Scientific and technological developments in exploration have made it possible to discover hidden and deeply buried deposits. Further exploration improvements should provide a continuing supply of discoveries, even in many well-explored regions. Extensive areas of the world have been only superficially explored for metals, yet have high discovery potential, for example the South Pacific, parts of South and Central America, parts of Northern Canada and much of Africa. From 1961 to 1996, world copper output grew by a factor of 2.5 and is still increasing. Production of most other metals has grown similarly and no shortages are in sight for any metal.
Metals are recyclable and as such remain available for future generations.
Much can be done to increase recycling of post-consumer metal. Unlike most other new materials used in manufacturing, metals lend themselves to continuous recycling. Working towards higher levels of metal recycling is another way to help ensure that future generations will continue to have adequate supplies of the metals they will need. Nevertheless, even at conservative assumptions of world population growth and economic development, new sources of metal will continue to be needed. One can anticipate that future generations may have to manage with less metal per capita, but world metal supplies seem to be assured for at least the next century, as far into the future as anybody can possibly foresee.