Resource Development

• Resource:

  • Any part of nature that can be used for the benefits of humans, and cacanb be used as a way of generating wealth.
  • Either essential or useful for human life.
• Classification of Resources - Stock Resources:

  • Finite and non-renewable, as they have taken millions of years to form and cannot be replenished within human timescales.
  • e.g. Fossil fuels, Gold, Uranium, Copper
• Classification of Resources - Flow Resources:

  • Those that can be continuously replenished within human timescales, making them renewable resources.
  • e.g. Solar Energy, Wind Energy, Tidal Energy
• Classification of Resources - Critical Flow Resources:

  • These are a subcategory of Flow resources.
  • These are resources that require careful human management to ensure their continued availability.
  • e.g. Water, Trees, North Sea Cod, Soil
• Reserves:

  • Deposits of minerals which can be extracted now, as they are economically viable and sufficient available technology and legal entitlement to enable extraction.
• Factors affecting Availability and Classification - Physical availability:

  • The patterns and quantities of the resources around the world.
• Factors affecting Availability and Classification - Economic viability:

  • Whether the price of the resource makes it worthwhile to extract the resource.
• Factors affecting Availability and Classification - Political/legal access:

  • Do they have permission to extract the resources from the government.
  • In most countries the government owns the mineral resources and grants permission for them to be extracted.
• Factors affecting Availability and Classification - Environmental concern:

  • Can the resources be extracted without causing unwanted damage to the environment.
• Natural resource development over time - Mineral Content:

  • Mineral exploitation brings with it waste rock. Low-grade deposits produce a comparatively high proportion of waste rock. However, high-grade ores will be worked in the most isolated and difficult environments
• Natural resource development over time - Geological conditions:

  • If a mineral is found at shallow depths, open cast extraction may take place.
• Natural resource development over time - Accessibility in relation to markets:

  • Transport costs are generally unimportant in the production of minerals such as gold because values are so high and bulk so small.
  • The bulk carrier allows low value ores to be shipped over great distances at a relatively low cost.
• Natural resource development over time - Physical risks:

  • The quantity of the resource that has been found.
  • The quality of the resource in the reserve.
  • Its physical location and accessibility.
  • The technology available to access the resource economically.
• Natural resource development over time - Geopolitical risks:

  • The concentration of production in a relatively small number of countries.
  • The confidence any individual country has in trading with producers who will seek to exert their market power.
  • The possibility of conflict, war or other major political tensions in producing regions.
• Natural resource development over time - Cycle of Resource Development:

  • Exploration of potential sites can take a number of years
  • Discoveries have to be fully evaluated to determine their viability for production
  • In developed countries the environmental impacts of the operation are evaluated.
  • Once extraction licences have been awarded, construction of infrastructure must begin
  • Extraction of the resource will commence and will continue to be exploited until all the viable reserves are recovered.
• Resource Frontiers - Characteristics:

  • Peripheral environments
  • Natural environments with little human development
  • Extreme environments; Technological challenges
  • May be within international territory
• Resource Frontier:

  • Areas where resources are brought into production for the first time.
• The Arctic as a Resource Frontier:

  • With global warming increasing accessibility to the Far North and commodity prices incentivising investment, the Arctic has become more attractive to resource companies. Even under conditions of climate change, the Arctic remains a frontier operating environment.
  • The Arctic is a resource frontier as it is a remote, peripheral environment with little to no human development, with extreme physical conditions due to its location.
• The Arctic as a Resource Frontier - Remoteness:

  • The distance from the South and the lack of infrastructure in the Arctic means that transportation to and around the region, accident management and search and rescue operations all come at a higher cost.
• The Arctic as a Resource Frontier - Weather:

  • A shortage of weather stations and satellite constraints mean that accurate forecasts are hard to achieve. Storms and extremely cold weather can put workers, machinery and structures at risk.
• The Arctic as a Resource Frontier - Communications:

  • High-frequency radio and GPS communications degrade north of 70° because of magnetic and solar phenomena interference and satellite geometry, complicating navigation.
• The Arctic as a Resource Frontier - Icing:

  • Frozen machinery can seize up and vessels top-heavy with ice can capsize. Icing is especially a problem for coastal infrastructure exposed to sea spray.
• The Arctic as a Resource Frontier - Amounts of oil and gas:

  • While the U.S. Geological Survey has estimated that the Arctic contains some 412.2 billion barrels of undiscovered oil and oil equivalent.
  • The actual amount is still very much unknown, heightening the risk for oil and gas companies.
• The Arctic as a Resource Frontier - Environmental Sensitivity:

  • The Arctic region is more sensitive to environmental damage because of its relatively simple ecosystem and shorter growing season.
  • Cleaning up an oil spill could prove to be particularly difficult.
• The Arctic as a Resource Frontier - Icebergs:

  • While the amount of summer sea ice is expected to decrease because of global warming, ice will still be an issue for much of the year
  • Makes regular traffic difficult.
  • In some areas, global warming may increase the number of icebergs falling off of glaciers.