Natural Resource Issues

• Key Issues of Geography and Economics of Mineral Ores - Finite Nature:

  • As we use more, stocks will decrease.
• Key Issues of Geography and Economics of Mineral Ores - Price Volatility:

  • Scarcity influences price but so does the fluctuating supply & demand for specific minerals, this can be harmful to development in emerging economies reliant on ore exports.
• Key Issues of Geography and Economics of Mineral Ores - Geopolitics:

  • Ores can be so valuable that they can influence relationships between countries.
• Key Issues of Geography and Economics of Mineral Ores - Globalisation:

  • Its influence is seen in the increased movement and trade of minerals and particularly the role of large mining TNCs.
• Key Issues of Geography and Economics of Mineral Ores - Environmental Impacts:

  • The exploration and exploitation of more mineral deposits will inevitably lead to greater impacts on the global environment.
• Global Patterns of Mineral Ore Production - Global Shift:

  • Production of many mineral ores has shifted significantly in the past 50 years as most of the developed nations, such as the UK and US, have depleted their own reserves.
  • This shift in the production of ores has been to developing parts of the world where is has enabled some nations to become important emerging economies and middle-income countries.
• Global Patterns of Mineral Ore Production - Smelting and Refineries:

  • Smelter and refinery production of metals remains located mainly in developed countries.
  • However, the balance is changing as China and other emerging economies have developed their own capacity to produce refined metals, such as steel, copper and aluminium.
• Global Patterns of Mineral Ore Production - Developing Regions:

  • Developing regions tend to produce more mineral resources than they consume.
  • Much of this is achieved from foreign investment in their mineral resource base but this can lead to ‘mineral booms’ and the ‘resource curse’ which do not always serve these economies well in the long term.
• Global Patterns of Mineral Ore Consumption - Global Shift:

  • Historically, more developed industrial nations, such as the US, Japan and European countries dominated consumption of mineral ores.
  • However, patterns of consumption are also shifting to newly industrialising countries, especially in Asia, as they increase their use of mineral ores in their growing manufacturing sectors.
  • Consumption in more developed countries has slowed down, largely due to de-industrialisation in many regions.
• Global Patterns of Mineral Ore Consumption:

  • China, by becoming a global manufacturing powerhouse, has become the worlds largest consumer of most mineral ores.
  • Ores have played a crucial role in the rapid growth and industrialisation of the Chinese economy.
  • Growth in mineral consumption is also high in South Korea & India per capita rather than a total measure of consumption.
  • South Korea surpasses all other countries in consumption of steel and copper.
• Global Patterns of Mineral Ore Trade - Global Shift:

  • The geographical focus has moved away from the Atlantic towards Asia and the Pacific, particularly China & South Korea. The combination of China’s resource wealth, geographical position, large population and manufacturing growth has led to its emergence as the global leader in mineral ore trading.