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  inForeword 
~)~The Federal Government, through the Minerals Yearbook and its predecessor
volumes, has reported annually on mineral industry activities for 98 years
In the interest of expediting the release of minerals data, this edition
of the Yearbook covers both 1978 and 1979. It discusses the performance of
the worldwide mineral industry during 1978 and 1979 and provides background
information to assist in interpreting developments during the years being
reviewed. Content of the individual volumes follows: 
 Volume I, Metals and Minerals, contains'chapters on virtually all metallic
and nonmetallic mineral commodities important to the U.S. economy. In addition,
it includes a chapter on mining and quarrying trends. 
 Volume II, Area Reports: Domestic, contains chapters on the mineral industry
of each of the 50 States, the U.S. island possessions in the Pacific Ocean
and the Caribbean Sea, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. This volume also
has a statistical summary. 
 Volume III, Area Reports: International, contains the latest available mineral
data on more than 130 foreign countries and discusses the importance of mmerals
to the economies of these nations Separate chapters review the mternational
mmerals mdustry m general and its relationship to the world economy and ocean
mmerals 
 The Bureau of Mines continually strives to improve the value of its publications
to its users. Therefore, the constructive comments and suggestions of readers
of the Yearbook will be welcomed. 
Director