Preservation of winston and thomas collections and geochemical analysis of historic butte and belt supergroup drill coreproject period:9 15 2025 through 9 14 2028PROJECT purpose:priority 1: preserve…

Montana Technological University received a $242,443.43 Project Grant award dated September 15, 2025, from the U.S. Geological Survey under the National Geological and Geophysical Data Preservation Program (CFDA 15.814) to support the preservation and accessibility of significant geologic collections and data. The three-year project (through September 14, 2028) encompasses two primary deliverables: (1) comprehensive preservation of the Winston and Thomas geological collections through physical conservation, digitization of paper and photographic materials, rehousing of geologic samples into archival storage, and creation of associated metadata for public access via the Registry of Scientific Collections (RESCiColl); and (2) geochemical analysis of approximately 300 samples selected from historic Butte drill core and Belt Supergroup core collections to inform critical minerals research and economic geology.

The project will produce digitized documents, maps, sample photographs, and geochemical datasets made publicly available through the Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology GIS Hub and the USGS Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (Earth MRI) website. These products are designed to benefit geoscience researchers, students, private sector exploration and mining companies, and critical minerals research initiatives throughout Montana. No subrecipient activities are identified for this award.

Activities

Priority 1: inventory, physical preserve and digitize paper and photographic materials in the winston and thomas collections, rehouse the thomas collection geologic materials into archival storage, establish appropriate archival thin section storage, create metadata, and provide digital access to these two important collections.priority 3: sample preparation, metadata documentation, and geochemical analyses of historic butte and historic belt core collections.deliverables and expected outcomes:deliverables include digital document and map preservation, sample identification, geolocation, and photographs, and metadata upload to rescicoll and online access by the public by request. Geochemical data will be delivered through the montana bureau of mines and geology GIS hub and the USGS earth MRI website, and available for public access.intended beneficiary(IES):the priority 1 and priority 3 projects will benefit the general public, geoscience and mining researchers, students, private sector exploration and mining companies, and critical minerals research in montana.

Subrecipient activities

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