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Industrial Mineral Assessment Unit reports and maps

The entire series of the Industrial Minerals Assessment Unit (IMAU) reports and maps are free to download. There are 158 reports and maps available.

You can also access the IMAU data on the BGS Onshore GeoIndex map viewer. Please note: you will need to zoom in as the data is only visible at scales between 1:40 000 and 1:600 000.

Summary

Assessment of British sand and gravel resources

The sand and gravel resources of the UK were surveyed by the IMAU on a regional scale from 1968 to 1990. A report was issued for each area surveyed, describing and quantifying the resources of sand and gravel, with an accompanying 1:25 000 map. The survey included:

  • drilling and sampling of the sand and gravel resources
  • logging of the borehole material
  • particle-size analysis to determine the proportion of gravel, sand and fines present

The maps categorise the sand and gravel resources as exposed, present beneath overburden or potentially not workable.

Assessment of other industrial mineral resources

In addition to the sand and gravel resources, other industrial mineral resources were surveyed during the same period including:

  • celestite
  • limestone and dolomite
  • conglomerate
  • hard rock resources