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Title Nevada Precompetitive Data Survey 2025
Author Simon M. Jowitt and Travis D. Fisher
Year: 2025
Series: PDS
Format: 24 pages, color
Precompetitive data are publicly available basic geoscientific data (i.e., geological, geophysical, and geochemical data, including the preservation of data and legacy samples and other materials) that are collected, collated, and integrated by government agencies and geological survey organizations, such as the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology. These data are crucial for the derisking and stimulation of mineral exploration and the generation of mineral and metal supply chains that are vital for national and economic security and increased domestic supply of critical and strategic minerals and metals. The lack of these data for the U.S. in general and the Silver State in particular means that significant areas of Nevada likely remain underexplored despite mining in Nevada for more than 150 years. The return on investment of precompetitive data as a whole and for individual types of precompetitive data has also been demonstrated numerous times in multiple countries such as Australia, Canada, Chile, and various countries in Europe. Increasing amounts of precompetitive data have also started to be generated by programs in the U.S. over the past decade or so, mainly in the form of the U.S. Geological Survey’s Earth Mapping Resource Initiative (Earth MRI). However, it is vital to obtain industry input for future precompetitive data acquisitions in order to ensure that the data being generated are fit-for-purpose and enable increased amounts of successful mineral exploration and discovery. As such, the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology undertook an industry-focused survey to assess the needs of companies undertaking mineral exploration in the state.
The precompetitive survey discussed in this report was specifically designed to obtain industry input into the future of precompetitive data acquisitions within Nevada and the wider U.S., and the results of this survey are being made publicly available here. Key focus areas for this survey include:
1) what commodities the respondent targeted
2) the types of mineral systems that are explored
3) a ranking of what geoscientific data is the most useful for exploration including the options of geologic mapping, geochemical data, geophysical data, remote sensing data, lithogeochemical data, geochronological data, isotopic data, mineral geochemistry, legacy sample data, and “other”
4) a description outlining the most useful sub-types within the above categories, and
5) the areas viewed as offering the most advantages for precompetitive data collection including historical mining districts and major mineral belts, covered terrains, areas that are not currently covered by existing datasets, and “other”.
As well as being made publicly available, this report will be shared with stakeholders at the state and federal level in order to ensure the voice of industry is heard in terms of what is needed to support mineral exploration and mining success in Nevada and the wider U.S.
Suggested Citation: Jowitt, S.M., and Fisher, T.D., 2025, Nevada precompetitive data
survey, 2025: Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology Exploration
Survey PDS-2025, 24 p
© Copyright 2025 The University of Nevada, Reno. All Rights Reserved
Original Product Code: PDS-2025
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