There is much to applaud in the EON-ROSE (Earth-system Observing Network-Réseau d’Observation du Système Terrestre) project to understand Canada’s geology and to find geothermal energy (see Nature 574, 463–464; 2019). But as your heading ‘Hidden treasure’ indicates, there are also commercial implications in prospecting for mineral deposits.

The boundaries between science, economics and politics are often invisible. Scientific ventures should always be open about their potentially commercial objectives, as in the EON-ROSE case, particularly if they are financed by funding agencies and indirectly by taxpayers.

In my view, scientists should reject outright any subsidies that support the search for and development of carbon-based energy and of environmentally destructive mineral extraction.