BGS logoMineralsUK logo

Onshore mineral resource maps

Cumbria, showing surface planning permissions and major environmental designations, BGS©NERC. Click to enlarge.

Minerals are essential for the development of a modern economy, but their extraction is subject to environmental and other constraints. Bringing together minerals, environmental and other land-use information in an integrated system allows more effective and sustainable management strategies to be developed.

Mineral resource maps in England and parts of South Wales

The BGS was commissioned by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (now Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government), through the research project Mineral Resource information in Support of National, Regional and Local Planning, to prepare a series of ‘county’ mineral resource maps. This work was completed in early 2006 and a series of digitally generated maps at a scale of 1:100 000 are available. These maps cover 44 administrative areas or groups of administrative areas, giving information for the whole of England and parts of South Wales.

Four major elements of information are presented on the summary maps:

  • the geological distribution of all onshore mineral resources
  • the location of mineral extraction sites
  • the extent of mineral planning permissions and licences for coal extraction
  • the extent of selected landscape and nature–conservation designations (National Parks, AONBs, SSSIs, NNRs and scheduled monuments).

A primary objective is to produce baseline data in a consistent format that can be updated, revised and customised to suit planning needs, including for use in the preparation of Mineral Development Plan Documents and Regional Spatial Strategies.

All the data on the ‘county maps’ have been merged to produce an online Minerals Information GIS for each English region Regional Minerals Information Online.

The maps and associated reports can be downloaded using the links below:

County Products Date published Ref. No.
Bedfordshire

Report (862 kb)

Map (4.31 Mb)

 1995 WF/95/2
Berkshire (comprising West Berkshire, Reading, Wokingham, Windsor and Maidenhead, Bracknell Forest and Slough)

Report (321 kb)

Map (5.98 Mb)

 2004 CR/03/074N
Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes

Report (652 kb)

Map (7.51 Mb)

 2004 CR/03/77N
Cambridgeshire (comprising Cambridgeshire and the City of Peterborough)

Report (765 kb)

Map (9.04 Mb)

 2003 CR/02/131N
Cheshire (comprising Cheshire, Boroughs of Halton and Warrington)

Report (405 kb)

Map (9.46 Mb)

 2006 CR/05/090N
Cornwall

Report (2.24 Mb)

Map (6.80 Mb)

 1997 WF/97/11
Cumbria and Lake District

Report (855 kb)

3 maps:

Sand & gravel,
North & south,
Other resources
(41.1 Mb)

 2001 WF/01/02
Derbyshire

Report (695 kb)

Map (6.15 Mb)

 1995 WF/95/3
Devon (comprising Devon, Plymouth, Torbay, Dartmoor National Park and part of Exmoor National Park)

Report (1011 kb)

2 maps

North & South (21.6 Mb)

 2006 CR/05/096N
Dorset, Bournemouth and Poole

Report (433 kb)

Map (13.3 Mb)

 2001 WF/01/01
Durham and Tees Valley

Report (434 kb)

Map (11.7 Mb)

 2000 WF/00/6
East Sussex (comprising Brighton & Hove and East Sussex)

Report (332 kb)

Map (7.19 Mb)

 2002 CR/02/126N
Essex (comprising Essex, Southend–on–Sea, Thurrock, London Boroughs of Barking and Dagenham, Havering, Redbridge and Waltham Forest)

Report (375 kb)

Map (13.7 Mb)

 2002 CR/02/127N
Gloucestershire (comprising Gloucestershire and South Gloucestershire)

Report (573 kb)

Map (11.2 Mb)

 2006 CR/05/105N
Greater Manchester (comprising Cities of Manchester and Salford and Metropolitan Boroughs of Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan)

Report (659 kb)

Map (7.11 Mb)

 2006 CR/05/182N
Hampshire (comprising Hampshire, City of Portsmouth and City of Southampton)

Report (1.64 Mb)

Map (14.4 Mb)

 2003 CR/02/129N
Herefordshire & Worcestershire

Report (513 kb)

Map (9.16 Mb)

 1999 WF/99/4
Hertfordshire and Northwest London Boroughs

Report (513 kb)

Map (9.16 Mb)

 2003 CR/03/075/N
Humberside (comprising East Riding of Yorkshire, North Lincolnshire, North East Lincolnshire and City of Kingston upon Hull)

Report (663 kb)

Map (8.98 Mb)

 2005 CR/04/227N
Isle of Wight

Report (252 kb)

Map (2.02 Mb)

 2002 CR/02/130N
Kent (comprising Kent, Medway and London Boroughs of Bexley and Bromley)

Report (401 kb)

Map (17.6 Mb)

 2003 CR/02/125N
Lancashire (comprising Lancashire and Boroughs of Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen)

Report (999 kb)

Map (10.9 Mb)

 2006 CR/05/144N
Leicestershire, City of Leicester and Rutland

Report (240 kb)

Map (9.33 Mb)

 2002 CR/02/24/N
Lincolnshire

Report (1.24 Mb)

Two maps:

North & South (14.8 Mb)

 2003 CR/02/128N
London Boroughs

Map (8.55 Mb)
Map only

 2003  
Merseyside (comprising City of Liverpool and Boroughs of Knowsley, Sefton, St Helens and Wirral)

Report (903 kb)

Map (2.93 Mb)

 2005 CR/05/129N
Norfolk

Report (3.01 Mb)

Map (17.8 Mb)

 2004 CR/03/174N
North Yorkshire (comprising North Yorkshire, Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors National Parks and City of York)

Report (1.75 Mb)

2 maps

East and west (22.6 Mb)

 2006 CR/04/228N
Northamptonshire

Report (556 kb)

Map (5.20 Mb)

 2000 WF/00/4
Northumberland and Tyne & Wear

Report (672 kb)

2 maps:

North & south (18.2 Mb)

 2000 WF/00/5
Nottinghamshire and City of Nottingham

Report (637 kb)

Map (8.8 Mb)

 2002 CR/02/23/N
Oxfordshire

Report (544 kb)

Map (8.65 Mb)

 2004 CR/04/62N
Peak District National Park

Report (629 kb)

Map (4.93 Mb)

 1995 WF/95/4
Shropshire

Report (1.77 Mb)

2 maps

Sand and gravel, Other minerals (11.3 Mb)

 1998 WF/98/6
Somerset (comprising Somerset, North Somerset, Bath & North East Somerset, City of Bristol and part of Exmoor National Park)

Report (573 kb)

Map (12.3 Mb)

 2005 CR/04/214N
South Wales Report and 2 maps – Coal: Other minerals 1997 WF/97/10
South Yorkshire (comprising Metropolitan Boroughs of Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham and City of Sheffield)

Report (1.02 Mb)

Map (4.79 Mb)

 2006 CR/04/173N
Staffordshire

Report (1.21 Mb)

2 maps

Sand and gravel, Other minerals (11.1 Mb)

 1995 WF/95/5
Suffolk

Report (1.11 Mb)

Map (13.7 Mb)

 2003 CR/03/076N
Surrey (comprising Surrey and the London Boroughs of Croydon, Hounslow, Kingston upon Thames, Richmond upon Thames and Sutton)

Report (315 kb)

Map (8.97 Mb)

 2003 CR/03/073N
Warwickshire

Report (611 kb)

Map (8.42 Mb)

 1999 WF/99/2
West Midlands

Report (440 kb)

Map (8.42 Mb)

 1999 WF/99/3
West Sussex

Report (1.41 Mb)

Map (5.15 Mb)

 1998 WF/98/5
West Yorkshire (comprising Metropolitan Boroughs of Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees and Wakefield and City of Leeds)

Report (960 kb)

Map(10.5 Mb)

 2006 CR/04/172N
Wiltshire (comprising Wiltshire and the Borough of Swindon)

Report (726 kb)

Map (10.7 Mb)

 2004 CR/04/049N

Mineral resource maps in Scotland

The British Geological Survey (BGS) was awarded a grant from the Scottish Government Aggregates Levy Fund in 2007 to provide a comprehensive, relevant and accessible information base to enhance the sustainability of mineral resources for 18 local authorities in the central belt of Scotland. BGS co–funded this project through its Sustainable Mineral Solutions project. This work was completed in March 2008. A report, A guide to minerals information in the central belt of Scotland, and a series of 4 digitally generated maps at a scale of 1:100 000 are available:

The maps show surface mineral resources, mineral working and the extent of selected national/international landscape and nature–conservation designations (National Parks, NSAs, SPAs, SACs SSSIs, NNRs, Ramsar sites and scheduled monuments).

Four major elements of information are presented on the summary maps:

  • the geological distribution of all onshore mineral resources and the location of mineral extraction sites
  • the extent of mineral planning permissions and licences for coal extraction
  • the extent of selected landscape and nature–conservation designations (National Parks, AONBs, SSSIs, NNRs and scheduled monuments)

Mineral resource maps in Wales

The British Geological Survey (BGS) was awarded a grant from the Welsh Government administered Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund for Wales in 2009 to provide a comprehensive, relevant and accessible information base to enhance the sustainability of mineral resources in Wales. BGS co–funded this project through its Sustainable Mineral Solutions Team, part of the Minerals and Waste science programme. This work, which was led from the BGS Cardiff office, was completed in July 2010. A report, The Mineral Resource Maps of Wales, and a series of six digitally generated maps at a scale of 1:100 000 are now available:

The major elements of minerals information presented on the maps are:

  • The geological distribution of all onshore (above low water mark) mineral resources in Wales
  • The location of mineral extraction sites
  • The recorded occurrences of metallic minerals
  • The recorded location of former slate quarries and significant areas of slate waste
  • The recorded location of historic building stone quarries

Aggregates safeguarding maps in Wales

As mineral resources are finite and are not evenly distributed, knowledge about their whereabouts is essential for making effective and sustainable planning decisions that consider the needs of future generations. Access to mineral resources can be prevented or restricted (sterilised) by non-mineral development and the process of 'mineral safeguarding' ensures that this does not occur unnecessarily when planning applications are determined. An effective safeguarding system requires the adoption of 'mineral safeguarding areas' and the adoption of suitable policies through which development is managed in these areas.

The aggregates safeguarding maps have been compiled to assist Mineral Planning Authorities (MPAs) in the delineation of aggregates safeguarding areas in Local Development Plans. A report, the Aggregates Safeguarding Maps of Wales, and a series of six digitally generated maps at a scale of 1:100 000 are now available:

Mineral resource maps in Northern Ireland

Following a commission from the Department of the Environment, the British Geological Survey and its counterpart the Geological Survey of Northern Ireland have produced a Mineral Resources Map of Northern Ireland. The map is intended to assist strategic decision-making in respect of mineral extraction and the protection of important mineral resources against sterilisation. Six digitally generated maps at a scale of 1:100 000 scale are now available:

The map has been produced by the collation and interpretation of mineral resource data principally held by the Geological Survey of Northern Ireland. The major elements of information presented on the map are:

  • The geological distribution of all onshore (above low water mark) mineral resources
  • The extent of mineral planning permission and their current planning status (extant or expired)
  • The recorded occurrences of metallic minerals
  • The recorded location of building stone quarries
  • The extent of selected landscape and nature–conservation designations (SACs, SPAs, RAMSAR sites, AONBs, ASSIs, NNR and scheduled monuments) and planning designations (Area of Constraint on Mineral Developments)