Minerals, Critical Minerals, and the U.S. Economy

Minerals, Critical Minerals, and the U.S. Economy
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 263
Release: 2008-03-11
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0309112826

Minerals are part of virtually every product we use. Common examples include copper used in electrical wiring and titanium used to make airplane frames and paint pigments. The Information Age has ushered in a number of new mineral uses in a number of products including cell phones (e.g., tantalum) and liquid crystal displays (e.g., indium). For some minerals, such as the platinum group metals used to make cataytic converters in cars, there is no substitute. If the supply of any given mineral were to become restricted, consumers and sectors of the U.S. economy could be significantly affected. Risks to minerals supplies can include a sudden increase in demand or the possibility that natural ores can be exhausted or become too difficult to extract. Minerals are more vulnerable to supply restrictions if they come from a limited number of mines, mining companies, or nations. Baseline information on minerals is currently collected at the federal level, but no established methodology has existed to identify potentially critical minerals. This book develops such a methodology and suggests an enhanced federal initiative to collect and analyze the additional data needed to support this type of tool.

Minerals Yearbook

Minerals Yearbook
Author: Mines Bureau
Publisher:
Total Pages: 282
Release: 2018-04-19
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9781411341722

- Minerals Yearbook, 2014, V. 3: Area Reports: International: Asia and the Pacific. Volume III, Area Reports: International, is published as four separate reports. These regional reports contain the latest available minerals data on more than 180 foreign countries and discuss the importance of minerals to the economies of these nations and the United States. Each report begins with an overview of the region's mineral industries during the year. It continues with individual country chapters that examine the mining, refining, processing, and use of minerals in each country of the region and how each country's mineral industry relates to U.S. industry. Most chapters include production tables and industry structure tables, information about Government policies and programs that affect the country's mineral industry, and an outlook section.

Strategic Minerals

Strategic Minerals
Author: Ewan W. Anderson
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated
Total Pages: 192
Release: 1998
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN:

Strategic minerals are a major element of resource geopolitics. The US has always provided the umbrella for the West and is now the global policeman on strategic mineral supply. As the global economic system has developed it has become increasingly clear that the geopolitical balance in global mineral supply is focused on the countries of the former Soviet Union, China and South Africa. The entire import list of US non-fuel minerals is examined in the context of import dependence, the criticality of end-use and the vulnerability of sources. This analysis builds up a complete picture of the varying levels of vulnerability for each mineral, allowing lists of both key and marginal strategic minerals to be compiled. The major sources of these minerals and their relative potential problems of supply are considered. These problems range from geopolitical concerns to the monopolistic agency of multinationals and cartels to the mechanistics of sea-line communications. The book concludes with an assessment of present and future scenarios based on shifting geopolitical influence at the global level, outlining countermeasures, both actual and potential.

Critical Metals Handbook

Critical Metals Handbook
Author: Gus Gunn
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 468
Release: 2014-03-03
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0470671718

Mankind is using a greater variety of metals in greater quantities than ever before. As a result there is increasing global concern over the long-term availability of secure and adequate supplies of the metals needed by society. Critical metals, which are those of growing economic importance that might be susceptible to future scarcity, are a particular worry. For many of these we have little information on how they are concentrated in the Earth’s crust, how to extract them from their ores, and how to use, recycle and dispose of them effectively and safely. Published with the British Geological Survey, the Critical Metals Handbook brings together a wealth of knowledge on critical metals and provides a foundation for improving the future security and sustainability of critical metal supplies. Written by international experts, it provides a unique source of authoritative information on diverse aspects of the critical metals, including geology, deposits, processing, applications, recycling, environmental issues and markets. It is aimed at a broad non-specialist audience, including professionals and academics working in the exploration and mining sectors, in mining finance and investment, and in mineral processing and manufacturing. It will also be a valuable reference for policy makers concerned with resource management, land-use planning, eco-efficiency, recycling and related fields.

Current Geographical Publications

Current Geographical Publications
Author: University of Wisconsin--Milwaukee. Library
Publisher:
Total Pages: 840
Release: 1986
Genre: Geography
ISBN:

Current Geographical Publications (CGP) is a non-profit service to the scholarly community initiated in 1938 by the American Geographical Society of New York. Beginning in 2006, the format changed to include the tables of contents of current geographical journals. The journal titles listed link to web pages or PDF scans of the current issue's contents.