Interactive maps and downloadable data for regional and global analysis.
Mineral Resources
Geology
Geochemistry
Geophysics
MRDS describes metallic and nonmetallic mineral resources throughout the world. Included are deposit name, location, commodity, and references. Some records include deposit description, geologic characteristics, production, reserves, and resources. It includes the original MRDS and MAS/MILS data.
- Descriptions of mines, prospects, and mineral occurrences in Alaska.
- Regional locations and general geologic setting of known deposits of major non-fuel mineral commodities.
- Approximate locations and short descriptions of mines, deposits, and districts where critical minerals are found. The critical minerals are discussed in USGS Professional Paper 1802, and many of these locations are described in further detail in that report.
- Estimates of the number and size of undiscovered mineral deposits in the US containing gold, silver copper, lead, and zinc.
- Deposits, prospects, and permissive tracts for porphyry and sediment-hosted copper resources worldwide, with estimates of undiscovered copper resources.
- Geologic map at 1:500,000 scale, digitized from USGS I-1865. Includes mines, prospects, and occurrences, permissive tracts for several mineral deposit types, and gravity anomaly contours.
- List of USGS information resources used in carrying out the Sagebrush Mineral Resource Assessment in 2016.
- Volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits
- Information on VMS deposits from around the world with new grade and tonnage models for three subtypes of VMS deposits and data allowing locations of all deposits to be plotted using GIS
- Sediment-hosted zinc-lead deposits. Information on sediment-hosted zinc-lead deposits from around the world with grade and tonnage models, a general classification based on geologic setting, mineralogy, with data allowing locations of these deposits to be plotted using GIS. Mississippi Valley-Type and clastic-dominated sediment-hosted lead-zinc deposits
- Global compilation of information on the sediment-hosted Pb-Zn deposits traditionally called sedimentary exhalative (SEDEX) and Mississippi Valley Type (MVT) deposits, including updated updated grade and tonnage data.
- Porphyry copper deposits of the world. Global compilation of information on the porphyry copper deposits, including updated updated grade and tonnage data.
Sediment-hosted copper deposits of the world. Global compilation of information on the world's sediment-hosted copper deposits, including updated updated grade and tonnage data. - PGE-Ni-Cr deposit and occurrence bibliographic database
A compendium of previously published databases and database records that describe PGE, nickel, and chromium deposits and occurrences.
Carbonatites of the world, explored deposits of Nb and REE
Information on carbonatite deposits containing niobium and rare earth elements from around the world with grade and tonnage models, geologic setting, mineralogy, with data allowing locations of these deposits to be plotted using GIS.
Rare earth element mines, deposits, and occurrences
Location, geologic and mineral economic data for world rare earth mines, deposits, and occurrences compiled from published and non-published sources. Geographic coordinates are provided for 577 of the 799 deposits described here.
Ni-Co laterite deposits of the world
Location, type, mineralogy, name, tonnage and grade, and geological setting for 120 deposits of this type.
Asbestos mines, prospects, and occurrences in the continental US,
Also see Macrostrat: https://macrostrat.org/map/#/z=1.3/x=109.1680/y=0.0000/bedrock/lines/
Location, mineralogy, name, development status for 913 historic mines, prospects, and occurrences of asbestos and fibrous amphiboles.
World phosphate mines, deposits, and occurrences
Location, geologic characteristics, and commodities for 1,635 phosphate mines, deposits, or occurrences worldwide
Phosphate occurrence and potential of south Asia
Locations of known phosphate occurrences in this area, with geologic units in which such deposits may occur.
Podiform chromite deposits
Location and characteristics of 1,124 individual podiform chromite mineral deposits, with grade and tonnage models for chromium as well as several related elements.
Sediment-hosted gold deposits
Location and characteristics of 123 sediment-hosted gold deposits worldwide, with grade and tonnage data.
Evaporite-related potash resources worldwide
Geographic distribution and characteristics of evaporite-related potash deposits and occurrences worldwide.
Mica deposits of the Blue Ridge in North Carolina
Muscovite from pegmatites intruded into metamorphic rocks. Point locations with characteristics of mines and prospects.
Mining operation and prospecting
Prospect- and mine-related features on USGS topographic maps
Symbols indicating mining-related features digitized from historical USGS topographic maps in the conterminous US. Includes prospect pits, mine shafts and adits, quarries, open-pit mines, tailings piles and ponds, gravel and borrow pits, and other features. Work is progressing from west to east.
Active mines and mineral plants in the US
Mine plants and operations for commodities monitored by the National Minerals Information Center of the USGS. Operations included are those considered active in 2003 and surveyed by the USGS.
World copper smelters
Locations and characteristics of the copper smelters throughout the world as of 2002.
Mineral operations outside the United States
Locations and characteristics of active mines and mineral plants
Mining claim activity on Federal land in the contiguous US and Alaska
Number and type of mine claims located on Federal lands and registered with the Bureau of Land Management, by year from 1976 through 2008.
Photographs of historical mining operations in Colorado and Utah
A collection of photographs of mine sites, mining operations, and tailings taken prior to 1980 at a variety of sites throughout Colorado and Utah.
Value of mineral production by state in the US
The value of mineral production by state in the United States. The data represent commodities covered by the National Minerals Information Center of the U.S. Geological Survey.
Federal government mineral exploration-assistance program files
Scanned documents describing applications for Federal assistance in exploring for certain strategic and critical minerals, including where the deposits were examined what minerals were found, and whether mining had occurred. These files span the years 1950 to 1974.
Coal mines and other energy resources
We have no comprehensive database of coal mines, but can provide links to some online resources.
Geologic map data (see Macrostrat: https://macrostrat.org/map/#/z=1.3/x=109.1680/y=0.0000/bedrock/lines/ )
Geologic maps of US states
Digital geologic maps of the US states with consistent lithology, age, GIS database structure, and format
Geologic map of Alaska
Digital compilation and reinterpretation of published and unpublished geologic mapping of Alaska.
Basement domains of the conterminous US and Alaska
Seventy-seven major components of the North American continent were delineated at a general scale (1:5,000,000); including the general composition, geological environment, and types of primary metals endowments that can be expected in each domain.
Geology of the conterminous United States
A digital version of the King and Beikman (1974) Geologic Map of the United States, originally published at a scale of 1:2,500,000. It excludes Alaska and Hawaii.
Geology of Puerto Rico
Geologic units and faults from USGS Open File Report 98-38, concerning assessment of the mineral resources of Puerto Rico
Large-area material map of the conterminous US
Maps of exposed surface mineral groups derived from automated spectral analysis of satellite and airborne imaging systems; these data suggest areas that may contain mineral deposits of various types.
Maps of hydrothermal alteration in the Basin and Range province of the US
Maps and data showing the geographic distribution of surficial minerals likely produced by hydrothermal alteration, which may indicate areas permissive of gold and copper mineral deposits.
Geochemistry
National geochemical database
National Geochemical Database: Rock
Geochemical analysis of rock samples collected and analyzed by the USGS. This dataset includes and supersedes rock data formerly released as "Geochemistry of igneous rocks in the US extracted from the PLUTO database".
National Geochemical Database: Sediment
Geochemistry of sediments from the National Geochemical Database. Primarily inorganic elemental concentrations, most samples are of stream sediment in the continental US and Alaska.
National Geochemical Database: Soil
Geochemistry of soils from the National Geochemical Database. Primarily inorganic elemental concentrations, most samples are from the continental US and Alaska.
National Geochemical Database: Concentrate
Geochemistry of concentrates from the National Geochemical Database. Primarily inorganic elemental concentrations, most samples are from the continental US and Alaska.
Recent, focused geochemical surveys
Alaska Geochemical Database
Geochemical analysis of rock, sediment, soil, mineral, and heavy mineral concentrate samples in Alaska analyzed from 1962 through 2009.
Geochemical and mineralogical data from soils in the conterminous United States
Systematic geochemical and mineralogical survey of soil horizons analyzed using a consistent set of methods, sample spacing 1 per 1,600 sq km.
Geochemical and mineral maps from soils of the conterminous United States
Geochemical and mineralogical maps along with a histogram, boxplot, and empirical cumulative distribution function plot for each element or mineral whose data are provided in DS-801
National Geochemical Survey database
National-scale geochemical analysis of stream sediments and soils in the US, from existing data, reanalysis of existing samples, and new sampling.
Goal for sample density is one per 289 square km.
Older geochemical collections
Geochemistry of stream sediments in the US from the NURE-HSSR database
National-scale geochemical analysis of stream sediments and soils in the US collected and analyzed under the National Uranium Resource Evaluation program.
Geochemistry of water samples in the US from the NURE-HSSR database
National-scale geochemical analysis of water samples in the US collected and analyzed under the National Uranium Resource Evaluation program.
Geochemical landscape of the conterminous US: maps of NURE-HSSR data
Maps derived from a subset of the National Uranium Resource Evaluation Hydrogeochemical and Stream Sediment Reconnaissance data. Samples are from streams, lakes, ponds, springs, playas, and soils. Includes Na, Ti, Fe, Cu, Zn, As, Ce, Hf, Pb, Th, and U.
Chemical analyses of soils and other surficial materials of the conterminous US ("Shacklette" data)
Geochemistry of soils and other regoliths collected and analyzed by Hans Shacklette and colleagues from 1958 until about 1976.
Geophysics
Geophysical surveys
Airborne geophysical surveys
Airborne surveys measuring the earth's magnetic field, resistivity or other electromagnetic properties, or gamma ray emission over parts of North America.
Geophysical data compilations
Magnetic anomaly map of North America
Airborne measurement of the earth's magnetic field over all of North America provides gridded data describing the magnetic anomaly caused by variations in earth materials and structure.
Gravity anomaly grids for the conterminous US
Measurements of the gravitational field vary slightly from place to place due to the composition and structure of Earth's crust. These digital grids describe the isostatic and Bouguer anomalies for the conterminous US.
Aeroradiometric grids for North America
Gridded data generated by aerial sensing of radiation emanating from the earth's surface provides general estimates of the geographic distribution of Uranium, Thorium, and Potassium in surficial and bedrock units. Covers the conterminous US, parts of Canada and parts of Alaska.
Other geophysical data
Miscellaneous geophysical data products
Geochronology
Geochronological data
National Geochronological Database
Radiometric and fission-track age determinations of geologic materials from the continental US and Alaska
Radiometric ages of rocks from Alaska
Radiometric ages of rocks or minerals sampled from Alaska. The data were collected from professional publications and/or received from researchers and used by permission.
Original working URL: https://mrdata.usgs.gov/
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