"Rich and various gems inlay 

 The unadorned bosom of the deep." 



JOHN MILTON 



Chapter VII 



ENCOURAGING DEVELOPMENT OF 



NON-LIVING RESOURCES 



Ores, minerals, and fossil fuels are basic sources of energ)', construction 

 materials, metals, chemicals, and fertilizers and are increasingly required 

 by advancing industrial economies. The importance of offshore petroleum 

 and natural gas is reflected in estimates that, within two decades, 30 to 40 

 percent of the domestic and world production will come from offshore 

 sources. Currently, 15 percent of U.S. production of sulfur comes from off- 

 shore, and additional areas have been identified in the Gulf of Mexico. 

 While the potential for offshore solid minerals is still in the exploratory 

 stage, projections show that U.S. consumption of many commodities will 

 double by 1980. This motivates offshore exploration for selected minerals 

 such as gold, silver, platinum, phosphates, and manganese. Additionally, the 

 demand for sand, gravel, shells, and other construction materials dredged 

 from nearshore waters is increasing significantly in areas where rapid urban- 

 ization is simultaneously enlarging the need and excluding land sources of 

 supply. Of course, the keys to offshore production of any of these com- 

 modities lie in their actual delineation by surveys and in the development of 

 suitable extraction technologies that would render costs of difficult offshore 

 production competitive with conventional onshore operations. 



The value of all minerals produced from Federal and State offshore 

 waters in the past decade exceeds $7.5 billion, including petroleum pro- 

 duction valued at about $6 billion. Federal bonuses and revenues from de- 



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