What is a Database?

It is a compilation of data organized in a certain way to facilitate information search and retrieval. Databases are the quickest and most efficient way to obtain any type of required information (i.e. market, legal, scientific or technological) in various areas and countries. Statistics that show growth in the number of databases, producers and vendors are indicative of the solid establishment of the database industry.

The INFOMIMET directory provides information about databases available online, on CD-ROM and DVD which are of particular interest to geosciences, mining, mineral processing and metallurgy.

Classification according to the cost of accessing information

Public Domain Databases

   Structured and disseminated as a non-profit service, by various types of institutions, especially academic and governmental. Information can be accessed and retrieved at no cost.
   39 databases from Brazil and 629 databases from various countries have been selected for this directory. You may directly access any of the databases through the links provided in the Public Domain Databases webpage.

Proprietary Databases

   Copyrighted databases accessible by purchase from or by subscription payment to producers or distributors/vendors. You usually need personal login id and password to access stored data. In some cases users must also pay extra for the format of retrieved information.
   228 proprietary databases have been selected for this directory - explore the theme groups on the menu (left side of the screen) or select a group that best suits your purposes from the list of theme groups.

Classification according to the type of information provided

Bibliographical Databases:

Contain citations to printed literature (i.e. books, conference proceedings, dissertations and theses, journal articles, newspaper items, patents, reports, etc.) Each bibliographical reference usually provides: work title, author name(s), abstract, type and year of publication, number of pages, editor name and location.

Directory Databases:

Contain contact information, often including descriptive profiles (for persons, companies, institutions, organizations, products, publishers, or other entities).

Full Text Databases:

Contain original publications (i.e. journal articles, reports, newspapers, legal materials, etc.) or original writings stored in a form that enables individual words to be used in retrieval.

Image Databases:

Contain a collection of graphic materials, including : chemical structures, design aids, photocharts, figures, illustrations, maps, representations of works of art, spectra, or texts in image form.

Numeric Databases:

Contain a collection of numeric data, including : prices, properties of substances and materials, stock quotations, time-series and statistical data (i.e. production, sales, imports/exports).

Software Databases:

Contain computer codes or programs, including freeware and shareware, that can be downloaded for local use.

How are the databases organized in this directory?

Public Domain Databases : listed by alphabetical order of their names or acronyms, in two major groups : Databases from Brazil and Databases from Various Countries.

Proprietary Databases : 28 groups have been used to categorize the selected proprietary databases; a database could be found in one or more groups according to the subjects covered.
Below you will find descriptive summaries for each theme group, thus illustrating the variety of subjects covered by the databases included in a particular group. Clicking on the name of the group you will see the databases which have been selected for that group.

Theme Group: Analytical Techniques
Includes failure analysis of metals, alloys and other materials; methods for analysis and monitoring of wastes and toxic substances; cromatography and other processes for organic and biomolecular separation; evaluation of technologies for decontamination and clean-up of installations.

Number of databases: 15

Theme Group: Business and Economy
Includes industrial business transactions (acquisitions, mergers and joint-ventures); balance of payments; commercial opportunities; economic impact of new technologies; exchange and interest rates; investments; import and export data; jobs and wages; market studies and trends; product prices and sales statistics; production and consumption; stock exchange data; strategies for competitiveness.

Number of databases: 36

Theme Group: Consultants / Experts
Includes biographical information about professionals from various areas of Science and Technology in several countries.

Number of databases: 10

Theme Group: Corrosion
Includes several aspects related to corrosion: characteristics and weariness of materials; corrosion testing; effect of corrosive substances on metals and alloys; metallographic techniques; preventative and corrective measures; surface engineering; thermal treatment.

Number of databases: 12

Theme Group: Crystallographic Data
Includes crystallographic data of metals, alloys, minerals, inorganic complexes, organometallic and intermetallic compounds.

Number of databases: 7

Theme Group: Environmental Issues / Pollution
Includes techniques for pollution detection, monitoring, analysis and control (for air, soil and water); behaviour of substances released in the environment; emergency measures for harmful leakages or spillages ; for environmental impact studies and risk assessment; mining policy and management of natural resources; land use and reclamation; industrial effluent and sewage treatment; industrial standards for environmental control; technologies for the solution of environmental problems; legal decisions and regulations.

Number of databases: 39

Theme Group: Equipment
Includes projects and specifications of scientific instruments and industrial equipment (from laboratory to large scale); manufacturers and distributors; parts, components and accessories; tools; lubrication and tribology related aspects.

Number of databases: 12

Theme Group: Events
Includes information about conferences, congresses, exhibitions, fairs, international meetings, simposia and other events which have already taken place and also those scheduled for the future.

Number of databases: 5

Theme Group: Geology
Includes economic, historical and environmental aspects of geosciences and geotechnology; crystallography; geochemistry and geophysics; geological and mining engineering; marine geology; mineralogy; rock and soil mechanics; structural geology; and computer programs applied to geosciences.

Number of databases: 24

Theme Group: Industries
Includes detailed descriptions of companies and profiles of their industrial sectors; main activities and end-users; new products and technologies available; feasibility studies; installed capacity and expansions predicted.

Number of databases: 16

Theme Group: Institutions
Includes directories and profiles of R&D institutions, their projects, laboratories, equipment and technological services available.

Number of databases: 8

Theme Group: Legislation / Regulations
Includes legislation and other regulatory issues related to mining, mineral processing, metallic materials and environmental control.

Number of databases: 21

Theme Group: Metallurgy
Includes R&D results and new technologies; powder metallurgy; unit operations e processes (chemical, extractive, mechanical and physical); applied computer science; casting, foundry and welding; equipment, tools and industrial machinery; tests for quality control; occupational health and safety related to metallurgical activities.

Number of databases: 29

Theme Group: Metals / Alloys / Compounds
Includes analytical techniques; classification; chemical composition and uses of alloys and compounds (inorganic, coordination, organometallic, intermetallic); characteristics and properties; business and economy; product forms commercially available; R&D results; reactions, reactivity and processes; tests for quality control; occupational health and safety and all environmental aspects related.

Number of databases: 83

Theme Group: Mineral Resources
Includes prospection, characterization/identification, exploitation and exploration of mineral resources; ore reserves; mineral economy; mineral processing; mineralogy; properties of minerals; emerging technologies; R&D activities; legal and regulatory aspects related to energy production and environmental preservation.

Number of databases: 30

Theme Group: Mining
Provides information about : R&D activities and technologies available for all surface and underground mining operations (from prospection to mineral processing); mining engineering (including rock and soil mechanics); all other aspects (economic, environmental, occupational health and safety, technical and managerial) related to the mineral industry; recent developments in equipment and techniques (including control and automation); legislation and regulations; market studies; mine closure, land reclamation and rehabilitation; profiles from mining companies.

Number of databases: 37

Theme Group: Nomenclature
Databases provide official and trade names as well as synonyms for various types of substances including minerals, metals, alloys and metallic compounds.

Number of databases: 10

Theme Group: Occupational Health and Safety
Includes guidelines and programs for implementing OHS standards; inspection and operation manuals; related legal activities; major risks and hazards (explosion, fire, toxicity); clothes, equipment and other materials for personal protection; causes, consequences and prevention of accidents; emergency first-aid; industrial hygiene; occupational medicine.

Number of databases: 25

Theme Group: Patents
Includes abstracts, bibliographical references, citations, full texts and legal status of patent applications and patents issued by authorities in various countries and also by international patent offices (EPO and WIPO).

Number of databases: 19

Theme Group: Processes
Includes recent developments in mining techniques; mineral and metal processing technologies; unit operations (theoretical and experimental aspects, from bench to industrial scale); industrial projects; metallurgical processes (from mineral concentrate to end product); metal casting, moulding, rolling, foundry, powder metallurgy, sintering and welding; surface treatment; manufacture and finishing processes for metal components, parts and accessories; technologies for decontamination of waste deposits and installations.

Number of databases: 37

Theme Group: Properties
Includes chemical, magnetic, mechanical, molecular, nuclear, electrical, optical, physical, spectroscopic, thermodynamic and other properties.

Number of databases: 58

Theme Group: Quality
Includes: tests for quality control (especially adopted by the aluminium industry); guidelines for the implementation of quality control programs (including environmental control); information about european institutions dedicated to product certification; methods for the analysis of drinkable water and aqueous wastes.

Number of databases: 6

Theme Group: Software
Includes mathematical and simulation models, software and computer codes which may be applied for mining operations, mineral and metallurgical processing (for calculating properties and other parameters).

Number of databases: 13

Theme Group: Spectral Data
Includes spectral parameters and experimental results from several analytical techniques: infrared and ultraviolet, ionization and paramagnetic resonance, mass spectrometry, nuclear magnetic resonance, Raman.

Number of databases: 5

Theme Group: Standards and Specifications
Includes technical standards and specifications already published or under development by several institutions: AFNOR, ASTM, BSI, DIN, IEC, ISO, SIS and others.

Number of databases: 23

Theme Group: Toxicology
Includes exposure limits for individuals, animals and populations; procedures adopted in emergency situations; metabolic reactions, carcinogenicity and other biomedical effects resulting from acute and cronic exposure; technical standards and regulations.

Number of databases: 13

Theme Group: Waste Management
Includes handling, transportation, storage, recycling, reduction, treatment and final disposal of the various types of wastes (liquid, gaseous and solid, including radioactive); management of urban waste; technologies for decontamination and clean-up of waste deposits and contaminated sites.

Number of databases: 17

Theme Group: Welding
Includes several aspects of welding: design of welded structures; fatigue and fracture of welded joints; inspection and nondestructive testing; joining of metals and plastics; metals spraying, thermal cutting, brazing, soldering, microjoining and allied processes.

Number of databases: 8