| Abstract | The objective of this study, carried out for the Working Committee on Mineral Deposits Data of the National Advisory Committee on Research in the Geological Sciences, was to define minimum standards for
recording data relating to the location of mineral deposits; specifically, what should be recorded, what coordinate system or other means of specifying location should be used, and the precision with which the location should be recorded. Three
classes of location were identified: "global", "local", and "legal". Depending on uses made of location data, one or other of these classes are applied in the mineral industry. The distinction between "precision" and "accuracy" is discussed and
related to the problem of locating mineral deposits. Finally, a series of twelve conclusions and recommendations is made, which, it is hoped, will assist in standardizing the recording of location data and thereby facilitate the compilation and
exchange of mineral deposits data, particularly for those data stored in computer-based systems. |