Opportunities in global mineral resources
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21701/bolgeomin.130.1.003Keywords:
China, cobalt, global, lithium, markets, mineral, resourcesAbstract
The trends of increasing mineral production are likely to continue as global population and standards of living rise. Opportunities for exploration and metallurgical research are particularly interesting for certain mineral commodities. With 19% of the global population and a growing economy, China is a leader in the production of many commodities but needs to import many others. India has 17% of the world’s population and is an emerging major producer and consumer. Those commodities with high prices relative to their abundance, large markets, and limited production from China (<19% of the global total) are likely to be most attractive. These include gold, platinum-group elements, uranium, lithium, cobalt, niobium, nickel, chromium, titanium, potassium, and iron.
Downloads
References
Antwerp World Diamond Center, 2018, https://www.ajediam.com/diamond_price_index.html, accessed 19 April 2018.
Bennett, S.M., 2018, Thallium: U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral commodity summaries 2018: U.S. Department of Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, p. 168-169, https://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/mcs/2018/mcs2018.pdf.
Bradley, D.C., Stillings, L.L., Jaskula, B.W., Munk, L.A., and McCauley, A.D., 2017, Lithium, in Schulz, K.J., DeYoung, J.H., Seal, R.R., II, and Bradley, D.C., eds., Critical mineral resources of the United States-Economic and environmental geology and prospects for future supply: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1802, Chapter K, p. i-K21, https://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/1802/k/pp1802k.pdf.
British Petroleum, 2018, Statistical review of world energy, https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics/statistical-review-of-world-energy.html, accessed 19 April 2018.
Central Intelligence Agency, 2018, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2119rank.html, accessed 18 April 2018.
Energy Information Administration, 2018, U.S. Department of Energy, https://www.eia.gov/coal/, accessed 16 April 2018.
Facada, Martim, 2018, European, North American lithium spot markets up; Chines spot market unchanged: Industrial Minerals, http://www.indmin.com/Article/3800754/Lithium-PricingNews/European-North-American-lithium-spot-markets-up-Chinese-spot-market-unchanged.html, accessed 23 April 2018.
Gulley, A.L., Nassar, N.T., and Xun, S., 2018, China, the United States, and competition for resources that enable emerging technologies: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, v. 115, no. 16, p. 4111-4115. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1717152115
International Energy Agency, 2018, https://www.iea.org/coal2017/, accessed 17 April 2018.
Jaskula, B.W., 2018, Lithium: U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral commodity summaries 2018: U.S. Department of Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, p. 98-99, https://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/mcs/2018/mcs2018.pdf.
Lide, D.R., ed., 2005, The CRC handbook of chemistry and physics, 85 th edition: Boca Raton, Florida, CRC Press, 2656 p.
McRae, M.E., 2018, Nickel: U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral commodity summaries 2018: U.S. Department of Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, p. 112-113, https://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/mcs/2018/mcs2018.pdf.
Mineral Prices, 2018, mineralprices.com, accessed 17 April 2018. https://doi.org/10.32964/TJ17.04
Morisette, C.L., 2012, The impact of geological environment on the lithium concentration and structural composition of hectorite clays: University of Nevada, Reno unpublished master's thesis, 258 p.
London Metal Exchange, 2018, https://www.lme.com/en-GB/Metals/Minor-metals/Cobalt#tabIndex=0, accessed 23 April 2018.
Olson, D.W., 2018, Diamond (industrial): U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral commodity summaries 2018: U.S. Department of Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, p. 54-55, https://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/mcs/2018/mcs2018.pdf (accessed 17 April 2018).
Price, J.G., 2013, The challenges of mineral resources for society, in Bickford, M.E., ed., The impact of the geological sciences on society: Geological Society of America Special Paper 501, p. 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1130/2013.2501(01)
Price, J.G., Carraher, R.A., and Wilton, T., 2018, Lithium and gold associated with rhyolites: Society of Economic Geologists Guidebook Series, v. 58, SEG 2018 Pre-Conference Field Trip, Nevada, September 18-21, 2018, 143 p.
Price, J.G., and Espi, J.A., 2014, Disponibilidad y retos actuales de los recursos minerales para la sociedad: Boletín Geológico y Minero, v. 125, no. 1, p. 3-29, ISSN: 0366-0176.
Schulz, K.J., DeYoung, J.H., Seal, R.R., II, and Bradley, D.C., eds., Critical mineral resources of the United States- Economic and environmental geology and prospects for future supply: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1802, https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/pp1802.
Shedd, K.B., 2018, Cobalt: U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral commodity summaries 2018: U.S. Department of Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, p. 50-51, https://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/mcs/2018/mcs2018.pdf.
Shedd, K.B., McCullough, E.A., and Bleiwas, 2017 Global trends affecting the supply security of cobalt: Mining Engineering, December 2017, p. 37-42.
Slack, J.F., Kimball, B.E., and Shedd, K.B., 2017, Cobalt, in Schulz, K.J., DeYoung, J.H., Seal, R.R., II, and Bradley, D.C., eds., Critical mineral resources of the United States-Economic and environmental geology and prospects for future supply: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1802, Chapter F, p. i-F40, https://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/1802/f/pp1802f.pdf.
Stillings, L.L., and Morisette, C.L., 2012, Lithium clays in sediments from closed-basin, evaporative lakes in the southwestern United States: Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs, V. 44, no. 7, p. 210.
Tuck, C.A., 2018, Iron: U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral commodity summaries 2018: U.S. Department of Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, p. 88-89, https://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/mcs/2018/mcs2018.pdf.
U.S. Geological Survey, 2018, Mineral commodity summaries 2018: U.S. Department of Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, 200 p., https://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/mcs/2018/mcs2018.pdf.
World Nuclear Association, 2018, http://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/facts-and-figures/uranium-production-figures.aspx, accessed 18 April 2018.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
© CSIC. Manuscripts published in both the print and online versions of this journal are the property of the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, and quoting this source is a requirement for any partial or full reproduction.
All contents of this electronic edition, except where otherwise noted, are distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence. You may read the basic information and the legal text of the licence. The indication of the CC BY 4.0 licence must be expressly stated in this way when necessary.
Self-archiving in repositories, personal webpages or similar, of any version other than the final version of the work produced by the publisher, is not allowed.