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Tunnels and Caves

Metadata:


Identification_Information:
Citation:
Citation_Information:
Originator:
Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology (NBMG), Nevada Abandoned Mines Database Compilation Update
Publication_Date: 2001
Title: Tunnels and Caves
Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: vector digital data
Online_Linkage: <http://www.nbmg.unr.edu/dox/zip/of0103.zip>
Description:
Abstract: Nevada tunnels and caves
Purpose:
The goal of this project was to compile and update existing digital datasets containing information and location data on mine and prospect sites throughout the State of Nevada.
Supplemental_Information: NBMG OPEN-FILE REPORT 2001-3
Time_Period_of_Content:
Time_Period_Information:
Single_Date/Time:
Calendar_Date: unknown
Currentness_Reference: publication date
Status:
Progress: In work
Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency: As needed
Spatial_Domain:
Bounding_Coordinates:
West_Bounding_Coordinate: -120.653210
East_Bounding_Coordinate: -112.647644
North_Bounding_Coordinate: 42.663157
South_Bounding_Coordinate: 34.536243
Keywords:
Theme:
Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: None
Theme_Keyword: Nevada
Theme_Keyword: Tunnels and Caves
Access_Constraints: N/A
Use_Constraints:
This information should be considered preliminary. It has not been edited or checked for completeness or accuracy.
Point_of_Contact:
Contact_Information:
Contact_Organization_Primary:
Contact_Organization:
State Mapping Advisory Committe, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology
Contact_Person: Ronald H. Hess
Contact_Address:
Address_Type: physical address
Address: University of Nevada Reno, MS 178
City: Reno
State_or_Province: NV
Postal_Code: 89557-0088
Contact_Voice_Telephone: 775-784-6691 Ext. 121
Native_Data_Set_Environment:
Microsoft Windows XP Version 5.1 (Build 2600) Service Pack 2; ESRI ArcCatalog 9.0.0.535

Data_Quality_Information:
Lineage:
Source_Information:
Source_Contribution:
Frank, D.G., 1999, An Arc/Info point coverage of Mineral Resource Data System (MRDS) Locations in Eleven Western States, U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 99-169, <http://wrgis.wr.usgs.gov/open-file/of99-169/>

Causey, J.D., 1998, MAS/MILS Arc/Info point coverage for the Western U.S. (Excluding Hawaii), U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 98-512, <http://wrgis.wr.usgs.gov/open-file/of98-512>

Hess, R.H., Johnson, G.L., 1996, Nevada abandoned mines database compilation project; Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology, Open-File Report 96-4, cd-rom

McFaul, E.J., Mason, G.T. Jr., Ferguson, W.B., and Lipin, B.R., 2000, U.S. Geological Survey Mineral Databases - MRDS and MAS/MILS, U.S. Geological Survey Digital Data Series DDS-52, cd-rom

Tingley, J.V., 1998, Mining districts of Nevada (second edition), 1998: Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology Report 47d, digital map, 1:500,000 scale

Digital Land Status Map of Nevada, 1999, supplied by Mark O'Brien, State office, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Reno, Nevada

Nevada Division of Minerals Abandoned Mines List and Location Maps, January 2001, supplied by Bill Durbin, Nevada Division of Minerals, Carson City, Nevada

U.S. Geological Survey 7.5' topographic map quadrangles covering Nevada, various dates, 1:24,000 scale.

Process_Step:
Process_Description:
The compilation effort concentrated on four primary datasets: Selected items from the Minerals Availability System/Mineral Industry Location System (MAS/MILS) database (USGS Open-File Report 98-512) originally produced by the U.S. Bureau of Mines; the Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) database (USGS Open- File Report 99-169) produced by the U.S. Geological Survey; the Nevada Division of Minerals Abandoned Mine Database; and the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology Open-File Report 96-4 prospect/mine site point file. This last dataset set was digitized from 7.5' USGS topographic maps and consisted of mine, prospect, shaft, and quarry symbols. Attributes were assigned to these points based on their map symbology and quadrangle name. This dataset was reviewed and edited and also used to digitize location information for the Nevada Division of Minerals Abandoned Mine Database. The datasets prepared for this project were designed for use and presentation at a scale of 1:100,000 or smaller. This report and associated digital files were delivered to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Nevada Division of Minerals, and are also available for viewing or purchase at the NBMG information and sales offices.

Procedures

Selected elements of Nevada records contained in the MAS/MILS database were taken from "U.S Geological Survey Mineral Databases - MRDS and MAS/MILS, by E.J. McFaul, G.T. Mason Jr., W.B. Ferguson, and B.R. Lipin, USGS Digital Data Series DDS-52" and converted to shapefile format and projected to UTM, zone 11, NAD27 coordinates. This dataset, containing 7,700 records, was then exported from shapefile format to a standard dBaseIII+ format for nongraphic applications and use in other GIS type systems.

Nv_mils contains 7,700 records with the following data fields:

STATE_CODE State code COU County (or political subdivision, if foreign) SEQ The MAS sequence number to uniquely identify this property NAM Primary (or most current) name of this site TYP Type of operation (surface, underground, etc.) CUR Current status LAT Latitude (decimal) CHARLAT Latitude (degrees, minutes, seconds) LON Longitude (decimal) CHARLON Longitude (degrees, minutes, seconds) POR Point of reference for locational position of site POP Precision of point for above in meters of possible error (9999 indicates error over 500 meters) ELE Elevation, in meters ELP Elevation precision for above in meters of possible error (9999 indicates error over 500 meters) DAT Datum of elevation point, S=Sea level, L=Local Datum, D=Depth of Water YFC Year Field Checked ZON UTM zone HEM UTM hemisphere NOR UTM northing EAS UTM easting QUA250 1:250,000 quadrangle name MAP Other map name SCA Other map scale FEDLAND Federal land status from GIS coverage FEDSCA Scale used to determine above status DOM Land domain RIV River drainage name HOL1 Type of land holdings #1 HOL2 Type of land holdings #2 GSC MRDS record number YOI Year of information PLT Plant type PID Plant ID MER Meridian (for Public Land Survey) TWN Township RNG Range SEC Section SUB Subsection(s) SUR Survey status YOD Year of discovery YIP Year of initial production YLP Year of last production MDN Mining district name COMPANY Primary company associated with this site MINEMET Predominant mining method employed MILLMET Predominant milling method employed DLM Date of last modification COMMOD Commodities present COM1 1st commodity MOC1 Modifier of COM1 MAR1 Marketability of COM1, P=Primary,C=Co-product,B=Byproduct,R=Recoverable,A=Affecting COM2 2nd commodity MOC2 Modifier of COM2 MAR2 Marketability of COM2, P=Primary,C=Co-product,B=Byproduct,R=Recoverable,A=Affecting COM3 3rd commodity MOC3 Modifier of COM3 MAR3 Marketability of COM3, P=Primary,C=Co-product,B=Byproduct,R=Recoverable,A=Affecting COM4 4th commodity MOC4 Modifier of COM4 MAR4 Marketability of COM4, P=Primary,C=Co-product,B=Byproduct,R=Recoverable,A=Affecting COM5 5th commodity MOC5 Modifier of COM5 MAR5 Marketability of COM5, P=Primary,C=Co-product,B=Byproduct,R=Recoverable,A=Affecting NAME1 1st alternate site/property/mine name NAME2 2nd alternate site/property/mine name NAME3 3rd alternate site/property/mine name NAME4 4th alternate site/property/mine name NAME5 5th alternate site/property/mine name NAME6 6th alternate site/property/mine name MINERALS Minerals associated with mine MODNAMNUM USGS deposit model name OR number

Selected elements of Nevada records contained in the MRDS database were taken from "An Arc/Info point coverage of Mineral Resource Data System (MRDS) Locations in Eleven Western States, USGS Open-File Report 99-169" and "U.S Geological Survey Mineral Databases - MRDS and MAS/MILS, by E.J. McFaul, G.T. Mason Jr., W.B. Ferguson, and B.R. Lipin, USGS Digital Data Series DDS-52" and converted to shapefile format and projected to UTM, zone 11, NAD27 coordinates. This dataset, Nv_mrds, was then exported from shapefile format to a standard dBaseIII+ format for nongraphic applications and use in other GIS type systems.

Nv_mrds contains 6,903 records with the following data fields:

Record_num MRDS record number Rep_date Date record created or edited in master database Site_name Site Name State_code Two letter State abbreviation County_nam County Name Comm_type Commodity type code. M=metallic, N=non-metallic, B=both, X=no entry Quad_250 Name of 1:250,000 scale topographic map District_nam Mining district name Lat_decima Latitude in decimal degrees Long_decim Longitude in decimal degrees Comm_prese Commodities present, listed most to least important, by elemental abbreviation Dep_size Deposit size, S=small, M=medium, L=large Dep_type Deposit type UTM_Zone UTM zone number UTM_E UTM easting, zone 11, NAD 27 UTM_N UTM northing, zone 11, NAD 27 Major_Comm Major commodities Minor_Comm Minor commodities Trace_Comm Trace or occurrence of a commodity Yr_Disc Year of deposit discovery Yr_1st_Pro Year of first production Yr_Last Year of last production Ore_Strike Strike of orebody Ore_Dip Dip of orebody Depth_Wk Depth of workings below surface Depth_Wk_U Units of measure for depth of workings below surface Len_Wk Length of workings Len_Wk_U Units of measure for length of workings Work_Type Type of workings, S=surface, U=underground, B=both Quad_24k 1:24,000 scale USGS topographic map name from NBMG digital coverage Ore_materi Ore materials (minerals, rocks) Nonore_mat Pertinent mineralogy other than ore minerals Min_age Age of mineralization Hrck_name Host rock names Hrck_age Age of host rock (may have multiple values) Artyp_name Name of other associated rocks Work_desc Description of physical workings Alteration Type of rock alteration Model_name USGS deposit model name

All data manipulations were performed to a standard that maintained the location accuracy of the initial data, i.e., the accuracy of MRDS and MAS/MILS data. Therefore the location of data points is only as good as the accuracy and completeness of the original digital data supplied by the U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Bureau of Mines. In some cases the location information in these databases is of very poor resolution but in most cases the data are sufficiently accurate to convey the needed information for this project. Furthermore, few records have available information for every field.

This project utilized and updated the Nevada points database from NBMG Open-File Report 96-4. This database, as updated in this project, contains the digitized location of mine shaft, prospect, mine tunnel or cave, quarry, and gravel-sand-clay or borrow pit locations from all Nevada 7.5' USGS topographic quadrangles. Included in this effort was the identification and digitizing of Nevada Division of Minerals hazardous mine site locations. These locations were digitized from quadrangle maps supplied by the Division of Minerals. Each location has an associated record that identifies the map name, symbol type, mining district name determined from NBMG Report 47, Mining Districts of Nevada (if within a district), Division of Minerals serial number (for their sites only), land management code which identifies the site as being on Federally managed land or private (location data merged from digital land status coverage supplied by BLM), and UTM (zone 11, NAD27) location coordinates. This digital file is named NV_PTS.

Mine/prospect site locations where digitized from paper USGS topographic maps and attributed according to the type of USGS symbol used to represent the location on the map. Locations that were also identified as sites visited or secured were identified by adding "DOM" in front of the symbol type classification. In some cases symbols were duplicated with a DOM and non-DOM entry for the same site. Some sites are new locations that DOM plotted on to a topographic map which originally showed no mine/prospect symbol. DOM sites were also attributed with the DOM serial number (DOMID) which links the site to the Division of Minerals Database. Many sites that where visited but were not considered a hazard or have yet to be assigned an ID number were also indicated on the maps and are also indicated in the database with just a two-character county ID in the Domid field and "DOM" preceding the site type classification.

Nv_pts contains 106,209 records with the following fields:

DOMID Division of Minerals ID code (Only used if site has assigned been assigned code) Quadrangle Name of USGS topographic quadrangle site was digitized from Type Type of symbol shown or indicated on map or by Division of Minerals notations X_coord UTM easting, zone 11, NAD 27, meters Y_coord UTM northing, zone 11, NAD 27, meters District_n Name of mining district from NBMG Report 47 (Empty for sites outside of a district) Commodities Major commodities associated with identified mining district from NBMG Report 47 Land_manag Responsible land managing entity for site identified from BLM Land Status Map Land_code Code for responsible land managing entity for site identified from BLM Land Status Map

Type field symbol classifications: ========================================================
mine shaft USGS topographic symbol
prospect USGS topographic symbol
tunnel/cave USGS topographic symbol
quarry/pit USGS topographic symbol
gravel/clay/borrow pit USGS topographic symbol
DOM mine shaft USGS topographic symbol marked by Division of Minerals
DOM prospect USGS topographic symbol marked by Division of Minerals
DOM tunnel/cave USGS topographic symbol marked by Division of Minerals
DOM quarry/pit USGS topographic symbol marked by Division of Minerals
========================================================

Approximately 106,209 of these locations were digitized statewide. These digital files are supplied in shapefile format and dBaseIII+ format.

A subset of the locations contained in the Nv_pts database, those that had numbered DOMID codes, was joined to a dataset of Abandoned Mine Sites provided by the Nevada Division on Minerals. The Nevada Division of Minerals dataset contains a listing of abandoned mine sites that pose a potential hazard to the citizens of Nevada and/or have been physically secured by the Division. These sites have been visited and/or secured by Division personnel who have then recorded the sites location and hazard information. As part of this project we digitized the location of these sites, from paper 1:24,000-scale USGS topographic maps, and attributed the point locations with the information available in the digital abandoned mines database maintained by the division. The database supplied by the Division of Minerals for this purpose was current as of January 2001. The point locations were joined to the digital attribute data based on the Division of Minerals DOMID number which was maintained throughout the project in both databases. There were 7,503 sites that had complete DOMID numbers in the point location file and those sites are contained in the Dom_aml shapefile. This file was also exported into a dBaseIII+ file format for compatibility with various other GIS and spreadsheet software.

Dom_aml contains 7,503 records with the following fields:

DOMID Division of Minerals ID code Quadrangle Name of USGS topographic quadrangle site was digitized from Type Type of symbol shown or indicated on map or by Division of Minerals notations

X_coord UTM easting, zone 11, NAD 27, meters Y_coord UTM northing, zone 11, NAD 27, meters District_n Name of mining district from NBMG Report 47 (Empty for sites outside of a district)

Commodities Major commodities associated with identified mining district from NBMG Report 47

Land_manag Responsible land managing entity for site identified from BLM Land Status Map

Land_code Code for responsible land managing entity for site identified from BLM Land Status Map Date_inves Date site investigated Inves_by Who investigated site Date_reser Date reserved Township PLSS Township Range PLSS Range Section PLSS Section number Q_section PLSS quarter section location Loc_haz Hazard rank based on distance from inhabited structure or maintained road, 1 low through 5 high

Deg_haz Hazard rank based on physical danger associated with the site, 1 low through 5 high

Haz_rank Hazard ranking obtained by adding Loc_haz and Deg_haz ranking. Lower number less potential physical hazard, higher number greater potential physical hazard Haz_type Type of hazard, A=adit, I=incline/decline, S=shaft, O=other

Water Indication of water in workings, true or false Toxic Indication of toxic hazard, true or false Sample Sample taken, true or false Clm_name Claim name Mineral_su Mineral survey number D_cnty_ntf Date county notified D_owner_ntf Date owner notified D_secured Date secured Sec_by Secured by, AS=already secured, CO=county, DOM=Nevada Division of Minerals, GS=good Samaritan, NAT=nature, NS=not secured, O=owner

Sec_method Method used to secure site, BR=barricade, EN=Enclosure/Fence, FI=backfilled, G=gate, NS=not secured, P=posted, S=sealed

D_verified Date site inspected and found properly secured Verifid_by Verification of securement, by person, phone, photo, etc. Lat_deg Site Latitude - degrees Lat_min Latitude minutes to go with Lat_deg Long_deg Site Longitude - degrees Long_min Longitude minutes to go with Long_deg Land_stat Land status, Private, BLM, USFS, etc. Problem Problem, Yes, No Num Number field (not unique)

As part of the digital data release for this project several digital base layers of Nevada data in Shapefile and Arc/Info export file format, designed to be used at 1:1,000,000 scale, are included on the CDROM with this project. They are:

County_p.shp Statewide county polygon coverage County_a.shp Statewide county boundary arc coverage Cities.shp Major towns in Nevada Roads_a.shp Major roads in Nevada nv_1x2.shp Polygon coverage of 1x2 degree USGS topographic map boundaries nvqdp.shp Polygon coverage of 7.5 minute USGS topographic map boundaries tr_p.shp Township and Range polygon coverage tr_a.shp Township and Range arc coverage

Also included are seventeen USGS digital raster graphic maps (DRG), 1:250,000 scale, topographic maps in tiffw format. Each map covers an area of 1 by 2 degrees of latitude and longitude. This set of scanned maps cover almost all of Nevada. They are georeferenced in UTM, zone 11, NAD 27 projection and can be used with various GIS and graphic software applications. The names of these map files are:

Caliente.tif Death_Valley.tif Elko.tif Ely.tif Goldfield.tif Kingman.tif Las_Vegas.tif Lovelock.tif Lund.tif Mariposa.tif McDermitt.tif Millett.tif Reno.tif Tonopah.tif Vya.tif Walker_Lake.tif Wells.tif Winnemucca.tif

Each of the above files has and additional file by the same name but ending with ".tfw". This is the world file that contains projection information for each raster graphic map.

Summary

These point location coverages have many potential uses including preliminary mine location data for an extended inventory survey, land use planning, historical mining activity, and mineral exploration. These datasets will see many and varied uses and will continue to be modified and edited based on the needs of many future users. Creation of this combined digital dataset was made possible thanks to the foresight of the Nevada State Office of the Bureau of Land Management in funding this digital update and the Nevada Division of Minerals for allowing their abandoned mines data to be included in this dataset.

Process_Contact:
Contact_Information:
Contact_Person_Primary:
Contact_Person: Ronald H. Hess
Contact_Organization:
State Mapping Advisory Committe, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology
Contact_Address:
Address_Type: physical address
Address: University of Nevada Reno, MS 178
City: Reno
State_or_Province: NV
Postal_Code: 89557-0088
Contact_Voice_Telephone: 775-784-6691 Ext. 121
Process_Step:
Process_Description:
Tunnels and caves points were projected to standard Albers NAD83 projection.
Process_Contact:
Contact_Information:
Contact_Person_Primary:
Contact_Person: Edward Evanson
Contact_Organization: Lockheed Martin Environmental Services
Contact_Position: GIS Analyst
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: eevanson@lmepo.com

Spatial_Data_Organization_Information:
Direct_Spatial_Reference_Method: Vector
Point_and_Vector_Object_Information:
SDTS_Terms_Description:
SDTS_Point_and_Vector_Object_Type: Entity point
Point_and_Vector_Object_Count: 8300

Spatial_Reference_Information:
Horizontal_Coordinate_System_Definition:
Planar:
Map_Projection:
Map_Projection_Name: Albers Conical Equal Area
Albers_Conical_Equal_Area:
Standard_Parallel: 29.500000
Standard_Parallel: 45.500000
Longitude_of_Central_Meridian: -96.000000
Latitude_of_Projection_Origin: 23.000000
False_Easting: 0.000000
False_Northing: 0.000000
Planar_Coordinate_Information:
Planar_Coordinate_Encoding_Method: coordinate pair
Coordinate_Representation:
Abscissa_Resolution: 0.002048
Ordinate_Resolution: 0.002048
Planar_Distance_Units: meters
Geodetic_Model:
Horizontal_Datum_Name: North American Datum of 1983
Ellipsoid_Name: Geodetic Reference System 80
Semi-major_Axis: 6378137.000000
Denominator_of_Flattening_Ratio: 298.257222

Entity_and_Attribute_Information:
Detailed_Description:
Entity_Type:
Entity_Type_Label: nv_tunnel_cave
Attribute:
Attribute_Label: FID
Attribute_Definition: Internal feature number.
Attribute_Definition_Source: ESRI
Attribute_Domain_Values:
Unrepresentable_Domain:
Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.
Attribute:
Attribute_Label: Shape
Attribute_Definition: Feature geometry.
Attribute_Definition_Source: ESRI
Attribute_Domain_Values:
Unrepresentable_Domain: Coordinates defining the features.
Attribute:
Attribute_Label: DOMID
Attribute:
Attribute_Label: QUADRANGLE
Attribute:
Attribute_Label: TYPE
Attribute:
Attribute_Label: X_COORD
Attribute:
Attribute_Label: Y_COORD
Attribute:
Attribute_Label: DISTRICT_N
Attribute:
Attribute_Label: COMMODITIE
Attribute:
Attribute_Label: LAND_MANAG
Attribute:
Attribute_Label: LAND_CODE

Distribution_Information:
Resource_Description: Downloadable Data
Standard_Order_Process:
Digital_Form:
Digital_Transfer_Information:
Transfer_Size: 0.221

Metadata_Reference_Information:
Metadata_Date: 20050705
Metadata_Contact:
Contact_Information:
Contact_Organization_Primary:
Contact_Organization: Lockheed Martin Environmental Services
Contact_Person: Edward Evanson
Contact_Address:
Address_Type: physical address
Address: 1050 E. Flamingo Rd. Suite
City: Las Vegas
State_or_Province: NV
Postal_Code: 89119
Contact_Voice_Telephone:
REQUIRED: The telephone number by which individuals can speak to the organization or individual.
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: eevanson@lmepo.com
Metadata_Standard_Name: FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata
Metadata_Standard_Version: FGDC-STD-001-1998
Metadata_Time_Convention: local time
Metadata_Extensions:
Online_Linkage: <http://www.esri.com/metadata/esriprof80.html>
Profile_Name: ESRI Metadata Profile

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