The Document Archives

The Document Archives at the Mineral Resources Information Office in Malå comprise a large number of maps, exploration reports, field notes, drill core documentation, work material, and more.

The material consists of hundreds of thousands of documents collected over a period of more than a hundred years, and new material is being continuously added.

Visiting the Document Archives

Access to the archives is granted only in the company of a member of staff.

Among the things staff will help with are:

  • Searching databases for references, e.g. exploration reports and scientific reports.
  • Searching databases and archives for geological maps, ground geophysics, geochemical data, blocks and drill cores.
  • Loaning or copying material and information.
  • Scanned analogue material can be delivered upon request in various digital formats.

Geological maps and data

The Mineral Resources Information Office in Malå has access to a part of SGU's geological materials, including the data underlying published maps. There is also a large amount of geological, geophysical and geochemical map material from producers besides SGU. The maps range from regional scale to detailed maps of individual objects and areas.

Most of the material is unpublished, and much of it is working material, such as hand-drawn maps. A large portion of the material has been digitised, but we can scan material not available digitally upon request.

The maps are sorted by map sheet and by information type:

  • Bedrock geology
  • Soil geology
  • Geochemistry
  • Geophysics
  • Stake systems

Exploration reports

The archives at the Mineral Resources Information Office contain over 8 000 exploration reports. The reports have been registered in a database and are searchable by, e.g. map sheet, keyword and object name.

The exploration reports are an excellent way to find out which surveys have been done in a special area. Digital data from the surveys is sometimes also available.

The majority of the reports are in Swedish. Most reports have now been scanned and are available in PDF format.

You can now personally search and download exploration reports in the “Exploration reports” database.

Search and download from the “Exploration reports” database

New material from the Mining Inspectorate of Sweden

New material is received continuously by the Mineral Resources Information Office from the Mining Inspectorate of Sweden, the decision-making body tasked with processing matters concerning exploration and extraction of minerals.

Since 1998, when an exploration permit is granted, the law has required exploration activities and digital data to be reported to the Mining Inspectorate. After a secrecy period of no longer than four years, the material is made public and archived at the Mineral Resources Information Office.

The Mineral Resources Information Office also has field notes, both from basic surveying and from exploration-oriented surveying. Besides this, there are about 1500 publications on Swedish geology and mineral deposits in a number of languages.

Last reviewed 2021-02-10