🔔 USGS MRDS Mineral Occurrence Master

One structured occurrence record per USGS Mineral Resource Data System (MRDS) deposit — the source-native dep_id, deposit name, commodities, coordinates, and development status — filtered by commodity, development status, and/or bounding box. Built for exploration, minerals-supply, and research teams who need MRDS occurrences as clean, keyed, deduplicated facts.

Differentiation: the usual MRDS tooling either scrapes the now robots-blocked mrdata.usgs.gov (Disallow: /) or dumps the entire 304,632-row table. This master serves the same authoritative MRDS occurrence layer through the clean USGS ArcGIS door (energy.usgs.gov/arcgis, no robots restriction), is filter-scoped by contract (a filter is mandatory — no unbounded pulls), deduplicates on dep_id, hard-caps at 2,500 per run, and stamps an explicit staleness note on every record.

Output is one usgs_mrds_occurrence row per result; billing is pay-per-event, the value event being one mrds occurrence record (a $0.02 start fee per run, then $0.02 per mrds occurrence record). Source: energy.usgs.gov, mrdata.usgs.gov.

No login, no API key and no CAPTCHA solving are involved: the source is read logged-out with an identified contact User-Agent.

📊 Sample Output

Real rows from run OUuhwweBsz8htqb9m on build 0.1.5 (2026-09-19), the same input as the Quick start below — every value is as the source published it (emails masked, long text shortened):

dep_id	site_name	development_status	latitude	longitude	record_url
10000001	Lookout Prospect	Occurrence	55.05612000000008	-132.14343999999994	https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/show-mrds.php?dep_id=10000001
10000002	Lucky Find Prospect	Occurrence	55.52751000000006	-132.68514	https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/show-mrds.php?dep_id=10000002
10000003	Mccullough Prospect	Occurrence	55.97751000000005	-132.99906	https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/show-mrds.php?dep_id=10000003
10000004	Lucky Jim Claim	Occurrence	55.52195000000006	-132.68652999999995	https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/show-mrds.php?dep_id=10000004
10000005	Matilda Occurrence	Occurrence	55.145560000000046	-132.05232999999998	https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/show-mrds.php?dep_id=10000005
10000008	Morning Star Prospect	Occurrence	55.56362000000007	-132.45041999999995	https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/show-mrds.php?dep_id=10000008
10000009	Monday Prospect	Occurrence	55.50529000000006	-132.63236999999998	https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/show-mrds.php?dep_id=10000009
10000010	Miller Brothers Claim	Occurrence	55.223340000000064	-132.63512999999995	https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/show-mrds.php?dep_id=10000010

The run finished with the status message: NORMAL: 50 unique rows (0 duplicates collapsed). billable=50

✅ What you get

Each row is flat JSON with these fields (from the dataset schema and the sample run; a field the source does not publish for a given row is null):

• record_type (string/null) — e.g. usgs_mrds_occurrence
• dep_id (string/null) — e.g. 10000001
• site_name (string/null) — e.g. Lookout Prospect
• commodities (string/null) — e.g. CU AU AG
• development_status (string/null) — e.g. Occurrence
• latitude (number/null) — e.g. 55.05612000000008
• longitude (number/null) — e.g. -132.14343999999994
• grade (string/null) — e.g. C
• record_url (string/null) — e.g. https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/show-mrds.php?dep_id=10000001
• staleness_note (string/null) — e.g. MRDS is a static legacy compilation; USGS ceased systematic MRDS maintenance cir
• source (string/null) — e.g. usgs-mrds-occurrence-master
• release_date (string/null) — null in every sample row
• source_url (string/null) — e.g. https://energy.usgs.gov/arcgis/rest/services/MRData/Mineral_Resource_Data_System
• observed_at (string/null) — e.g. 2026-09-19T00:15:22Z
• license (string/null) — e.g. USGS Mineral Resource Data System (MRDS) — U.S. Government public domain.
• attribution (string/null) — e.g. U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Resource Data System (https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mr
• terminal (string/null) — null in every sample row
• reported_total (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row
• raw_seen (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row
• duplicates (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row
• unique_found (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row
• delivered (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row
• scope (string/null) — null in every sample row
• note (string/null) — null in every sample row

✅ What you get

• record_type (string/null) — e.g. usgs_mrds_occurrence
• dep_id (string/null) — e.g. 10000001
• site_name (string/null) — e.g. Lookout Prospect
• commodities (string/null) — e.g. CU AU AG
• development_status (string/null) — e.g. Occurrence
• latitude (number/null) — e.g. 55.05612000000008
• longitude (number/null) — e.g. -132.14343999999994
• grade (string/null) — e.g. C
• record_url (string/null) — e.g. https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/show-mrds.php?dep_id=10000001
• staleness_note (string/null) — e.g. MRDS is a static legacy compilation; USGS ceased systematic MRDS maintenance cir
• source (string/null) — e.g. usgs-mrds-occurrence-master
• release_date (string/null) — null in every sample row
• source_url (string/null) — e.g. https://energy.usgs.gov/arcgis/rest/services/MRData/Mineral_Resource_Data_System
• observed_at (string/null) — e.g. 2026-09-18T23:20:26Z
• license (string/null) — e.g. USGS Mineral Resource Data System (MRDS) — U.S. Government public domain.
• attribution (string/null) — e.g. U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Resource Data System (https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mr
• terminal (string/null) — null in every sample row
• reported_total (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row
• raw_seen (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row
• duplicates (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row
• unique_found (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row
• delivered (string/integer/null) — null in every sample row
• scope (string/null) — null in every sample row
• note (string/null) — null in every sample row

Staleness (on every record)

MRDS is a static legacy compilation; USGS ceased systematic MRDS maintenance around 2011. Every record carries staleness_note so no buyer mistakes an archival occurrence for a current one.

⚙️ Sample inputs

1. Quick start — the Store example (this is what the sample above came from)

{
  "commodities": [
    "AU"
  ],
  "maxRecords": 50
}

The sample run charged exactly: 2 × $0.02 apify-actor-start + 50 × $0.02 occurrence_record = $1.04 on the Free tier — every delivered row was billed.

2. A smaller, narrowed run

{
  "commodities": [
    "AU"
  ],
  "maxRecords": 5
}

Caps the run at 5 rows — about $0.12 on the Free tier ($0.02 start + 5 × $0.02).

3. A full-size run

{
  "commodities": [
    "AU"
  ],
  "maxRecords": 2500
}

Up to 2500 rows (the schema default for maxRecords) — about $50.02 on the Free tier ($0.02 start + 2500 × $0.02) if the source has that many.

4. A filtered run

{
  "commodities": [
    "AU"
  ],
  "maxRecords": 50,
  "fieldMatch": {
    "site_name": "Lookout Prospect"
  }
}

Keeps only rows whose site_name contains Lookout Prospect (a value from the sample run above), matched case-insensitively after the source is read and before the maxRecords cap, so the cap counts matches and only delivered matches are billed. searchText does the same across every column. Zero matches end the run as EMPTY_SELECTION with no row charged — if the source has moved on since that sample run, pick a value you see in your own first run. The source is still read in full — this narrows what you receive and pay for, not what the source serves.

🧾 JSON sample record

One real record from run OUuhwweBsz8htqb9m, exactly as it lands in the dataset (emails masked, long text shortened):

{
  "record_type": "usgs_mrds_occurrence",
  "dep_id": "10000001",
  "site_name": "Lookout Prospect",
  "commodities": "CU AU AG",
  "development_status": "Occurrence",
  "latitude": 55.05612000000008,
  "longitude": -132.14343999999994,
  "grade": "C",
  "record_url": "https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/show-mrds.php?dep_id=10000001",
  "staleness_note": "MRDS is a static legacy compilation; USGS ceased systematic MRDS maintenance circa 2011. This record reflects the archival snapshot, not current site status.",
  "source": "usgs-mrds-occurrence-master",
  "release_date": null,
  "source_url": "https://energy.usgs.gov/arcgis/rest/services/MRData/Mineral_Resource_Data_System/MapServer/3",
  "observed_at": "2026-09-19T00:15:22Z",
  "license": "USGS Mineral Resource Data System (MRDS) — U.S. Government public domain.",
  "attribution": "U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Resource Data System (https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/)"
}

🔧 How it works

Source. The actor reads energy.usgs.gov, mrdata.usgs.gov — endpoints: https://energy.usgs.gov/arcgis/rest/services/MRData/, https://energy.usgs.gov/arcgis/rest/services/MRData/Mineral_Resource_Data_System/MapServer/3/query, https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/. Public pages and feeds only; nothing behind a login.

Transport. Plain HTTPS from the Apify platform, no proxy. robots.txt is read first and a disallowed path is never fetched. Every request carries an identified contact User-Agent. Pacing: CRAWL_DELAY=0.0.

Terminal states. A run ends NORMAL, CAPPED (your cap was reached), PARTIAL (something was withheld and the message says what), GENUINE_EMPTY (the source was read and truly had nothing in scope) or BLOCKED (the source refused or changed shape — the run FAILS loud and bills nothing). A zero-row run is never reported as a silent success.

Charging. Each mrds occurrence record is charged at the moment it is pushed (occurrence_record); a row that fails to charge is not delivered, so the dataset count always equals the charged count.

🔧 How it works

Source

The public USGS ArcGIS REST layer energy.usgs.gov/arcgis/rest/services/MRData/Mineral_Resource_Data_System/MapServer/3 — bounded resultOffset paging, honest UA, robots honoured at run time (the host publishes no robots.txt).

What this does NOT report

Never ownership, production, or current operating status. MRDS layer 3 carries only a static development classification (development_status, e.g. Occurrence/Prospect/Producer), reported as provenance. Nothing about who owns, operates, or produces at a site — or any production tonnage/volume — is derived or emitted.

Licence

USGS MRDS is U.S. Government public domain. Every record carries license and attribution (U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Resource Data System).

What is not done. No login, no cookie or CAPTCHA bypass, no private or personal-account data, no browser automation.

💰 Pricing example

Event	Free	Bronze	Silver	Gold
Actor Start (apify-actor-start)	$0.02	$0.02	$0.02	$0.02
MRDS occurrence record (occurrence_record)	$0.02	$0.018	$0.016	$0.0134

Worked at the live Free-tier price:

• 8 mrds occurrence records: $0.02 start + 8 × $0.02 = $0.18
• 25 mrds occurrence records: $0.02 start + 25 × $0.02 = $0.52
• 2500 mrds occurrence records: $0.02 start + 2500 × $0.02 = $50.02

A run that delivers zero rows charges the $0.02 start fee only. A BLOCKED run (source refused) fails loud and charges no value event. The start fee is charged once per GB of run memory; the default run memory is 4096 MB.

Yield on the sample run: NORMAL: 50 unique rows (0 duplicates collapsed). billable=50. maxRecords is a hard ceiling on what is delivered and billed, never a target.

⚖️ Legal & ToS

This actor reads public, logged-out pages and feeds published by energy.usgs.gov, mrdata.usgs.gov. It collects only what the source publishes to any visitor, keeps to the source's robots rules (checked on every run), identifies itself with a contact User-Agent, and does not access accounts, private data or anything behind authentication. Use the output in line with the source's terms and your local law; the intended use is B2B research and monitoring.

❓ FAQ

Q: Do I need an API key or a login?
A: No. The source (energy.usgs.gov, mrdata.usgs.gov) is read logged-out; the input schema has no key field and the actor carries no secrets.

Q: Why did my run return 0 rows?
A: Read the run's status message. GENUINE_EMPTY means the source was read and had nothing in scope for your input; BLOCKED means the source refused and the run failed without billing a value event — retry later or narrow the input. A zero-row run bills the start fee only.

Q: How many rows can one run return?
A: Up to maxRecords (default 2500). Raise the cap for a bigger run; you pay per delivered row.

Q: How fresh is the data?
A: Every run reads the source live at run time; nothing is cached between runs. Put it on a schedule for a continuous feed.

Q: What formats can I export?
A: The dataset downloads as JSON, CSV, Excel, XML or RSS from the run's Dataset tab or the Apify API, and any run can push to a webhook or integration.

Q: How is this different from the other NexGen Watch actors actors?
A: Same output shape and billing model; this one covers energy.usgs.gov, mrdata.usgs.gov. The siblings under Related Actors cover the other sources or slices — run several on one schedule for a combined feed.

Q: Are there rate limits?
A: The actor paces itself against the source (CRAWL_DELAY=0.0) and honours its robots rules; there is no per-buyer limit beyond your Apify plan's concurrency.

🆘 Troubleshooting

• Run FAILED with BLOCKED → the source refused the request or changed its page shape → nothing was billed beyond the start fee; retry after a while, and if it persists open an Issue with the run id.
• Status says CAPPED → your cap (maxRecords) was reached → raise it for a bigger run.
• Input validation error on start → a field is outside the schema's allowed values → start from the Quick start block and change one field at a time.
• Run TIMED-OUT → a very wide request on a slow day → raise the run timeout in Run options or narrow the input; what was delivered before the timeout is still in the dataset.

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• 🏢 About NexGenData — NexGen Watch is NexGenData's fleet of more than 300 public data actors built on official sources, pay-per-result. Browse the catalog at apify.com/nexgenwatch.

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