BGS Mineral Resources England version 3

This dataset provides digital spatial information on the location of mineral resources in England at a scale of 1:50 000. The term ‘mineral resources’ has a definition under international standards that includes both an economic and geological dimension. These data are based primarily on mapped geology with limited assessment of economics. Therefore, the term ‘mineral resources’ is used here in a broad sense. The dataset allows users to visualise the extent and distribution of mineral resources and to relate them to other forms of land-use (such as urban areas or designated environmentally sensitive areas) or to other factors (such as transport infrastructure and conservation information).

The dataset is derived from a set of commissioned projects to prepare a series of mineral resource maps based on counties or amalgamations of counties. Maps for England were commissioned by the central government department with responsibility for mineral planning at the time (Department of the Environment (DoE), Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR), Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions (DTLR), Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM), and the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) between 1994 and 2006. Each map produced (with an accompanying report describing the mineral resources depicted on the map) is available to download, as a PDF file from the BGS-hosted website: www.MineralsUK.com. During 2011-2012 revisions were made to areas of the resource linework. These changes were made as a result of new research and release of a new version of DiGMap (v5). This work was on an ad hoc basis but affects all resource layers.

In 2020 minor revisions to geometry and attributes were made in in response to minor corrections that were required. The paper maps were not re-released with these data updates. The BGS Mineral Resource data does not determine mineral reserves and therefore does not denote potential areas of extraction. Only onshore, mainland mineral resources are included in the dataset. This dataset has been produced by the collation and interpretation of mineral resource data principally held by the British Geological Survey. The mineral resource data presented are based on the best available information, but are not comprehensive and their quality is variable. The dataset should only be used to show a broad distribution of those mineral resources which may be of current or potential economic interest.