Global Major Mines
Description
This dataset contains the point locations and properties of >3000 major mining assets across 140 countries globally. Data is compiled from publicly available information, including company disclosures, regulatory filings, annual reports, official company website text, and open news articles.
36ae644b…Usage notes
Contact us for access. This dataset is updated in December of each year. Updates add new or newly catalogued mining assets and keep status, owner, or operator details of existing assets as current as possible. Point locations are mine asset centroids, so may fall outside of parcel boundaries for assets with non-adjacent parcels.
Variables
mine_id
Description
Mining asset unique identifier.
Usage notes
Follows the format PS_<country_iso_code>_XXXX, where country_iso_code is the ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 country code and XXXX is a within-country unique identifier.
status
Description
Mine activity status.
Usage notes
Changes in mine status overwrite the previous status value. Kept as current as possible based on available data and ownership confidence variable.
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Active | A mine that is currently operating and producing. |
| Suspended | A mine where production is paused or temporarily halted, with the potential to resume. |
| Closed | A mine that has been fully shut down, with no future production expected. |
| Exploration | A project that is not yet an operating mine and is undergoing exploration, evaluation, or feasibility studies to determine commercial viability. |
| Construction | A mine that is being actively constructed but is not yet operational. |
| Rehabilitation | A mine that is undergoing environmental remediation. |
| Care and Maintenance | A mine that has been formally shut down with operations ceased, assets preserved, and regulatory and environmental obligations maintained, allowing for potential future restart. |
mine_name
Description
Official or commonly used mine name.
core_commodities
Description
Primary commodity or commodities extracted or targeted.
Usage notes
May have one or multiple entries. Multiple entries are separated by a ','. See Categorical Variable Entries resource for all possible entries.
mine_type
Description
Primary mine type.
Usage notes
See Categorical Variable Entries resource for all possible entries.
parent_owners
Description
Parent company or entities holding ownership interests by percentage.
Usage notes
Owner names are followed by percent ownership in the format [X%], with multiple owners separated by a ';'. Use ownership confidence variable to identify mines with unreliable ownership information.
direct_owner
Description
Direct owner or entity responsible for day-to-day operations.
Usage notes
Use ownership confidence variable to identify mines with unreliable operator information.
latitude
Description
Mining asset latitude.
Usage notes
Point locations are asset centroids, so proximity/overlap analysis may be incorrect in cases where assets comprise multiple parcels. Locations of mining projects with status value 'Exploration' are the centroid of mining tenements. Use location accuracy variable to identify mines with unreliable location information.
longitude
Description
Mining asset longitude.
Usage notes
Point locations are asset centroids, so proximity/overlap analysis may be incorrect in cases where assets comprise multiple parcels. Locations of mining projects with status value 'Exploration' are the centroid of mining tenements. Use location accuracy variable to identify mines with unreliable location information.
country
Description
Accuracy flag for latitude and longitude variables. Assigned manually based on reliability of location information.
Usage notes
Values are Exact or Approximate. Exact is triggered where the location is precise. Approximate is triggered where the location is imprecise (generally within 10 km), could belong to one of multiple nearby mines, or is not the exact centroid of a mine with 'Exploration' status.
ownership_confidence
Description
Mining asset unique identifier.
Usage notes
Values are High, Medium, or Low. Confidence is high where ownership was verified in 2025-2026, medium where verified in 2020-2025, and low where verified before 2020 or unverified. Mine ownership can be unverified due to low data availability, rapidly changing corporate disclosures, or ongoing war/conflict in the area.
Pricing
Please see this document for more details.
Resources
Provider
PlanetSapling
planetsapling.comPlanetSapling is an environmental data science company specialising in data-driven solutions for climate adaptation, climate mitigation, and nature conservation. Using scientific analysis of various data sources, PlanetSapling creates custom geospatial products applied to environmental issues and the ecosystem impacts of human activities.