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MINERALS

3 November, 2015 - 12:33

Unlike food, minerals are nonrenewable resources. Controversy about the adequacy of the existing supply of minerals to meet world demand is as heated as debates about the food crisis. On one hand, pessimists argue that the world's supplies of minerals cannot be indefinitely maintained. Thus, they recommend strict conservation of mineral resources. On the other hand, optimists claim that plenty of minerals remain in the crust of the earth for future generations. Although some materials occasionally appear to be in short supply, optimists assert that advances in science and technology will allow the supply to keep pace with the ever-increasing demand.

Again, the issue for the international manager is not whether the pessimists or the optimists will be proven right. What the international manager must realize is that a country's supply of natural resources will to a large extent determine its economic and political stability.

Most of the world's reserves of resources (defined as those identified resources that can be economically mined today using known technology) are in the southern hemisphere, or the developing countries. However, most of the flows of minerals (defined as additions to the marketable stocks due to the processing of raw resources) are in the northern hemisphere, or the developed world. Some of the most industrialized parts of the world, notably Japan and Western Europe, have no resources to speak of, yet are the heaviest producers of industrial material made of minerals.