The point and polygon layers within this geodatabase present the global distribution of selected mineral resource features (deposits, mines, districts, mineral regions) for 22 minerals or mineral commodities considered critical to the economy and security of the United States as of 2017. These data complement the report by Schulz and others (2017) which provides national and global information on 23 critical minerals - antimony (Sb), barite (barium, Ba), beryllium (Be), cobalt (Co), fluorite or fluorspar (fluorine, F), gallium (Ga), germanium (Ge), graphite (carbon, C), hafnium (Hf), indium (In), lithium (Li), manganese (Mn), niobium (Nb), platinum-group elements (PGE), rare-earth elements (REE), rhenium (Re), selenium (Se), tantalum (Ta), tellurium (Te), tin (Sn), titanium (Ti), vanadium (V), and zirconium (Zr) resources. The geospatial locations for deposits containing selenium, which is recovered mainly as a byproduct of other produced mineral commodities, is not included in this geodatabase. These geospatial data and the accompanying report are an update to information published in 1973 in U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 820, United States Mineral Resources. For the current and full discussion of the individual critical minerals, their uses, identified resources, national and global distribution, geologic overview, resource assessment, and geoenvironmental considerations see:
Schulz, K.J., DeYoung, J.H., Jr., Seal, R.R., II, and Bradley, D.C., eds., 2017, Critical mineral resources of the United States--Economic and environmental geology and prospects for future supply: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1802, 777 p.,
https://doi.org/10.3133/pp1802
The data represent the global distribution of selected critical mineral resources in mines, deposits, districts, and regions as of 2017. The geospatial data provide generalized information such as feature name, deposit type, and location description. The data are used in the analysis of current and future supply chains of mineral commodities important to the U.S. economy and security and the environmental consequences related to their production and use. The point and polygon vector data in the geodatabase are suitable for use in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) or other database and geospatial software. The data may be used to develop maps, perform regional-scale geospatial analyses, or assess mineral resources in the areas covered by the data. The information is intended to meet the needs of a wide community of users that includes the geoscience and mineral exploration communities as well as State and Federal agencies, Congress, private industry, and the general public.
The locations of critical mineral resource features, for example, mines or deposits, are most commonly reported as latitude and longitude coordinates or shown as points in source maps and reports. Occasionally these features are described or shown as areas. For this reason, most critical mineral locations are provided in a point feature class in the corresponding ArcGIS 10.0 file geodatabase, and a few are provided as areal outlines in the polygon feature class. Not all deposit locations are discussed in the accompanying report. The ArcGIS feature classes are also provided as Esri shapefiles. Attribute field names in the shapefiles are limited to 10-characters; therefore, truncated shapefile field names are provided in brackets in the Attribute Label description where applicable (for example, Deposit_Type [Deposit_Ty]).
