Riswan produced Chapter 7 of the text: Essentials of Mineral Exploration and Evaluation (Elsevier). In his introduction, he stressed that if there is no mineral exploration, there would be no mining, no processing, no industry, few of the cultural amenities and creature comforts. For the maintenance of any country’s economy, it is inevitable to have adequate supply of mineral resources.
Mineral exploration has its own characteristics that differ from other resources sector. They are:
1) Mineral resources are largely hidden from view. Some part of the earth is well endowed with respect to mineral resources while other parts are poorly endowed.
2) Mineral deposits are “where they are in nature” and cannot be moved out to a desirable location by anybody.
3) After establishing a deposit, a mining camp is developed. Since many deposits are known to occur in cluster, the first developed mine and its infrastructure will facilitate for the development of additional finds, thereby reducing costs for the project.
4) Many a times, use of advanced technology is needed to define an economic mineral resource.
Mineral exploration is a time-consuming “high reward, high-risk” event. Many companies, Government, Private, and Local communities, are involved in mineral exploration worldwide. Although successful exploration yields good rewards/dividends to the participants and local communities, the risks involved are also high. Responsible mining companies can be a driver of economic and private sector development, as well as poverty alleviation at a national level. They can also offer technology transfer to both the local community and to the nation. The ultimate goal of mineral exploration is the extraction, beneficiation, and profitable and beneficial sale of mineral commodities.
[For more on the subject, see (here).]
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