The Mining Museum is located in the historical center of Saint Petersburg in a building designed by Andrey Voronikhin in 1811 in the Russian Empire style. The Museum was founded in 1773 during the reign of the Russian Empress Catherine II. The Museum is situated on the territory of Saint Petersburg Mining University, the first higher technical university in Russia.The collection of unique exhibits occupies twenty beautifully preserved interiors and comprises over 230 000 items.

One of the largest collections of minerals in the world which comprises over 47,000 items, can be seen in the Mining Museum. There are a lot of unusual items and rarities among the exhibits. For example, the world’s largest preserved chunk of malachite from the Urals weighing 1504 kg. or a meteorite sample weighing 450 kg. In the museum you can also see a fine palaeontological collection, rarest minerals and gemstones, including a rich collection of emeralds. The Museum houses unique masterpieces made by the Carl Faberge company. The collection also includes mining machinery and equipment, cast iron and metal exhibits and more. The museum's collections are part of the Museum Fund of Russia.