Mining in Society Merit Badge

Eight requirements drawn so the mineral list from requirement 1(a) is visibly the input to 1(c), and so the six routes through requirement 5 are separated by what each one actually requires you to arrange.

9 steps (19 parts inside them). 10 parts depend on questions you have not answered yet. · Version 1, published 13 August 2026 · About Mining in Society Merit Badge

No questions answered

This is the whole plan: everything that could apply to anybody. Answering the 2 questions at the address above takes out the parts that are not for you.

Which of this applies to you

You have not answered anything yet, so this is the whole plan: everything that could apply to anybody. Answering 2 short questions will take out the parts that are not for you.

Answer the questions

The steps

Stage 1 of 9

1 step

1. Ten minerals, and what they are used for Often forgotten Requirement

All three parts. The ten minerals chosen in the first part are used again in the third, so the choice is worth making with both in mind.
3 parts
- 1(a). Select ten different minerals, and name a product for each Often forgotten CHOOSE THESE TEN WITH REQUIREMENT 1(c) IN MIND, BECAUSE YOU ONLY CHOOSE ONCE. Part (c) opens "From the list of minerals you chose for requirement 1(a)" and asks which countries those minerals can be found in. Ten minerals whose production is published country by country, such as copper, iron, aluminium ore, gold, silver, lithium, tungsten, silica, phosphate and salt, make part (c) an evening of reading, because national geological surveys publish exactly those figures. Ten unusual ones chosen because they are interesting make it a research problem with no obvious source, and by then the list is set.
- 1(b). The role mining plays in producing and processing things that are grown
- 1(c). Which countries your ten minerals come from Usually comes after 1(a). Select ten different minerals, and name a product for each.

Stage 2 of 9

1 step

2. A map of your state, marked with five mining enterprises Often forgotten Requirement

Obtain a map showing major cities, highways, rivers and railroads, and mark five mining enterprises on it. For each: what resource is processed there, and whether it is a surface or an underground operation. Then discuss how those resources are used.

GET THE MAP BEFORE YOU REACH THIS REQUIREMENT. It has to show major cities, highways, rivers AND railroads, all four, and you have to be able to mark five mining enterprises on it. Your state geological survey usually publishes exactly this as a free mineral resources map, and printing one is the simplest route. Then for each of the five you need the resource processed there and whether it is a surface or underground operation, so allow time for that lookup as well.

Stage 3 of 9

1 step

3. Hazards at an active mine, and how miners are protected Requirement

A discussion with your counselor covering all three parts below.
3 parts

Stage 4 of 9

1 step

4. The dangers of an abandoned mine or quarry Requirement

A discussion with your counselor. Distinct from requirement 3, which is about working mines: the hazards of an abandoned site are different and mostly invisible.

Stage 5 of 9

1 step

5. Choose one, and check first whether you can arrange it Often forgotten Requirement

Six routes. Five of them need a parent or guardian's permission and the counselor's approval, and four of those need somebody to host you or talk to you. One needs none of it.

FIVE OF THESE SIX ROUTES NEED PERMISSION, AND FOUR NEED SOMEBODY TO HOST YOU. A museum with a mining exhibit, a mine that will admit a visitor, an equipment manufacturer, or a historian or community leader willing to be interviewed. None of that can be arranged on the day. ONLY 5(e) NEEDS NONE OF IT: two methods of reducing rock in size and the difference between smelting and refining, discussed with your counselor. 5(a), the virtual tour, is the other one that can be done from home, needing your parent or guardian's approval and your counselor's assistance but no travel. If you want the mine visit, and it is much the most interesting thing on this badge, ask at your first meeting rather than at requirement 5.
6 parts
- 5(a). Take a virtual tour of two types of mine Optional May not apply
- 5(b). Visit a mining or minerals exhibit at a museum Optional May not apply
- 5(c). Visit an active mine Optional May not apply Often forgotten THE HARDEST ROUTE TO ARRANGE AND THE BEST ONE IF YOU CAN. An active mine has to agree to admit a visitor, which usually means safety induction, minimum ages and a scheduled tour, and many will simply say no. Ask early and have a second choice ready. If it comes off, take the photographs the requirement permits and collect the brochures it asks for while you are there, because neither can be obtained afterwards.
- 5(d). Visit a mining equipment manufacturer or supplier Optional May not apply
- 5(e). Discuss size reduction, smelting and refining Optional May not apply
- 5(f). Research a local mine, and interview someone about its effect Optional May not apply

Stage 6 of 9

1 step

6. Environmental impact, reclamation, and what land is for afterwards Requirement

All three parts, and the last one has a Scouting site in it.
3 parts

Stage 7 of 9

1 step

7. Choose one piece of research: space, ocean, recycling or prices Requirement

Four routes, all of them desk research. None depends on a place or a person, so this is a genuine preference rather than a question of access.
4 parts
- 7(a). Interplanetary mining Optional May not apply
- 7(b). Mining the oceans Optional May not apply
- 7(c). Recycling metals and minerals Optional May not apply
- 7(d). Commodity prices, and a five-year trend for two Optional May not apply

Stage 8 of 9

1 step

8. One mining career, researched properly Requirement

Training and education needed, costs, job prospects, salary, duties and advancement. Research methods may include, with your parent or guardian's permission, an internet or library search, an interview with a professional, or a visit to a workplace.

Stage 9 of 9

1 step

Counselor signs it off Milestone

The completion date is the date you met the requirements, not the date of the signature.

Usually comes after 8. One mining career, researched properly.

Merit badge requirements are republished annually. A Scout beginning work uses the requirements as they stand then; a Scout already working may finish under the ones they started with. Guide to Advancement 7.0.4.3 governs which applies. This page records the date its copy was read. Check it against the official page before relying on it.

This plan is a planning aid: the current Boy Scouts of America publication is always the authority, and the sources used here are listed in full. Each step names its own.