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Active Mines and Mineral Processing Plants in the United States in 2003

Frequently-anticipated questions:

• What does this data set describe?
  1. How should 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 should this data set be cited?

   U.S. Geological Survey, 2005, Active Mines and Mineral Processing Plants in the United States in 2003: U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia.

   Online Links:

   • <http://mrdata.usgs.gov/>

2. What geographic area does the data set cover?

   West_Bounding_Coordinate: -162.865000

   East_Bounding_Coordinate: -67.659000

   North_Bounding_Coordinate: 68.070000

   South_Bounding_Coordinate: 19.628500

3. What does it look like?

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

   Calendar_Date: 2003

   Currentness_Reference: ground condition

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

   Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: vector digital data

6. How does the data set represent geographic features?
   1. How are geographic features stored in the data set?

      Indirect_Spatial_Reference:

      U.S. Department of Commerce, 1987, Codes for the Identification of the States, the District of Columbia and the Outlying Areas of the United States, and Associated Areas FIPS 5-2): Washington, D.C., National Institute of Standards and Technology.

      U.S. Department of Commerce, 1990, Counties and Equivalent Entities of the United States, Its Possessions, and Associated Areas, (FIPS 6-4): Washington, D.C., National Institute of Standards and Technology.

      This is a Vector data set. It contains the following vector data types (SDTS terminology):
      • Entity point (6738)

   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 0.01. Longitudes are given to the nearest 0.01. Latitude and longitude values are specified in Decimal degrees.

      The horizontal datum used is North American Datum of 1927.
      The ellipsoid used is Clarke 1866.
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378206.400000.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/294.978698.
      

7. How does the data set describe geographic features?

   Active Mines and Mineral Processing Plants in 2003

   Locations of active mines and mineral processing plants in 2003 (Source: U.S. Geological Survey Minerals Information Team.)

   COMMODITY

   The mineral(s) and/or metal(s) produced or processed by the facility. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey Minerals Information Team)

   Formal codeset
   Codeset Name:	Mineral Commodity Summaries 2006, or <http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/mcs/>
   Codeset Source:	U.S. Geological Survey, Minerals Information Team

   ID

   internal feature number (Source: U.S. Geological Survey Minerals Information Team)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	1
   Maximum:	6842

   SITE_NAME

   Name of the location; may be the name of the mine or plant or the nearest locality (Source: U.S. Geological Survey Minerals Information Team)

   There is no predefined set of standard site names.

   COMPANY_NA

   The name of the company operating at the location. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey Minerals Information Team)

   There is no predefined set of standard company names.

   STATE_LOCA

   State in which the site is located (Source: U.S. Geological Survey Minerals Information Team)

   Formal codeset
   Codeset Name:	U.S. Department of Commerce, 1987, Codes for the Identification of the States, the District of Columbia and the Outlying Areas of the United States, and Associated Areas (Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 5-2): Washington, D.C., National Institute of Standards and Technology.
   Codeset Source:	<http://www.itl.nist.gov/fipspubs/>

   COUNTY

   County in which the operation is located. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey Minerals Information Team)

   Formal codeset
   Codeset Name:	U.S. Department of Commerce, 1990, Counties and Equivalent Entities of the United States, Its Possessions, and Associated Areas. (Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 6-4): Washington, D.C., National Institute of Standards and Technology.
   Codeset Source:	<http://www.itl.nist.gov/fipspubs/>

   LATITUDE

   The latittude of the operation in decimal degrees. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey Minerals Information Team)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	19
   Maximum:	68

   LONGITUDE

   The longitude of the site in decimal degrees (Source: U.S. Geological Survey Minerals Information Team)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	-162.865
   Maximum:	-67.659

   PLANT_MIN

   Whether the operation is a mine, a plant, or both (Source: U.S. Geological Survey Minerals Information Team.)

   Value	Definition
   M	The operation is a mine
   P	The operation is a plant
   M/P	The facility is both a mine and a plant

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?
   Robert Callaghan
   U.S. Geological Survey
   983 National Center
   Reston, VA 20192
   

   703-648-7709 (voice)
   rcallaghan@usgs.gov
   

Why was the data set created?

The digital data set of the Minerals Information Team is used to create electronic and hard copy maps that depict various mineral or metal mine and/or processing locations on a national map. The data can be used to conduct graphic analysis on national and large regional scales.

How was the data set created?

1. From what previous works were the data drawn?

   AMIS (source 1 of 2)

   U.S. Geological Survey, Unpublished Material, Automated Minerals Information System (AMIS).

   Type_of_Source_Media: Internal USGS server

   Source_Contribution: Minerals operations descriptions

   Minerals Yearbook 2003 (source 2 of 2)

   U.S. Geological Survey, 2004, USGS Minerals Yearbook -- 2003.

   Online Links:

   • <http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/>

   Type_of_Source_Media: online

   Source_Contribution:

   The USGS Minerals Yearbook (MYB) contains statistical information on over 90 commodities. These reviews summarize activity in the commodity. From tables and other information in the MYB lists of active operations were determined.

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

   Date: 2005 (process 1 of 2)

   AMIS contains both proprietary and nonproprietary information. For each commodity, the Minerals Information Team extracted from AMIS the nonproprietary information useful for this application and placed this information in a separate database. This information includes company name, site name, county, state, and coordinates. This information is reported by the company with the exception of coordinates, which have been added by the MIT in an ongoing process that began in 1997. Latitude and longitude for each operation was obtained from at least one of the following sources: Minerals Availability System/Minerals Industry Location System (MAS/MILS) CD-ROM, U.S. Bureau of Mines Special Publication 12-95, web searches using general internet search services (queries by company name or name of the specific operation), company contact, map interpolation, and searches of the EPA database at <http://www.epa.gov/enviro.html/multisystem_query_java.html> Whenever possible the location information was checked for accuracy and added to the AMIS database. After 2003 coordinates being added were checked, or obtained, when possible using USGS air photos available through Microsoft Terraserver (<http://terraserver-usa.com>).

   Data sources used in this process:

   • AMIS

   Date: 2005 (process 2 of 2)

   Records extracted from AMIS were compared to information available in the Minerals Information Team's 2003 Minerals Yearbook and were reviewed by commodity specialists to create the 2003 Active Mines and Plants dataset.

   Data sources used in this process:

   • Minerals Yearbook 2003

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?

   This data set includes only U.S. mineral and metal operations monitored by the Minerals Information Team of the U.S. Geological Survey and considered currently active in 2003. No energy minerals operations (for example, coal) are included. Aggregates operations are limited to those producing over 30,000 tons per year in 2002. Peat operations in Alaska are not included. Placer deposits (gold) in Alaska are not included. Clay operations (ball clay, common clay) may have many satellite pits, not all of which are specifically included. An attempt was made to add locations that may be considered representative of the companies. Plants are limited to operations considered primary -- those which process a mineral or metal to create the first raw material from which products are made. Downstream operations (operations that reprocess a raw material into another raw material or final product) and recycling operations are not included.

5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?

   No tests for logical consistency were performed on this data set.

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. Acknowledgment of the Minerals Information Team, U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior, government of the United States of America would be appreciated in products derived from these data.

1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 1)
   Peter Schweitzer
   U.S. Geological Survey
   954 National Center
   Reston, VA 20192
   

   703-648-6533 (voice)
   pschweitzer@usgs.gov
   

2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set?

   Downloadable Data

3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?

   Although these data have been processed successfully on a computer system at the U.S. Geological Survey, no warranty expressed or implied is made by the U.S. Geological Survey regarding the utility of the data on any other system, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty.

4. How can I download or order the data?
   • Availability in digital form:

     Data format:	Mine and plant locations and characteristics in format ESRI shapefile (version 1.0) Size: 0.4 megabytes
     Network links:	<http://tin.er.usgs.gov/mineplant/mineplant.zip>

   • Cost to order the data: none

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:

Last modified: 23-Jan-2006

Metadata author:

Robert Callaghan
U.S. Geological Survey
987 National Center
Reston, VA 20192

703 648 7709 (voice)
rcallaghan@usgs.gov

Metadata standard:

Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)