"Mineral exploration" describes the processes and methods used in the search and assessment of economic concentrations of a wide variety of minerals within the Earth's crust including energy sources (e.g. coal), precious and base metals (e.g. gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc), precious and semi-precious stones (e.g. diamond, sapphire, zircon), and minerals used for industrial purposes (e.g. garnet, rutile, feldspar and limestone).
To assist mineral exploration, the NSW Department of Primary Industries - Mineral Resources produces publicly accessible, on-line maps and digital data resources. The Department also licenses companies and individuals to search for economic concentrations of mineral resource, and extends leases enabling them to assess on-site that the resources is of a sufficient size and grade to be mined and that it can be economically recovered.