Use of the New Mexico Mines Database in reclamation studies involving mine waste rock piles and tailings

The New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources (NMBGMR) has been collecting data on mining districts, mines, mills, and geochemistry since it was created in 1927. The NMBGMR has been slowly converting years of historical data into electronic format into a relational database that will be eventually available on the Web. The database includes information on mining districts, mines, mills, geochemistry (both solid and water), photographs (both recent and historic), and bibliography. The available data includes location, production, reserves, geologic, geochemical, historical and recent photographs, resource potential, mining, ownership, and other data. There are six main tables that comprise this database: Mines, District, Samples, Drillhole, County, and Projects. Each of these tables is linked to each other, where appropriate and all of the following tables are linked to one or more of these six main tables. Separate tables listing pit lakes, heap leaching sites, and tailings are linked to the main tables. Once the data is entered into appropriate databases with locations, the data can easily be converted to GIS format for displaying on maps; the mine locations are keyed to specific points as defined by latitude and longitude, whereas the districts are keyed to polygons. The purposes of this database are to provide computerized data that will aid in identifying and evaluating resource potential, resource development and management, production, and possible environmental concerns, such as physical hazards (i.e. hazardous mine openings), indoor radon, regional exposure to radiation from the mines, and point-sources of possible pollution in areas of known mineral deposits.