1. Mineral Resources
2. Online Spatial Data

Major mineral deposits of the world

Frequently anticipated questions:

• What does this data set describe?
  1. How might this data set be cited?
  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?
  3. What does it look like?
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
  5. What is the general form of this data set?
  6. How does the data set represent geographic features?
  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?
• Who produced the data set?
  1. Who are the originators of the data set?
  2. Who also contributed to the data set?
  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
• Why was the data set created?
• How was the data set created?
  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?
  2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?
  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?
  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?
  5. How consistent are the relationships among the data, including topology?
• How can someone get a copy of the data set?
  1. Are there legal restrictions on access or use of the data?
  2. Who distributes the data?
  3. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set?
  4. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?
  5. How can I download or order the data?
• Who wrote the metadata?

What does this data set describe?

1. How might this data set be cited?
   Schulz, Klaus J., and Briskey, Joseph A., 2005, Major mineral deposits of the world: Open-File Report 2005-1294, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia.

   Online Links:

   • https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20051294
   • https://mrdata.usgs.gov/major-deposits/

2. What geographic area does the data set cover?

   West_Bounding_Coordinate: -178.73
   East_Bounding_Coordinate: 178.18
   North_Bounding_Coordinate: 83.1
   South_Bounding_Coordinate: -48.39
   

3. What does it look like?

   https://mrdata.usgs.gov/major-deposits/ofr20051294.png (PNG)

   Reduced-size map of the world showing the locations of the major deposits plotted., (540 x 270 pixels)

4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?

   Calendar_Date: 2009

   Currentness_Reference:

   publication date of the last-appearing source

5. What is the general form of this data set?

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 (3168)
   2. What coordinate system is used to represent geographic features?
      Horizontal positions are specified in geographic coordinates, that is, latitude and longitude. Latitudes are given to the nearest 0.0001. Longitudes are given to the nearest 0.0001. 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?

   deposit

   Regional locations and general geologic setting of known deposits of major nonfuel mineral commodities (Source: this dataset)

   gid

   Record ID.

   Simple record number for this database. Integer values. Integer of width 4. (Source: this dataset)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	1
   Maximum:	3168

   dep_name

   Deposit name.

   Name of the site or deposit, possibly with alternatives. Textual values of no more than 128 characters. (Source: this dataset) Textual values of no more than 128 characters.

   country

   Country.

   Country in which the site is located. (Source: this dataset) Textual values of no more than 32 characters.

   state

   State.

   State in which the site is located, for US sites. Textual values of no more than 48 characters. (Source: this dataset) Textual values of no more than 48 characters. May be a comma-separated list.

   latitude

   Latitude.

   Geographic latitude in decimal degrees, WGS84, south latitudes negative. Real numbers stored in double precision. (Source: this dataset)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	-48
   Maximum:	83
   Units:	decimal degrees

   longitude

   Longitude.

   Geographic longitude in decimal degrees, WGS84, west longitudes negative. Real numbers stored in double precision. (Source: this dataset)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	-179
   Maximum:	178
   Units:	decimal degrees

   commodity

   Commodity.

   List of commodities present at the site. Textual values of no more than 80 characters. (Source: this dataset) Textual values of no more than 80 characters. May be a comma-separated list.

   dep_type

   Deposit type.

   Generalized type of deposit. Textual values of no more than 40 characters. (Source: this dataset)

   Value	Definition
   Hydrothermal	Deposits that form mostly from fluids in veins at moderate temperatures.
   Sedimentary	Deposits that form from surface waters that chemically precipitated the minerals. Includes evaporite deposits.
   Igneous	Deposits that form during the crystallization of molten rock.
   Surficial	Deposits that form at the Earth's surface by residual effects of weathering or by the mechanical concentration of minerals by flowing water.
   Metamorphic	Deposits that form when rocks are metamorphosed by heat and pressure.
   Gemstone	Deposits of a variety of types for which the principal commodity is gem-quality material.
   Unclassified	Deposit does not fit any of these types.

   type_detail

   Deposit type detail.

   More details on deposit type, where available. Textual values of no more than 96 characters. (Source: this dataset) Textual values of no more than 96 characters.

   model_code

   Deposit model code.

   Identifier of the deposit model, from Cox and Singer 1986. Textual values of no more than 16 characters. (Source: this dataset)

   Formal codeset
   Codeset Name:	Mineral deposit models
   Codeset Source:	https://doi.org/10.3133/b1693

   model_name

   Deposit model name.

   Name of the deposit model, from Cox and Singer 1986. Textual values of no more than 80 characters. (Source: this dataset) Textual values of no more than 80 characters.

   metallic

   Commodity type.

   Metallic or non-metallic. Textual values of no more than 16 characters. (Source: this dataset)

   Value	Definition
   Metallic	Deposit provides primarily metallic mineral commodities.
   Non-Metallic	Deposit provides primarily material or non-metallic mineral commodities.
   (no value)	Deposit not classified as to metallic or non-metallic.

   citation

   Source citation.

   Short bibligraphic references as used in scientific texts, semicolon-separated list. Textual values of no more than 96 characters. (Source: this dataset) Textual values of no more than 96 characters.

   category

   Important mineral commodity at the site. Determined during compilation of the combined dataset on mrdata.usgs.gov through consultation with Klaus Schulz. (Source: this dataset) Textual value of 24 characters or less.

   commodity

   Commodities listed separately and regularized in spelling and capitalization (Source: this dataset)

   gid

   Record ID.

   Unique identifier of the site within this database, a value of deposit:gid. Integer values. Integer of width 4. (Source: this dataset)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	1
   Maximum:	3168

   value

   Commodity.

   Name of mineral commodity or elemental symbol. (Source: this dataset) Textual values of no more than 32 characters.

Who produced the data set?

1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)
   • Schulz, Klaus J.
   • Briskey, Joseph A.
2. Who also contributed to the data set?
3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
   Klaus J Schulz

   Midwest Region

   Research Geologist

   Mail Stop 954

   12201 Sunrise Valley Dr

   Reston, VA
   

   USA

   703-648-6320 (voice)

   703-648-6383 (FAX)

   kschulz@usgs.gov

Why was the data set created?

The five regional compilations of major mineral deposits that are here combined were originally created to begin a global mineral resource assessment, and so should be understood as providing generalized fundamental information about where in the world important mineral resources have been discovered.

For our purposes, we did not need to obtain highly precise geographic locations or details of the geometry of the deposits or their precise geographic extents. The user should expect these point locations to be near the deposits they describe, but the locations may be expected to be one or a few kilometers from the actual locations.

Likewise this survey did not require detailed information on the geological setting of each deposit or the extent of production or resource estimates. For larger deposits described here, such information may be available in other USGS databases or publications.

How was the data set created?

1. From what previous works were the data drawn?

   ofr20051294A (source 1 of 5)

   Zientek, Michael L., and Orris, Greta J., 2005, Geology and nonfuel mineral deposits of the United States: Open-File Report 2005-1294-A, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia.

   Online Links:

   • https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2005/1294/a/

   Type_of_Source_Media: Digital file in Microsoft Excel format
   Source_Contribution: Deposits of the United States
   

   ofr20051294B (source 2 of 5)

   Cunningham, Charles G., Zientek, Michael L., Bawiec, Walter J., and Orris, Greta J., 2005, Geology and Nonfuel Mineral Deposits of Latin America and Canada: Open-File Report 2005-1294-B, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia.

   Online Links:

   • https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2005/1294/b/

   Type_of_Source_Media: Digital file in PDF
   Source_Contribution: Deposits of Latin America and Canada
   

   ofr20051294C (source 3 of 5)

   Peters, Stephen G., Nokleberg, Warren J., Doebrich, Jeff L., Bawiec, Walter J., Orris, Greta, Sutphin, David M., and Wilburn, David R., 2005, Geology and nonfuel mineral deposits of Asia and the Pacific: Open-File Report 2005-1294-C, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia.

   Online Links:

   • https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2005/1294/c/

   Type_of_Source_Media: Digital file in shapefile format
   Source_Contribution: Deposits of Asia and the Pacific
   

   ofr20051294D (source 4 of 5)

   Nokleberg, Warren J., Bawiec, Walter J., Doebrich, Jeff L., Lipin, Bruce R., Miller, Robert J., Orris, Greta J., and Zientek, Michael L., 2005, Geology and nonfuel mineral deposits of Greenland, Europe, Russia, and northern Central Asia: Open-File Report 2005-1294-D, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia.

   Online Links:

   • https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2005/1294/d/

   Type_of_Source_Media: Digital file in PDF
   Source_Contribution: Deposits in Europe and northern Central Asia
   

   ofr20051294E (source 5 of 5)

   Taylor, Cliff D., Schulz, Klaus J., Doebrich, Jeff L., Orris, Greta, Denning, Paul D., and Kirschbaum, Michael J., 2009, Geology and Nonfuel Mineral Deposits of Africa and the Middle East: Open-File Report 2005-1294, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia.

   Online Links:

   • https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2005/1294/e/

   Type_of_Source_Media: Digital file in PDF
   Source_Contribution: Deposits in Africa and countries of the Middle East
   

2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?

   Date: Sep-2015 (process 1 of 1)

   Data table from part A was obtained by request to the senior author as a spreadsheet. Data from part C was published as a GIS shapefile. Data from the other parts was scraped from the PDF reports on the web.

   Commodity lists were parsed, spelling was corrected, and consistent commodity identifiers were stored in the separate commodity table (joined to the deposit table on the field gid present in both tables). Commodity values in the commodity table are element symbols for elemental commodities, and lower-case names for mineral commodities, with the addition of the element groups REE and PGE as is common practice.

   References from the reports were combined and duplicates removed. Digital compiler aspires to connect the full references with the short citations that are contained in the tables, but as of 2015-09-18 this has not been successfuly completed. 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:

   • ofr20051294A
   • ofr20051294B
   • ofr20051294C
   • ofr20051294D
   • ofr20051294E

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?
   This combination of data from the five reports did not address accuracy of the deposit characteristics, but it did correct spelling of some commodity values.
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?
   Information in the component reports meet the needs of USGS coordinators as of 2005, but no further information has been added to reflect any newly discovered resources or deposits.
5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?
   Rumor has it that, because the five component reports of OFR-2005-1294 were compiled by different geoscientists, there may be variations among the reports in the criteria by which deposits were chosen for inclusion, and it is clear from the data that the deposits of the US were documented more fully than those of the other regions, owing to greater access to source materials.

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? USGS OFR 2005-1294, parts A through E, data tables only
3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?

   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?
   • Availability in digital form:

     Data format:	Mineral deposits and characteristics in format WMS (version 1.3.0)
     Network links:	https://mrdata.usgs.gov/services/ofr20051294?service=WMS&request=GetCapabilities&version=1.3.0

     Data format:	Mineral deposit locations with general deposit characteristics and commodity in format Shapefile (version 1.0) Size: 0.15
     Network links:	https://mrdata.usgs.gov/major-deposits/ofr20051294.zip

   • Cost to order the data: none

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:

Last modified: 19-Feb-2021

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)