Canadian mineral occurrence index (CANMINDEX) of the Geological Survey of Canada

Abstract

Activities of the Economic Geology Subdivision of the Geological Survey of Canada for the most part are a series of projects dealing with one or more mineral commodities, or with the metallogeny of selected geologic regions of Canada. One of the basic components of such studies is knowledge of the distribution of mineral occurrences and their contained commodities for the areas under consideration. To assist these projects, a computer processable index file of all significant mineral occurrences in Canada is being assembled. Both the file and the project have come to be known as CANMINDEX (Canadian Mineral Occurrence Index). The basic contents of the file are: 1. Identification: name, alternate name(s), and an accession number. 2. Location: geographic location. 3. Geological data: commodities present and their development status; geological deposit type, and a brief geological characterization of the deposit. 4. Bibliography: a selected bibliography of documents and maps best· describing the occurrence or the local geology. 5. Remarks: special aspects of the occurrence. 6. Cross-references: a provision to include accession numbers from up to four other files containing information on the occurrence. At present, data acquisition for the file is proceeding on the basis of priorities set by the Economic Geology Subdivision and directly supports selected projects as the file is being built.