ABSTRACT

How successful has metallic mineral exploration been in the United States? This chapter examines that question and related issues using data on U.S. exploration expenditures and discoveries available in 1984 when the chapter was completed. Reviewing the limitations of these data as part of the analysis, the following section presents two measures of exploration success: (1) gross value of discoveries from 1940 to 1982 and (2) success ratios from 1955 to 1982. It also analyzes the distribution of success among various types of companies and geologic deposit types.