MINERAL RESOURCES

1. MINERAL RESOURCES

2. SL = standard of living R = useful consumption of resources (minerals, oil, water, air, etc.) E = useful consumption of energy I = ingenuity P = population W = waste The Standard Of Living Equation

3. The E Factor • The Energy Available is Vast • Solar • Geothermal • Nuclear fission or fusion

4. The E Factor • Fossil Fuels • The fuels we are most dependent upon, oil and gas, are declining • All Energy Sources Will Become More Expensive

5. The P Factor • The equation indicates big trouble for rapidly growing populations • Rapidly growing populations often want a materialistic life • This hope may be impossible to satisfy

6. The W Factor • Half the energy used in the U.S. may be wasted • The U.S. Is the most wasteful of the 18 industrial nations

7. The W Factor • Practice conservation to improve S. L. • Recycle metals, glass, and paper • Purchase for durability • Avoid fad purchases

8. The R Factor • The Natural Occurrence of Minerals • Each ore body has finite limits • Ores are <<1% of the crust • Ores are geological oddities • Not all mineral deposits are ores • Adequate concentration • Demand • Transportation to market

9. The R Factor • Minerals are Used in Every Aspect of Modern Life

11. The R Factor • Doubling Rate of Mineral Consumption • The demand for minerals doubles in about 30 years • Sheet of paper example (1/254 inch thick) • Double the thickness of that paper 35 times and it will stretch from LA to New York • 42 times and it reaches the moon • 50 times and it reaches the sun

12. The R Factor • Demand for Minerals • Demand for all minerals is increasing faster than the population • Demand is derived from the chemical and manufacturing industries plus agriculture

13. The R Factor • Future demand is a function of culture and population • 2 factors which will strain mineral resources for the next 100 years • Small increases in demand per capita in rapidly growing populations • Large increases in per capita demand in static populations

14. The R Factor • Wars for Minerals • Affluence has been localized in space and time • Uneven distribution of minerals and energy has led to wars • Syrians and Arabs fought the first war for hydrocarbons in 312 B.C. • WWI & WWII: Germany invades Austria, France and Poland for coal • WWII: Japan invades SE Asia for oil and China for coal and minerals • Iraq invades Kuwait August 2, 1990

15. The R Factor • Geography of Mineral Production • Of all the developed countries, only Russia has adequate resources for current demands • The most accessible, high grade deposits are the first to be mined • These are already gone from the US, Britain, and Europe • These countries must import R & E from other countries

16. The R Factor • Many valuable ores are in politically unstable or communist countries • Chromium - South Africa, Russia • Mn - South Africa, Zaire • Al - tropical countries

17. The R Factor • The country which controls R & E is usually the world's most powerful • U.K. during the 19th century was the foremost producer of Pb, Cu, Sn, Fe, & coal • They were the wealthiest and most powerful nation

18. The I Factor • With Regard to Energy . . . • No vast energy sources are foreseen that will make mining any cheaper • Energy will remain expensive

19. The I Factor • With Regard to Extraction Costs . . . • Widespread belief that technology is continually lowering unit costs while allowing us to work ever lower grade deposits is false • Mining technology is barely keeping pace

20. The I Factor • Synthetics • Synthetics will relieve very little stress on ore deposits • Most metals and such things as He, Hg, U, and Th can't be synthesized

21. The I Factor • Technology for extracting metals from common rock is far off • Enormous, unusable waste • Energy intensive

22. The EquationFor The U.S. • R & E • Imports are maintaining R & E at a high level • Recycling and alternate energy sources must be developed

23. The EquationFor The U.S. • I • I is enormous for the U.S. • Space shuttle, computers, communications, agriculture, recombinant DNA • This may be the biggest factor in maintaining SL in the future

24. The EquationFor The U.S. • P & W • P is stabilizing and W is declining

25. The EquationAnd UDC's • R & E • R & E are being exported to DC's • This temporarily increases SL • R & E are “quick assets” and their loss will ultimately reduce SL • Enormous resentment will arise

26. The EquationAnd UDC's • P is growing rapidly in UDC's • Greatly reduces SL • Year 2000 population UDC 4.9 billion DC 1.3 billion • World Wealth • The equation demands that the disparity of world wealth increase

27. The Future OfOur Resources • R • 3 types of future sources of ore • Presently noncommercial deposits • Technical innovation • Affordable transportation • Price increase • Newly discovered deposits • Urban ore – recycling

28. The Future OfOur Resources • E • New energy sources must be developed to make mineral extraction possible

29. The Future OfOur Resources • I • We must recognize that the inevitable loss of nonrenewable resources will end the industrial age • The new solar age will be very different from the industrial age • Reduced consumption • Declining population • We must ease the transition by preparing now

30. The Future OfOur Resources • I (continued) • Ores must be recovered from: • Remote areas • Seafloor • Outer space

31. The Future OfOur Resources • I (continued) • Technical innovation and new discoveries must develop our reserves at an exponential rate until: • Population stabilizes • Constant or decreasing demand per capita is achieved

32. The Future OfOur Resources • I (continued) • Exploration, applying advanced technology, must be employed • Extraction techniques must be improved so as to recover ores from ever lower grade deposits

33. The Future OfOur Resources • W • W must be reduced by recycling and conservation in production and use

34. The Future OfOur Resources • Imports will continue to provide a large part of the US needs