Mineral Prospectivity Mapping Project |Northwest Midlands Carboniferous historical data release

Geological Survey Ireland, is pleased to announce a major release of historical mineral exploration data for the Northwest Midlands Carboniferous study area, encompassing limestone areas of Ireland’s central and western midlands, as part of the Mineral Prospectivity Mapping (MPM) project. Comprising over 345,000 observations collected by the private sector from 1960s-1990s, it represents the first time such ‘big data’ has been systematically digitised and compiled into one reference database. This reference database is now freely available to download in map and spreadsheet form on our Data and Maps page. Metadata describing data sources and database compilation methodologies accompany the data. Please click here to view the release note.
 
The MPM project aims to improve knowledge of the occurrence of economically important metals to support the ‘Just Transition’ in Ireland, which seeks to secure an economically and environmentally sustainable solution to the energy transition. This data release represents the first phase of the MPM project. Subsequent phases will utilise modern Tellus data as well as historical data to produce regional, system-based mineral prospectivity assessments for key energy transition minerals, as well as producing value-added structural geology data from airborne geophysics, which will also support and de-risk deep geothermal energy exploration.