Resource Extraction&

WasteENVS 001 Presentation

October 28, 2002Dr. Saleem H. Ali

Saleem.Ali@uvm.edu

Questions of Renewability

• How long does it take to naturally replenish a resource?

• How substitutable is the resource and what is the relative impact of substitutes?

• What is our “need” for the resource versus our “want” for it?

• Are there ways of overcoming the natural renewability of the resource?

Geological Mineral Resources

• Metallic Mineral Resources– Elemental material

• Nonmetallic Mineral Resources– Construction materials– Gems– Food and water

• Energy Mineral Resources– Coal, Gas, Oil, Uranium (also a metal)

Global Impact of MineralsMining in the Global Economy, 2000.

Indicator Mining’s Share(percent)

Value(number)

World GDP 0.9 $361 billion 1

Global employment 0.5 15 million workers 2

World energy use 7.2 – 10 4,900 – 6600 terawatt hours

World sulfur dioxide emissions 13 142 million tons 3

World’s frontier forests threatened 4 39 5.3 million square kilometers

World Mineral Production

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

7,000

8,000

9,000

10,000

1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995

million metric tons

Source: USGS

Construction and Industrial Minerals

Metals

World Mineral Prices

0

25

50

75

100

125

150

175

1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000

1990=100

Source: World Bank

Waste GenerationWastes Produced by Mining, Selected Metals, 2000

Metal Amount ofWaste Produced

(million tons)

Amount ofMetal Produced

(million tons)

Share ofOre that is Usable

Metal(percent)

Iron Ore 2,113 845 40Copper 1, 648 15 0.91Gold 745 0.0025 0.00033Lead 260 7 2.5

Aluminum 104 24 19

Primary Versus Recycling

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

35,000

40,000

45,000

50,000

Copper Aluminum Steel

kilowatt hours

Primary

Recycled

Global Gold Reserves

UNMINED RESERVES50,000 tons

JEWELRY65,000 tons

PRIVATE INVESTORS24,000 tonsSource: Lehman Brothers, USGS

FABRICATION31,000 tons

BANKS AND INSTITUTIONS31,000 tons

Importance of Minerals

Wants and Needs:Are Diamonds Forever?

RCRA (Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976)

• The solid waste program, Subtitle D, encourages states to develop comprehensive plans to manage nonhazardous industrial solid waste and municipal solid waste, sets criteria for municipal solid waste landfills (MSWLFs) and other solid waste disposal facilities, and prohibits the open dumping of solid waste.

• The hazardous waste program, Subtitle C, establishes a system for controlling hazardous waste from the time it is generated until its ultimate disposal– in effect, from cradle to grave.

• The underground storage tank (UST) program, RCRA Subtitle I, regulates underground tanks storing hazardous substances and petroleum products