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GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS 53 CORE COMPETENCE GENERAL RECOMMENDATION 3 The MRSP should place more emphasis on maintaining and continuing to develop its core competence in mineral deposit research and minerals-related environmental research in order to anticipate and respond to future national needs for mineral resource information. The panel concludes that the public would be well served by the MRSP maintaining its expertise related to important and timely national issues. In particular, a knowledge of the origin and geochemistry of mineral deposits will enhance decisions that must be made regarding the protection of the environment as related to the extraction of mineral resources. The panel therefore urges the MRSP to build on its existing strengths, such as resource assessments and mineral deposits research, and to apply that knowledge to ensuring a future mineral resource supply for the United States while simultaneously protecting the environment. The panel recommends that the MRSP maintain and strengthen core competence required to meet national needs for mineral resource research and information. As described below, that core competence involves the following elements: (1) Excellence in Mineral Deposit Research, (2) Scientific Integrity, and (3) Expert Professional Staff. Excellence in Mineral Deposit Research The panel recommends that research on the geology, geochemistry, and genesis of mineral deposits, a long-standing strength of the U.S. Geological Survey, be continued. Publications arising from USGS research on mineral deposits have appeared in Monographs, Professional Papers, Bulletins, Circulars, Open-File Reports, and professional journals. This remarkable body of literature is in continual use and demand by a large number of users throughout the world. Literature as much as 120 years old is still consulted, and the longevity
