Adherence to standards by disparate groups compiling information for a common good has been a controversial subject for centuries. However, in the computer age, it has assumed greater importance, and it is easier to demonstrate the high cost of ignoring available standards. The computer age also makes it easier for us to work with multiple standards alongside each other, if agreement cannot be reached on which standard to adopt.
The Australian Chief Government Geologists Committee has developed the EarthResourceML Data Exchange Model. This has been developed collaboratively under the leadership of the Australian Government Geoscience Information Policy Advisory Committee as an extension of the geoscience exchange standard (GeoSciML). This data model with standard vocabularies is designed to deliver mineral data in a consistent format to appropriate web portals, such as the AuScope Discovery Portal, and facilitate transfer of the most recent data between government, industry and other organizations. The model describes Earth Resources independent of associated human activities, permitting description using mineral deposit models encompassing internationally recognized deposit classifications, mineral systems and processes. It also provides the ability to describe commodity resources formally or informally utilizing international reporting standards.