Mineral Occurrence Database suggestions for revision and update 2005

The Mineral Occurrence Database contains over 12000 entries from all parts of Great Britain. It includes mineral occurrences associated with old mines and trials, unexploited more recent discoveries and panned stream sediment concentrates (mainly gold grains). It was developed in Oracle, using an Access interface with the user, in the mid 1990s. The database structure has been unaltered for many years. It now requires a thorough re-examination of all the entries to check their validity as well as a re-examination of the relationships between tables as some of the links have become corrupted and new data entry is either difficult or impossible. The database has an important role in the future with the increasing interest in mine waste and environmental contamination, as well as to assist any commercial mineral exploration companies if necessary. However, this can only be realised if the database is current, accurate and comprehensive in both coverage and content. The database has many problems and these are detailed in this report together with possible solutions. In addition, a number of suggestions are made for the update of the database, with estimates for the time required.