Mapping Mineral Deposits in Idaho.

• Position: COBALT

The result of a geophysical survey in a remote part of eastern Idaho is having economic impacts on the Gem State by identifying locations to extract cobalt and other minerals. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Idaho Geological Survey (IGS), a state agency housed at the University of Idaho, Moscow, led the airborne geophysical survey over 1,200 square miles.

Using equipment that detects the magnetic and radiometric signature of the region, low-level helicopter flights over Idaho's cobalt belt, a rugged mountainous region of the Salmon National Forest, were able to ascertain how much cobalt and other mineral resources, including copper and rare Earth metals, are in ancient rock layers.

'We have historic and regional data in the area," says Claudio Berti, director and state geologist of IGS. 'This study provides high resolution geophysical information to add to what we already know about the...