Mineral Resources a World Review

ISBN-13: 9780412251900 / Angielski / Miękka / 1984 / 294 str.

John A. Wolfe

Opis

This volume discusses the mineral resources upon which modern civiliza- tion is built. Take away these minerals and humanity will rapidly return to the stone age, with its greatest concern the depletion of flint (also a mineral). It would, of course, result in about a 99% reduction in population. In other words, approximately 99% of the worlds' population is dependent on minerals for its existence. That is a pretty strong statement, but how many have even seen a travois? Without minerals, pack animals, rafts, rowboats, sail boats, sledges, and the backs of man would be the only forms of transport. Sufficient food could not be transported, nor could it be grown on our tired soils without tractors and fertilizer. Even in the more fertile tropics where nearly half of the population is now suffering from malnutrition, crops are dependent on "miracle" grains that require mechanization and mineral fertilizers. Modern buildings cannot operate without electricity and, without mineral fuels, few people in the northern latitudes would survive the first winter.

Spis treści

I.- 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.- 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.- 3 Environment.- Energy and Environment.- 4 Mineral Economics.- Outlook.- Oil and the Economy.- Reserves vs. Resources.- Depletion.- Paleoresources and Protoresources.- Commodity Gambling Dens.- 5 Energy.- Minor Energy Sources.- 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.- 7 Mineral Production Technology.- Mining or Extracting.- Beneficiation.- Refining.- Gaseous Diffusion.- 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.- II.- Abbreviations and Measures.- 9 METALS.- Aluminum.- Antimony.- Chromium.- Cobalt.- Copper.- Gold.- Iron.- Lead.- Magnesium.- Manganese.- Molybdenum.- Nickel.- Platinum.- Silver.- Tin.- Titanium.- Tungsten.- Uranium.- Vanadium.- Zinc.- Zirconium.- 10 Non-Metals.- Aggregate.- Asbestos.- Barite.- Borates (Boron).- Clay.- Diamond.- Fluorspar.- Graphite.- Gypsum/Anhydrite.- Magnesite.- Phosphate.- Portland Cement.- Potash.- Salt.- Silica (Quartz).- Sulphur.- Trona.- Gemstones.- Annotated Bibliography.