In the geologically prospective nations which rim the
Pacific Ocean, mineral deposits offer great potential to create wealth for
social and economic development. The paper first examines the geological and
economic attributes of potential mineral wealth based on current outlook
assessment of all significant base metal deposits discovered to 1988 in two
Pacific Rim nations -
Australia and
Canada
. The
variability of mineral wealth among the economic deposits evaluated and the
major contribution of the few world-class discoveries to total mineral wealth
are highlighted. Then, the essential but too often neglected linkage between the
makeup of potential wealth and its actual realization is analysed. The impact of
taxation and the role of exploration are crucial in this regard. Finally, the
ingredients of exploration success, prerequisites for realizing the mineral
wealth of nations, are examined.