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Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS)

The Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) is a computerized storage, retrieval, and display system developed and managed under the support of the U.S. Geological Survey Mineral Resources Program. MRDS is an international data base of mineral site records with related geologic, commodity, and deposit information. New records are continually being added, and existing records updated or upgraded. MRDS Products and Data Availability are listed below.

An overview of the database is found online in USGS Fact-Sheet FS 122-00.
See also: Lipin, B.R., 2002, The Mineral Databases of the U.S. Geological Survey, in Briskey, J.A., and Schulz, K.J., eds., Agenda, Extended Abstracts and Bibliographies for a Workshop on Deposit Modeling, Mineral Resources Assessment, and Their Role in Sustainable Development: USGS Open-file Report 02-423, p. 35.

MRDS Products and Data Availability

• The main public interface to MRDS is through the Mineral Resources On-Line Spatial Data website:
  http://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/
  There are interactive map interfaces as well as options for downloading the data.  

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MRDS Users

• U.S. Geological Survey
• Other Federal Agencies
• Foreign Governments
• State Agencies
• Academia
• Industry
• General Public

MRDS Database Structure

MRDS is a worldwide data base of metallic and industrial mineral sites which was started in 1969 by the USGS. Since 1999, data from MRDS and MAS/MILS (a database maintained by the former DOI agency, Bureau of Mines) have been combined into the MRDS format. Mineral information is stored in records in approximately two hundred data fields. Each record can comprise a mineral occurrence, prospect, mine, mining district, region, or plant. A numeric record number uniquely identifies each site. The data fields are grouped under the following principal categories. The data can be searched and sorted using any of these fields.

• Record Identification
• Location
• Geology
• Description of deposit
• Exploration and development
• Description of workings
• Commodity
• References
• Production, reserves and resources.

MRDS Records Overview

• MRDS METADATA FILES link

For more information, contact:

MRDS project chief, U.S. Geological Survey, 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, MS 954, Reston, Virginia 20192; phone (703) 648-6344; e-mail: swnich@usgs.gov