USGS Home
Contact USGS
Search USGS

Mineral Resources > Online Spatial Data

Ni-Co laterite deposits of the world

Frequently anticipated questions:

• What does this data set describe?
  1. How should this data set be cited?
  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?
  3. What does it look like?
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
  5. What is the general form of this data set?
  6. How does the data set represent geographic features?
  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?
• Who produced the data set?
  1. Who are the originators of the data set?
  2. Who also contributed to the data set?
  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
• Why was the data set created?
• How was the data set created?
  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?
  2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?
  3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?
• How reliable are the data; what problems remain in the data set?
  1. How well have the observations been checked?
  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?
  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
  5. How consistent are the relationships among the data, including topology?
• How can someone get a copy of the data set?
  1. Are there legal restrictions on access or use of the data?
  2. Who distributes the data?
  3. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set?
  4. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?
  5. How can I download or order the data?
• Who wrote the metadata?

What does this data set describe?

1. How should this data set be cited?

   Berger, Vladimir I., Singer, Donald A., Bliss, James D., and Moring, Barry C., 2011, Ni-Co laterite deposits of the world: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2011-1058, U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, California.

   Online Links:

   • <http://mrdata.usgs.gov/laterite/>

2. What geographic area does the data set cover?

   West_Bounding_Coordinate: -123.43888888888

   East_Bounding_Coordinate: 166.932222222222

   North_Bounding_Coordinate: 59.7138888888889

   South_Bounding_Coordinate: -33.646388888888

3. What does it look like?

   <http://mrdata.usgs.gov/laterite/ofr-2011-1058.png> (PNG)

   Distribution of laterite deposits worldwide, (540 x 270 pixels)

4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?

   Calendar_Date: 2011

   Currentness_Reference: publication date

5. What is the general form of this data set?

6. How does the data set represent geographic features?
   1. How are geographic features stored in the data set?

      This is a Point data set. It contains the following vector data types (SDTS terminology):

      • Entity point (120)

   2. What coordinate system is used to represent geographic features?

      Horizontal positions are specified in geographic coordinates, that is, latitude and longitude. Latitude and longitude values are specified in decimal degrees.

      The horizontal datum used is World Geodetic System 1984.
      The ellipsoid used is WGS 84.
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378137.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/298.257.
      

7. How does the data set describe geographic features?

   main

   Descriptive characteristics of the deposit, including grade and tonnage estimates

   rec_id

   Record ID.

   Numeric record identifier without scientific significance. Integer values. Int of width 4.

   Range of values
   Minimum:	1
   Maximum:	120
   Resolution:	1

   agegrp

   Age group.

   time periods of the laterite-forming weathering processes, and hence, approximate ages of Ni-Co laterite deposits. Textual values of no more than 1 characters.

   Value	Definition
   a	Miocene to present
   b	Cretaceous to early-mid Tertiary
   c	Mesozoic

   dep10km

   Associated deposits within 10km.

   Types of mineral deposits within 10km of the laterite deposit. Textual values of no more than 40 characters.

   Value	Definition
   (no value)	Information not available for this record. 70 records have no value for dep10km.

   atmLeach

   Atmospheric leach.

   Ore processing by atmospheric leaching (yes if used at the site). Textual values of no more than 3 characters.

   Value	Definition
   (no value)	The deposit or site does not have this characteristic
   yes	The deposit or site has this characteristic

   caron

   Caron process.

   Ore processing by a Caron process that includes pyro- and hydro-metallurgical processing (yes if used at the site). Textual values of no more than 4 characters.

   Value	Definition
   yes	The deposit or site has this characteristic
   (no value)	Information not available for this record. 110 records have no value for caron.

   cogrd

   Co grade of reserve tonnage.

   Cobalt grade (percent of metal in orer) with respect to reserve tonnage. Real numbers stored in double precision.

   Value	Definition
   (no value)	Information not available for this record. 75 records have no value for cogrd.

   Range of values
   Minimum:	0
   Maximum:	0.25
   Units:	percent by weight

   coprgrd

   Co grade of production tonnage.

   Cobalt grade (percent of metal in ore) with respect to produced tonnage. Real numbers stored in double precision.

   Value	Definition
   (no value)	Information not available for this record. 104 records have no value for coprgrd.

   Range of values
   Minimum:	0
   Maximum:	0.142
   Units:	percent by weight

   coregrd

   Co grade of resource tonnage.

   Cobalt grade (percent of metal in ore) with respect to resource tonnage. Real numbers stored in double precision.

   Value	Definition
   (no value)	Information not available for this record. 24 records have no value for coregrd.

   Range of values
   Minimum:	0
   Maximum:	0.2
   Units:	percent by weight

   cotogrd

   Co grade of total tonnage.

   Cobalt grade (percent of metal in ore) with respect to total tonnage. Real numbers stored in double precision.

   Value	Definition
   (no value)	Information not available for this record. 3 records have no value for cotogrd.

   Range of values
   Minimum:	0
   Maximum:	0.2
   Units:	percent by weight

   comments

   Comments.

   Additional comments about the site. Textual values of no more than 812 characters.

   Value	Definition
   (no value)	Information not available for this record. 10 records have no value for comments.

   Unabbreviated textual information

   country

   Country.

   Name of the country in which the site is located. Textual values of no more than 31 characters.

   Names of countries

   cntrycd

   Country code.

   Abbreviation of the country and state or province in which the site is located. Textual values of no more than 4 characters.

   Abbreviation combining one or two letters indicating the country and one or two letters indicating the state or province

   deparea

   Deposit area.

   Area of the deposit in square kilometers. Textual values of no more than 18 characters.

   Value	Definition
   (no value)	Information not available for this record. 27 records have no value for deparea.

   deplength

   Deposit length.

   Length of the long axis of the deposit (perpendicular to the short axis in plan view) in kilometers. Real numbers stored in double precision.

   Value	Definition
   (no value)	Information not available for this record. 5 records have no value for deplength.

   Range of values
   Minimum:	0
   Maximum:	28
   Units:	kilometers

   depshape

   Deposit shape.

   General shape of the deposit in plan view. Textual values of no more than 83 characters.

   depthick

   Deposit thick.

   Thickness of the nickel and cobalt-bearing laterite ore body in meters Textual values of no more than 15 characters.

   Value	Definition
   (no value)	Information not available for this record. 41 records have no value for depthick.

   depwidth

   Deposit width.

   Width of the deposit (shortest distance between parallel lines that just touch the deposit in plan view) in kilometers. Real numbers stored in double precision.

   Value	Definition
   (no value)	Information not available for this record. 5 records have no value for depwidth.

   Range of values
   Minimum:	0
   Maximum:	14
   Units:	kilometers

   discdate

   Discovery date.

   Discovery date of the deposit. Textual values of no more than 11 characters.

   Value	Definition
   (no value)	Information not available for this record. 54 records have no value for discdate.

   feni_smelt

   Fe-Ni smelting.

   Ore processing by smelting of iron and nickel (yes if used at the site). Textual values of no more than 4 characters.

   Value	Definition
   (no value)	The deposit or site does not have this characteristic
   yes	The deposit or site does have this characteristic

   hill

   Hill laterite form.

   Deposit shape fits in the category of hill (yes if applies to the site). Textual values of no more than 3 characters.

   Value	Definition
   (no value)	Information not available for this record. 54 records have no value for hill.
   yes	The deposit or site does have this characteristic

   hpal

   High pressure and temperature acid leach.

   Ore processing by high pressure and temperature acid leaching (yes if used at the site). Textual values of no more than 4 characters.

   Value	Definition
   (no value)	Information not available for this record. 89 records have no value for hpal.
   yes	The deposit or site does have this characteristic

   includes

   Includes.

   Additional deposit or site names referring to parts of the same deposit. Textual values of no more than 50 characters.

   Value	Definition
   (no value)	Information not available for this record. 107 records have no value for includes.

   Unabbreviated names

   karst

   Karst form.

   Subtype of linear shaped deposit, indicating karst processes occurred at the site. Textual values of no more than 3 characters.

   Value	Definition
   (no value)	Information not available for this record. 116 records have no value for karst.
   yes	The deposit or site does have this characteristic

   latthick

   Laterite thickness.

   Total thickness of the laterite mantle, including portions that would not be considered ore material, in meters Textual values of no more than 25 characters.

   Value	Definition
   (no value)	Information not available for this record. 25 records have no value for latthick.

   latitude

   Geographic latitude.

   Geographic latitude in decimal degrees, using WGS84 datum, south latitudes negative. Real numbers stored in double precision.

   Range of values
   Minimum:	-33.6463888888889
   Maximum:	59.7138888888889
   Units:	decimal degrees

   latdeg

   Latitude degrees.

   Degrees of latitude. Integer values. Int of width 3.

   Range of values
   Minimum:	-33
   Maximum:	59
   Units:	degrees
   Resolution:	1

   latmin

   Latitude minutes.

   Minutes of latitude. Integer values. Int of width 3.

   Range of values
   Minimum:	-58
   Maximum:	59
   Units:	minutes
   Resolution:	1

   latsec

   Latitude seconds.

   Seconds of latitude. Integer values. Int of width 3.

   Range of values
   Minimum:	-59
   Maximum:	59
   Units:	seconds
   Resolution:	1

   linear

   Linear laterite form.

   Deposit shape fits category of linear (yes if applies to the site). Textual values of no more than 3 characters.

   longitude

   Geographic longitude.

   Geographic longitude in decimal degrees, using WGS84 datum, west longitudes negative. Real numbers stored in double precision.

   Range of values
   Minimum:	-123.438888888889
   Maximum:	166.932222222222
   Units:	decimal degrees

   londeg

   Longitude degrees.

   Degrees of longitude. Integer values. Int of width 4.

   Range of values
   Minimum:	-123
   Maximum:	166
   Units:	degrees
   Resolution:	1

   lonmin

   Longitude minutes.

   Minutes of longitude. Integer values. Int of width 3.

   Range of values
   Minimum:	-58
   Maximum:	59
   Units:	minutes
   Resolution:	1

   lonsec

   Longitude seconds.

   Seconds of longitude. Integer values. Int of width 3.

   Range of values
   Minimum:	-59
   Maximum:	59
   Units:	seconds
   Resolution:	1

   lowrelief

   Low relief form.

   Subtype of linear shaped deposit, indicating low topographic relief within the deposit area. Textual values of no more than 3 characters.

   Value	Definition
   (no value)	Information not available for this record. 111 records have no value for lowrelief.
   yes	The deposit or site does have this characteristic

   depname

   Name of deposit.

   Primary name by which the deposit or site is known. Textual values of no more than 20 characters.

   Unabbreviated names

   nicutgrd

   Ni cutoff grade of reserve tonnage.

   Nickel cutoff grade as percent of metal in ore (used for calculation of the grade-tonnage model) with respect to reserve tonnage. Real numbers stored in double precision.

   Value	Definition
   (no value)	Information not available for this record. 75 records have no value for nicutgrd.

   Range of values
   Minimum:	0
   Maximum:	2
   Units:	percent by weight

   nigrd

   Ni grade of reserve tonnage.

   Nickel grade as percent of metal in ore, with respect to reserve tonnage. Real numbers stored in double precision.

   Value	Definition
   (no value)	Information not available for this record. 75 records have no value for nigrd.

   Range of values
   Minimum:	0.66
   Maximum:	2.4
   Units:	percent by weight

   niprgrd

   Ni grade of production tonnage.

   Nickel grade as percent of metal in ore, with respect to produced tonnage. Real numbers stored in double precision.

   Value	Definition
   (no value)	Information not available for this record. 104 records have no value for niprgrd.

   Range of values
   Minimum:	1.07
   Maximum:	2.5
   Units:	percent by weight

   nirecutgrd

   Ni cutoff grade of resource tonnage.

   Nickel cutoff grade as percent of metal in ore (used for calculation of the grade-tonnage model) with respect to resource tonnage. Textual values of no more than 35 characters.

   Value	Definition
   (no value)	Information not available for this record. 85 records have no value for nirecutgrd.

   nitocutgrd

   Ni cutoff grade of total tonnage.

   Nickel cutoff grade as percent of metal in ore (used for calculation of the grade-tonnage model) with respect to total tonnage. Textual values of no more than 35 characters.

   Value	Definition
   (no value)	Information not available for this record. 77 records have no value for nitocutgrd.

   nitogrd

   Ni grade of total tonnage.

   Nickel grade as percent of metal in ore, with respect to total tonnage. Real numbers stored in double precision.

   Value	Definition
   (no value)	Information not available for this record. 3 records have no value for nitogrd.

   Range of values
   Minimum:	0.61
   Maximum:	2.5
   Units:	percent by weight

   niregrd

   Ni grade of resource tonnage.

   Nickel grade as percent of metal in ore, with respect to resource tonnage. Real numbers stored in double precision.

   Value	Definition
   (no value)	Information not available for this record. 24 records have no value for niregrd.

   Range of values
   Minimum:	0.61
   Maximum:	12
   Units:	percent by weight

   other_rx

   Other bedrock.

   Types of country rocks present both in the deposit and on a regional map. Textual values of no more than 106 characters.

   Value	Definition
   (no value)	Information not available for this record. 8 records have no value for other_rx.

   Rock type names, unabbreviated

   other_name

   Other names.

   Alternative or previously-used names by which the site is known. Textual values of no more than 30 characters.

   Value	Definition
   (no value)	Information not available for this record. 84 records have no value for other_name.

   Names, unabbreviated

   overburden

   Overburden m.

   Thickness of the material lying above the ore body in meters. Textual values of no more than 8 characters.

   Value	Definition
   (no value)	Information not available for this record. 62 records have no value for overburden.

   owneroper

   Owner-Operator.

   Name of the owner, operator, or both. Textual values of no more than 94 characters.

   Value	Definition
   (no value)	Information not available for this record. 13 records have no value for owneroper.

   Names, unabbreviated

   plateau

   Plateau laterite form.

   Deposit shape fits the category of plateau (yes if applies to the site). Textual values of no more than 3 characters.

   Value	Definition
   (no value)	Information not available for this record. 79 records have no value for plateau.
   yes	The deposit or site does have this characteristic

   prodton

   Production tonnage.

   Produced tonnage in millions of metric tons. Real numbers stored in double precision.

   Value	Definition
   (no value)	Information not available for this record. 104 records have no value for prodton.

   Range of values
   Minimum:	0.62
   Maximum:	171
   Units:	million metric tons

   nirecovpct

   Ni recovery.

   Percent nickel recovery from produced ore. Real numbers stored in double precision.

   Value	Definition
   (no value)	Information not available for this record. 6 records have no value for nirecovpct.

   Range of values
   Minimum:	0
   Maximum:	98.2
   Units:	percent by weight

   reserv_std

   Reserve standard.

   Abbreviation of the standard used to estimate reserve tonnage at the site. Textual values of no more than 47 characters.

   Value	Definition
   (no value)	Information not available for this record. 83 records have no value for reserv_std.

   reserv_ton

   Reserve tonnage.

   Estimated reserve tonnage at the site, in millions of metric tons. Real numbers stored in double precision.

   Value	Definition
   (no value)	Information not available for this record. 75 records have no value for reserv_ton.

   Range of values
   Minimum:	1.53
   Maximum:	310
   Units:	million metric tons

   resrc_std

   Resource standard.

   Abbreviation of the standard used to estimate resource tonnage at the site. Textual values of no more than 42 characters.

   Value	Definition
   (no value)	Information not available for this record. 37 records have no value for resrc_std.

   resrc_ton

   Resource tonnage.

   Estimated resource tonnage at the site, in millions of metric tons. Real numbers stored in double precision.

   Value	Definition
   (no value)	Information not available for this record. 24 records have no value for resrc_ton.

   Range of values
   Minimum:	3
   Maximum:	495
   Units:	million metric tons

   srctongrd

   Source of tonnage and grade.

   Reference sources from which estimates of tonnage and grade were drawn. Textual values of no more than 130 characters.

   Value	Definition
   (no value)	Information not available for this record. 4 records have no value for srctongrd.

   srcbedrock

   Source bedrock.

   Reference sources from which descriptions of bedrock were drawn. Textual values of no more than 144 characters.

   startdate

   Startup date.

   Year in which mining began. Textual values of no more than 34 characters.

   Value	Definition
   (no value)	Information not available for this record. 45 records have no value for startdate.

   stprov

   State or Province.

   Name of the state or province in which the deposit is located. Textual values of no more than 37 characters.

   Value	Definition
   (no value)	Information not available for this record. 43 records have no value for stprov.

   status

   Status.

   Operational status of the site (producing, past producer, exploration, etc.). Textual values of no more than 60 characters.

   subtype

   Subtype.

   Mineralogical subtype of the deposit. Most sites have characteristics of all subtypes; this field indicates the dominant subtype as well as the others. Textual values of no more than 40 characters.

   tectset

   Tectonic setting.

   Description of the tectonic setting of the site. Textual values of no more than 163 characters.

   tonnage

   Total tonnage.

   Estimated total tonnage in millions of metric tons. Real numbers stored in double precision.

   Value	Definition
   (no value)	Information not available for this record. 3 records have no value for tonnage.

   Range of values
   Minimum:	0.62
   Maximum:	495
   Units:	million metric tons

   ageweather

   Weathering age.

   Estimated age of weathering in which the deposit was formed. Textual values of no more than 59 characters.

   deptype

   Simplified deposit subtype.

   Dominant mineralogical subtype of the deposit, drawn from the subtype field. Textual values of no more than 1 characters.

   Value	Definition
   1	Clay silicate subtype
   2	Mg hydrous silicate subtype
   3	Fe oxide subtype

   qstatus

   Simplified site status.

   General category of the site status (P = producing or past producer, E = exploration, U = undetermined includes idle). Textual values of no more than 1 characters.

   Value	Definition
   P	Producer or past producer (status text indicates production has occurred)
   E	Exploration target, prospect, or occurrence (no commercial production is indicated by the status field)
   U	Production unknown--status field indicates "idle"

   minerals

   Nickeliferous minerals reported at the site

   rec_id

   Record ID.

   Record identifier without scientific significance, matches a value in main:rec_id. Integer values. Int of width 4.

   Range of values
   Minimum:	1
   Maximum:	120
   Resolution:	1

   role

   Mineral role.

   Nickeliferous mineral or other mineral associated with the deposit. Textual values of no more than 16 characters.

   Value	Definition
   nickeliferous	Mineral containing nickel reported present in the deposit
   other	Mineral not containing nickel reported present in the deposit

   value

   Mineral name.

   Name of the mineral. Textual values of no more than 22 characters.

   Names of minerals not abbreviated

   latrxprof

   Descriptions of the laterite rock profile at the site

   rec_id

   Record ID.

   Record identifier without scientific significance, matches a value in main:rec_id. Integer values. Int of width 4.

   Range of values
   Minimum:	1
   Maximum:	120
   Resolution:	1

   value

   Profile description.

   Descriptions of the laterite rock profile, including grade estimates for nickel and other commodities). Textual values of no more than 289 characters.

   Laterite profile components with some descriptive information such as nickel or cobalt grade estimates

   ref

   Bibliographic references from which information about the site was drawn

   rec_id

   Record ID.

   Record identifier without scientific significance, matches a value in main:rec_id. Integer values. Int of width 4.

   Range of values
   Minimum:	1
   Maximum:	120
   Resolution:	1

   value

   Reference.

   Text of the bibliographic reference. Textual values of no more than 390 characters.

   Textual bibliographic reference typically conforming to USGS style

   onlink

   Online linkage.

   Hypertext link to the online source of information. Textual values of no more than 160 characters.

   access_date

   Date accessed.

   Date the online source was accessed for this report. Textual values of no more than 10 characters.

Who produced the data set?

1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)
   • Berger, Vladimir I.
   • Singer, Donald A.
   • Bliss, James D.
   • Moring, Barry C.

2. Who also contributed to the data set?

3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
   Vladimir Berger
   U.S. Geological Survey
   345 Middlefield Road, Mail Stop 901
   Menlo Park, CA 94025
   USA
   

   650-329-5731 (voice)
   vladimir@usgs.gov
   

Why was the data set created?

This report helps to update a prior Ni laterite mineral deposit model by Singer (1986) for use in quantitative assessments of mineral resources at national and global scales.

How was the data set created?

1. From what previous works were the data drawn?

   Berger and others (2011) (source 1 of 1)

   Berger, Vladimir I., Singer, Donald A., Bliss, James D., and Moring, Barry C., 2011, Ni-Co laterite deposits of the world-database and grade and tonnage models: Open-File Report 2011-1058, U.S. Geological Survey.

   Online Links:

   • <http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2011/1058/>

   Type_of_Source_Media: digital files

   Source_Contribution:

   Data from this report were reformatted and restructured to provide the current data set.

2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?

   Date: 09-Jun-2011 (process 1 of 1)

   Rearrangement of data using the OpenDocument spreadsheet, conversion to MySQL and PostgreSQL using custom PHP and Tcl scripts.

   Person who carried out this activity:
   

   Peter N Schweitzer
   USGS ER GD
   Geologist
   12201 Sunrise Valley Drive
   Reston, VA 20192-0002
   USA
   

   703-648-6533 (voice)
   703-648-6252 (FAX)
   pschweitzer@usgs.gov
   

   Data sources used in this process:

   • Berger and others (2011)

3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?

How reliable are the data; what problems remain in the data set?

1. How well have the observations been checked?

2. How accurate are the geographic locations?

3. How accurate are the heights or depths?

4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?

5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?

How can someone get a copy of the data set?

Are there legal restrictions on access or use of the data?

Access_Constraints: none

Use_Constraints: none

1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 1)
   Peter N Schweitzer
   USGS ER GD
   Geologist
   12201 Sunrise Valley Drive
   Reston, VA 20192-0002
   USA
   

   703-648-6533 (voice)
   703-648-6252 (FAX)
   pschweitzer@usgs.gov
   

2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set?

   USGS Open-File Report 2011-1058

3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?

   This report is preliminary and has not been reviewed for conformity with U.S. Geological Survey editorial standards or with the North American Stratigraphic Code. Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

4. How can I download or order the data?
   • Availability in digital form:

     Data format:	Laterite deposit locations and characteristics including estimated tonnage and grade in format WMS (version 1.1.1)
     Network links:	<http://mrdata.usgs.gov/services/laterite?request=getcapabilities&service=WMS&version=1.1.1>&

     Data format:	Four tables in a zip package: main, minerals, latrxprof, ref in format Comma-separated values
     Network links:	<http://mrdata.usgs.gov/laterite/laterite-csv.zip>

   • Cost to order the data: none

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:

Last modified: 2011

Metadata author:

Schweitzer, Peter, N
Eastern Mineral Resources Team
12201 Sunrise Valley Drive Mail Stop 954
Reston, VA 20192
USA

703-648-6533 (voice)
pschweitzer@usgs.gov

Metadata standard:

Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)