The data of quantitative analysis of geochemical materials with the use of statistical indicators indicate the following: 1) the overwhelming masses of metallic elements in the lithosphere are concentrated in a dispersed state in rocks; 2) in total, only tiny fractions of the masses of metals dispersed in rocks (thousandths to hundredths of a percent) have been detached into commercial ore deposits; 3) in recent decades, according to the experience of world practice, the amount of metals extracted from the subsurface is steadily increasing with a simultaneous decrease in the conditionality of the extracted metals.