No full text available for this image
            

ing international fact-finding committees to ascertain and present the essential facts as a basis for international negotiation. For instance, some of the recent diplomatic discussion in relation to the exploitation of oil in foreign countries has been unnecessarily complicated by differences in.statement of fundamental geologic facts of distribution, which might easily be eliminated by an international conference of qualified experts. The surveys of the world’s coal and iron resources made by the International Geological Congress independent of governments have served a very useful purpose and are excellent examples of what may be accomplished by disinterested scientific fact finding. 7. The Mineral Reserves of the United States in Their World Relations In the application of the above general principles to the mineral resource situation in the United States we present the following basic considerations: The United States has been endowed with mineral resources to an extent not surpassed by any other country. It is utilizing these resources so fully that its annual mineral production is nearly twofifths of that of the world. Exploration will undoubtedly disclose further large reserves, but the geologic conditions are sufficiently well known to warrant the belief that the extent of mineral reserves in the United States can be approximated for the future. The following tentative classification of mineral supplies is based mainly on data gathered by various government bureaus during and since the war. In the nature of the case it will be difficult to secure general agreement to every item, and modifications are inevitable, but we believe it to approximate the true situation in its main outlines. (4) The United States has certain minerals available in large quantities for export. It is clear that the United States has, and will continue to have, a valuable exportable surplus of copper, coal, iron and steel, phosphates, silver, and sulphur. In view of recent discoveries, borax should probably be added to the list. 162