Summary

Better information on the availability of minerals is a must for the United States to plan intelligently for the present and future use of vital mineral resources. The Bureau of Mines has attempted to develop a computerized mineral reserve identification and analysis system the Minerals Availability System (MAS) to evaluate the technical and economic factors affecting mineral supply. If properly designed and managed, it could assist policy makers in a variety of decisions fostering the orderly development and supply of mineral reserves, as well as complement the Geological Survey's computerized mineral resources system.

Although MAS has potential as a policy-related analytic aid, a management tool for structuring mineral data gathering and analysis, and a mechanism for determining information priorities, it has failed to fulfill any of these roles.