Geographical Mineral Mapping Set To Begin Soon

You might soon start seeing some low-level airplane flights across parts of Missouri, Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin.

If you do, there’s no reason for alarm according to U.S. Geological Survey which is planning to use its airborne geophysical technology to map critical minerals that drive the U.S. economy and bolster national security.

The flights are a collaborative effort between the USGS Earth Mapping Resources Initiative and the geological surveys of Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, and Wisconsin. The survey will map out the mineral resource potential within the Upper Mississippi Valley Mineral District into the western edge of Illinois.

Weather and wildfire permitting, the survey begins this month and will take about a year to complete.