The most straightforward approach to valuing mineral resources relies on market transaction prices. This is the standard approach used across the national economic accounts for capital assets. When resources of petroleum, copper, gold, and other minerals are sold, the value of the transac- tion provides a basis for calculating the market value of the mineral component of the asset. A close look at the transaction-prices approach reveals, however, a number of diYculties that need to be resolved. The major diYculty is that a market transaction usually encompasses a num- ber of assets and liabilities, such as the associated capital (., surface roads, shafts, and refining operations), taxes, royalty obligations, and en- vironmental liabilities. Because the.
