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FRAMEWORK FOR THE STUDY 16 quarries and most have stone quarries that meet local and regional demands. Exploration for mineral resources in the United States continues at a high level and major discoveries continue to be made. Recent examples include the Goldstrike and Pipeline gold deposits in Nevada, the Red Dog zinc deposit in Alaska, and significant additions to known ore bodies at the Morenci and Ray copper deposits in Arizona and the Chino copper deposit in New Mexico. Figure 1-6 illustrates U.S. and worldwide exploration expenditures from 1991 to 1995. The development of new favorable mineral exploration and mining statutes in several foreign countries, the recognition of underexplored favorable geological terranes outside the United States, and increasingly restrictive mining and environmental statutes in the United States have encouraged many companies to increase operations abroad. As the favorable terranes are explored and international statutes become more uniform, the United States can be expected to regain a higher proportion of exploration expenditures. the nation requires an unbiased federal agency to provide reliable information on mineral resources to: ⢠promote wise land-use management, ⢠promote public health and safety, ⢠preserve and improve environmental quality, ⢠assure resource supply and contribute to national security, and ⢠sustain prosperity and improve the quality of life. APPROPRIATE FEDERAL FUNCTIONS IN MEETING NATIONAL MINERAL NEEDS Responding to its charge, the panel first identified three specific functions of a minerals program it considers appropriate for the MRSP. The first is to supply unbiased information related to mineral resources. Such information is useful to federal and state agencies in carrying out their regulatory and administrative responsibilities. Although state
FRAMEWORK FOR THE STUDY 17 FIGURE 1-3 U.S. net import reliance for selected mineral commodities(data from U.S. Bureau of Mines, 1995a).
FRAMEWORK FOR THE STUDY 18 FIGURE 1-4 U.S. production and exploration as percentages of world totals in 1994: (a) copper production (data from U.S. Bureau of Mines, 1995a), (b) gold production (data from U.S. Bureau of Mines, 1995b), and (c) nonfuel mineral exploration (data from Metals Economics Group, 1995).
FRAMEWORK FOR THE STUDY 19 FIGURE 1-5 Historic U.S. gold production (modified from Dobra and Thomas, 1995).
FRAMEWORK FOR THE STUDY 20 FIGURE 1-6 Worldwide and U.S. nonfuel mineral exploration expenditures for selected companies, modified from Metals Economics Group (1995), which estimated that the 154 companies represented by these data account for approximately 75 percent of worldwide exploration.
FRAMEWORK FOR THE STUDY 21 geological surveys play an important role in generating and disseminating information related to mineral resources, the federal government has a unique role in addressing issues of national jurisdiction and significance. The information is also useful to the private sector in fostering mineral exploration and development, and in planning for environmental protection. However, the private sector is unlikely to develop this basic information because the cost can not be justified. Furthermore, much information generated by the private sector is customarily proprietary and unavailable for public use. A second function is advisory, whereby scientific advice and analysis are provided to other government agencies, such as the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management, to help meet their needs for mineral resource information on lands they administer. The USGS has carried out such an advisory role for many years and is widely respected for its balanced advice and the scientific integrity of its information and interpretations. A third function involves the conduct of basic research on mineral resources. Research is the basis on which the other two functions, advice and information, are founded. In addition, basic research addresses the strategic needs of a nation by investigating resources that are uneconomic today but are technically recoverable if needed in the event of a crisis. Basic research would undoubtedly be underfunded if left solely to the private sector, in part because the returns on investments in basic research are not necessarily captured by the organization that conducts the research. Commonly, basic research benefits society at large and public funding is necessary to prevent underinvestment in research. Many nations have found that public investments in research on mineral resources is best accomplished through a combination of efforts conducted by universities and by government agencies that have national jurisdiction, long-term continuity, large and multidisciplinary teams of scientists, and highly specialized facilities. Many state geological surveys conduct basic research on mineral resources which complements the work of USGS. All three functions are considered legitimate responsibilities for a federal agency, such as the USGS. A variety of other federally managed options for these functions are available, at least in principle, including government grants or contracts to universities, private firms or state agencies, and tax incentives to stimulate industrial research. The
FRAMEWORK FOR THE STUDY 22 existence of such functions in geological surveys worldwide, however, suggests that these functions are widely considered to be appropriate for national governments. The balance among these functions will depend on user requirements and will vary over time (Appendix D).
