MANAGING FOR SUCCESSFUL MINERAL EXPLORATION - A REVIEW

The financial returns to mineral exploration are highly skewed - a few companies find exploration highly profitable, while most find it at b est a marginal economic activity. In an attempt to identify those char acteristics of the successful few, this paper reviews the literature o n managing mineral exploration and on two other business activities ch aracterized by long lead times and uncertain rewards: oil and gas expl oration and industrial research and development.