National Mine Waste Inventory
This U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) data release is a collaborative geospatial database compiled by the USGS and participating State geological surveys, with support from the Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (Earth MRI) program. The database represents the first phase of cataloging above-ground mine waste features —such as tailings and waste rock piles— that are remnants of historical and current mining activities across the nation. These features are potential sources of critical minerals and other metallic commodities that may have been discarded or overlooked.
Features in the first version of the database occur in Arizona, Colorado, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Utah, and Virginia. These features are represented as points and polygons with attributes describing location, size, commodity, and mineralogy. The entries and descriptions in the database are derived from publicly available sources compiled by USGS and State geological survey partners.
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Complete Metadata
| @type | dcat:Dataset |
|---|---|
| accessLevel | public |
| bureauCode |
[
"010:12"
]
|
| contactPoint |
{
"fn": "Nick A. Karl",
"@type": "vcard:Contact",
"hasEmail": "mailto:nkarl@usgs.gov"
}
|
| description | This U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) data release is a collaborative geospatial database compiled by the USGS and participating State geological surveys, with support from the Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (Earth MRI) program. The database represents the first phase of cataloging above-ground mine waste features —such as tailings and waste rock piles— that are remnants of historical and current mining activities across the nation. These features are potential sources of critical minerals and other metallic commodities that may have been discarded or overlooked. Features in the first version of the database occur in Arizona, Colorado, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Utah, and Virginia. These features are represented as points and polygons with attributes describing location, size, commodity, and mineralogy. The entries and descriptions in the database are derived from publicly available sources compiled by USGS and State geological survey partners. |
| distribution |
[
{
"@type": "dcat:Distribution",
"title": "Digital Data",
"format": "XML",
"accessURL": "https://doi.org/10.5066/P148EEUA",
"mediaType": "application/http",
"description": "Landing page for access to the data"
},
{
"@type": "dcat:Distribution",
"title": "Original Metadata",
"format": "XML",
"mediaType": "text/xml",
"description": "The metadata original format",
"downloadURL": "https://data.usgs.gov/datacatalog/metadata/USGS.686317a5d4be025653d31f09.xml"
}
]
|
| identifier | http://datainventory.doi.gov/id/dataset/USGS_686317a5d4be025653d31f09 |
| keyword |
[
"Arizona",
"Colorado",
"DOI",
"Department of the Interior",
"EMMA",
"Earth MRI",
"Earth Mapping Resources Initiative",
"Energy and Minerals Mission Area",
"GGGSC",
"Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center",
"Kentucky",
"MRP",
"Michigan",
"Mineral Resources Program",
"Montana",
"Nevada",
"New Mexico",
"North Carolina",
"Oklahoma",
"Rocky Mountain Region",
"U.S. Geological Survey",
"USGS",
"USGS Mineral Deposit Database",
"USGS Region 7",
"USGS:686317a5d4be025653d31f09",
"USMIN",
"United States",
"Utah",
"Virginia",
"aluminum",
"antimony",
"arsenic",
"barite",
"beryllium",
"bismuth",
"cobalt",
"commodities",
"copper",
"critical minerals",
"data release",
"deposit",
"deposit type",
"economic geology",
"evaporation pond",
"fluorite",
"gangue minerals",
"geographic information systems",
"geoscientificInformation",
"geospatial datasets",
"gold",
"gypsum stack",
"hafnium",
"iron",
"leach pile",
"lead",
"lithium",
"magnesium",
"manganese",
"metallic mineral resources",
"mine dump",
"mine waste",
"mineral deposits",
"mineral resources",
"mineralogy",
"mining and quarrying",
"mining district",
"molybdenum",
"nickel",
"ore minerals",
"ore stockpile",
"overburden pile",
"palladium",
"phosphate pond",
"platinum",
"potash",
"rhenium",
"settling pond",
"silver",
"slag pile",
"tailings",
"tellurium",
"tin",
"titanium",
"tungsten",
"uranium",
"vanadium",
"waste rock stockpile",
"zinc",
"zirconium"
]
|
| modified | 2026-01-23T00:00:00Z |
| publisher |
{
"name": "U.S. Geological Survey",
"@type": "org:Organization"
}
|
| spatial | -124.7625, 24.5211, -66.9496, 49.3845 |
| theme |
[
"geospatial"
]
|
| title | National Mine Waste Inventory |
