockets”) generated by the DMA-DMEA-OME exploration-assistance programs. Not all applications were awarded contracts. This report reviews the three programs, associated regulations, administrative procedures, and operational techniques. It also describes the various types of informative reports generated by the programs, lists mining properties in the U.S. that were involved in the exploration programs, advises on location of compiled exploration information that resulted from the work, and describes the process for accessing the information. Using the index To find a property/docket in the index start at the US map page. Select a state code, within a state boundary, on the map. An image of the selected state will appear, showing color-coded county boundaries. The graduated colors represent the number of dockets per county as the value (see legend on each state map page). Select a county name from the adjacent list to view all dockets within that state/county. The table (DMEA Data Base) lists all dockets, sorted by state, county, and site name. Four previously published reports by Kiilsgaard (1996, 1997, 1998a,b) were produced for Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon are available on-line as pdf files (state maps are not available in digital format). Docket contents The first item in most dockets is the property owner’s program application, which would contain information concerning the property’s location, commodity to be pursued, and funds requested. This may be followed by a site evaluation and recommendation. Additional reports might detail the status of the application, specifics of any financial contract awarded, results of exploration, production summaries, payback schedules, interim evaluations, and contract- completion data. The dockets reflect program activities carried out in 43 States; only Delaware, Indiana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Rhode Island and District of Columbia are not represented. 3 Docket access Until 1996, dockets were stored at several locations throughout the United States. In the spring of that year, they were consolidated into the DMA/DMEA/OME Archive, located in the USGS Spokane Field Office. The integrated collection occupies approximately 480 cubic feet and has been indexed in a Microsoft Access database. Interested parties may access dockets at the Spokane office or make arrangements to have them copied, at requestor expense, for offsite inspection. No original materials may be removed from the Archive. For further information about this report and data base call or write to: Dave G. Frank U.S. Geological Survey Western Mineral Resources 904 W. Riverside Ave, Room 202 Spokane W 99201-1087, Phone (509) 368-3107 Fax (509) 368-3199 E-mail ([email protected]) 4 Property Files from Federal Government Exploration-Assistance Programs (1950–74) Historical Information about the Programs In 1950, Congress enacted the Defense Production Act, which authorized the President to make provision for the encouragement of exploration, development, and mining of critical and strategic minerals, metals, and materials. The President delegated his authority to the Department of the Interior, among other agencies, and the Secretary of the Interior established the Defense Minerals Administration (DMA). One of the purposes of the DMA was to provide Government support for exploration of unknown or undeveloped mineral deposits. To this end, the DMA established a program that would provide funds for projects that sought or developed sources of strategic or critical metals and minerals. When the DMA was terminated in November 1951, the Department of the Interior formed the Defense Minerals Exploration Administration (DMEA) and continued the program until June 1958. In August of that year, Congress enacted a law that authorized the Secretary of the Interior to provide financial assistance, which would promote exploration for domestic mineral reserves, and the Secretary formed the Office of Minerals Exploration (OME). In 1965, OME was transferred to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), where it remained until Congress terminated funding in 1974. Defense Production Act (Public Law 774) The Defense Production Act of 1950 (Public Law 774, 81st Congress) provided financial assistance to private enterprise for the production of goods and services neces- sary for national security. Title III, Section 302 of the Defense Production Act, provided for encouragement of exploration, development, and mining of critical and strategic metals and minerals. Under provisions of the Act, the Secretary of the Department of the Interior, established the Defense Minerals Administration, within the department, by a Secretarial Order dated December 4, 1950. Along with other duties, the Defense Minerals Administration was to serve as a direct contracting agency for minerals exploration. Defense Minerals Administration (DMA) The DMA program was administered at national headquarters, Department of the Interior building, Washington DC. It was administered by a small group of senior mining engineers and geologists recruited from the minerals industry who had an experience in mineral exploration and mine development. This group developed guidelines, forms, and operational procedures for the DMA minerals exploration program. They prepared pamphlets that described the DMA pro- gram, identified minerals classified as strategic and critical, and advised on the percent- ages of exploration costs the government would pay on exploration for the minerals. They developed application forms for use in seeking federal financial assistance, and 5 contract forms for those cases where an application was approved and a mineral explora- tion contract was negotiated between the applicant and the federal government. DMA officials relied on field teams composed of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) geologists and U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM) engineers for all fieldwork. The United States was divided into regions, with different USGS-USBM field teams responsible for field investigations in the different regions. Regional headquarters for field team work in Montana, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington was the U.S. Geological Survey field office in Spokane, Washington, where all dockets now reside. The initial step for an applicant seeking Federal financial aid in mineral exploration was submittal of an application. The application required description of the real property to be involved, and of the proposed exploration work. Description of geologic features of the property to be explored was also required, along with an