1. Mineral Resources
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Mineral operations outside the United States

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Frequently anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title: Mineral operations outside the United States
Abstract:
Mineral facilities and operations outside the United States compiled by the National Minerals Information Center of the USGS.

This representation combines source data from five previous publications.
  1. How might this data set be cited?
    U.S. Geological Survey, 2010, Mineral operations outside the United States: Geological Survey (U.S.), Reston, Virginia.

    Online Links:

    Other_Citation_Details: Compilation from five previous publications
  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?
    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -178.69
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: 178.39
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 78.2
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: -54.114
  3. What does it look like?
    https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mineral-operations/minfac.png (PNG)
    Mineral operation locations, (540 x 270 pixels)
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
    Beginning_Date: 2006
    Ending_Date: 2010
    Currentness_Reference:
    Publication dates of the databases contributing to this compilation
  5. What is the general form of this data set?
    Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: map
  6. How does the data set represent geographic features?
    1. How are geographic features stored in the data set?
      This is a Point data set. It contains the following vector data types (SDTS terminology):
      • Entity point (6478)
    2. What coordinate system is used to represent geographic features?
      Horizontal positions are specified in geographic coordinates, that is, latitude and longitude. Latitude and longitude values are specified in decimal degrees. The horizontal datum used is World Geodetic System 1984.
      The ellipsoid used is WGS 84.
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378137.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/298.257.
  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?
    minfac.dbf
    (Source: USGS)
    position
    position.

    Unique identifying number corresponding to label on map published as Open-File Report 20010-1254. Also used in Notes field as an identifier for other operations when capacities are combined. Please note that closed facilities are not included in this rep. Integer values. Int of width 4.
    Range of values
    Minimum:1
    Maximum:1727
    Resolution:1
    rec_id
    Record ID.

    Record identifier without further scientific significance. Integer values. Int of width 4.
    Range of values
    Minimum:1
    Maximum:6620
    Resolution:1
    year
    Currentness year.

    The year for which the facility capacity and activity status is valid, derived from the Minerals Yearbook. Integer values. Int of width 4.
    Range of values
    Minimum:2003
    Maximum:2008
    Resolution:1
    country
    Country.

    The country in which the facility is located. Textual values of no more than 24 characters.
    commodity
    Commodity.

    The material mined or processed at the site. Textual values of no more than 64 characters.
    location
    Location.

    Description of the geographical location or vicinity of the facility or operation. Textual values of no more than 168 characters.
    ValueDefinition
    (no value)Information not available for this record. 998 records have no value for location.
    fac_name
    Facility name.

    Name given to a mine or processing plant that distinguishes it from others owned by the same facility. It may be the name of the facility given to it by the company or by others in the industry, or it may be the name of the nearest city or province, or a. Textual values of no more than 144 characters.
    ValueDefinition
    (no value)Information not available for this record. 1624 records have no value for fac_name.
    fac_type
    Facility type.

    The type of operation which may be a mine, an oil or gas field, or one of several kinds of processing plants. Textual values of no more than 32 characters.
    ValueDefinition
    (no value)Information not available for this record. 141 records have no value for fac_type.
    dmslat
    Latitude (DMS).

    Angular distance measured on a meridian north or south from the equator, measured in degrees, minutes, and seconds. Textual values of no more than 12 characters.
    ValueDefinition
    (no value)Information not available for this record. 1 records have no value for dmslat.
    dmslong
    Longitude (DMS).

    Angular distance between the plane of a meridian east or west from the plane of the meridian of Greenwich, measured in degrees, minutes, and seconds. Textual values of no more than 12 characters.
    latitude
    Latitude.

    Angular distance measured on a meridian north or south from the equator, measured in decimal degrees. Real numbers stored in double precision.
    Range of values
    Minimum:-54.114
    Maximum:78.2
    longitude
    Longitude.

    Angular distance between the plane of a meridian east or west from the plane of the meridian of Greenwich, measured in decimal degrees. Real numbers stored in double precision.
    Range of values
    Minimum:-178.69
    Maximum:178.39
    precision
    Location precision.

    Relative precision of coordinates to an exact facility. Textual values of no more than 4 characters.
    mm
    Mining method.

    The method of mining used by the operation if it is considered to be a mine. Textual values of no more than 4 characters.
    ValueDefinition
    (no value)Information not available for this record. 4703 records have no value for mm.
    op_comp
    Operating company.

    The principal company operating at the site. Textual values of no more than 254 characters.
    ValueDefinition
    (no value)Information not available for this record. 576 records have no value for op_comp.
    maininvest
    Main investors.

    The primary shareholders or partners in the operating company or the mineral extraction and (or) processing venture. Textual values of no more than 176 characters.
    ValueDefinition
    (no value)Information not available for this record. 4927 records have no value for maininvest.
    othinvest
    Other investors.

    The secondary investors and shareholders of the operating company or the mineral extraction and (or) processing venture. Textual values of no more than 254 characters.
    ValueDefinition
    (no value)Information not available for this record. 6172 records have no value for othinvest.
    status
    Operational status.

    An indicator of whether an operation was producing during the year listed. Closed facilities are not included in this report. Textual values of no more than 20 characters.
    capacity
    Operating capacity.

    The amount of a commodity that is possible to produce at the facility. Textual values of no more than 12 characters.
    ValueDefinition
    (no value)Information not available for this record. 10 records have no value for capacity.
    units
    Capacity units.

    The unit of measurement for the facility's capacity. Textual values of no more than 44 characters.
    ValueDefinition
    (no value)Information not available for this record. 334 records have no value for units.
    notes
    Notes.

    Additional information about the record that users should be aware of (mostly refers to combined facility production capacities). Textual values of no more than 128 characters.
    ValueDefinition
    (no value)Information not available for this record. 4239 records have no value for notes.
    cite
    USGS Report.

    USGS report in which this record was provided, a numeric value linking to the Mineral Resource Online Data Catalog. Integer values. Int of width 4.
    Range of values
    Minimum:847
    Maximum:851
    Resolution:1

Who produced the data set?

  1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)
    • U.S. Geological Survey
  2. Who also contributed to the data set?
  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?

Why was the data set created?

National Minerals Information Center makes available a wide variety of commodity statistics and other mineral resource supply and production information both within the United States and internationally. These databases complement aggregate commodity statistics collected by the NMIC.

How was the data set created?

  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?
    USGS OFR 2006-1135 (source 1 of 5)
    Eros, J. M., and Candelario-Quintana, Luissette, 2006, Mineral facilities of Africa and the Middle East: Open-File Report 2006-1135, Geological Survey (U.S.), Reston, Virginia.

    Online Links:

    Type_of_Source_Media: digital data
    Source_Contribution: Mineral facilities of Africa and the Middle East
    USGS OFR 2006-1375 (source 2 of 5)
    Bernstein, Rachel, Eros, J. M., and Quinatana-Velazquez, Meliany, 2006, Mineral facilities of Latin America and Canada: Open-File Report 2006-1375, Geological Survey (U.S.), Reston, Virginia.

    Online Links:

    Type_of_Source_Media: digital data
    Source_Contribution: Mineral facilities of Latin America and Canada
    USGS OFR 2010-1254 (source 3 of 5)
    Baker, Michael S., Elias, Nurudeen, Guzman, Eric, and Soto-Viruet, Yadira, 2010, Mineral facilities of Asia and the Pacific: Open-File Report 2010-1254.

    Online Links:

    Type_of_Source_Media: digital data
    Source_Contribution: Mineral facilities of Asia and the southeast Pacific
    USGS OFR 2010-1255 (source 4 of 5)
    Baker, Michael S., Elias, Nurudeen, Guzman, Eric, and Soto-Viruet, Yadira, 2010, Mineral facilities of Northern and Central Eurasia: Open-File Report 2010-1255.

    Online Links:

    Type_of_Source_Media: digital data
    Source_Contribution: Mineral facilities of northern and central Eurasia
    USGS OFR 2010-1257 (source 5 of 5)
    Almanzar, Francisco, Baker, Michael S., Elias, Nurudeen, and Guzman, Eric, 2010, Mineral facilities of Europe: Open-File Report 2010-1257.

    Online Links:

    Type_of_Source_Media: digital data
    Source_Contribution: European mineral facilities
  2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?
    Date: Dec-2010 (process 1 of 1)
    Databases produced by the National Minerals Information Center were combined compatibly, adding a field to indicate the source publication from which they were drawn. Person who carried out this activity:
    Peter N Schweitzer
    USGS ER GD
    Geologist
    12201 Sunrise Valley Drive
    Reston, VA
    USA

    703-648-6533 (voice)
    703-648-6252 (FAX)
    pschweitzer@usgs.gov
    Data sources used in this process:
    • USGS OFR 2006-1135
    • USGS OFR 2006-1375
    • USGS OFR 2010-1254
    • USGS OFR 2010-1255
    • USGS OFR 2010-1257
  3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?

How reliable are the data; what problems remain in the data set?

  1. How well have the observations been checked?
    Information in these databases comes from industry surveys and literature. While the figures and characteristics are generally judged to be plausible, they may be incorrect in fine detail due to errors in the original sources.
  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?
  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
    The following fields contain missing values; the number after the field label is the number of records for which that field is empty. Other fields are populated for all records. 
     location      998
 fac_name     1624
 fac_type      141
 dmslat        793
 dmslong       792
 mm           5224
 op_comp       576
 maininvest   4927
 othinvest    6172
 capacity       10
 units         334
 notes        4239
  5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?
    Most of these data were compiled by the same small group of authors. Information from the first two reports was published several years before the three most recent reports, so there might be discrepancies among the reports due to the time elapsed between publications.

How can someone get a copy of the data set?

Are there legal restrictions on access or use of the data?
Access_Constraints: none
Use_Constraints: none
  1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 1)
    Peter N Schweitzer
    USGS Geology, Energy, and Minerals Science Center
    Geologist
    12201 Sunrise Valley Drive
    Reston, VA
    USA

    703-648-6533 (voice)
    703-648-6252 (FAX)
    pschweitzer@usgs.gov
  2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set? Mineral operations outside the US
  3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?
    This report is preliminary and has not been reviewed for conformity with U.S. Geological Survey editorial standards (or with the North American Stratigraphic Code). Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
  4. How can I download or order the data?

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 30-Dec-2020
Metadata author:
Peter N Schweitzer
USGS Geology, Energy, and Minerals Science Center
Geologist
12201 Sunrise Valley Drive
Reston, VA
USA

703-648-6533 (voice)
703-648-6252 (FAX)
pschweitzer@usgs.gov
Metadata standard:
Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)
This page is <https://mrdata.usgs.gov/metadata/minfac.faq.html>
Generated by mp version 2.9.50 on Wed Dec 30 15:39:50 2020