Geologic Materials Center - Policy and Facilities
Sampling and Viewing Policy
We highly recommend that users read the Alaska GMC Policy before their visit.
Accessibility and Information
The Alaska Geologic Materials Center is constantly acquiring additional inventory details and performing quality control on the information for hundreds of thousands of samples — a process that will take many years to complete. As a result, the GMC strives to find a balance between the public release of samples with more accurate data versus suppressing sample information with partial and/or inaccurate data. The GMC is biased towards greater public access to our store of geologic wealth.
Consequently, users of the facility must understand that inventory data may be inadequate or inappropriate for making certain decisions. Always contact the GMC staff to confirm that our released sample inventory will meet your research requirements. GMC staff is also willing, at this contact, to determine if other inventory options might also meet your current needs.
Please contact us if you would like to contribute any documented corrections or additions to the GMC inventory data. Contributing maps, drill records, or any other documentation is especially welcome.
Facilities and Equipment
The main warehouse has a small laboratory with some lab equipment, a petrographic microscope with camera, "daylight" (6500K) lamps for sample photography, LED stereoscopes, and digital balances that may be used by visitors when necessary. However, GMC policy encourages visitors to bring their own specialty equipment. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions.
DGGS managers, working with others in the Department of Natural Resources, the Department of Administration, ECI/Hyer Inc., and GMC staff are developing plans for a new facility to help safeguard the future accessibility and security of the valuable material currently stored at the GMC. Site selection and design work are currently underway for the new facility. These plans are described in a New Facility Concept Study (4.1 MB) and a brochure entitled A Vision for Responsible Stewardship (9.7 MB) of geologic samples and data in Alaska.