Environmental R,source Management Series

Transcription

1 MINERAL RESOURCES

2 Environmental R,source Management Series Consulting Editor Donald R. Coates State University of New York, Binghamton In the some series: Soils and the Environment G. W. Olson Field Guide to Soils and the Environment G. W. Olson

3 MINERAL RESOURCES A WORLD REVIEW John A. Wolfe A Dowden & Culver book Chapman and Hall New York London

4 First published 1984 by Chapman and Hall 733 Third Avenue, New York NY Published in Great Britain by Chapman and Hall Ltd 11 New Fetter Lane Landon EC4P 4EE 1984 Dowden & Culver, Inc. Printed in the United States of America ISBN (cased edition) ISBN (paperback edition) This title is available in both hardbound and paperback editions. The paperback edition is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher's prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition Including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted, or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Publisher. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Wolfe, John A., Mineral resources Bibliography: p. Includes Index. 1. Mines and mineral resources. 2. Mineral industries. I. Title. TN145.W ISBN ISBN (pbk.)

5 DEDICATION This book is dedicated to the memory of Francis and A. Stanley Elmore, metallurgists and discoverers of the flotation process for concentrating sulphide minerals. Born in England, they patented the process in London in This was one of the key inventions of civilization. The name Elmore should be ranked with heroes of the past century.

6 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This presentation has been greatly improved by suggestions made by several readers. These include an unnamed reader suggested by the publisher, Mr. Paul Graf, and Asa Wolfe. Special sections on sulphur and diamonds were improved by Mr. Stewart H. Folk and Dr. Peter Nixon, respectively. Data on aluminum were provided by the Aluminum Corporation of America and photographs by American Metals Climax (AMAX) and Dresser Industries. I am particularly indebted to Dr. C. K. Burton, who made a special effort to assist me in improving the book. Any errors or misinterpretations of data are my own.

7 CONTENTS Acknowledgments Introduction Part I Chapter 1 MINERALS IN HISTORY Paleolithic Mesolithic Neolithic Chalcolithic The Bronze Age The Iron Age The Age of Rome The Dark Age The Renaissance The Industrial Revolution The Nuclear-Space Age Chapter 2 NATIONAL MINERAL POLICY Japan's Policy OPEC Policy CIPEC Policy Tin Cartel Policy The U.N. Mineral Policy The U.S. Mineral Policy Price Controls Chapter 3 ENVIRONMENT Energy and Environment Chapter 4 MINERAL ECONOMICS Outlook Oil and the Economy ix

8 x CONTENTS Reserves vs. Resources Depletion Paleoresources and Protoresources Commodity Gambling Dens Chapter 5 ENERGY Minor Energy Sources Chapter 6 EXPLORATION First, Get an Elephant Gun Go to Elephant Country Look Out for Game Preserves Look Out for Ethnic Reservations Look for Elephant Signs Don't Look for Elephants under Leaves Find the Beast Ready, Aim, Fire! Harvest the Trophy Look for the Rest of the Herd Chapter 7 MINERAL PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY Mining or Extracting Beneficiation Refining Gaseous Diffusion Chapter 8 CRYSTAL GAZING Is There a Mineral Resource Scarcity? Mineral Resource Politics The Buy-out Binge of the Oil Giants Research Marine Nodules Conservation The MANDA Part II Introduction Abbreviations and Measures Chapter 9 METALS Aluminum

9 Antimony Chromium Cobalt Copper Gold Iron Lead Magnesium Manganese Molybdenum Nickel Platinum Silver Tin Titanium Tungsten Uranium Vanadium Zinc Zirconium Chapter 10 NON-METALS Aggregate Asbestos Barite Borates (Boron) Clay Diamond Fluorspar Graphite Gypsuml Anhydrite Magnesite Phosphate Portland Cement Potash Salt Silica (Quartz) CONTENTS xi

10 xii CONTENTS Sulphur 250 Trona 256 Gemstones 259 GLOSSARY 271 ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY 283 INDEX 285

11 LIST OF FIGURES a 6b a 12b Minerals and the ages of man Hierarchy of Land Use The Henderson Mine of Climax Molybdenum Weekly Silver Price Open Pit Mine Room-and-Pillar Mining Plan Jeffry Continuous Miner Block Caving Energy Index per Kg of Copper U.S.A. and World Aluminum Production World Antimony Production World Chromite Production Free World Coblat Production The Price of Cobalt U.S. and Free World Copper Production U.S. and Free World Gold Production U.S. and World Iron Ore Production U.S. and Free World Lead Production U.S. and World Magnesium Production Manganese, World Production U.S. and Free World Molybdenum Production U.S. and Free World Nickel Production U.S. and World Silver Production U.S. and Free World Tin Production U.S. Titanium Production U.S. and Free World Tungsten Production U.S. and Free World Uranium Production U.S. and World Vanadium Production U.S. and Free World Zinc Production U.S. Aggregate Production U.S. and World Asbestos Production U.S. and World Barite Production U.S. and World Borate Production U.S. Clay Production xiii

12 xiv LIST OF FIGURES U.S. and World Diamond Production U.S. and World Fluorite Production U.s. and World Gypsum Production U.s. and World Phosphate Rock Production U.s. and World Portland Cement Production U.s. and World Potash Production U.S. and World Salt Production U.s. and World Sulphur Production U.S. Trona Production

13 LIST OF TABLES Mining and Mineral Extraction Methods Relative Energy Index Mining Company Take-overs World Production of Mineral Commodities Production of Bauxite Aluminum Production in Western Nations Weights and Measures of Gold xv