Terms

Estimation of reserves of world mineral resources and their distribution. Mineral resources of the earth

Main types natural resources. Mineral resources, their distribution, largest deposits and countries distinguished by the reserves of the main types of mineral resources.

Natural resources are natural resources or natural substances and types of energy that serve as the means of existence of human society and are used in the economy. The concept of "natural resources" is changing with the development of science and technology: substances and types of energy, the use of which was previously impossible, become natural resources. There are several classifications of natural resources. By belonging to different geospheres of natural resources, the resources of the lithosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and climatic resources are distinguished. According to their applicability in various sectors of the economy, they are grouped into energy, metallurgical, chemical natural resources, etc. According to the possible duration and intensity of use, they are divided into drawable and practically inexhaustible natural resources, renewable and non-renewable natural resources.

Practically inexhaustible natural resources are resources, the decrease of which is imperceptible even in the process of very long use: energy solar radiation, wind, sea tides, climatic resources, etc. Extractable natural resources are resources that decrease as they are used; most types of natural resources refer to exhaustible natural resources, which are divided into renewable (or renewable) and non-renewable natural resources. Renewable natural resources are resources whose recovery rate is comparable to the rate of their consumption. Renewable natural resources include resources of the biosphere, hydrosphere, land resources. Non-renewable natural resources are resources that do not regenerate themselves and are not artificially restored. These include mainly minerals. The process of ore formation and formation of rocks goes on continuously, but its rate is so much less than the rate of extraction of minerals from the earth's interior that in practice this process can be neglected.

In general, there are notable differences in the level and nature of natural resource endowment in different countries. Thus, the Middle East stands out for its large oil and gas resources. Andean countries are rich in copper and polymetallic ores. States with large arrays rainforest, have resources of valuable timber. There are several states in the world that have almost all famous species natural resources. These are Russia, the USA and China. Highly prosperous, in terms of natural resources, are India, Brazil, Australia and some other countries. Many states have large reserves of world significance of one or more resources. So, Gabon stands out for its manganese reserves, Kuwait for oil, Morocco for phosphorites. Of great importance for each country is the complexity of the available natural resources. For example, for the organization of ferrous metallurgy in a single country, it is desirable to have resources not only of iron ore, but also of manganese, chromites and coking coal.

Most countries have some set of natural resources. However, there are states with very meager volumes. But this does not always doom this country to a miserable existence, and vice versa, having a large number and quantity of them, you can use them irrationally. For example. Japan, being a highly developed country, has a limited amount of mineral resources. In contrast to Japan, one can give examples of many states that have the richest resources, but have not achieved great success in socio-economic development.

The demand for mineral raw materials, which form the basis for the production of industrial products, is increasing from year to year. Every year, more than 100 billion tons of various mineral raw materials and fuels are extracted from the bowels of the world. The size of reserves and the scale of extraction of mineral resources from the bowels of the earth are different - from thousands of tons per year (gold, uranium, tungsten, cobalt) to more than 1 billion tons (iron ore, coal, oil).

Primary energy resources are oil, natural gas, hard and brown coal, oil shale, peat (which are practically non-renewable resources of the lithosphere), wood (renewable resource), and hydropower (inexhaustible). The energy reserves of atomic decay are also physically inexhaustible.

Up until the beginning of the 20th century. main energy resource there was wood on the planet. Then coal became widely used. It was replaced by oil and natural gas, nuclear energy.

Geological reserves of coal in the world are estimated at 14.8 trillion tons. The largest reserves of all types of coal are in the USA, China, Russia, Poland, South Africa, Australia, Germany.

Oil reserves are estimated at 400 billion tons. The main oil and gas basins are located in the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Mexico, in the West. Siberia and the Caspian Sea basin. The largest reserves of natural gas are in Russia and the United States.

Mineral resources are called minerals, extracted from the bowels. In turn, minerals are understood as natural mineral substances of the earth's crust, which, at a certain level of technological development, can be positively economic effect extracted and used in national economy in natural form or after pretreatment. The scale of the use of mineral resources is constantly growing. While in the Middle Ages only 18 chemical elements, now this number has increased to more than 80. Since 1950, mining has increased 3 times. Every year, more than 100 billion tons of various mineral raw materials and fuel are extracted from the bowels of the Earth. The modern economy uses about 200 types of mineral raw materials. When using mineral resources, it must be taken into account that almost all of them are classified as non-renewable. In addition, the stocks of their individual species are far from being the same. For example, the general geological reserves of coal in the world are estimated at 14.8 trillion. tons, and oil - 400 billion tons. However, it is necessary to take into account the ever-growing needs of mankind.

Types of mineral resources

There is no single generally accepted classification. However, the following division is often used: fuel (combustible), metallic (ore) and non-metallic (non-metallic) minerals. On the basis of this classification, a map of mineral resources was built in the educational atlas. Distribution of minerals in earth's crust subject to geological laws.

Fuel (combustible) minerals are found primarily in coal (there are 3.6 thousand of them and they occupy 15% of the land) and oil and gas (more than 600 have been explored, 450 are being developed) basins, which are of sedimentary origin, accompany the cover of ancient platforms and their internal and edge deflections. The main part of the world's coal resources falls on Asia, North America and Europe and lies in the 10 largest coal basins located on the territory of Russia, the USA, Germany. The main oil and gas resources are concentrated in Asia, North America, and Africa. Among the richest basins are the basins of the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Mexico, and the West Siberian. Sometimes this group is called "fuel and energy" and then, in addition to coal, oil and gas, it includes uranium, which is fuel for nuclear power plants. Otherwise, uranium ores are included in the following group.

Ore (metallic) minerals usually accompany foundations and ledges (shields) of ancient platforms, as well as folded areas. In such areas, they often form huge ore (metallogenic) belts, for example, the Alpine-Himalayan, Pacific. Countries located within such belts usually have favorable conditions for the development of the mining industry. Within this group, ferrous, alloying and refractory metals (ores of iron, manganese, chromium, nickel, cobalt, tungsten, etc.), non-ferrous metals (ores of aluminum, copper, lead, zinc, mercury, etc.), noble metals ( gold, silver, platinoids). Large reserves of iron ore are concentrated in the USA and China. India, Russia. IN Lately some countries of Asia (India), Africa (Liberia, Guinea, Algeria), Latin America (Brazil) have been added to them. Large reserves of aluminum raw materials (bauxites) are found in France, Italy, India, Suriname, the USA, the states of West Africa, the countries of the Caribbean, and Russia. Copper ores are concentrated in Zambia, Zaire, Chile, the USA, Canada, and lead-zinc - in the USA, Canada, Australia.

In addition, non-metallic minerals are almost ubiquitous. Within this group, chemical and agronomic raw materials (potassium salts, phosphorites, apatites, etc.), technical raw materials (diamonds, asbestos, graphite, etc.), fluxes and refractories, cement raw materials, etc. are distinguished.

Territorial combinations of minerals are most advantageous for economic development. The scientific concept of such combinations, developed by geographers, has a great practical value, especially in the formation of large territorial-industrial complexes.

Currently, the search for minerals is carried out in two ways. If there is a poorly explored territory, then the study area expands and due to this there is an increase in explored minerals. This method prevails in the Asian part of Russia, Canada, Australia, Brazil. In the second case, deeper deposits are being studied. This is due to the long-term development of the territory and the strong development of deposits located close to the surface. This path is typical for countries Foreign Europe, for the European part of Russia, for Ukraine, USA.

Many scientists of the world talk about the movement of society towards a system of recycling of resources, when waste will become the main raw material in the economy. At the present stage, many the developed countries use deep recycling of industrial and household waste. First of all, these are the states Western Europe, USA and, especially, Japan.

Taxes. Principles and methods of taxation. The main types of taxes in Russia.

prototype modern system taxes and taxation arose already on early stages development of mankind.

The emergence of a taxation system is connected, rather, not with the process of the emergence of a surplus product and the class stratification of society, but with an objectively urgent need for the division of labor and the professionalization of labor activity.

Tax is a mandatory, individually gratuitous payment collected from organizations and individuals in the form of alienation of funds belonging to them by right of ownership, economic or operational management for the purpose of financial support for the activities of the state or municipalities.

Signs of tax payments are:

The obligation to allocate from the received individual or group labor a share that goes to the maintenance of individual community groups carrying out specialized activities;

Transfer free of charge material assets;

Lack of a clear relationship between the transfer of material values and the performance of certain actions by public authorities and public protection.

Tax is a necessary condition for the existence of the state, therefore the obligation to pay taxes, enshrined in Article 57 of the Constitution in Russia, applies to all taxpayers as an unconditional requirement of the state.

The collection of tax cannot be regarded as an arbitrary deprivation of the owner of his property, it is a legal seizure of part of the property, arising from a constitutional - legal obligation.

The method of equal taxation means that all taxpayers pay the same amount of tax regardless of their income or property.

The method of proportional taxation determines the amount of the tax rate, which is the same for all payers, and the amount of the tax payment, depending on the size of the object of taxation.

The progressive taxation method provides for the application of several tax rates, moreover, than larger size object of taxation, the higher the tax rate.

The method of regressive taxation also implies the application of several tax rates, but the larger the size of the object of taxation, the lower the applied tax rate.

The division of taxes into direct and indirect was established in the practice of taxation as early as the 17th century. It was made depending on the method of withdrawal of tax or income from the taxpayer.

Three-tier system state structure The Russian Federation predetermines its three-tier system of taxation. All taxes are divided into:

federal - nationwide taxes and fees established by federal law and valid throughout the country;

regional - taxes of the subjects of the Russian Federation, acting on the territory of this subject of the Russian Federation;

local - taxes municipalities(districts and cities) operating on the territory of a given municipality.

Ministry of Education of the Nizhny Novgorod Region

"Institute of Food Technologies and Design" - branch

State educational institution
higher professional education
"Nizhny Novgorod Engineering and Economic Institute"

Department of natural sciences

discipline: "Ecology"

on the topic: "World mineral resources"

Completed:

student of group SV-12

Lopatina A.A.

Checked by: Zhadaev A.Yu.

N. Novgorod

Introduction………………………………………………………… .3

Chapter I. Types and classification of minerals ..……4

§ 1.5. Non-metallic minerals……………….9

Chapter II. Stocks and allocation of resources.…………………….11

§ 2.1. Minerals of Eurasia……………………………11

§ 2.2. Minerals of North America…………….13

§ 2.3. Minerals of South America……………….15

§ 2.4. Minerals of Africa………………………….16

§ 2.5. Minerals of Australia………………………17

Chapter III. Environmental problems associated with the extraction of minerals……………………………………………………………………………………20

§ 3.1. Extraction and processing of copper-molybdenum ore…….20

§ 3.2. Impact of oil production on nature…………………….....21

Conclusion…………………………………………………………..27

Literature……………………………………………………………28

Introduction

Once upon a time, people used only what lies on the surface of the earth. They did not suspect what countless treasures are hidden in its thickness. But as the "appetites" of people grew, they willy-nilly had to first slowly "scratch" it, and then bite deeper and deeper into it, opening the "door" to the underground storerooms.

A mineral is any mineral substance of inorganic or organic origin that is found in the earth's crust and can be used by man for his own needs.

Minerals form deposits, i.e., such accumulations of mineral matter in the earth's crust that are economically profitable to develop. This means that mineral raw materials must be of a certain quality and in sufficient quantity, and favorable conditions would exist for its extraction and transportation. It clearly follows from this that the very concepts of "mineral" and "mineral deposit" are not only geological, but also geological and economic.

The relevance of the chosen topic lies in the fact that minerals are a factor in the economic condition of the territory. If they are used correctly, then this territory will develop well economically.

Chapter I. Types and classification of minerals

§ 1.1. Coal

Among the fuel and energy resources, the largest reserves in the world are coal. The world's explored reserves of hard and brown coal are over 5 trillion. tons, and reliable - about 1.8 trillion. T.

Coal resources are explored in 75 countries of the world. The largest coal deposits are concentrated in the USA (445 billion tons), China (272), Russia (200), South Africa (130), Germany (100), Australia (90), Great Britain (50), Canada (50), India ( 29) and Poland (25 billion tons).

In general, the world's coal resources are plentiful, and their supply is much greater than that of other types of fuel. At the current level of world coal production (4.5 billion tons per year), the reserves explored to date may be enough for about 400 years.

In European countries, as well as in many coal basins in Russia, the upper layers of deposits have already been developed, and extracting coal from a depth of more than 1000 m is unprofitable with the current technology and technology. Profitable remains only the development of coal deposits in an open way (in the Western Basin of the United States, Eastern Siberia, South Africa, Australia). Thus, the extraction of 1 ton of anthracite in Germany costs three times more than imports from South Africa, including delivery costs.

§ 1.2. Oil

Most of oil fields dispersed over six regions of the world and confined to inland territories and the outskirts of the continents: 1) the Persian Gulf - North Africa; 2) Gulf of Mexico - Caribbean Sea (including coastal areas of Mexico, USA, Colombia, Venezuela and Trinidad Island); 3) the islands of the Malay Archipelago and New Guinea; 4) Western Siberia; 5) northern Alaska; 6) the North Sea (mainly the Norwegian and British sectors); 7) about. Sakhalin with adjacent shelf areas.

World oil reserves amount to more than 132.7 billion tons. Of these, 74% are in Asia, including the Middle East (more than 66%). The largest oil reserves are possessed by: Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, UAE, Kuwait, Iran, Venezuela.

The volume of world oil production is about 3.1 billion tons, i.e. almost 8.5 million tons per day. Production is carried out by 95 countries, with more than 77% of crude oil production accounted for by 15 of them, including Saudi Arabia (12.8%), the United States (10.4%), Russia (9.7%), Iran (5.8 %), Mexico (4.8%), China (4.7%), Norway (4.4%), Venezuela (4.3%), United Kingdom (4.1%), United Arab Emirates (3.4 %), Kuwait (3.3%), Nigeria (3.2%), Canada (2.8%), Indonesia (2.4%), Iraq (1.0%).

The provision of the world economy with explored oil reserves at the current level of production (about 3 billion tons per year) is 45 years. At the same time, OPEC member countries can maintain the current volume of oil production for 85 years, including Saudi Arabia for about 90 years, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates for about 140 years. At the same time, in the United States, this figure does not exceed 10-12 years. In Russia, the availability of proven oil reserves is 23 years.

Life has repeatedly refuted the assumptions made about the imminent depletion of oil reserves in the world. For the second half of the XX century. gigantic deposits were discovered in the countries of the Persian Gulf, North Africa, Western Siberia, Alaska, the North and Caspian Seas, and the Arctic Ocean.

The oil resources of the Caspian region are small (in terms of volume - no more than 3-4% of the world's reserves), but occupy an extremely important location - between the main current and prospective markets for oil and oil products (Europe and East and Southeast Asia), on the one hand , as well as between today's main oil suppliers (Western Asia, North Africa, Russia) to the markets of the Eastern Hemisphere, on the other.

It should also be taken into account that with the current production technology, only 30-35% of the oil deposited in the subsoil is extracted to the surface on average.

§ 1.3. Natural gas

The explored reserves of this type of fuel over the past 15 years have grown from 100 to 144 trillion. m3. The increase is explained both by the discovery of a number of new deposits (in particular, in Russia - in Western and Eastern Siberia, on the shelf of the Barents Sea), and the transfer of part of the geological reserves to the explored category.

The largest proven reserves of natural gas are concentrated in Russia (39.2%), Western Asia (32%), they are also in North Africa (6.9%), Latin America (5.1%), North America (4.9 %), Western Europe (3.8%). Recently, significant reserves of it have been discovered in Central Asia. At the beginning of 1998, natural gas reserves were, billion m3: Russia - 47,600; Iran - 21200; USA - 4654; Algeria - 3424; Turkmenistan - 2650; Norway - 3800; Kazakhstan - 1670; Netherlands - 1668; Libya - 1212; Great Britain - 574.

The availability of natural gas at the current level of its production (2.2 trillion m3 per year) is 71 years. In terms of standard fuel, gas reserves approached the proven reserves of oil (270 billion tons).

§ 1.4. metal ores

Iron ore reserves are of great importance for the production of ferrous metals. The world forecast resources of iron ore reach about 600 billion tons, and explored reserves - 260 billion tons. The world's largest iron ore deposits are located in Brazil, Australia, Canada, Russia, China, the USA, India, and Sweden. The extraction of iron ore in the world is 0.9-1.0 billion tons per year. The resource supply of the world economy with this type of raw material is approximately 250 years old.

Of the raw materials for the production of non-ferrous metals, bauxites are in the first place. Their predicted reserves are 50 billion tons, including 20 billion tons of explored reserves. The largest bauxite deposits are concentrated in Australia, Guinea, Brazil, Venezuela, and Jamaica. The extraction of bauxite reaches 80 million tons per year, so that the current reserves should be enough for 250 years. In Russia, bauxite reserves are relatively small.

Geological reserves of copper ores are estimated at 860 million tons, of which 450 million tons are explored (in India, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Congo, USA, Russia, Canada). With the current production volume - 8 million tons per year - explored reserves copper ores enough for about 55 years.

The largest reserves of bauxite (the main raw material of the aluminum industry) are located in Guinea (42% of world reserves), Australia (18.5%), Brazil (6.3%), Jamaica (4.7%), Cameroon (3.8%) and India (2.8%). In terms of production scale (42.6 million tons), Australia occupies the first place.

The total volume of gold production in the world is 2200 tons. The first place in the world in gold mining is occupied by South Africa (522 tons), the second - by the USA (329 tons). The oldest and deepest gold mine in the US is Homestake in the Black Hills (South Dakota); Gold has been mined there for over 100 years. Modern extraction methods make it cost-effective to extract gold from numerous poor and poor deposits. Since gold is virtually uncorrodible and highly valued, it lasts forever. To date, at least 90% of the gold mined over the historical period has come down in the form of ingots, coins, jewelry and art objects. As a result of the annual world production of this metal, its total amount increases by less than 2%.

Approximately 2/3 of the world's silver resources are associated with polymetallic copper, lead and zinc ores. Silver is extracted mainly along the way from galena (lead sulfide). The deposits are predominantly veined. The largest silver producers are Mexico (2323 tons), Peru (1910 tons), USA (1550 tons), Canada (1207 tons) and Chile (1042 tons). Australia (more than 20% of the world reserves), Kazakhstan (18%), Canada (12%), Uzbekistan (7.5%), Brazil and Niger (7% each) have the largest proven uranium reserves. A large deposit of uranite Shinkolobwe is located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. China, Germany and the Czech Republic also have significant reserves.

§ 1.5. Non-metallic minerals

Another important mineral resource - table salt - is obtained from rock salt deposits and by evaporating water from salt lakes and sea water. The world's salt resources are practically inexhaustible. Almost every country has either rock salt deposits or salt water evaporation plants. A colossal source of table salt is the World Ocean itself. The first place in the production of table salt is occupied by the United States (21%), followed by China (14%), Canada and Germany (6% each). Significant salt mining is carried out in France, Great Britain, Australia and Poland.

Diamonds are the most famous precious stones– play an important role in the industry due to their exceptionally high hardness. Technical diamonds are used as abrasive materials. World diamond production is 107.9 million carats (200 mg); including 91.2 million carats (84.5%) of technical diamonds, 16.7 million carats of jewelry (15.5%) were mined. In Australia and the Congo, the share of gem diamonds is only 4-5%, in Russia - about 20%, in Botswana - 24-25%, South Africa - more than 35%, in Angola and the Central African Republic - 50-60%, in Namibia - 100 %.

Conclusion on chapter I

Minerals are an important value for humanity, i.e. mineral formations historically naturally formed in the depths or on the surface of the earth's crust as a result of complex interacting mechanical, physical, chemical processes. Currently, there are approximately 3 thousand mineral species (silicates, phosphates, sulfides, oxides, etc.) used by mankind.

There are three main types of minerals according to their physical state: solid (ores, non-metallic formations, coals), liquid (oil, mineral waters) and gaseous (natural combustible and inert gases). At the same time, according to their use in production and other areas, they are divided into metallic (native metals, metal-containing ores), non-metallic (which are or rich in rock and potassium salt, graphite, asbestos, mica, building materials, etc.), combustible ( oil, combustible gases and shale, fossil coals, etc.). Already from such a list, it convincingly follows that without minerals, the existence and development of mankind is absolutely impossible.

Chapter II. Reserves and placement of resources

§ 2.1. Minerals of Eurasia

Short description

The list of minerals used by modern industry is constantly expanding. Many minerals and rocks, which until relatively recently were not considered "mineral resources", have now acquired a special value in connection with the achievements of science and technology. It can be said that there are no non-mineral resources in the bowels of the earth, any rock or ore poor in metal can be used if cheap ways of processing them are invented. The relevance of the chosen topic lies in the fact that minerals are a factor in the economic condition of the territory. If they are used correctly, then this territory will develop well economically.

Table of contents

Introduction………………………………………………………….3
Chapter I. Types and classification of minerals ..……4
§ 1.1. Coal………………………………………………………4
§ 1.2. Oil………………………………………………………4
§ 1.3. Natural gas………………………………………………6
§ 1.4. Metal ores………………………………..........7
§ 1.5. Non-metallic minerals……………….9
Conclusion on Chapter I…………………………………………………………………10
Chapter II. Stocks and allocation of resources.…………………….11
§ 2.1. Minerals of Eurasia……………………………11
§ 2.2. Minerals of North America…………….13
§ 2.3. Minerals of South America……………….15
§ 2.4. Minerals of Africa………………………….16
§ 2.5. Minerals of Australia………………………17
Conclusion on Chapter II………………………………………………...19
Chapter III. Environmental issues associated with mining……20
§ 3.1. Extraction and processing of copper-molybdenum ore…….20
§ 3.2. Impact of oil production on nature…………………….....21
§ 3.3. Shale gas production…………………………………...25
Conclusion on Chapter III………………………………………………...26
Conclusion………………………………………………………..27
Literature…………………………………………………………28

Name	Minerals			Time for which there will be enough resources at the current level of production per year	The largest deposits of the world
Name	Pronose	explored	Credible		The largest deposits of the world

			1.8 trillion T	Explored reserves will last for 400 years (production is 4.5 billion tons / year)	Explored in 75 countries of the world. USA - 445 billion tons; China - 272; Russia - 200; South Africa - 130; Australia - 90; England - 50; Canada - 50; India - 29
	840 billion tons	300 billion tons		Explored reserves will last for 45 years (production is 3 billion tons/year)	Explored oil reserves in the world are distributed as follows: Saudi Arabia - 25.4; Iraq - 11; UAE - 9.4; Kuwait - 9.3; Iran - 9.1; Venezuela - 6.8; Russia - 4.8; China - 2.4, USA - 2.4
Natural gas	No information		No information	The reserves will last for 71 years (production is 2.2 trillion m 3 /g)	Russia - 47600 billion m 3, Iran - 21200, USA - 4654, Algeria - 3424, Turkmenistan 2650, Norway - 3800, Kazakhstan - 1670, the Netherlands - 1668, Libya - 1212, Great Britain - 574
Iron ore			No information	Reserve for 250 years (production 1 billion tons/year)	Brazil, Australia, Canada, Russia, China, USA, India, Sweden
Bauxites (raw materials for non-ferrous metals);			No information	Reserve for 250 years (production 80 million tons/year)	Australia, Guinea, Brazil, Venezuela, Jamaica
copper ores		No information	No information	Reserve for 55 years (production 5 million tons/year)	India, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Congo, USA, Russia, Canada

Natural resources are unevenly distributed among countries. Only 20 countries have more than 5% of the world's reserves of any one type of mineral resource. Only a few countries of the world (Russia, USA, Canada, China, South Africa and Australia) have the majority of its species. In different countries, there are differences between the available mineral resources and the volumes of their consumption (Table 3.2).

Table 3.2

Available mineral resources and their consumption in selected countries

For the rates of world consumption of primary energy resources (PER) for 1900-2000. The following is typical: during the first 40 years of this century (1900-1940) PER consumption increased by 3.5 times, over the next 30 years (1940-1970) by another 3.55 times, and in the last 30 years (1970 -2000) - 1.8 times. If for the first 70 years of this century the annual growth rate of energy consumption amounted to 3.2-3.55%, then from 1970 to 2000 there was a decrease in the annual increase in energy consumption to 1.9%, and for the five years 1995-2000. up to 1.15%.

A steady trend in the global consumption of primary energy resources is a change in its structure towards an increase in the share of highly efficient energy sources - oil and gas, with a decrease in the share of coal.

Despite a significant increase in the absolute volumes of coal consumption from 661 million tons in 1900 to 3670 million tons in 2000, the share of coal in the structure of PER consumption over this period fell from 94.4 to 29.6%. However, in the last 20 years of the last century, this trend has changed. From 1980 to 2000, there was an increase in the share of coal in production and in the consumption of primary energy resources. The role of coal in the economy of the USA and China is especially great. In the future, up to 2020, there will also be an increase in the physical volumes of coal consumption with a simultaneous increase in its share in the structure of PER consumption. Electricity and metallurgy, as in the past, will remain its main consumers.

Until the end of the 1960s, oil occupied the second place after coal in the structure of PER consumption, but in the early 1970s it took the leading position, displacing coal into second place.

A particularly rapid increase in oil consumption took place in the 1950s and 1960s, when the annual consumption growth rates reached 7.3 and 8%. However, in subsequent years, especially under the influence of the oil crisis of 1973 and 1979. there was a sharp decline in the growth rate of oil consumption. Annual increase in oil consumption for 1995-2000. amounted to only 0.5%. The increase in the share of oil in the structure of PER consumption continued until the early 1980s, when it reached 43%. However, after 1980 this share gradually decreased and in 2000 it amounted to only 34.1%. In the future, until 2020, we can expect a further decrease in the share of oil in the structure of PER consumption.

Of all sources of primary energy resources in the 20th century, gas consumption increased most rapidly, especially in 1940-1970, when the average annual growth in its consumption was over 8%. Although rates have declined in subsequent years, they remain the highest compared to oil and coal. In 1990-2000 the average annual growth rate of gas consumption was 2.5%. At the same time, the share of gas in the structure of PER consumption was growing. In 2000, it approached the share of coal and amounted to 26.5%.

The following can be distinguished direction of effective and rational use natural resources:

improvement of mining technology;

complex processing of all components of the extracted raw materials and a gradual transition to low-waste and waste-free technologies;

reduction of material consumption and energy intensity of the technologies used;

usage non-traditional sources energy and new materials.

Land resources

Land resources - the earth's surface suitable for human habitation and economic activity. Land resources are characterized by the size of the territory and its quality (relief, soil).

Land accounts for 149 million km2 of the Earth's total surface area of 510 million km2. The rest is occupied by the seas and oceans. The land area minus the icy deserts of the Arctic and Antarctic, i.e. the total area of the world's land fund is 134 million km 2.

The World Land Fund in the structure:

1) 11% is cultivated land (arable land, orchards, vineyards);

2) 23% - to meadows and pastures;

3) 30% - for forests;

4) 3% - on anthropogenic landscapes (settlements, industrial zones, transport lines);

5) 33% - on unproductive lands (deserts, swamps and extreme areas with low temperatures or in the mountains).

Agricultural grounds- these are lands used for food production, including arable land, perennial plantations (gardens, plantations), natural meadows and pastures.

At the moment, the total area of agricultural land is 48.1 million km 2 (4810 million ha), including arable land (cultivated land) - 1340 million ha, meadows and pastures - 3365 million ha. largest sizes arable lands are allocated by the USA (185 million ha), India (160), Russia (134), China (95), Canada (46), Kazakhstan (36), Ukraine (34).

The share of cultivated land in the total land fund is (%):

1) in India - 57.1;

2) in Poland - 46.9;

3) in Italy - 40.3;

4) in France - 35.3;

5) in Germany - 33.9;

6) in the USA - 19.6;

7) in China and Russia - 7.8;

8) in Australia - 6;

9) in Canada - 4.9;

10) in Egypt - 2.8.

In these countries, as well as in the world as a whole, there are very few reserves for agricultural development: forests and unproductive lands. In addition, in many countries, agricultural land is rapidly shrinking as it is given over to construction, etc. It can be noted that in recent decades there was also an expansion of agricultural land due to the development of virgin lands in Russia, Kazakhstan, China, Canada.

In the world there is a deterioration, or degradation, of lands. Every year, about 6-7 million hectares are taken out due to erosion. Waterlogging and salinization are throwing another 1.5 million ha out of land use. A particular threat to the land fund in 60 countries of the world is caused by desertification, primarily of cultivated lands, covering an area of 9 million km2. This roughly corresponds to the area of countries such as the United States or China. The transformation of lands into anthropogenic landscapes also causes degradation.

Water resources. The total water reserve on Earth is 1386 million km 3, 96.5% of the planet's water resources are in the salt waters of the World Ocean, 1% - in salty groundwater. And only 2.5% of the total volume of the hydrosphere is for fresh water. If we exclude from the calculation the polar ice, which is still practically not used, then only 0.3% of the total amount of water on earth remains at the disposal of mankind.

Rivers remain the main source of fresh water, with annual resources of 47,000 km 3 , and less than half of this amount can actually be used. Thus, the volume of world water consumption has approached 1/4 of the planet's water resources that can be used. In the United States, water consumption reaches almost 30% of the average annual surface runoff of rivers (with 20% of water needs covered by groundwater), and in Russia about 2.5% of the river runoff. Agriculture (69%) is the main consumer of water in the world economy. Then come industry (21%) and utilities (6%).

The total water intake is more than 4780 km 3 annually. Only in the USA about 550 km 3 of fresh water are used annually, and in Russia - about 100 km 3.

In Russia, the structure of water consumption differs markedly from the world average. The first place is occupied by industry - 55% of total consumption, the second - agriculture, including irrigation - 20%, the third - utilities - 19%. The differences between the Russian structure of water consumption and the global average are due to the rather significant weight in the Russian industry of industries characterized by increased water consumption (metallurgical, chemical, pulp and paper); a relatively small share of irrigated land; wasteful consumption of water in the home.

In the world agriculture there is a significant upward trend in demand for water. The level of use of water resources for the needs of industry, agriculture and everyday life is from the total volume of water resources (%):

1) in Egypt - 97.1;

2) in Israel - 84;

3) in Ukraine -40;

4) in Italy - 33.7;

5) in Germany - 27.1;

6) in Poland - 21.9;

7) in the USA - 18.9;

8) in Turkey - 17.3;

9) in Russia - 2.7.

The main reserves for increasing the efficiency of water resources use:

1) reducing water consumption primarily through the introduction of water-saving technologies and recycling water supply (circulating water is such a water supply when water taken from a natural source is reused without being discharged into a reservoir or sewer);

2) elimination of water losses during its transportation due to leaks, evaporation, etc.;

3) elimination of irrational consumption of water in everyday life.

Mineral resources

(a. mineral resources; n. Mineral resourcen, mineralische resourcen; f. resources minerals; And. recursos minerales) - a set of minerals found in the bowels of a department. regions, countries, continents, the bottom of the oceans or the Earth as a whole, accessible and suitable for industrial. use and, as a rule, quantified geol. research and geol. intelligence. M.p. are non-renewable natural resources. The part of M. p. called the mineral resource base.
The concept of M. p. has several aspects. B mining and geol. aspect of M. p. are a set of clusters (deposits) of various p. and. identified in the bowels of the earth, in which chemical the elements and the minerals they form are in a sharply increased concentration compared to the clarke content in the earth's crust, which makes it possible for them to be industrialized. use. B economical aspect of M. p. serve as a raw material basis for the development of the most important industries ind. production (energy, fuel industry, black and, chemical industry, construction), as well as a possible object of international. cooperation. Under the conditions of capitalism. M. p. may be one of the reasons for international conflicts caused by the struggle of the capitalist. state-in for the capture of the richest sources of mineral raw materials.
By areas of use M. p. are divided into fuel and energy (, natural gas, coal, peat,); ores of ferrous metals (iron, manganese, chromium, etc.); ores of non-ferrous and alloying metals (aluminum, copper, lead, zinc, nickel, cobalt, tungsten, molybdenum, tin, antimony, mercury, etc.); ores of rare and precious metals; mining and chemical (, apatite, rock, potassium and magnesium salts, cepa and its compounds, bromine and iodine-containing solutions, fluorite, etc.); ; non-metallic industrial raw materials (mica, asbestos, quartz, etc.); non-metallic (cement and, marbles, slates, clays, tuffs, granite); hydromineral (underground fresh and mineralized waters, including balneological, thermal, etc.). The above is conditional, because industrial area the use of certain p. and. may vary, eg. are also raw materials for chem. prom-sti, etc. - raw materials for metallurgy, production, chemical. prom-sti and prom-sti builds. materials.
The concept of M. p. changes over time and depends on the level of development of society, on the needs of production, as well as on the level of technology and the possibilities of the economy. Natural minerals become M. p. only after the need arises for them and the ways of their practicality appear. use. The higher the tech. armament, the wider the range of items and. And more new types of mineral raw materials are involved in the industry. production For example, cam. became p. and., having prom. value, only c con. 17th century, oil - from cep. 19th century; ores of aluminum, magnesium, chromium and rare elements, etc. - c con. 19 - beg. 20th century; uranium ores - from cep. 20th century About the history of development of M. p. cm. in Art. Mining .
Spaces M.p. in the bowels of the Earth as a whole, as well as otd. continents and countries is characterized by unevenness.
St. 80% of the explored coal reserves of industrialized and developing countries concentrated in the bowels of the five capitalist. countries - the USA, Germany, Great Britain, Australia and South Africa, 87% of manganese ores - in South Africa and Australia, 86% of potassium salts - in Canada. A significant part of M. p. pl. the most important types of p. and. concentrated in the bowels of developing countries (Fig. 1).

As a rule, M. p. quantified by Mineral Reserves and Inferred Resources. In the mineral resource balance of the world, as well as in the balance of otd. countries of St. 70-80% of the reserves of each type of p. and. accounts for a relatively small number of large deposits and giant deposits, the rest are concentrated in medium and numerous. small deposits. By prom. the value and size of stocks p. and. conditionally distinguish unique deposits with great importance in the world reserves of the planet as a whole, large - in reserves large in territory and provided with M. p. countries, average - in stocks cp. and small countries or dep. regions major countries, small and small - in the stocks of small countries or otd. p-news and enterprises. Stock data types of p. and. by continents are given in the table, and their distribution by country - in the articles about otd. types of p. and. and gos-wah.

The longest operating mining industry has been studied the most. p-ns, territories of the socialist. and industrialized capitalist. countries, to a lesser extent - the territory of the developing countries of Africa and Asia, some regions of Latin America, as well as the World Ocean;. Despite the depletion of long-exploited units. deposits and reduction of explored reserves p. and. in some countries, production levels achieved in the world in the beginning. 80s, provided for a long time. terms (Fig. 2).

However, it means. part of the identified p. and. concentrated in deposits with relatively poor ores or deposited on great depths and in complex mining and geol. conditions.
Prom. development of M. p. includes their assessment (n.-i., prospecting and geol.-exploration work) and the actual development (extraction, enrichment and processing), the scale and intensity of which are determined by the characteristics of the industrial. and socio-economic. development of society, the role of the mineral resource sector x-va in the country's economy. Non-renewability of M. p. necessitates their rational use, reduction of losses during extraction, processing and transportation, as well as recycling of secondary raw materials and compliance with environmental and economic standards. approach to the operation of M. p. Literature: Bykhover N. A., Economics of mineral raw materials, (vol. 1-3), M., 1967-1971; Mirlin G.A., Mineral resources at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, "Izv. AH CCCP, sep. Geol.", 1983, No 9. G. A. Mirlin.

Mountain Encyclopedia. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia. Edited by E. A. Kozlovsky. 1984-1991 .

See what "Mineral resources" is in other dictionaries:

The totality of mineral reserves in the bowels of the Earth (district, country, region, continent, planet as a whole), suitable for use in various sectors of the economy. Many mineral resources (oil, coal, gold, silver, tungsten, ... ... Ecological dictionary

The totality of mineral reserves in the subsoil suitable for industrial use in modern conditions and in perspective. In English: Mineral resources Synonyms: Resources of the lithosphere See also: Exhaustible natural resources Lithosphere ... ... Financial vocabulary

mineral resources- Natural substances of mineral origin, suitable for obtaining energy, raw materials and materials in modern conditions and in the future. Syn.: minerals; mineral raw materials … Geography Dictionary

The totality of mineral reserves in the bowels of a region, country, group of countries, continent, world as a whole, calculated in relation to the existing conditions for minerals, taking into account scientific and technological progress (increase in depth ... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

Natural substances of mineral origin used to obtain energy, raw materials and materials. They belong to the category of renewable. Brief geographical dictionary. Edwart. 2008 ... Geographic encyclopedia - - 1). In accordance with the Convention on the Management of the Development of Antarctic Mineral Resources, m.r. are all non-living; in final act IV Special Consultative Meeting of the States Parties to the Antarctic Treaty provides that ... Legal glossary on integrated coastal zone management

mineral resources- 24 Mineral Resources Projected potential mineral reserves in the earth's crust, suitable for extraction and use both in present conditions and in the future

Content

Introduction…………………………………………………………………3 – 4

The concept of the mineral resources of the world…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

2.1 Definition of Mineral Resources

2.2 Dynamics of consumption of mineral raw materials

2.3 Distribution of major mineral resources

Classification of mineral resources…………………………….9 – 13

3.1 Fuel and energy resources

3.2 Ore minerals

3.3 Non-metallic minerals

Mineral Resource Estimation…………………………………….14 – 16

Conclusion………………………………………………………………..17

Materials used………………………………………………….. 18

1. Introduction

The current stage of development of the world economy is characterized by an increasing scale of consumption of natural resources, a sharp complication of the process of interaction between nature and society, the intensification and expansion of the scope of manifestation of specific natural and anthropogenic processes arising from the technogenic impact on nature. In the context of the growing interconnection and interdependence of states, world social progress is increasingly dependent on the decision global problems- universal problems affecting the interests and destinies of all countries and peoples that are important for the progress of human civilization as a whole.
A complex of problems related to the use of mineral resources plays an important role in the development of the world economy. The economic upheavals of the mid-1970s convincingly showed that, under certain conditions, these problems can seriously affect the entire course of economic development, adversely affect the state of production, monetary, foreign economic and other sectors of the economy of a number of states.

People in ancient times learned to use some mineral resources, which found its expression in the names of historical periods in the development of human civilization, for example, the Stone Age. There are over 200 in use today. various kinds mineral resources. According to the figurative expression of Academician A.E. Fersman (1883 - 1945), now the whole periodic system Mendeleev. (In the Middle Ages, people extracted only 18 chemical elements and their compounds from the earth's crust, in the 17th century - 25, in the 18th century - 29, in the 19th century - 47, at the beginning of the 20th century - 54, in the second half of the 20th in. - more than 80.)
At present, the production and consumption of mineral resources has become global, covering all countries through the international division of labor. Mineral raw materials are the starting material of any production process, its material basis. The share of raw materials varies widely depending on the product: in the cost of mechanical engineering it is 10 - 12%, in the production of basic chemical synthesis - 80 - 90%.
Nevertheless, it cannot be assumed that humanity is allowed to extract and use the treasures of the earth's interior in any quantity. First, almost all mineral resources are classified as non-renewable. Secondly, the world reserves of their individual species are far from being the same. And thirdly, the "appetite" of mankind is growing all the time.

Thus, at the present stage, the problem of the development of mineral resources is of particular relevance and our main task is the rational use of mineral resources, as well as the search for alternative resources, which, in turn, will be renewable.

2. The concept of the mineral resources of the world

2.1. Definition of mineral resources.
Mineral resources, which are based on minerals, are natural mineral formations of inorganic or organic origin that have arisen in the earth's crust as a result of the development geological processes throughout the evolution of the Earth and used in the economy directly or after preliminary processing as a raw material or energy source.
There are more than 200 types of minerals in the world, which, according to their physical and chemical properties and use in the economy, are divided into: energy-chemical (coal, oil, natural gas, uranium, thorium, oil shale, peat, etc.); ore (ores of ferrous, non-ferrous, rare, disseminated, precious metals); non-metallic metallurgical (fluxes, refractories); non-metallic mining and chemical (apatites, nephelines, rock, potassium salts, sulfur, pyrites, barium, phosphorites); non-metallic technical (diamond, corundum, asbestos, talc, kaolin, graphite, mica); non-metallic construction (clay, gypsum, natural stone); hydrothermal (fresh and mineral natural underground and surface water). Minerals are in solid (most minerals), liquid (oil, groundwater) and gaseous (combustible natural gases) state.
In general, all minerals for industrial use are divided into four main groups: ore (metallic), non-metallic (non-metallic), combustible (fuel), hydro-mineral and gas-mineral.
Mineral deposits are distributed quite unevenly on the globe. Thus, the USA, Canada, Australia, China, Russia own the largest reserves of metallic minerals. More than 1/2 of the world's oil reserves are concentrated in the countries of the Near and Middle East. In the bowels of developing countries is 90% cobalt, about 90% tin, 75% bauxite, 60% copper. Many countries have reserves of world significance of one or more types of minerals.
Only 20-25 countries have more than 5% of the world's reserves of any one type of mineral raw material. Only a few of the largest countries in the world (Russia, USA, Canada, China, South Africa and Australia) have the majority of its species.
2.2. Dynamics of consumption of mineral raw materials.
The growth of production in the world is accompanied by a significant increase in the consumption of most types of raw materials.
The dynamics of consumption of raw materials is mainly determined by the following factors:
the level of material production, the general growth of which acts in the direction of an absolute increase in the demand for raw materials;
scientific and technological progress, the impact of which is manifested in a relative decrease in the level and change in the structure of costs per unit of final product.
The relationship between the movement of production and the consumption of raw materials seems to be fairly obvious. The growth of material production leads to an absolute increase in the demand for most types of mineral raw materials. The influence of scientific and technical progress is more difficult. Its impact is manifested in two ways: through a change in the structure of specific products, on the one hand, and by improving production technology, on the other, which affects the dynamics of consumption of certain types of mineral raw materials in different ways.
A certain downward effect on the dynamics of consumption of mineral raw materials is exerted by the competition of substitutes - synthetic types of raw materials. However, it is hardly reasonable to overestimate the role of substitutes. Their impact only leads to a decrease in the growth rate of base metals, but not to the displacement of these metals from the main areas of application.

2.3. Distribution of the main types of mineral resources.
The distribution of minerals in the earth's crust is subject to geological (tectonic) patterns. Fuel minerals are of sedimentary origin and usually accompany the cover of ancient platforms and their internal and marginal troughs.
More than 3.6 thousand coal basins and deposits are known on the globe, which together occupy 15% of the earth's land area. Coal basins of the same geological age often form coal accumulation belts stretching for thousands of kilometers. The bulk of the coal resources come from North hemisphere– Asia, North America and Europe and is concentrated in the ten largest basins.
More than 600 oil and gas basins have been explored, 450 are being developed, and total number oil fields reaches 50 thousand. The main reserves are located in the northern hemisphere, mainly in the Mesozoic deposits. The main part of these reserves is also concentrated in a relatively small number of the largest basins. In terms of the number of giant oil-bearing basins and reserves, the Persian Gulf region stands out, in terms of the number of gas-bearing basins - Western Siberia in Russia.
Uranium, necessary for nuclear energy, is very widespread in the earth's crust. However, it is economically profitable to develop only those fields where the production cost does not exceed $80 per 1 kg. The explored reserves of such uranium in the world amount to 2.3 million tons. They are distributed mainly between Australia, Canada, the USA, South Africa, Niger, Brazil, Namibia, as well as Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
Ore minerals usually accompany foundations and ledges (shields) of ancient platforms, as well as folded areas. In such areas, they are often huge ore (metallogenic) belts, connected by their origin with deep faults in the earth's crust. Territories of such belts (Alpine-Himalayan, Pacific) serve as raw material bases for the mining and metallurgical industries, often determining the economic specialization of individual regions and even entire countries.
The largest reserves iron ore have Russia, China, Ukraine, Australia, Canada, bauxite - Guinea, Australia, Brazil, Jamaica, copper ores - Chile, USA, Canada.
Non-metallic minerals (phosphorites, potash and table salt, measure, etc.) are also widespread, deposits of which are found both in platform and folded areas.

The fact that the mineral resources of the Earth are not unlimited has long been known. Their distinctive feature is that they are finite and their limiting value is determined by the total content of one or another element in the earth's crust and the oceans. Thus, theoretically, there is a possibility of physical depletion of mineral resources during their long and intensive development. But if we proceed from the limiting value, then the content of most elements in the earth's crust is thousands and millions of times higher than modern level their consumption.
Nevertheless, the rational use of mineral resources is essential. It provides for their comprehensive development, the use of energy and resource-saving technologies in production, and the active introduction of the recycling (or re-use) of resources. In many economically developed countries, such a policy is being consistently implemented. The deepest disposal (recycling) are industrial and household waste in Japan, Western Europe and the United States. Production using recycled resources of ferrous and non-ferrous metals, paper and cardboard products, building materials, glass, etc. provides significant savings in mineral, biological resources and energy.

3. Classification of mineral resources.

There is no single generally accepted classification of mineral resources. However, the following division is often used: fuel (combustible), metallic (ore) and non-metallic (non-metallic) minerals.

3.1 Fuel and energy resources (FER)
The group of fuel and energy resources is the most important for the modern needs of the world economy in the structure of mineral resources. It includes three main subgroups:
1) non-renewable fuel and energy resources (oil, natural gas, hard and brown coal, oil shale, peat);
2) renewable fuel and energy resources (wood)
3) inexhaustible (hydropower resources)
All listed resources are called primary. In addition, FER includes the energy reserves of nuclear decay and nuclear fusion (the raw material for its production is uranium), which are practically inexhaustible.

Most of the oil fields are dispersed over six regions of the world and confined to inland depressions and continental margins: 1) Persian Gulf - North Africa; 2) Gulf of Mexico - Caribbean Sea (including coastal areas of Mexico, USA, Colombia, Venezuela and Trinidad Island); 3) the islands of the Malay Archipelago and New Guinea; 4) Western Siberia; 5) northern Alaska; 6) the North Sea (mainly the Norwegian and British sectors); 7) Sakhalin Island with adjacent shelf areas.
World oil reserves are about 1.332 trillion. barrels. Of these, 74% are in Asia, including the Middle East (more than 66%).
Having analyzed Table 1, we can conclude that countries have unequal resource endowment with oil. Among the oil-rich countries, developing countries stand out (OPEC, the countries of the Persian Gulf). The highest oil supply Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq. Developed countries are characterized by large volumes of production, but gradually depleted oil reserves, so the degree of resource availability is low.

Table 1.

The country	Oil reserves (in billion barrels)	Mining (in billion barrels/year)	Resource availability
Saudi Arabia	267	3,36	79
Iran	138	1,72	80
Iraq	115	0,88	131
Kuwait	104	1,08	96
UAE	98	0,95	103
Venezuela	87	0,97	90
Russia	79	3,64	22
USA	21	3,09	7

Oil reserves and production in the countries of the world (as of 2008).

Explored reserves of natural gas currently amount to about 177.36 trillion m 3 . The increase is explained both by the discovery of a number of new deposits (in particular, in Russia - in Western and Eastern Siberia, on the shelf of the Barents Sea), and the transfer of part of the geological reserves to the explored category.
The largest explored reserves of natural gas are concentrated in Russia (39.2%), Western Asia (32%), they are also in North Africa (6.9%), Latin America(5.1%), North America (4.9%), Western Europe (3.8%). Recently, significant reserves of it have been discovered in Central Asia.

Among the fuel and energy resources, the largest reserves in the world are coal. It is an important national natural resource primarily due to its energy value.
In general, the world's coal resources are plentiful, and the supply of them is much greater than that of other types of fuel. (cm. Table 2)

Table 2.
Reserves and production of coal in the countries of the world (as of 2008).

The country	Coal reserves (in million tons)	Production (in million tons/year)	Resource availability (how many years will the resource last)
USA	242 721	587.2	413
Russia	157 010	148.2	1059
China	114 500	1 289.6	89
Australia	76 600	215.4	356
India	56 498	181	312
Ukraine	33 873	39.6	855
Kazakhstan	31 300	48.3	648
Poland	7 502	62.3	120
Germany	6 708	51.5	130
Great Britain	155	10.4	15

According to this table, countries are supplied with coal differently. The resource supply with coal is generally significant, since coal will last for hundreds of years. Most of the countries with coal reserves are developed countries. The United States has the largest coal reserves, but with large production volumes, the resource availability of this country is not the highest.

3.2. Ore minerals

Ore minerals include ores:
- ferrous metals (iron, manganese, titanium, chromium, vanadium);
- non-ferrous metals (copper, aluminum, tin, zinc, tungsten, molybdenum, lead, cobalt, nickel, etc.);
- noble (precious) metals (gold, platinum, silver);
- radioactive metals (radium, uranium, thorium).

Ore (metallic) minerals usually accompany foundations and ledges (shields) of ancient platforms, as well as folded areas. In such areas, they often form huge ore (metallogenic) belts, for example, the Alpine-Himalayan, Pacific. Countries located within such belts usually have favorable conditions for the development of the mining industry. Large reserves of iron ore are concentrated in the USA and China. India, Russia. Recently, some countries of Asia (India), Africa (Liberia, Guinea, Algeria), Latin America (Brazil) have been added to them. Large reserves of aluminum raw materials (bauxites) are found in France, Italy, India, Suriname, the USA, the states of West Africa, the countries of the Caribbean, and Russia. Copper ores are concentrated in Zambia, Zaire, Chile, the USA, Canada, and lead-zinc - in the USA, Canada, Australia.

3.3. Nonmetallic minerals

Non-metallic minerals include non-metallic and non-combustible hard rocks and minerals, including:
-building materials (sand, gravel, clay, chalk, limestone, marble);
- chemical raw materials (sulphur, apatites, phosphorites, salts);
- metallurgical raw materials (asbestos, quartz, refractory clays);
-precious and ornamental stones (diamonds, rubies, jasper, malachite, crystal, etc.)
Many types of non-metallic minerals can simultaneously be assigned to these groups, thus indicating the multi-purpose nature of their practical use. Non-metallic minerals in their natural or processed form are extremely importance for the economic and social development of the whole world. They are widely used: in civil and industrial construction, in agriculture, in many industries, in jewelry.

4. Mineral Resource Estimation

Mineral deposits usually serve as a single object of mineral resources.
The economic (industrial) value of each deposit is determined by an extremely wide range of factors, which, however, in most geological and geological-economic works are reduced to the following groups or estimated parameters:
1. The scale of the deposit, determined by its total reserves;
2. The quality of the mineral (material composition and technological
properties);
3. The productivity of the main deposits, characterizing the degree of concentration of mineral reserves in them;
4. Mining and technical conditions for the exploitation of the deposit;
5. Economics of the deposit area.
In addition, it is proposed to take into account the scarcity of this type of resources and its national economic importance. According to the national economic significance, mineral reserves are divided into two groups, subject to separate calculation, approval and accounting: balance reserves, the use of which is economically feasible and which must meet the conditions established for calculating reserves in the bowels; off-balance reserves, the use of which is currently not advisable for technical and economic reasons, but which in the future may become an object of industrial development. The conditions on the basis of which the subdivision into these groups is carried out are established by state bodies for each deposit on the basis of technical and economic calculations, based on the operating conditions of the deposit, the amount of reserves, value and processing technologies. Conditions reflect the requirements of the industry, justified by technical and economic calculations. The assignment of mineral reserves to balance reflects, along with purely technological considerations, the requirements for the economic efficiency of using a deposit and, therefore, is essentially a stage economic evaluation resources.
Economic (or, in a broader sense, economic) assessment of natural conditions and natural resources is one of the concepts that have been occupying a prominent place in the problems of modern economic geography for quite a long time. Consideration of this issue led to the conclusion about the relevance of a more in-depth theoretical and methodological development of this problem. In this regard, the question arose about the possibility of determining the very content of the concept of economic evaluation, clarifying the essence of the processes of reality reflected by it, and establishing criteria. The very fact of naturally conditioned differentiation
geographic shell, in terms of value, is neutral and cannot receive any assessment, regardless of the criterion used. When evaluating, it is necessary to apply the criterion of value, determined by the nature of the relationship between its subject and object.
The economic evaluation of natural resources implies the application of economic criteria, i.e. comparison of the properties of natural factors with the requirements arising from the practical, economic activity of man.
As the content of the economic evaluation of natural resources
consideration is given to taking into account the influence of regular territorial differences in natural properties these resources and their sources on the productivity of social labor. The uneven spatial distribution of resources also makes it necessary to take into account differences in the volume (reserves, areas, etc.) of the resources of the objects being assessed.
It is proposed to consider the comparative economic
the efficiency of using a given source of resources or their territorial combination. Differences in efficiency are expressed in differentiated total costs of living and materialized labor. It is clear that the value of one or another type of natural resources is determined by the economic effect achieved by its use. The magnitude of this effect, as well as the magnitude of the necessary costs for most types of resources, is territorially differentiated; it reflects the territorial structure of production that has developed at each stage with a specific picture of the relationship between the need for resources and the possibility of satisfying them.
In our country, a system has developed for assessing reserves and forecast resources of minerals, according to which at various stages of exploration and development of deposits, different indicators are used to assess the reliability of reserves, the efficiency of their use, the degree of readiness for extraction and subsequent processing. Most of the indicators are of a qualitative nature. The criterion for assigning reserves to certain categories at the stages of geological exploration of the subsoil and exploitation of the deposit, as a rule, is the performance of certain types and volumes of work. There are various methods for the economic evaluation of mineral deposits, reflecting the efficiency of mining. However, they do not allow taking into account many important aspects that characterize the dynamics of the state of mineral resources.
Therefore, when developing methods for assessing the availability of reserves and resources of minerals, special attention is paid to taking into account the various states of resources (quality, conditions of occurrence, degree of knowledge and preparedness), changes in the technological level of development of society and the variability of social demand for various types of mineral raw materials. This approach makes it possible to scientifically substantiate the strategies for the development of deposits in terms of maintaining an economically feasible level of availability of reserves, the intensity of their development and reproduction.

etc.................