Almost everything you use, from your phone to your toothpaste, has something mined in it. This badge shows you where those materials come from, how mining is done safely, and how land is restored afterward. It's a big topic that connects science, history, and everyday life.
Why it's worth it
If it isn't grown, it was mined. The copper in your phone, the salt on your fries, the lithium in a car battery, and the gravel under the road all came out of the ground. This badge follows those materials from mine to product, shows how miners stay safe, and explains how old mine sites can become lakes, parks, and wildlife habitat. It's a big part of how the world works, and few people ever stop to think about it.
Start this week
- Walk through your kitchen and find five things made from minerals, like salt, an aluminum can, a ceramic mug, a glass jar, and a pencil with graphite.
- Ask your Scoutmaster for the name of a Mining in Society counselor, and send them a short message with a parent copied to set up a first meeting.
- Look at your state geological survey's website and find a map of mines or quarries in your area.
- Have a parent help you search for a mining museum, quarry tour, or mineral exhibit within driving distance.
Stay safe
- Never enter an abandoned mine, quarry, or mine shaft, even to explore. Swimming in old quarries is also dangerous because the water is deep, cold, and hides hazards.
- On any mine or quarry tour, stay with your guide and wear the hard hat, glasses, and other gear provided.
Requirements · 8
Every official requirement and part, numbered to match Scouting America, in plain language. Sign off against the official wording (opens in a new tab) (updated 2025).
- Requirement 1
Minerals and their uses
Tips for this section: Walk through your house and match products to minerals, like salt, graphite in pencils, or copper in wires.
Example for this section: Make a chart of 10 minerals and products: halite for table salt, graphite for pencils, copper for wires, gypsum for drywall, quartz for glass, talc for baby powder, bauxite for aluminum cans, and three more you discover.
- Requirement 1a
Pick 10 different minerals and name a product that uses each one
- Requirement 1b
Explain how mining helps produce and process things that are grown
- Requirement 1c
Find out which countries the minerals from 1a come from, and talk about what you learned with your counselor
- Requirement 2
Get a map of your state or region with its major cities, highways, rivers, and railroads. Then mark five mining operations, find out what each one processes and whether it's a surface or underground mine, and discuss with your counselor how those resources are used
Tip: Use a state geological survey website or a map to find mines near you and mark them on a printed map.
For example: Mark five mines on a printed map of your state, like a sand and gravel pit, a limestone quarry, and a coal or metal mine. For each, note what's mined and where that material ends up.
- Requirement 3
Discuss with your counselor the hazards miners can face at an active mine and how they protect themselves
Tip: Look up the safety gear and rules miners use today and talk about how they protect workers.
For example: Describe how today's miners stay safe: hard hats, cap lamps, self-rescuers, air monitoring underground, safety training, and inspections by federal mine safety inspectors. Compare that with conditions a hundred years ago.
- Requirement 3a
Explain how miners wear and use protective gear: hard hat, earplugs, safety glasses, respirator or dust mask, high-visibility vest, and self-rescuer
- Requirement 3b
Explain how miners protect their hands and feet from impact, pinching, vibration, slips, trips, and falls
- Requirement 3c
Explain how monitoring equipment alerts miners to danger, and how drones, robots, and similar tools can assist mine rescues
- Requirement 4
Discuss with your counselor the dangers of abandoned mines and quarries
Tip: Learn the safety message about staying out of old mines and quarries, and why they're so dangerous.
For example: Explain why abandoned mines are deadly: hidden shafts, rotten timbers, bad air, and water-filled quarries that are colder and deeper than they look. The message is simple: stay out and stay alive.
- Requirement 5
See mining up close. Choose 1 of 6
Tips for this section: Look for a mining museum, an active quarry with tours, or a rock and mineral display near you. Visit with an adult.
- Requirement 5a
With a parent's or guardian's OK and your counselor's help, take virtual tours of two kinds of mines online. Compare their exploration, planning and permitting, equipment, and minerals produced, then talk it over with your counselor
- Requirement 5b
With a parent's or guardian's permission and your counselor's OK, go see a museum exhibit on mining or minerals. Learn the exhibit's history and the kind of mining it shows, and give three examples of mineral resources shaping history
- Requirement 5c
With a parent's or guardian's permission and your counselor's OK, visit an active mine. Learn how its resource is explored, planned, permitted, mined, and processed. Take photos if allowed, get brochures, and share them and what you learned with your counselor
- Requirement 5d
With a parent's or guardian's permission and your counselor's OK, visit a mining equipment maker or supplier. Discuss what equipment it provides and where it's used in mining. Take photos if allowed, get brochures, and share them and what you learned with your counselor
- Requirement 5e
Discuss with your counselor two ways rock is crushed or reduced, one using a chemical process to pull out a mineral, and explain how smelting differs from refining
- Requirement 5f
Learn a local mine's history: what was mined, how the deposit was found, the methods used, and how the resource was used. Ask a historian, community leader, or businessperson how mining affected your community, note social, cultural, or economic effects, and share with your counselor
- Requirement 6
Mining and the environment
Tips for this section: Find examples of old mine sites turned into parks, lakes, or wildlife areas.
Example for this section: Find a reclaimed mine near you or in your state, like a strip mine turned into grassland or a quarry turned into a lake. Explain how the land was reshaped, replanted, and checked over time.
- Requirement 6a
Pick a modern mining site, find out how it limits environmental impacts, and share what you learned about mining and sustainability
- Requirement 6b
Explain what reclamation means in mining and how it connects to the Outdoor Code and the Leave No Trace Seven Principles
- Requirement 6c
Discuss with your counselor how society values restoring mined land for wildlife and people, and how the Summit Bechtel Reserve went from a mine site to what it is today
- Requirement 7
Space, ocean, recycling, or commodity prices. Choose 1 of 4
Tips for this section: Pick a topic that sparks your curiosity, like mining on the Moon or recycling metals from old electronics.
Example for this section: Choose a topic like recycling metals from old phones and laptops. Explain how much gold, copper, and other metals are inside, how they're recovered, and why it matters for the future.
- Requirement 7a
Learn what space mining could offer: how NASA and private investors might locate, extract, and process minerals off Earth, and the main reasons to mine near-Earth asteroids, the moon, or other planets. Find out how space exploration and processing differ from Earth's. Share this with your counselor and discuss why sampling material at or near the surface in space is so hard
- Requirement 7b
Name three minerals dissolved in seawater or found on the seafloor and three places the ocean is mined today. Discuss with your counselor why people mine the ocean, the reclamation needed afterward, special concerns, and the sustainability problems it raises
- Requirement 7c
Find out which metals and minerals get recycled. List four metals and two nonmetals and how each is recycled, then discuss with your counselor how recycling affects resource sustainability and relates to mining
- Requirement 7d
With a parent's or guardian's permission, look up today's prices of commodities such as gold, copper, aluminum, cement, or coal, find how two of them have trended over the past five years, and report to your counselor
- Requirement 8
Research one career related to mining: training and education, costs, job outlook, pay, duties, and advancement. With a parent's or guardian's OK you may search online or at a library, interview a pro, or visit a workplace. Discuss your findings with your counselor and what makes the career appealing
Tip: Look into jobs like geologist, engineer, or equipment operator and what training each one needs.
Places to visit
Ask an adult to set it up, and go with your family, den, patrol, or crew.
A mining museum or historic mine tour
You can see real equipment, walk through a safe show mine, and learn how mining shaped your region's history.
How: Have a parent check the museum's website for tour times and youth programs, and go with your family or troop.
An active quarry or sand and gravel operation
You can watch rock being blasted, crushed, and sorted and see the safety rules workers follow.
How: Have an adult call and ask if the quarry offers tours to youth groups. Many do during special open-house days. Wear the safety gear they provide.
A reclaimed mine site turned park or wildlife area
Seeing grass, trees, and water where a mine used to be shows what reclamation can do.
How: Ask your counselor or state mining agency for a site open to the public, and visit with your family or patrol.
Where it can lead
- Mining engineerPlans how a mine is dug safely and efficiently; needs an engineering degree.
- Heavy equipment operatorRuns haul trucks, loaders, and drills; trained on the job or in technical programs.
- Mine safety inspectorChecks that mines follow safety laws and protect workers.
- Reclamation specialistRestores land after mining by reshaping it and planting new vegetation.
- GeologistFinds mineral deposits and figures out how big and valuable they are.
Ask yourself
- Before this badge, where did you think the stuff around you came from?
- What did you learn about the people who work in mines?
- How do you weigh the things we need from mining against the damage it can do to land and water?
- What would you want to see happen to a mine near you after it closes?
- Which mining career or topic would you like to explore further?
Good questions to ask a mining engineer, geologist, or mine safety professional
- What does a normal day at a mine look like?
- How has mine safety changed since you started working?
- How does a mine plan for reclamation before it even opens?
- What minerals will we need most in the future, and why?
- What should I study if I'm interested in mining or minerals?
Helpful reads
- Earning a merit badge, step by step, From picking a badge to getting the final signature: how to find a counselor, set up meetings safely, work the requirements, and keep your progress., Youth · Families · 6 min read
- Contacting counselors, experts, and organizations, Email and phone scripts, who to ask for, how to follow up, and how to say thanks, with a parent copied every time., Youth · Families · 7 min read
- Choosing your next merit badge, How to pick a badge you'll actually finish: start with what you care about, balance Eagle-required and just-for-fun badges, and make the most of camp., Youth · Families · 6 min read
For leaders & parents
- Arrange a group visit to a quarry, mine tour, or mining museum.
- Remind scouts that abandoned mines are off limits, even when exploring on campouts.
People & places that can help
- Merit badge counselor — Talk with them early; they can explain what's expected.
- U.S. Geological Survey (opens in a new tab) — Maps and facts on minerals and where they're found.
- Mine Safety and Health Administration (opens in a new tab) — Info about mine safety and staying out of abandoned mines.
- Rock and mineral club or museum — Hands-on displays and knowledgeable members.
- MSHA: Stay Out, Stay Alive (opens in a new tab) — The national campaign warning people about the dangers of abandoned mines.
- Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (opens in a new tab) — How old coal mine land is restored, with examples from around the country.
- Minerals Education Coalition (opens in a new tab) — Find which minerals are in everyday products and how they're mined.
- USGS National Minerals Information Center (opens in a new tab) — Facts and maps on minerals the country uses and where they come from.
Pairs well with
Tips, examples, and questions are ideas from experienced leaders, not extra requirements. Your unit leader or counselor decides when a requirement is complete.