Both conservation and environment together with exploration are the basic elements in sustainable development. The three need to be given their due space in public policy analysis. Otherwise, policy making will merely be target-fixing and slogandriven. The objective of this paper is to examine and analyse the issues of both conservation and environment together in the development and exploitation of mineral resources in a historical perspective. It deals both with the theory and practice of conservation which is, in fact, a part of environmental management. At present, there is a general consensus that sustainable development implies an active role for government in efficient and equitable management of natural and environmental resources.