The National Geological Repository (NGR) is located at the headquarters of the British Geological Survey, a few miles south of Nottingham.

Core store and record center at BGS Keyworth – BGS © UKRI

A BGS photographer, taking high-resolution photo of core – BGS © UKRI

In the records room – BGS © UKRI
By arrangement, BGS’s science facilities are available to NGR users, including:
- Confidential core inspection bays
- Rock cutting, polishing, slicing, ‘plugging’ and crushing
- Thin section preparation, viewing, and microphotography
- Core photography in a special studio by professional photographer
- Meeting rooms with projection facilities for workshops etc.
- Access to view non confidential well logs on CD or microfiche
- Core and sample conservation laboratories
- Access to scanning electron microscopes, geotechnical and geophysical properties laboratories, and other analytical facilities at the BGS including the NERC Isotope Geosciences Laboratory
- Scanning and copying bureau
- On-site scanning facilities for analogue records
- A dedicated team of staff to assist with accessing information on NGR data holdings
- Free wi-fi
- BGS restaurant
The BGS operates the largest core facility in the UK at Keyworth, Nottingham. It has recently been extended and now has space for over 18 000 pallets of drillcore and 80 000 trays of samples, weighing up to 10 000 tons.
Drillcore is usually held as metre long sticks in boxes. Some of the older cores were broken up into individually registered specimens, frequently exhibiting the fossils used for dating the samples.
The collections contain over a million individual specimens. There are also extensive collections of ‘cuttings’ (rock fragments recovered from the drilling).
Pallets of drillcore are retrieved using a forklift, which ensures they remain horizontal at all times.
Visiting the core store
The majority of borehole cores and samples are available for study and sub-sampling by bona fide academics and commercial companies. Copies of the regulations and access forms are available from kwcorestore@bgs.ac.uk.
Commercial companies are charged for access; academics will need to complete an academic waiver form.
Boreholes may be selected using our online GIS facility GeoIndex or our Borehole materials database.
The online database also provides information on available sample depths and types.
For all Core Store Materials Enquiries including visitor bookings and available dates etc. email: kwcorestore@bgs.ac.uk
The palaeontology and biostratigraphy collections are split between Keyworth and Edinburgh, with the former holding most of the English and Welsh material, and the latter the majority of the Scottish material. Most of the type, figured and cited material is stored centrally at Keyworth.
Find out more about our Biostratigraphy collections
The present condition and future conservation needs of each specimen is assessed prior to preventive or remedial conservation practises taking place.
Using digital imaging and record keeping the conservation history for each specimen is recorded.
We only practise up-to-date and reversible conservation methods to ensure continued accessibility for academic study.
Our work includes:
- casts
- cleaning of specimens
- consolidation and repairs
- efflorescence
- minerals encompassing in resin blocks
- purpose-made packaging
- sub fossil bone
- treatment for pyrite decay
The petrology collections are split between Keyworth and Edinburgh, with Keyworth housing most of the English and Welsh material, and Edinburgh the Scottish material. Several of the collections have been routinely sliced and thin sections prepared.
The core store has a number of fully equipped workshops for all types of cutting, grinding, plugging and polishing. Initial enquiries should be made to the Core Store Manager.
Get in touch
For general NGR enquiries or to arrange a visit, please contact:
enquiries@bgs.ac.uk or 0115 936 3143
Dr Mike Howe, Chief Curator
Telephone: 0115 936 3105
Alison Fernie, Senior Records Manager
Telephone: 0131 6500 434
Andrew Morrison, Archivist
Telephone: 0115 936 3247
Sue Roper, Geo-Information Collections Co-ordinator
Telephone: 0115 936 3127
You may also be interested in:

National Geological Repository
The National Geological Repository holds our collections of borehole cores, cuttings, samples, specimens, and related subsurface information from the UK landmass and continental shelf.

National Geoscience Data Centre
The National Geoscience Data Centre (NGDC) collects and preserves geoscientific data, making it available to a wide range of users and communities.