This compilation summarizes the metallic mineral mines, prospects, and occurrences of Puerto Rico. The metallic and mineral data discussed here have been complied and entered, in support of the mineral resource assessment of Puerto Rico, into the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS), a database for worldwide mineral deposits and occurrences.
These sites were extracted from MRDS records compiled from previous mineral occurrence maps (Cox and Briggs, 1973), literature searches, and public company records on file at the Puerto Rico Department of Natural Resources, San Juan.
Purpose:
An inventory of known mineral deposits and less-understood mineral occurrences is essential in the evaluation of the potential mineral resource endowment of an area. For this reason, great care was used to identify and document metallic and nonmetallic industrial mineral occurrences of Puerto Rico.
Previous studies of Puerto Rico, many of which were conducted on specific commodities or in restricted areas, examined known mineral deposits and occurrences. The "Metallogenic Map of Puerto Rico" (Cox and Briggs, 1973) combined mineral sites from these studies into a comprehensive compilation. In this study, deposits and occurrences described in Cox and Briggs are augmented with additional published and unpublished information by reviewing the original literature and other sources. New MRDS records were prepared to incorporate data found in the files available at the Department of Natural Resources in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Supplemental_Information:
The occurrences of metallic minerals, shows an association of mineral deposit types by spatial distribution. Each deposit type is represented by a unique symbol accompanied by a site number. Those occurrences for which a deposit type could not be determined due to lack of information are represented by the abbreviation of an element known to occur at this site. Certain mineral deposit types tend to be found in proximity to one another. If geology, geologic terrane, and metallic mineral occurrences are considered, it can be seen that granitic intrusive rocks tend to be associated with skarn and vein deposits. Gold placer deposits can be found in sediments downstream in drainage basins crossing areas that contain gold-bearing porphyry, skarn, and vein systems. Nickel laterite deposits are concentrated in southwestern Puerto Rico, where they have developed on weathered serpentinite. Volcanogenic manganese deposits display a northwest-southeast trend that corresponds to outcrops of Tertiary volcaniclastic rocks.
Time_Period_of_Content:
Time_Period_Information:
Single_Date/Time:
Calendar_Date: 1999
Status:
Progress: Complete
Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency: None Planned
Spatial_Domain:
Bounding_Coordinates:
West_Bounding_Coordinate: -67.75300687
East_Bounding_Coordinate: -65.4677628
North_Bounding_Coordinate: 18.81549477
South_Bounding_Coordinate: 17.75607488
Keywords:
Theme:
Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: None
Theme_Keyword:
Mineral Occurrence
Porphyry Copper
Porphyry Copper/Gold
Polymetallic Veins
Epithermal Quartz-Alunite Gold
Copper Skarn
Iron Skarn
Gold Placer
Titanium Placer
Nickel Laterite
Volcanogenic Manganese
Copper Manto
Place:
Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: None
Place_Keyword: Puerto Rico
Access_Constraints: None
Use_Constraints:
Anyone who uses these data must cite U.S Geological Survey.
These data are not to be used at scales showing more detail than 1:200,000.
Point_of_Contact:
Contact_Information:
Contact_Person_Primary:
Contact_Person: Bawiec, Walter J.
Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey
Contact_Position: Geologist
Contact_Address:
Address_Type: mailing address
Address:
954 National Center
12201 Sunrise Valley Drive
City: Reston
State_or_Province: Virginia
Postal_Code: 20192
Country: United States
Contact_Voice_Telephone: (703)648-6148
Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: (703)648-6383
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: wbawiec@usgs.gov
Native_Data_Set_Environment:
Windows_NT, 4.0, Intel
ARC/INFO version 7.1.1
Data_Quality_Information:
Attribute_Accuracy:
Attribute_Accuracy_Report: The accuracy of the location of these sites varies from site to site, and is dependent upon the source of the record description. In some cases the points are transferred from a 1:240,000 scale map, and in other cases the locations are very accurate because of mining company descriptions or field checking. The MRDS record for each site should be examined in order to determine the accuracy of the location.
Logical_Consistency_Report:
Point features present.
Completeness_Report:
Previous studies of Puerto Rico, many of which were conducted on specific commodities or in restricted areas, examined known mineral deposits and occurrences. The "Metallogenic Map of Puerto Rico" (Cox and Briggs, 1973) combined mineral sites from these studies into a comprehensive compilation. In this study, deposits and occurrences described in Cox and Briggs were augmented with additional published and unpublished information by reviewing the original literature and other sources. New MRDS records were prepared to incorporate data found in the files available at the Department of Natural Resources in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Positional_Accuracy:
Horizontal_Positional_Accuracy:
Horizontal_Positional_Accuracy_Report: The horizontal accuracy of these points was not tested. They were plotted with the accuracy reflected in the MRDS record descriptions.