The International Journal of Minerals Policy and Economics

Submission of Papers

Authors are requested to submit their original manuscript via the online submission page of this journal at http://ees.elsevier.com/jrpo. Authors will be guided stepwise through the creation and uploading of the various files. The system automatically converts source files to a single Adobe Acrobat PDF version of the article, which is used in the peer review process. Please note that even though manuscript source files are converted to PDF at submission for the review process, these source files are needed for further processing after acceptance. All correspondence, including notification of the editor's decision and requests for revision, takes place by e-mail and via the author's home page. A printed copy of the manuscript is not required at any stage of the process.

Articles must be written in English. Submission of an article implies that the work has not been published previously (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture or academic thesis), that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, and that its publication is approved by all authors and tacitly or explicitly by the responsible authorities where the work was carried out, and that, if accepted, it will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in English or in any other language, without the written consent of the Publisher.

Authors are responsible both for the views expressed in their articles and the accuracy of any data quoted. Where they are associated with any organisation or institution, it should be made clear whether or not the views are thus representative. In this context, attention is drawn to the editorial disclaimers on the inside cover of the journal.

It is essential to give a full current contact details when submitting a manuscript.

Upon acceptance of an article, authors will be asked to transfer copyright (for more information on copyright see http://www.elsevier.com/copyright). This transfer will ensure the widest possible dissemination of information. A form facilitating transfer of copyright will be provided. If excerpts from other copyrighted works are included, the author(s) must obtain written permission from the copyright owners and credit the source(s) in the article. Elsevier has preprinted forms for use by authors in these cases: contact ES Global Rights Department, P.O. Box 800, Oxford OX5 1DX, UK; Tel:+44 (0) 1865 843830; fax: +44 (0) 1865 853333; e-mail: permissions@elsevier.com

Manuscript Preparation

General

Please write your text in good English (American or British usage is accepted, but not a mixture of these). Italics are not to be used for expressions of Latin origin, for example, in vivo, et al., per se. Use decimal points (not commas); use a space for thousands (10 000 and above). The manuscript should use double spacing and wide (3 cm) margins with font size of 12 or 10 pt are required. (Avoid full justification, i.e., do not use a constant right-hand margin.) Ensure that each new paragraph is clearly indicated. Present tables and figure legends on separate pages at the end of the manuscript. If possible, consult a recent issue of the journal to become familiar with layout and conventions.

Paper length. The recommended length for a paper is 5000-6000 words, plus illustrations. Provide the following data on the title page (in the order given).
Title. Concise and informative. Titles are often used in information-retrieved systems. Avoid abbreviations and formulae where possible. The title should not exceed 50 characters (including spaces).
Author names and affiliations. Where the family name may be ambiguous (e.g., a double name), please indicate this clearly. Present the author's affiliation addresses (where the actual work was done) below the names. Indicate all affiliations with a lower-case superscript letter immediately after the author's name and in front of the appropriate address. Provide the full postal address of each affiliation including the country name, and, if available, the e-mail address of each author.
Corresponding author. Clearly indicate who is willing to handle correspondence at all stages of refereeing and publication, also post-publication. Ensure the telephone and fax numbers (with country and area code) are provided in addition to the e-mail address and the complete postal address.
Present/permanent address. If an author has moved since the work described in the article was done, or was visiting at the time, a "Present address" (or "Permanent address") may be indicated as a footnote to that author's name. The address at which the author actually did the work must be retained as the main, affiliation address. Superscript Arabic numerals are used for such footnotes.
Abstract. A concise and factual abstract is required (maximum length 200 words). The abstract should state briefly the purpose of the research, the principal results and major conclusions. An abstract is often presented separate from the article, so it must be able to stand alone. References should therefore be avoided, but if essential, they must be cited in full, without reference to the reference list. Non-standard or uncommon abbreviations should be avoided, but if essential they must be defined at their first mention in the abstract itself.
N.B. Acknowledgements. Collate acknowledgements in a separate section at the end of the article and do not, therefore, include them on the title page, as footnote to the title page or otherwise.

Arrangement of the article
Subdivision of the article. Divide your article into clearly defined and numbered sections. Subsections should be numbered 1.1 (then 1.1.1., 1.1.2.,...), 1.2., etc, (the abstract is not included in section numbering). Use this numbering also for internal cross-referencing: do not just refer to 'the text'. Any subsections may be given a brief heading. Each heading on its own separate line.
Text. Follow this order when typing manuscripts: Title, Authors, Affiliations, Abstract, Keywords, Main text, Acknowledgements, Appendix, References, Figure Captions, Tables (and figures) should be kept separate from the rest of the manuscript (see instructions for illustrations below). The corresponding author should be identified with an asterisk and footnote. All other footnotes (except table footnotes) should be identified with superscript Arabic numerals.
Appendices. If there is more than one appendix, they should be identified as A, B, etc. Formulae and equations in appendices should be given separate numbering: (Eq.A.1), (Eq.A.2), etc.: in a subsequent appendix, (Eq.B.1) and so forth.
Acknowledgements. Place acknowledgements, including information on grants received, before the references, in a separate section, and not as a footnote on the title page.
References. See separate section, below.
Figure legends, tables, figures, schemes. Present these, in this order, at the end of the article. They are described in more details below. High-resolution graphics files must always be provided separate from the main text .le (see Preparation of illustrations).

References
Responsibility for the accuracy of bibliographic citations lies entirely with the authors.
Citations in the text. Please ensure that every reference cited in the text is also present in the reference list (and vice versa). Any references cited in the abstract must be given in full. Unpublished results and personal communications should not be in the reference list, but may be mentioned in the text. Citation of a reference as 'in press' implies that the item has been accepted for publication. In the text refer to the author's name (without initial) and year of publication (e.g. "Since Peterson (1993) has shown that" or "This is in agreement with results obtained later (Kramer, 1994)"). For three or more authors use the first author followed by "et a.l", in the text. The list of references should be arranged alphabetically by authors' names. The manuscript should be carefully checked to ensure that the spelling of authors' names and dates are exactly the same in the text as in the reference list.
Citing and listing of web references. As a minimum, the full URL should be given. Any further information, if known (author names, dates, reference to a source publication, etc.), should also be given. Web references can be listed separately (e.g., after the reference list) under a different heading if desired, or can be included in the reference list.
Reference should be given in the following form:
Lawrence, R., 1993. Japan's different trade regime: an analysis with particular reference to Keiretsu. J. Econ. Perspectives, 3-19.
Porter, M., 1980. Competitive Strategy. The Free Press, New York, pp. 1-26.
Porter, D., Gooday, P., 1990. The effects of coal quality on Japanese coking coal contract prices. Proceedings of the Conference of Economists, University of NSW, Sydney.
Note that for more than 3 authors the first 3 should be listed followed by 'et al'.

Electronic format requirements for articles
General points. We accept most word processing formats, but Word, WordPerfect or LaTeX is preferred. Always keep a backup copy of your submission. No changes to the accepted version are permissible without the explicit approval of the Editor.

Word processor documents. It is important that the file is saved in the native format of the word processor used. The text should be in single-column format. Keep the layout of the text as simple as possible. Most formatting codes will be removed and replaced on processing the article. In particular, do not use the word processor's options to justify text or to hyphenate words. However, do use bold face, italics, subscripts, superscripts, etc. Do not embed 'graphically designed' equations or tables, but prepare these using the word processor's facility. When preparing tables, if you are using a table grid, use only one grid for each individual table and not a grid for each row. If no grid is used, use tabs, not spaces, to align columns. Do not import the figures into the text file but, instead, indicate their approximate locations in the manuscript. See also the section on Preparation of electronic illustrations. To avoid unnecessary errors you are strongly advised to use the 'spellchecker' function of your word processor.

Preparation of illustrations
Submitting your artwork in a high resolution file helps us to produce your work to the best possible standards, ensuring accuracy, clarity and a high level of detail.
- Always supply high-quality files of your artwork.
- Make sure you use uniform lettering and sizing of your original artwork.
- Save text in illustrations as "graphics" or enclose the font.
- Only use the following fonts in your illustrations: Arial, Courier, Times, Symbol.
- Number the illustrations according to their sequence in the text.
- Use a logical naming convention for your artwork files, and supply a separate listing of the files and the software used.
- Provide all illustrations as separate files.
- Provide captions to illustrations separately.
- Produce images near to the desired size of the printed version.
A detailed guide on electronic artwork is available on our website: http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions You are urged to visit this site; some excerpts from the detailed information are given here.

Formats
Regardless of the application used, when your electronic artwork is finalized, please "save as" or convert the images to one of the following formats (Note the resolution requirements for line drawings, halftones, and line/halftone combinations are given below.):
EPS: Vector drawings. Embed the font or save the text as "graphics".
TIFF: Color or greyscale photographs (halftones): always use a minimum of 300dpi.
TIFF: Bitmapped line drawings line drawings: use a minimum of 1000dpi.
TIFF: Combinations bitmapped line/half-tone (colour or greyscale): a minimum of 500dpi is required.
DOC, XLS, or PPT: If your electronic artwork is created in any of these Microsoft Office applications please supply "as is".

Please do not:
- Supply embedded graphics in your word processor (spreadsheet, presentation) documentation;
- Supply files that are optimized for screen use (like GIF, BMP, PICT, WPG); the resolution is too low;
- Supply files that are too low in resolution;
- Submit graphics that are disproportionately large for the content.

Captions
Ensure that each illustration has a caption. Supply captions on a separate page, not attached to the figure. A caption should comprise of a brief title (not on the figure itself) and a description of the illustration. Keep text in the illustrations themselves to a minimum but explain all symbols and abbreviations used.
Line drawings. Supply high-quality images on white page with black lines. The lettering and symbols, as well as other details, should have proportionate dimensions, so as to become illegible or unclear after possible reduction; in general, the figures should be designed for a reduction factor of two or three. The degree of reduction will be determined by the Publisher. Illustrations will not be enlarged. Consider the page format of the journal when designing the illustration. Photocopies are not suitable for reproduction. Do not use any type of shading on computer-generated images.
Photographs (halftones). Please supply original photograph files for reproduction, very sharp and with good contrast. Remove non-essential areas of a photograph. Do not mount photographs unless they form part of a composite figure. Where necessary, insert a scale bar in the illustration (not below it), as opposed to giving a magnification factor in the legend. Note the photocopies of photographs are not acceptable.
Colour illustrations. Submit colour illustrations as original photographic files, close to the size expected in publication. If, together with your accepted article, you submit usable colour figures then Elsevier will ensure, at no additional charge that these figures will appear in colour on the web (e.g., ScienceDirect and other sites) regardless of whether or not these illustrations are reproduced in colour in the printed version. For colour reproduction in print, you will receive information regarding the costs from Elsevier after receipt of your accepted article. Further information on the preparation of electronic artwork, please see http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions. Please note: Because of technical complications which can arise by converting colour figures to 'grey scale' (for the printed version should you not opt for colour in print) please submit in addition usable black and white files corresponding to all the colour illustrations.

Proofs
When your manuscript is received by the Publisher it is considered to be in its final form. Proofs are not to be regarded as 'drafts'. One set of page proofs in PDF format will be sent by e-mail to the corresponding author, to be checked for typesetting/editing. No changes in, or additions to, the accepted (and subsequently edited) manuscript will be allowed at this stage. Proofreading is solely your responsibility. A form with queries from the copyeditor may accompany your proofs. Please answer all queries and make any corrections or additions required. Elsevier will do everything possible to get your article corrected and published as quickly and accurately as possible. In order to do this we need your help. When you receive the (PDF) proof of your article for correction, it is important to ensure that all of your corrections are sent back to us in one communication. Subsequent corrections will not be possible, so please ensure your first sending is complete. Note that this does not mean you have any less time to make your corrections just that only one set of corrections will be accepted.

Offprints
The corresponding author, at no cost, will be provided with a PDF file of the article via e-mail. The PDF file is a watermarked version of the published article and includes a cover sheet with the journal cover image and a disclaimer outlining the terms and conditions of use.

Author enquiries
Authors can keep a track on the progress of their accepted article, and set up e-mail alerts informing them of changes to their manuscript's status, by using the "Track a Paper" feature at http://www.elsevier.com/trackarticle. For privacy, information on each article is password-protected. The author should key in the "Our Reference" code (which is in the letter of acknowledgement sent by the Publisher on receipt of the accepted article) and the name of the corresponding author. In case of problems or questions, authors may contact the Author Support Department, e-mail: authorsupport@elsevier.com.