Earth MRI mapping program set to expire; two House bills would extend it and add quantum sensing

The federal program that has funded geological mapping and data collection work in 46 states and Puerto Rico expires at the end of fiscal year 2026. Two bipartisan House bills heard Tuesday would extend it five years and add quantum gravity sensing to sharpen the search for buried ore.

The hearing, held by the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, considered three bills: H.R. 9640, the Earth MRI Reauthorization Act of 2026, which would reauthorize the U.S. Geological Survey's Earth Mapping Resources Initiative through 2031; H.R. 9646, the Quantum-Enhanced Critical Minerals Mapping Act of 2026, which would direct the USGS to establish a quantum-enhanced critical mineral survey program and integrate the data into Earth MRI platforms; and H.R. 8003, the Expanding the Fast Track Act of 2026, which would lower the investment threshold for FAST-41 permitting eligibility from $200 million to $50 million.

Alaska's Unmapped Interior

Earth MRI nearly doubled publicly available subsurface data for Alaska since 2019. The state's 365 million acres are largely federally managed, and vast interior regions have never been surveyed by modern methods.

"My testimony is simple: Earth MRI is working and it deserves reauthorization. Strategic means we want something, and critical means we do not have it. USGS has identified 60 mineral commodities spread across the periodic table that are at risk of supply chain disruption or are not produced in the United States," said Rory Day-Stirrat, president of the Association of American State Geologists.

Day-Stirrat added that "the program does not subsidize individual companies or, or individual projects. Instead, it creates publicly available geologic information that reduces uncertainty for everyone— state governments, federal agencies, tribal nations, universities, land managers, private industry. We all benefit from the same data."

H.R. 9640 would reauthorize Earth MRI for five years and broaden the program to include geothermal resources, natural hydrogen, and integration with the USGS 3D Hydrography Program. H.R. 9646 would require the USGS to conduct quantum gravity gradiometry surveys over at least three priority critical mineral focus areas and report results to Congress within 24 months. Both bills were considered at Tuesday's legislative hearing before the subcommittee.