Subject: Mining District Assessment
To assess a mining district, you may need to gather a wide variety of information, including historical mining activity, geology, minerals exploration, companies, and commodities in your search. This information can be found in government documents, maps, company reports, websites, reference books, databases and journal articles.

INFORMATION RESOURCES

Catalyst. Provides access to the CSM Library's books, journals, government publications and maps.

Prospector. Union catalog for most of Colorado's university libraries and the Denver and Jefferson County public libraries.

USGS Library Catalog. Includes the library materials from all of the USGS library locations.

Indexes (Geoscience & Mining)  [Electronic indexes are linked on the Library's Database webpage.]

  • Bibliography and Index of Colorado Geology. Colorado Geological Survey Bulletins 37 (1875 to 1975) and 45 
    (1975-1980) (print)
  • GeoRef
  •  Ei Compendex. (Engineering Index)
  • F&S [Predicasts] Index
  • IMM Abstracts (Institution of Mining and Metallurgy) (print)
  • Map indexes for states (print)
  • US Bureau of Mines Publications Index (print)
  • US Geological Survey Publications Index (print)

Indexes (Business & Regulation)  [Electronic indexes are linked on the Library's Database webpage.]

  • Academic Search Premier. Variety of general and multidisciplinary journal articles, including industry information.
  • Business and Company Resource Center. Includes company profiles and intelligence.
  • Business Source Premier. Variety of business-oriented journal articles.
  • CSM Library's Federal Legislative and Regulatory Information webpage. Includes the CFR.
  • EDGAR. SEC database covering company information.
  • PAIS. Covers global public policy and social issues.

Journals  Many journal articles (with abstracts) are included in the databases listed above. To find e-journals:

  1. Check Catalyst (CSM Library Catalog)
  2. Check Gold Rush to see if full text for the journal is available
  3. Do a web search. Some industry journals have partial or complete contents on the Web.

Examples of journals that include mining information:

  • American Mining Congress Journal 
  • CIM Bulletin [with index]
  • Coal [with index]
  • E&MJ (Engineering & Mining Journal) [with partial index]
  • Exploration and Mining Geology (CIM)
  • Industrial Minerals [with index]
  • Metals Week
  • Mining Engineering [with index]
  • Mining Journal (Mining Annual Review, June issue [with index]
  • Mining Magazine [with index]
  • Mining Voice
  • Pay Dirt (different regions/titles)
Reference and Background Sources
On the minerals industry (summaries, market highlights, statistics):
  • Canadian Mining Facts.
  • Industrial Minerals and Rocks, 2v. 1983. Lefond, Stanley J., ed. 5th ed. NY: AIME.
  • Minerals Handbook. Crowson, Philip. NY: Stockton. Annual.
  • Mining Annual Review. London: Mining Journal. Annual.
  • Metals and Minerals Annual Review (Mining Annual Review V. 2). London: Mining Journal. Annual.
  • Roskill reports on metals and minerals (various titles).
  • USGS Minerals Information. Includes:
    • Mineral Commodity Summaries
    • Mineral Facts and Problems
    • Mineral Industry Surveys
    • Minerals Yearbooks
    • Mine and Mineral Processing Plant Locations
    • Stone, Clay, Glass, and Concrete Products Industry Indexes
Regional & geological information:
  • Colorado Mining Districts: A Reference. 2003. Dunn, Lisa G. Golden CO: Colorado School of Mines Library.
  • Gratton-Sales Ore Deposits of the United States, 1933-1967. Ridge, John D., ed. NY: AIME.
  • Mineral Resources of Colorado. 1947. Vanderwilt, John. Denver CO: State Mineral Resources Board.
  • Mineral Resources of Colorado: First Sequel. 1960. Del Rio, S.M. Denver CO: State Mineral Resources Board.
  • Mining in Colorado: A Selective Bibliography. 1994. Rooney, Rosalia. Golden CO: Colorado School of Mines.
  • USGS Western Region Mineral Resources. Includes downloadable Open File Reports on mineral resources in the West.
  • USGS publications on the Web. Includes some bulletins, maps, professional papers, etc.

Economics & company information:

Other Internet Resources    Use Web search tools (Google, etc.) to find subjects by keyword, or browse web page links 
to specific sites. Site examples:
KEYWORDS

Search strategies are dependent on the use of keywords. This is especially true for the Web or electronic databases. 

Always do your search with the characteristics of your database in mind—coverage by date or type of publication, subject coverage, available search commands, publisher/author, etc.

  • Keywords such as company, geographic or place names (mining district, county or quadrangle) are useful.
  • If you need more information, try broadening your search by using more general geographic terms (state, province, etc.).
  • Don't ignore older books and journals. They contain useful information about the geology and economic activity of historic mining districts.
SEARCHING THE WEB
Web sites developed by university departments or professional societies can provide good starting points.

Evaluate websites! Remember, websites often have a strong promotional, commercial or educational emphasis—take this into account when evaluating your resources. Is this information appropriate for your research?

  • Is the webpage authoritative?  Web documents are often "self-published." Do you know the author's 
    expertise, motivations, accuracy? 
  • Does the webpage cover your subject? The Web contains vast amounts of information and has good coverage in 
    areas such as news, directory information (addresses, etc), street maps, and some types of business information. 
    However, much of the geological literature, including information on mining districts, is still available only in 
    print.
  • Are you using the Web effectively? Are you using it because it's easy and convenient, or because it's the best tool for 
    the job? Web sites are not always appropriate sources of information.