Venezuelan Guayana Shield Geology and Mineral Resource Assessment

415,000 square kilometers of the Venezuelan Guayana Shield are covered by this digital resource assessment. The data was created by the U.S. Geological Survey and Corporacion Venezolana de Guayana between 1987 and 1991, converting original paper maps for digital analysis and publication. It includes layers for geography, geology, tectonics, and mineral occurrences.

Use Cases

• Combine geology and tectonic layers to identify structural controls on mineral deposits.
• Overlay mineral-occurrence maps with geologic layers to define permissive domains for resource exploration.
• Analyze spatial relations between geographic features and resource indicators from the integrated digital layers.

Strengths

• Covers a large area of approximately 415,000 square kilometers.
• Based on a formal multi-year assessment project conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey and a Venezuelan partner.

Limitations

• Original assessment data is from 1987-1991, which may not reflect current conditions.
• Key original maps like the Bouguer gravity and side-looking airborne radar image are not included in this digital release.
• Data is not intended for use at scales more detailed than 1:500,000.

Provenance

Source

U.S. Geological Survey and Corporacion Venezolana de Guayana, Tecnica Minera.

Collection Method

Digital conversion of maps from a mineral resource assessment publication (USGS Bulletin 2062).

Time Range

Assessment conducted between 1987 and 1991.

Geography

Venezuelan Guayana Shield, south and east of the Rio Orinoco, including Territorio Federal Amazonas, Estado Bolivar, and part of Estado Delta Amacuro.