The NSW mineral occurrence dataset records locations across NSW where minerals of economic interest have been identified and provides summary information on the geological characteristics of the sites. There are currently over 30,000 known mineral occurrences in the dataset which range in size from exploration drilling intercepts to full-scale mining operations, approximately 15% of the sites contain resource and / or production information. The primary source of the data is from statewide mapping programs undertaken by the Geological Survey of NSW since the late 1960’s. In addition, data is collected from company exploration reports submitted to the Department as part of the statutory reporting requirements on exploration licences, and from press releases made to the Australian Stock Exchange. The alternative name for this dataset is MetIndEx which refers to the METallic minerals, INDustrial minerals and EXploration discoveries in New South Wales. The size of a mineral deposit is based on the cumulative value of the contained commodity (considering total production and estimated global resource) as estimated at November 2009. Commodity prices used to calculate these monetary values are based on the average metal (commodity) price for January 2009 converted to Australian dollars. Based on this definition, the size of an individual Mineral Occurrence site is classified according to the scale provided below: Occurrence (OCC) = Occurrence = no production and/or resource known (or evident) Small (SML) > $10,000 to < $10,000,000 Medium (MED) > $10,000,000 to < $100,000,000 Large (LGE) > $100,000,000 to < $1,000,000,000 Very Large (VLGE) > $1,000,000,000 (AUD) Metallic deposits have been classified using the terms in the Mineral Systems of New South Wales schema.Individual deposits have been assigned to a specific deposit-type based on a range of criteria including, but not limited to: ore and gangue mineralogy, alteration, host lithology, age constraints, lead and sulfur isotope characteristics, deposit and vein morphology and geological setting.

Operating mines in NSW is a small subset of sites taken from the NSW Mineral Occurrence dataset which represent an active mining operation. An operation is a deposit or group of deposits of similar style within the same district, operated by a common operator. Generally an operation will have a single common processing plant. An operation is considered to be ‘operating’ (active mine) if ore is being produced and a royalty paid from at least one of its deposits. The Operating status of each deposit is maintained in the MetIndex database and based on the following definition. Operating Mines Layer: For the purpose of an operating mines layer for metallic minerals, an operating mine is a mining operation where production is on a continuous or intermittent basis. Operation: An Operation is a deposit or a group of deposits of a similar style within the same district, operated by a common operator. Generally an operation will have a single common processing plant. Operating status: Operating status is continuous where there is reported production at least twice in a 12 month period, operating mines with less reported production are classified as intermittent.