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 analyzed. 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.