Mining in Society Merit Badge
Eight requirements, and the ten minerals chosen in the first five minutes are used again two parts later, when requirement 1(c) asks which countries they come from. Requirement 5 offers six routes and only one of them needs no permission, no travel and no host: four of the other five are visits, and five of the six need both a parent and the counselor to approve before you start. Requirement 2 needs a map of your state showing cities, highways, rivers and railroads that you are allowed to mark.
The plan behind this
Choose the ten minerals once, and use them twice
| 1(a) | Select 10 different minerals. For each, name a product it is used for. |
| 1(c) | From the list of minerals you chose for requirement 1(a), determine the countries where those minerals can be found. |
The list is set in 1(a) and 1(c) is built on it. There is no second chance to pick an easier ten.
Choose minerals whose production is actually published somewhere: copper, iron, aluminium ore, gold, silver, lithium, tungsten, silica, phosphate, salt. National geological surveys publish country-by-country production figures for all of those, so 1(c) becomes a reading exercise.
Pick ten unusual ones because they are interesting and 1(c) turns into a research problem with no obvious source.
Requirement 5: six routes, and what each actually costs you
| route | what it is | what you have to arrange |
|---|---|---|
| 5(a) | virtual tour of two types of mine | parent approval, counselor assistance. No travel. |
| 5(b) | visit a mining or minerals exhibit at a museum | parent permission, counselor approval, and a museum with one |
| 5(c) | visit an active mine | parent permission, counselor approval, and a mine that will host you |
| 5(d) | visit a mining equipment manufacturer or supplier | parent permission, counselor approval, and a host |
| 5(e) | discuss size reduction, smelting and refining with your counselor | nothing |
| 5(f) | the history of a local mine, plus an interview | parent permission, counselor approval, and a historian, community leader or business person |
5(e) is the only route with no permission, no travel and no third party. Two methods of reducing rock in size, one of which uses a chemical process to extract a mineral, plus the difference between smelting and refining. It is a conversation.
5(a) is the only other one you can do from home. A virtual tour of two types of mine, then the similarities and differences in resource exploration, mine planning and permitting, equipment, and the minerals produced.
The remaining four all depend on somebody agreeing to host or talk to you. That is not a reason to avoid them, and a mine or mill visit is much the most interesting thing on this badge. It is a reason to ask early rather than at requirement 5.
Requirement 2 needs a map you can write on
Obtain a map of your state or region showing major cities, highways, rivers, and railroads. Mark the locations of five mining enterprises.
Four features have to be on it, and you have to mark it. Then for each of the five: what resource is processed there, and whether it is a surface or an underground operation.
Your state geological survey usually publishes exactly this, often as a free downloadable mineral resources map. Printing one is the simplest route, and it is worth sorting out before you reach requirement 2 rather than after.
Requirement 7 is four desk options
| 7(a) | interplanetary mining: NASA, private investors, the moon and asteroids |
| 7(b) | minerals in seawater and on the ocean floor, and where the ocean is mined today |
| 7(c) | which metals and minerals are recycled: four metals, two nonmetals |
| 7(d) | current price of gold, copper, aluminium, cement or coal, plus a five-year trend for two |
All four are research you can do at a desk, and 7(d) needs a parent or guardian's permission for internet use. Unlike requirement 5, nothing here depends on a place or a person, so choose on interest.
7(d) is the only one that produces a number that will be out of date next week, so record the date you looked it up.
What this page is
The Mining in Society merit badge, drawn so the mineral list is visibly an input to a later requirement, and so the six routes through requirement 5 are sorted by what they actually demand. It is not a copy of the requirements: each step is a short label with a link to the official requirements, which are what actually governs and which change from year to year.
Sources for this page
- Mining in Society Merit Badge Requirements, Merit Badge Hub, last modified 2025-12-31 · The requirements themselves, and the free official pamphlet linked from them.
- Guide to Advancement, 2025, Section 7.0.0.3 · The process every merit badge is earned through, which this page does not repeat.
- Guide to Advancement, 2025, Section 7.0.4.3 · Which version of a changed requirement applies to a Scout who has already started.
- Guide to Advancement, 2025, Section 4.0.0.1 · Why the requirements are not in the Guide to Advancement and are expected to change annually.
Last checked against its sources on .