MINERAL RESOURCES
- Naturally occurring elements or compounds that have been formed through slow inorganic processes.
- Modern civilization is based on the use and exploitation of mineral resources. Minerals can be metallic and non-metallic.
- not evenly distributed in the Earth. Some countries are rich in mineral deposits whereas others are devoid of it.
- Important for development worldwide.
- With rapid increase in population and a more rapid increase in society’s development needs, the requirements for minerals have grown and diversified manifold.
- Extraction of minerals is carried out through mining. Minerals are extracted from beneath the surface, processed, and used for different purposes.
- exhaustible and finite, which means excessive use affects their availability in the future.
EXPLOITATION OF MINERALS
Use of mineral resources for economic growth. Exploitation of mineral resources at a mindless speed to meet the growing needs of modern civilization has resulted in many environmental problems.
- Although, the exploitation of minerals began at a slow pace during the industrial revolution in Western countries, during the 20th century, the exploitation of some minerals, especially the fossil fuels increased exponentially to meet the growing energy need.
- Today, about 80% of the world’s energy consumption is sustained by the extraction of fossil fuels, which consists of oil, coal, and gas.