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Tin Deposits in the United States

Metadata Updated: July 6, 2024

This data release provides descriptions of more than 120 mineral regions, mines, and mineral deposits within the United States that are reported to contain enrichments of tin (Sn). This data release only includes sites with publicly available records of past production of tin, or a defined resource of tin, or both. The inclusion of a particular mineral deposit in this database is not meant to imply that it has economic potential; it may be produced only as a byproduct at some sites. Rather, these deposits were included to capture the distribution of characteristics of the known, reported tin deposits in the United States. This logic also applies to the other commodities listed with tin in some occurrences. The primary uses for tin within the United States are for alloys, chemicals, and solder, amongst others. Tin has not been produced in the United States since 1993, and with the United States not having any active tin reserves the commodity has been deemed a critical strategic metal (Kamilli and others, 2017). As of 2017, the United States maintains a net import reliance as a percentage of apparent consumption of approximately 75 percent for tin, where 25 percent of the apparent consumption is attributed to the recycling of tin (U.S. Geological Survey, 2018). In the United States, tin most commonly occurs in the mineral cassiterite. The majority of tin occurrences are located in the state of Alaska, but tin is known to occur in many other locations in the contiguous United States. The cassiterite ore originates from various lode deposit types, including greisens, pegmatites, skarns, and veins, as well as from placers sourced from these systems. The entries and descriptions in the database were derived from published papers, reports, data, and internet documents representing a variety of sources, including geologic and exploration studies described in State, Federal, and industry reports. Although an attempt was made to capture as many examples as possible, this dataset is a progress report that is part of an ongoing effort. The authors welcome additional published information in order to continually update and refine this dataset.

Access & Use Information

Public: This dataset is intended for public access and use. License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

Downloads & Resources

Dates

Metadata Created Date June 1, 2023
Metadata Updated Date July 6, 2024

Metadata Source

Harvested from DOI EDI

Additional Metadata

Resource Type Dataset
Metadata Created Date June 1, 2023
Metadata Updated Date July 6, 2024
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Maintainer
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Identifier USGS:5ae87432e4b0e2c2dd358003
Data Last Modified 20200821
Category geospatial
Public Access Level public
Bureau Code 010:12
Metadata Context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.jsonld
Metadata Catalog ID https://datainventory.doi.gov/data.json
Schema Version https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
Catalog Describedby https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
Harvest Object Id f09c8dca-6150-45b9-99a9-d1a465070d47
Harvest Source Id 52bfcc16-6e15-478f-809a-b1bc76f1aeda
Harvest Source Title DOI EDI
Metadata Type geospatial
Old Spatial -168.1665,31.4397,-79.1447,66.2836
Publisher Hierarchy White House > U.S. Department of the Interior > U.S. Geological Survey
Source Datajson Identifier True
Source Hash be70660276845914a727e0e444046c55ad2ae941a3e8a35def2e1c091129acf2
Source Schema Version 1.1
Spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": -168.1665, 31.4397, -168.1665, 66.2836, -79.1447, 66.2836, -79.1447, 31.4397, -168.1665, 31.4397}

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