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U.S. Team Hunts Mojave Topaz, Hints Copper Deposit

6/12/2026

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Summary

Story summary

A U.S. geoscience team traveled to the Mojave Desert to investigate a fingerprint detected by a NASA sensor.
The scientists equipped rock picks and hand lenses while searching for a cache of topaz.
They said the presence of topaz could signal a deeper porphyry copper deposit.
Porphyry copper forms when magma and hot water alter crustal rock, which commonly occurs in subduction zones like the North American Cordillera.

History

Historical Context

After Sanford and Thomas Bingham reported copper ore in 1848, organized claims began in 1863 and Utah Copper opened the first open-pit mine at Bingham Canyon in 1906. Kennecott later controlled the site, which has yielded over 17 million tons of copper to date. Today a U.S. geoscience team, using NASA’s hyperspectral sensor, tests topaz in the Mojave as a surface clue for similar porphyry deposits.

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Story summary

A U.S. geoscience team traveled to the Mojave Desert to investigate a fingerprint detected by a NASA sensor.
The scientists equipped rock picks and hand lenses while searching for a cache of topaz.
They said the presence of topaz could signal a deeper porphyry copper deposit.
Porphyry copper forms when magma and hot water alter crustal rock, which commonly occurs in subduction zones like the North American Cordillera.

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