Critical Minerals Imaging Workshop
USGS, NASA, NSF, EPA
Held at Held at the Cleone Peterson Eccles Alumni House located on the campus of the University of Utah
September 29, 2026, 9:00 am - 5:00 pm (MDT)
Goal of Critical Mineral Imaging Workshop
This workshop unites academic, private, and public sector leaders to discuss and share resources for leveraging cutting-edge hyperspectral data from the USGS-JPL GEMx airborne campaign and NASA’s EMIT Mission in the discovery of critical minerals vital to our modern economy. By bringing new pre-competitive datasets into the public domain for analysis with practical application, we provide collaborative tools and hands-on training to accelerate the identification of essential resources for a sustainable energy future.
Workshop Description
Workshop on Remote Sensing and Critical Mineral Discovery
Critical mineral commodities are vital to the United States' economic prosperity and national security. Currently, the nation is vulnerable to supply chain disruptions due to a heavy reliance on mineral imports. To address increasing global and national demand and support the transition toward a renewable energy economy, innovative techniques for characterizing new mineral resources are essential.
This initiative utilizes cutting-edge airborne hyperspectral data from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to identify, discriminate, and map minerals across the western U.S acquired by the NASA-USGS Geological Earth Mapping Experiment (GEMx). This work is conducted under the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (EMRI), which acquires and interprets modern geophysical data to improve our knowledge of critical mineral resources. In a joint effort, NASA and the USGS are acquiring advanced airborne imaging spectrometer data (hyperspectral data). By analyzing hundreds of wavelengths of reflected light, collected by an imaging spectrometer, new insights are gained into the composition of Earth's surface, assisting academia, industry, and scientists in identifying surface minerals and their distributions throughout the Western U.S. Coarser resolution imaging spectrometer data acquired from space by the EMIT (Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation) sensor on a near-global basis are included in this workshop.
Participant stipends of $200.00 are available for early career researchers (undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and pre-tenure academic researchers). See the Registration page for more information.
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Broader Impacts
There is an urgent need to establish a collaborative environment where academia and industry can unite to explore the role of spectral data in discovering critical minerals. By bridging the academic, private, and public sectors, this initiative seeks to cultivate new partnerships.
The following key topics will be addressed during the gathering:
- Available spectral datasets for exploring critical minerals.
- Funding opportunities supporting collaborative research on mineral resources.
- Techniques for optimizing data processing workflows to increase efficiency.
- Strategies to help stakeholders access and understand spectral data tools, applications, and repositories.
- Practical sessions on data retrieval via the GEMx portal and Earthdata.
- Guidance on navigating existing portals and collecting feedback for accessibility improvements.
- Evidence of the benefits of combining spectral data with other geoscience resources, such as airborne geophysics, geochemistry, and geological mapping.
To effectively advance the identification and extraction of essential materials, we will host an intensive workshop titled "Remote Sensing for Critical Mineral Resources: Workshop on Creating Critical Collaborations across Industry, Academia, and Government." This event is designed to bridge the gap between theoretical research and practical application in the field of mineral exploration.
Desired Goals and Outcomes
- Demonstrate the specific value and efficacy of spectral information in assisting in characterizing untapped and known deposits of critical minerals.
- Actively foster and formalize strategic partnerships between academic researchers, industry leaders, and government agencies to streamline the mineral discovery process.
- Expose both academic and industry professionals to vital resources and diverse funding opportunities specifically earmarked for collaborative critical minerals research.
- Significantly increase attendee familiarity with various types of spectral data and their broad potential uses within the industry.
The workshop will help attendees:
- Identify and categorize the remote sensing spectral datasets currently available for the identification and utilization of critical minerals.
- Analyze successful case studies showcasing the practical application of spectral data in recent mineral resource discoveries.
- Gain direct access to specialized spectral datasets and the computational resources required for advanced data processing and utilization.
- Explore methods to augment spectral data with existing geoscience datasets, including airborne geophysics, detailed geologic mapping, geochemical databases, and ground-truthing sample analyses.
- Integration with Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (Earth MRI) data to increase overall information and exploration value.
- Participate in hands-on technical sessions to master data access via earthdata.gov and the GEMx data portal.
- Engage in discussions regarding current challenges in spectral data application and identify pathways to accelerate and simplify data processing workflows.
Who should attend?
This workshop brings together industry professionals, academics, students, and public sector stakeholders to foster collaboration in mineral exploration and remote sensing.
- Industry professionals: learn about pre-competitive imagery available from the US Government and how to leverage these data to develop unprecedented insights to accelerate identification and exploration of domestic critical minerals and metals.
- Academics & Students: Participants will gain hands-on experience with real-world data, enhancing research quality and job readiness, while connecting with funding opportunities and mentors in the field.
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Participant stipends of $200.00 are available for early career researchers (undergraduate and graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and pre-tenure academic researchers). See the Registration page for more information.