The functions of the former U.S. Bureau of Mines, longtime source of mineral-resource information, have been folded into the Division of Energy and Mineral Resources of the U.S. Geological Survey. The USGS Mineral Resource Surveys Program maintains a site with numerous links to U.S. and international resource data at
minerals.usgs.gov/

And if you've ever wondered what gemstones your state may produce, see "Gemstones—An overview of production of specific U.S. gemstones," U.S. Bureau of Mines Special Paper 14-95; online at
minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/gemstones/ sp14-95/

The USGS Spectroscopy Lab is engaged in a number of projects, including imaging relating to mineral prospecting. The home page is
speclab.cr.usgs.gov/

and information specifically about the Cuprite, Nevada, study is at
speclab.cr.usgs.gov/map.intro.html

Maps of mineral-resource data can be created online
mrdata.usgs.gov/

The U.S. Minerals Management Service (MMS) oversees offshore mineral and fuel leasing arrangements, with special emphasis on the Gulf of Mexico, the Pacific Basin, and Alaska; see
www.mms.gov/

A variety of publications of the Environmental Studies Program of MMS can be found at
mmspub.mms.gov/eppd/sciences/esp/index.htm

The U.S. Office of Surface Mining is found at
www.osmre.gov/

The Mineral Information Institute is a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating the public about minerals and other geologic resources; they offer a wealth of educational materials at
www.mii.org/

Natural Resources Canada (NRC), which deals with a broad range of resources, including minerals, energy, and forestry, has its home page at
www.nrcan.gc.ca

The United Nations Commission for Sustainable Development site is found at
www.un.org/esa/sustdev/csd.htm

World Resources Institute's Earth Trends site includes resource-consumption tables; see
earthtrends.wri.org