'Twice a day, he used his code name "Tigre 3" to report back to his boss at "Zorro-3" '

From: Hunters Comb Globe for a Hot Metal

 

Mr. Danne and thousands of explorers like him are the bedrock of a global mining industry struggling to keep up with booming demand. As demand soars in China and other emerging economies, the world is clamoring for minerals and metals to build everything from sewer systems to power plants.

That's putting immense pressure on the geologists, engineers and modern-day Indiana Jones-type explorers who are tasked with finding the next big reserves. Adding to the pressure on Rio Tinto is a takeover bid by BHP Billiton, an Anglo-Australian mining company, valued at $147 billion.

Mr. Albanese says he hopes to help fend off BHP by capturing more reserves quickly. That could boost Rio Tinto's net worth -- or at the very least, persuade BHP to pay a higher price. He has hired more explorers and dispatched them to places like Southern Africa, Siberia and Peru. The company now employs about 950 explorers world-wide and is spending about 15% more on exploration than it did five years ago. The new discoveries have to be "big enough to move the needle," says Mr. Albanese.