The world supply/demand outlook for minerals

Abstract

Mining and agriculture are the fundamental industries that convert natural resources into useable forms. Mining and modern agriculture are inextricably interlinked because modern agriculture is heavily dependent upon the use of machinery, power, and fertilizers ‐ all of which are mineral based products, and in some applications mineral and agricultural products are mutually substitutable. Steel production is common denominator for assessing demand for many minerals, and in the last 2–1/2 decades world steel production has grown at an annual rate of about 5–1/2%. Currently, the United States uses about 4 billion tons ‐ 40,000 pounds per person ‐ of new mineral supplies each year, about equally divided between the mineral fuels and other mineral materials. The value of energy and processed materials of mineral origin used in the U.S. is estimated to exceed $270 billion per year. Rising world population, coupled with aspirations for higher living standards, points to steadily increasing world demand for mineral materials. Studies by the U.S. Bureau of Mines show that the ratio of recoverable world mineral reserves to cumulate demand over the next few decades is satisfactory for most mineral materials. However, if world mineral production is to keep pace with demand, there must be increased efforts to find, mine, beneficiate, process, and recycle mineral materials, and there must also exist politico‐economic climates that encourage long‐term mineral development while also making appropriate provisions for humanitarian and envronmental concerns.