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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 CLG), 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 are available from the BGS Sales Desk:

County Products Date published Ref. No. Price
Bedfordshire Report and map 1995 WF/95/2 £45
Berkshire (comprising West Berkshire, Reading, Wokingham, Windsor and Maidenhead, Bracknell Forest and Slough) Report and map 2004 CR/03/074N £30
Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes Report and map 2004 CR/03/77N £30
Cambridgeshire (comprising Cambridgeshire and the City of Peterborough) Report and map 2003 CR/02/131N £30
Cheshire ( comprising Cheshire, Boroughs of Halton and Warrington) Report and map 2006 CR/05/090N £30
Cornwall Report and map 1997 WF/97/11 £45
Cumbria and Lake District Report and 3 maps, Sand and gravel, North and south, Other resources 2001 WF/01/02 £70
Derbyshire Report and map 1995 WF/95/3 £45
Devon (comprising Devon, Plymouth, Torbay, Dartmoor National Park and part of Exmoor National Park) Report and 2 maps 2006 CR/05/096N £60
Dorset, Bournemouth and Poole Report and map 2001 WF/01/01 £40
Durham and Tees Valley Report and map 2000 WF/00/6 £40
East Sussex (comprising Brighton & Hove and East Sussex) Report and map 2002 CR/02/126N £30
Essex (comprising Essex, Southend–on–Sea, Thurrock, London Boroughs of Barking and Dagenham, Havering, Redbridge and Waltham Forest) Report and map 2002 CR/02/127N £30
Gloucestershire (comprising Gloucestershire and South Gloucestershire) Report and map 2006 CR/05/105N £30
Greater Manchester (comprising Cities of Manchester and Salford and Metropolitan Boroughs of Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan) Report and map 2006 CR/05/182N £30
Hampshire (comprising Hampshire, City of Portsmouth and City of Southampton) Report and map 2003 CR/02/129N £30
Herefordshire & Worcestershire Report and map 1999 WF/99/4 £40
Hertfordshire and Northwest London Boroughs Report and map 2003 CR/03/075/N £30
Humberside (comprising East Riding of Yorkshire, North Lincolnshire, North East Lincolnshire and City of Kingston upon Hull). Report and map 2005 CR/04/227N £30
Isle of Wight Report and map 2002 CR/02/130N £30
Kent (comprising Kent, Medway and London Boroughs of Bexley and Bromley) Report and map 2003 CR/02/125N £30
Lancashire (comprising Lancashire and Boroughs of Blackpool and Blackburn with Darwen) Report and map 2006 CR/05/144N £30
Leicestershire, City of Leicester and Rutland Report and map 2002 CR/02/24/N £30
Lincolnshire Report and 2 maps : North and south 2003 CR/02/128N £60
Merseyside (comprising City of Liverpool and Boroughs of Knowsley, Sefton, St Helens and Wirral Report and map 2005 CR/05/129N £30
Norfolk Report and map 2004 CR/03/174N £30
North Yorkshire (comprising North Yorkshire, Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors National Parks and City of York) Report and 2 maps: East and west 2006 CR/04/228N £60
Northamptonshire Report and map 2000 WF/00/4 £40
Northumberland and Tyne & Wear Report and 2 maps: North and south 2000 WF/00/5 £60
Nottinghamshire and City of Nottingham Report and map 2002 CR/02/23/N £30
Oxfordshire Report and map 2004 CR/04/62N £30
Peak District National Park Report and map 1995 WF/95/4 £45
Shropshire Report and 2 maps – Sand and gravel, Other minerals 1998 WF/98/6 £60
Somerset (comprising Somerset, North Somerset, Bath & North East Somerset, City of Bristol and part of Exmoor National Park) Report and map 2005 CR/04/214N £30
South Wales Report and 2 maps – Coal: Other minerals 1997 WF/97/10 £70
South Yorkshire (comprising Metropolitan Boroughs of Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham and City of Sheffield) Report and map 2006 CR/04/173N £30
Staffordshire Report and 2 maps – Sand and gravel, Other minerals 1995 WF/95/5 £70
Suffolk Report and map 2003 CR/03/076N £30
Surrey (comprising Surrey and the London Boroughs of Croydon, Hounslow, Kingston upon Thames, Richmond upon Thames and Sutton) Report and map 2003 CR/03/073N £30
Warwickshire Report and map 1999 WF/99/2 £40
West Midlands Report and map 1999 WF/99/3 £40
West Sussex Report and map 1998 WF/98/5 £40
West Yorkshire (comprising Metropolitan Boroughs of Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees and Wakefield and City of Leeds) Report and map 2006 CR/04/172N £30
Wiltshire (comprising Wiltshire and the Borough of Swindon) Report and map 2004 CR/04/049N £30

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 Assembly 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