Australia’s share of world production lagged well behind its actual share of mineral wealth (based on modern estimates).
In a nation with a strong mining sector and a cultural heritage similar to that of the United States, why should this have been so?”3 The answer is that we did not have the right set of institutions or sufficient technical know-how to compete with the world’s best. That is no longer the case since a complete change of mindset in the 1960s.