Discusses the societal and economics implications of a 68% "windfall profits" tax imposed on copper and gold mining in Mongolian territory
[M]ineral exploration remains one of the riskiest of business ventures, based simply on the complexities of nature and the rarity of zones of concentrated metal. Mineral value cannot be quantified until core samples are taken through a process called drilling, which enables mineral content to be evaluated in three dimensions. Today geologists spend their efforts interpreting layers of expensively acquired scientific data and geological observations, evaluating hundreds of potential targets just to find an area prospective enough to risk the expense of drilling.