Global mining industry. Mining industry: statistics

Man began the development of the natural resources of the planet in ancient times. That is why the mining industry is the oldest branch of the world economy. The extraction and processing of various minerals allowed a person to discover a new world of unlimited possibilities. Now this industry is the basis of all world production and brings the states the highest revenues to the budget.

A little about the main thing: description, features, characteristics

The global mining industry is a complex branch of the world economy, which is responsible for the extraction and enrichment various kinds mineral raw materials.

If we classify the industry by type of extracted minerals, we can distinguish the following areas:

• mining and processing of metals (in turn divided into non-ferrous and ferrous metallurgy);
• fuel industry (this includes all minerals that can serve as a source of energy: oil, gas, coal, oil shale);
• mining and processing of non-metallic mineral raw materials (also has many areas, for example, the chemical industry, mining building materials etc);

Despite the fact that this industry occupies a small percentage in the structure of the world economy (about 8%), the mining industry is the main source of income for many states. This is due to the fact that the distribution of minerals on the planet is not the same, which means that some countries have an excess of mineral raw materials, while others experience a significant shortage. Trade between states makes it possible to obtain the necessary raw materials for the development of the economy and meet the needs of the population, as well as replenish the state budget through the sale of excess minerals.

Despite its profitability, this industry is quite difficult to master. The path from the extraction of raw materials to its sale is very complicated and depends on many conditions, both economic and natural. The location of the mining industry is influenced by three main factors:

• Raw materials. The extraction and processing of mineral raw materials is accompanied by a huge amount of waste. So, for example, from several tens of tons of rock, you can get up to 5-10 kg of pure product. Thus, transportation of the rock to the place of processing will be a very costly and economically unprofitable procedure, and therefore all enterprises for the extraction, enrichment and processing of minerals are located directly near the deposits. This will avoid transport costs and significantly reduce the cost of the product.
• Economic. This factor is aimed at the ratio of invested capital for the development of the industry and the expected profit.
• Consumer. This factor is aimed at finding potential buyers who will be sold finished products. It is important to take into account that some types of raw materials are very difficult and costly to transport over long distances, which means that enterprises should be located directly closer to potential and real consumers.

All over the planet. Geography of industries

The geography of the mining industry is due to the uneven distribution of minerals on the Earth. The difference between the countries of the North and the South is especially noticeable:

• Nordic countries (states of North America and the northern part of Eurasia). These territories can almost completely satisfy their needs for raw materials, this also applies to mineral minerals and fuels.
• The southern countries are predominantly rich in one or two types of minerals (the exceptions are the countries of Africa and Australia). The island states are in a particularly bad situation, they often do not have any reserves of raw materials at all. Such countries are forced to meet their needs through trade.

Also, mining areas are classified according to the level of development of countries. For example, the highly developed countries of the world with stable and prosperous economies specialize in metal mining. And both black and rare and precious. Lead, chromium, molybdenum, zinc and, of course, gold stand out in particular.

Developing countries are doing well in the extraction of oil, tin, bauxite, copper and other minerals. It is noteworthy that after the "energy crisis" that shook Europe in the 1950s, many developed countries changed their policies for the extraction and development of their own deposits and switched to austerity. They fulfilled their needs at the expense of third world states, because they did not have the opportunity to develop their own bowels on their own. The attraction of foreign capital made it possible to begin the development of huge deposits of mineral raw materials, which in turn led to significant economic growth and the creation of new jobs.

Palm tree. Leading countries in resource extraction

The essence of the world economy is that there is no identical development of the same industry in different countries. The mining industry is no exception. While some states hold the palm in the extraction of a particular resource and even have the opportunity to export the surplus, others can only barely meet the needs of their country and are forced to buy the necessary raw materials.

Thus, 5 leaders have formed in the world, which extract about 70% of all the resources of our planet. Huge deposits of various minerals are concentrated on the territory of these countries (sometimes even the entire periodic table), but often the state specializes in only one or two types of raw materials. Also, production volumes do not depend on the territory, the country can be large and have many promising deposits, but the low level of the economy and undeveloped infrastructure do not allow them to start developing. But back to the leading countries:

• Australia;
• Canada;
• China;
• Russia.

As we can see, the first three countries are economically developed states, and the last two follow the path of post-socialism. In addition to the leaders, there are countries of the "second echelon", they have huge reserves of raw materials on their territory, but so far I do not have the opportunity to master them in full. However, they are diligently moving forward in this matter, mainly by attracting foreign capital and introducing private investment. These include Brazil, Kazakhstan, India, South Africa, Indonesia, Ukraine and Mexico.

Completing the list of leaders of the "third tier" countries, they can boast one, maximum two mining industries: Saudi Arabia, Chile, Kuwait, Morocco, Zambia, Jamaica, Peru, Guinea.

And now a detailed list of minerals and leading countries in the extraction of one or another type of raw material:

• Copper. The mining industry in Africa is based on this type of raw material, the largest deposits are concentrated in Zambia. Also leaders are Chile and Peru.
• Tin. Huge deposits of this metal are concentrated in Southeast Asia, Malaysia and Indonesia are in the lead. And in South America, Peru holds the lead.
• bauxites. The leaders in production are the Caribbean country of Jamaica and the African state of Guinea.
• Phosphorites. Most of the reserves are concentrated in Morocco, China, and also America.
• Oil. There should definitely be the Persian Gulf countries - Iran and Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela also entered the top three.
• Gas. Russia remains the absolute leader, but Iran and Qatar are in no way inferior to it.
• Potassium. America, as well as neighboring Canada, is the leader in the extraction of this valuable mineral raw material. Russia has fairly good reserves of potassium salts.

Order matters everywhere. Branches and structure of the mining industry

The mining industry has its own structure, so it is much easier to classify industries, depending on the type of raw material being mined. The fact is that each mineral is mined in a special and specific way, but some of them have similar stages, for example, at the stage of development or enrichment. This allows you to clearly distinguish between activities by type of raw material, which is a very important aspect in the training of qualified personnel, as well as the design and creation of special equipment.

Consider the main sectors of the mining industry:

• Fuel industry. This includes all types of raw materials, by burning which you can get the most valuable resource for humanity - energy. First of all, we are talking about oil and gas, because these are the best combustible minerals. More available species fuels are coal (both hard and brown), various types of shale and, of course, peat.
• Mining and chemical industry. Specializes in non-metallic raw materials. Basically, these are minerals that can be used as chemical or pharmaceutical raw materials. We are talking about such minerals as phosphorus, sulfur, arsenic, various types of salts, soda.
• Mining industry. The most difficult and expensive industry, it is engaged in the extraction of metals, both ferrous and non-ferrous.
• Extraction of building materials. Most often, waste from other industries is used as raw materials, but some types of minerals are developed independently. Basically, it is cement, shell rock, lime, basalt and all kinds of granite. The latter is used as a finishing material.
• Precious metals and stones, as well as the extraction of semi-precious minerals. This is the most elite branch of the mining industry. We are talking about diamonds, rubies, sapphires and other stones. From metals, naturally, gold, silver and, of course, platinum stand out.

Methods for the extraction of mineral raw materials. Industry technologies

Speaking about the mining industry of the world, one cannot fail to mention the main methods of extracting raw materials. The method of development depends on the type of deposit, as well as the technical capabilities of the country. Consider the most basic:

• If the fossil lies on the surface or in the uppermost layers of the earth's crust, then its extraction can be carried out in the simplest and cheapest way - open. To extract raw materials from the bowels, pits or quarries are formed that cover the entire area of ​​the deposit. Most often, building materials are mined this way, sometimes coal and iron.
• For the extraction of minerals located in the deeper layers of the crust, the mine method is used. Basically, this is the development of deposits of coal, rare metals and precious stones.
• If the mineral has a liquid or gaseous form, then mining is carried out through wells. Most often, this is the development of oil and gas reserves on the ocean shelves.
• Many rare or radioactive elements can only be obtained by electrolysis or leaching, such minerals include uranium.
• Many minerals are found in solution in marine or groundwater. In this way, it is possible to extract from water not only minerals such as iodine, rubidium, bromine, lithium, strontium, cesium, but also rare non-ferrous metals.

Now there is more active development of new types of extraction of minerals, for example, from sea water or from the bottom of the ocean. In the future, it is planned to extract minerals from extraterrestrial objects - on other planets, on satellites and asteroids, and even in outer space.

From extraction to processing. Mining enterprises

The peculiarity of this area of ​​industry is that in the places of occurrence of explored minerals, not only mining is carried out, but also whole line complex events. All work is as follows:

• assessment of the capacity and reserves of the deposit;
• collection of useful theoretical information, which is necessary for drawing up a detailed project of the field;
• organization of a special enterprise at the site of deposits;

Thus, depending on the type of development of the feedstock, mining enterprises can be as follows:

• mine - a classic method of underground mining;
• mine - usually quarries or pits (sometimes it is a complex of various enterprises under a single management;
• quarry - an enterprise where mining is carried out open way(if we are talking about coal, then the quarry is called a cut);
• mine - an enterprise specializing in the extraction of placer minerals (rare metals and stones);
• fishing - this is usually called a complex of oil and gas wells.

And now let's dwell separately on the largest and most developed sectors of the mining industry.

The oldest and most profitable branch of the industry is ferrous metallurgy

The unequivocal leader of the mining industry is ferrous metallurgy. Look around, because we are surrounded by a huge amount of metal. It is already impossible to imagine a world in which there is no iron. Buildings, transport, equipment, household items - this metal is found almost everywhere. Separately, I would like to single out the leaders of this mining industry:

• The largest basins are concentrated in Russia, Ukraine, as well as China and South Africa.
• Russia, Germany, Japan, Ukraine and China are leading in the production and export of ferrous metals.
• If we specifically consider the production of steel, then the first place is occupied by China and the union of the EU countries. But the largest corporation is located specifically in Luxembourg.

Valuable and rare. Metallurgy of non-ferrous metals

The second largest industry in the structure of the mining industry in the world. Let us dwell in more detail on the types of raw materials and countries that are leaders in extraction or processing:

• bauxites. All the largest deposits of raw materials for the aluminum industry are concentrated in South America, namely: Guinea, Brazil and Jamaica. Australia can also be singled out separately.
• Zinc. It is very rarely found in free form, most often it occurs as part of complex ores. Canada, the USA, Peru, India and China hold the lead in the smelting of this metal.
• Lead. It also comes as one of the components of polymetallic conglomerates. The leading countries in mining and smelting are America and China.
• Chile, Indonesia, Russia, the USA and Australia are involved in copper. You can also highlight Peru and China.
• Nickel is mined in New Caledonia and smelted in Indonesia, Australia, Russia and Canada.
• China is rich in tungsten (up to 70% of world volumes).
• Gold is mined and smelted by countries on all continents: South Africa, Canada, China, Russia, Peru, USA.

Energy is the basis of production. Oil and gas

Other valuable and important resources of the mining industry are oil and gas. At present, there is a strong struggle for the possession of these types of fuel. Oil prices significantly affect the exchange rates of different countries, the political situation in the world, and even the specifics of relations between countries. The absolute leaders in this industry are all the countries located in the Persian Gulf, but Saudi Arabia and Iraq are firmly entrenched at the top of the list.

As for gas, this resource forms the basis of the mining industry in Russia and Qatar, which means that these countries dictate their rules in the international arena for the sale and export of this fuel.

But on the other hand. The impact of the mining industry on the environment

Unfortunately, the development of the resources of our planet does not go unnoticed. The depletion of the Earth's interior causes irreparable damage to stability natural ecosystems. This is the main problem of the mining industry, which, although the leaders of the countries are trying, they still cannot finally solve. There is an active scientific and engineering activity, people are trying to come up with new ways of mining that could minimize the damage to the earth's crust. Search is ongoing alternative sources minerals and energy. But for now, all this is only possible in the future.

And at the moment, the mining industry is the main direction of the world economy, on which the economies of most countries of the world are based.

§ 3. Mining industry

Although the share of the mining industry in the world industrial production gradually decreasing (its share in the GMP is only 8%), it continues to have a very large impact on the international geographical division labor and geography world economy. It is the mining industry that is primarily associated with overcoming the territorial gap between the areas of production and areas of consumption, the formation of intercontinental cargo flows, and the development of new resource areas.

mining industry ensures the extraction of mineral fuel, ores of ferrous, non-ferrous, rare and precious metals, as well as non-metallic raw materials. The nomenclature of this industry includes dozens of types of fuel and raw materials. But it is based on the extraction of such fuels as oil, natural gas and coal, such types of ore raw materials as iron, manganese, copper, polymetallic, aluminum ores, such types of non-metallic raw materials as table, potash salts, phosphorites. In terms of production, coal, oil, and iron ore stand out, the world production of each of which exceeded 1 billion tons. Over 100 million tons of bauxites and phosphorites are mined, more than 10 million tons of manganese ores, and much less other types of ore raw materials. For example, global gold production in last years keeps at the level of 2.5 thousand tons.

Between the countries of the North and the South, the extraction of various types of mineral raw materials is distributed unequally.

The countries of the North fully or almost completely meet their needs in coal, natural gas, polymetals, uranium, a number of alloying metals, gold, platinum, and potash salts. Consequently, the cargo flows of these types of mineral raw materials are mainly within this group of countries. For example, the largest suppliers of uranium are Canada, Australia, potassium salts - Canada, Germany.

Iron ore is mined in 40 countries around the world. However, only a few of the countries shown in the figure play a decisive role. Among them, three main producers stand out - China, Brazil and Australia, which provide more than 2/3 of the entire world production. If we add India, Russia, Ukraine, the USA and South Africa to them, then these 8 leading countries will already account for 9/10 of the world production.

Brazil, Australia, India, South Africa are the main exporters of iron ore, and Western Europe, the USA, Japan are the importers. First of all, they are associated with the formation of stable marine “iron ore bridges”, which are clearly visible in Figure 41. In total, 900 million tons of iron ore per year, or 1/2 of its total production, enter world trade.

The second example of the dependence of the countries of the North on sources of raw materials located in the countries of the South is the extraction of bauxite. Of the top six bauxite-producing countries, which account for 4/5 of the world's production, five are in the South (see Table 31).

Since the content of the useful component (alumina) in the ore, which is 40-60%, bauxite differs little from iron ores, they are quite transportable, especially when transported by sea. transport. That is why bauxite-producing countries are primarily export oriented. The main flows of bauxite shipping are directed from Brazil, Jamaica, Guinea, Australia to the USA and Western Europe.

Table 31

Top six countries by bauxite mining, 2007

International geographic division labor in the mining industry led to the fact that 5 main "mining powers" were formed in the world, which account for more than 2/3 of the total production of raw materials and fuel. Three of them belong to the economically developed countries of the West - the USA, Canada, Australia, two - to the post-socialist countries - Russia and China. Along with this top five, one can also single out a kind of “second tier” of mining powers, which includes Brazil, India, South Africa, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, and Mexico. And the “third tier” is formed by countries that stand out for any one large mining sub-sector. For Saudi Arabia and Kuwait it is oil, for Chile, Peru and Zambia it is copper, for Guinea and Jamaica it is bauxite, for Morocco it is phosphorites, etc.

Maksakovskiy V.P., Petrova N.N., Physical and economic geography of the world. - M.: Iris-press, 2010. - 368 pp.: ill.

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a complex of industries involved in the extraction and enrichment of minerals. Until the mid 70s. developing countries were the main suppliers of mineral raw materials for Western countries. After the emergence of the energy and fuel crisis, Western countries began to focus on saving raw materials and their own mineral resources. Canada, Australia and South Africa have become major mining powers. However, the role of India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Zaire, Zambia, Morocco, Brazil, Chile, Venezuela remains very large. Among the producers and exporters of mineral raw materials are Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan.

Brief geographical dictionary. EdwART. 2008 .

Mining industry

a complex of industries involved in the extraction and enrichment of minerals. The industry includes: fuel, mining, chemical, mining, extraction of mineral technical raw materials and other types of non-metallic raw materials (diamonds, graphite, asbestos, mica, clay, building materials, etc.). Developments are carried out both open (quarries) and underground (mines). No country in the world has a complete set of all types of mineral raw materials. Only 20-25 countries have volumes exceeding 5% of the world's reserves of any one type of mineral. Among the main mining powers are the USA, Russia, China, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Brazil. In the system of the world economy, economically developed countries act in the main. consumers of raw materials, and developing ones extract and export mining products. However, some highly developed countries (for example, the USA, Canada, Australia) have large reserves and production, often being even world leaders in production. different kind raw materials. Nevertheless, in developed countries, the share of extractive industries in total industrial production in cf. is 2%, and in developing countries - 14% (in the oil-producing countries of the Middle and Middle East - approx. 40-50%).

Geography. Modern illustrated encyclopedia. - M.: Rosman. Under the editorship of prof. A. P. Gorkina. 2006 .

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World Mining Industry

This industry is the primary sector of production, because it extracts primary materials and energy resources, without which all other industries cannot exist. This section deals with the extraction of minerals, except for energy carriers. The mining industry includes the extraction not only of metal ores and other mineral raw materials, but also of the so-called inert materials, reaching a large scale in highly developed countries. Inert minerals are low in cost, but in volume they reach hundreds of millions of tons; in developed countries, in terms of total cost, the extraction of building stone can be compared with the extraction of gold, as happened in some years in the United States.
In fact, a diversified mining industry is the lot of highly developed countries, since in less developed countries most often there are only a few sub-sectors, and sometimes only mining. Against this background, Denmark, at first glance, completely devoid of minerals, is actually the largest producer of diatomite (loose and weakly cemented siliceous sedimentary rock, consisting mainly of diatom shells), widely used in construction, food and chemical industries, and kaolin, consumed only within the country, but nevertheless serving as the basis for the production of the famous Danish porcelain. And such imperceptible, at first glance, types of mountain raw materials can be found in several dozens, starting with limestone, the world production of which exceeds 3 billion tons, and ending with the so-called "filtering" clays.
The universal process of focusing on cheap labor also captured the mining industry. In the early 90s. In terms of the degree of development of the mining industry, China comes out on top, the mining industry of countries where labor costs are relatively lower is developing more and more. For example, Austria, for many years the main exporter of magnesite, has given way to Greece in the last decade. Along with the cheapness of labor, new mining regions, primarily in developed countries, play an increasing role. Thus, Australia acquired the most important importance in the world mining industry, in connection with the discovery of rich deposits of various minerals. An important place is occupied by Canada and South Africa; China and Brazil are gradually joining the Big Three. These five countries became the main ore pantries modern world. The concentration of the mining industry goes hand in hand with a sharp curtailment of traditional industries in the leading countries precisely because of the reorientation to rich overseas deposits and cheap labor. To a large extent, environmental protection measures also contribute to this. For example, the curtailment of the mining of mercury, which is very polluting, led to the loss of Spain's first place in the world; tourism won over the interests of the mining industry. Therefore, developed countries are shifting from their own resources, which are far from depleted, to the products of countries with cheaper labor or richer reserves.
The nature of the mining industry differs markedly depending on the scale of mining and the level of mining technology. As a rule, the largest and most technically equipped enterprises specialize in the extraction of iron ores, bauxites, copper ores, etc. On the other hand, there are many small enterprises (diggers, not mines), as a rule, in less developed countries. But in a number of cases, small enterprises remain due to insufficient reserves for such minerals as the extraction of precious stones (but not diamonds), mercury, mica, and rare metals. The artisanal form of mining is preserved in many countries. In general, the trend is such that an increasing share of production is gradually passing into the hands of large enterprises, gradually replacing the artisanal production, which usually began the development of the mining industry in many countries. Only in the countries of the “new colonization”, such as Canada, Australia and South Africa, did the mining industry immediately take on a large scale.
The largest mining enterprises have developed in the extraction of iron ores and bauxites, as well as potassium, table salt, inert materials and limestone. This group includes very large copper mines and quarries, mainly in the USA, where the metal is mined from a very low content of copper ore - 0.1% or even lower. But due to the huge size of the mines, such mining is also profitable, although new mines are being created on richer ores. Nevertheless, prices on the world market determine the "closing costs" of these enterprises. The unique gold mines of South Africa have approximately the same character, where "mountains" of quartz are extracted from vein deposits to the surface, which, of course, is much less profitable than the exploitation of alluvial deposits, on which the gold mining industry of Russia is based. With the scale of development that the giant deposits of South Africa allow, mining is profitable, as it is associated with a large scale of the enterprise (first place in the world, more than half of the world's gold and platinum production).
Most of the largest iron ore mining enterprises are focused on rich deposits or enrichment of ores to 60% iron content and above. Mines with a lower iron content in the ore either curtail their work, even if they are in relative proximity to the smelters, like the Lorraine Basin in France, or completely stop production, as the smelters switch to rich imported ore. The main suppliers of the world market are the iron ore basins of Australia and Brazil with an annual production of 75 million to 90 million tons of ore with an average iron content of 60-62%. The famous Misseybi basin in the Lake Superior region in the USA, where the US ferrous metallurgy has grown, now produces only about 30 million tons, while approximately the same amount of ore is imported from other countries - Brazil, Venezuela, Canada.
The Lorraine Basin in France, on the basis of which the metallurgy of not only France, but also the Saarland (Germany) arose, now produces about 10 million tons of ore, much more of it is imported to France from Africa from rich deposits. Of the old European deposits, Swedish deposits (12-15 million tons) withstand competition, while most other iron ore deposits in Western Europe have practically closed, and not always due to depletion of reserves, but due to unprofitable production. However, ore mining is growing at the deposits of the Kursk Magnetic Anomaly in Russia; Krivoy Rog remains the raw material base of Ukrainian metallurgy.
Approximately the same thing happened with the extraction of bauxite. The point is not only that a number of bauxite deposits in such traditional aluminum producing countries as France have already been depleted and had to switch to new sources of raw materials. Australian bauxite, both in terms of volume and price, is able to satisfy 50% of world demand. Large exporters - Guinea (20 million tons), Jamaica (45 million tons) and Brazil (10 million tons) together with Australia determine the situation on the world bauxite market. Own production of aluminum is established in Australia and Brazil. Jamaica mainly supplies the US aluminum industry, and Guinea - Western Europe. Australian bauxites are processed not only by factories in the Middle East for re-export to Japan, but also by factories in Russia and Western Europe.
Copper mining is carried out by two types of enterprises - on poor and rich ores. But in all major producing countries, copper mining is directly linked to on-site smelting. The two largest copper producers are Chile (about 2 million tons) and the USA (1.5 million tons), as well as Canada (700-800 thousand tons), Zambia, Zaire and Peru. Japan is still exploiting its deposits, importing mainly copper from Chile and Peru.
Own copper mining in Western Europe is very small. Most countries use imported copper.
A special situation has developed with nickel. In the West, a number of small and inefficient nickel production enterprises were closed. Thanks to the Norilsk (one of the largest in the world) and Pechenga nickel plants, Russia is able to have a significant impact on the nickel market, where Canada is the main producer. A major nickel exporter is New Caledonia, which supplies Western Europe and Japan.
Significant are the production of alloying metals - manganese, chromites, tungsten, molybdenum, etc.
Small scale mining is characteristic of the production of precious stones, except for diamonds, most of which are mined in large mines located in places of the so-called "explosion pipes", the scale of development of which is gigantic. But most of the precious stones are mined not even by mines, but by small developments, often semi-handicraft. Such "digging", grouped in the areas of occurrence of precious stones, create entire "mountainous areas" that provide not only a large total production, but also cause great harm to the environment. Such areas of "digging" are typical primarily for Brazil, as well as India, where mica was also mined in an artisanal way. There is a network of gold mines around the world, where it is mined in an artisanal way, not only in Africa or Central Asia, but also in developed countries.
Mining and chemical plants play a special role in the mining industry. They are created in the areas of occurrence of salt-bearing layers, since salt deposits, as a rule, include salts of different composition. Combines are, in fact, a transitional form that combines the primary stage of processing complex raw materials with their separation into different components to obtain a finished product. Such combines are characteristic of Germany; a similar complex arose on the basis of the Solikamsk deposit in our country. The largest producer of potash salts is Canada. Compared to Germany, its plants are less diversified and are clearly focused only on potash, in which Canada ranked first in the world - about 7 million tons (about 1/3 of world production); in second place are Russia and Belarus - 5.5 million tons (Solikamsk and Soligorsk), although until recently their total production was approaching 10 million tons. In third place is Germany, once the main producer of potash salts (about 3 million tons); a number of large mines of the former GDR could not stand the competition with Canada. The United States and Israel are also among the major producers, where mining is carried out to a large extent from natural brines (1.5 and 1.3 million tons). In Israel and Jordan, the use of the resources of the Dead Sea has begun.
Finally, a new important branch of the mining industry is the extraction of raw materials from sea water and from the bottom of the sea. First of all, this is offshore oil production, which has reached 25% of the total production. However, the extraction of ore minerals from the bottom of the sea is not yet large. Apparently, the shortage of minerals in the world market is not so great as to justify the systematic extraction from the seabed of all types of raw materials, except for oil and gas. There are only separate developments, for example, tin in the Indonesian region, zirconium sands in Australia, diamonds off the coast of South West Africa. Giant resources of nodules are located in deep water areas, their development has not yet left the experimental stage precisely because of the significant high cost of offshore production compared to land. The resources of the oceans are, of course, the future of mining in the world, since there are practically inexhaustible reserves of many types of raw materials.
The problem of world resources depends on the level of development of productive forces, on the possibility of obtaining cheap energy suitable for ennobling any raw material. Therefore, all the problems of supplying mankind with materials rest on the problem of energy - obtaining cheap and safe sources of energy.
Questions
1. Which sub-sector of the mining industry typically produces the most volumes?
2. What type of country is characterized by a diverse structure of the mining industry?
3. What is the ratio production factors affecting the placement of the industry?
4. What is the nature of shifts in the territorial structure of the industry?
5. What is the nature of combination in the industry?

Section 1. History of the mining industry.

mining industry is a set of industries engaged in exploration and production ( mining) minerals, as well as their primary processing and obtaining a semi-finished product (mining processing).

History of the mining industry

In the mining industry, the main groups are distinguished industries: mineral energy raw materials (petroleum industry, gas industry, coal industry, peat industry, oil shale industry, uranium industry, geothermal); ores of ferrous and alloying metals (iron ore industry, manganese ore industry, chromium industry, tungsten industry, molybdenum industry, vanadium industry); non-ferrous ores metals(aluminum industry, copper industry, nickel industry, tin industry, lead-zinc industry, antimony industry); mining and chemical industry (extraction of apatite, potash salts, nepheline, saltpeter, sulfur pyrites, boric ores, phosphate raw materials); non-metallic industrial raw materials and building materials - graphite, asbestos (asbestos industry), gypsum, clay, granite, dolomite, limestone, quartz, kaolin, marl, chalk, feldspar; precious and ornamental stones (diamond industry); hydromineral (mineral groundwater).

The development of the mining industry and its location industries are due to both natural (the presence in the bowels of sufficient mineral resources of the required quality), and socio-economic factors. In pre-socialist formations, the development of the mining industry was spontaneous. Mining industries began to take shape in the 16th-18th centuries. on the basis of the disintegration of medieval handicrafts, the transformation of miners-artisans into hired workers and the emergence of capitalist mining and mining and metallurgical manufactories. For individual branches of the mining industry this ended with the development of capitalist relations (late 18th century through the first half of the 19th century). The industrial revolution of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. served as an incentive to increase the extraction of mineral raw materials, which included until the 2nd half of the 19th century. only solid minerals. With the development of metallurgy, it increased for ore and for coke burning and the use of mineral fuel in the redistribution.

An even bigger purchaser hard coal was steam power. A large number of coal was required by rail transport. The demand for precious metals also increased. All this led to the rapid development of the relevant branches of the mining industry. The average annual world production of mining products increased in the 60s. 19th century to 225.3 million tons compared with the average annual production of 17.3 million tons for the first 20 years of the 19th century. During these years, the share of the coal industry accounted for 80-83% of all extracted products of the mining industry.

It occupied a leading position in the extraction of coal and other types of minerals. Between 1820 and 1850, England alone accounted for an average of about 65% of the world's coal and tin ore production, and about 50% of iron, copper, and lead ores. In 1860-70, the share of Europe continued to prevail in the extraction of coal, iron, manganese, lead and tin ores, phosphorites, and native sulfur. In the 70s. 19th century thanks to the rapid development of the countries of Central Europe and USA share of coal industry products Britain decreased to 52% of world coal production.

The use of mineral raw materials acquired a huge scale at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, during the transition of industrially developed capitalist countries to imperialism. The predominance of certain types of energy raw materials in the world capitalist economy caused fundamental changes in the structure of the world mining industry. In the 20th century, industrial and gas industries began to develop rapidly. In the mining industries, the concentration of production increases sharply, in the capitalist countries large mining monopolists are created. In 1893, the Rhenish-Westphalian coal syndicate was formed in the Republic of Germany, which in 1910 controlled 94.5% of Ruhr coal production. The mining industry quickly monopolized USA, whose share in world mining production increased from 2.4% at the beginning of the 19th century. up to 42% by the beginning of the 1st World War 1914-18. The expansion of demand for mineral raw materials in the face of increased competition led to an intensive search for new, cheaper sources.

Special attention monopolists The imperialist states were attracted by the mineral wealth of the colonial and dependent countries, where there were many untapped mineral reserves and cheap labor. As a result, in period, preceding the 1st World war(1900-13), there has been a tendency to reduce the share Europe in the extraction of traditional minerals. A significant role in this was played by the discovery and development of new deposits of manganese ores in India, phosphorites in North Africa (Algeria, Tunisia), non-ferrous ores metals in Latin America (Republic of Peru, Republic of Chile), the development of bauxite mining in USA and complex copper-nickel ores in Canada, bringing large deposits into operation sulfur on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.

Since the mid-1920s, at the first stage of the general crisis of capitalism, when the struggle between monopolists imperialist states for sources of raw materials and the most profitable areas for capital investment, there was a further decrease in Europe's share in the world production of iron ores and non-ferrous metal ores (, lead,), this region finally lost its role as the largest supplier of tin and phosphorites. At that time, the share of the United States in the extraction of cuprum ores (due to the development of the copper ore industry in African countries) and bauxite decreased as a result of the development of the American capital large deposits discovered in 1915 in Dutch Guiana (modern) and in 1917 in British Guiana (modern). The share of the countries of the flaming continent, Asia and Africa in the total production of the mining industry has significantly increased. South America getting big supplier black gold (mainly due to the development of rich deposits of the Lake Maracaibo basin in Venezuela), ores cuprum, lead and zinc. The specific gravity is increasing Asia in coal mining (expanding the exploitation of deposits in China, Japan, India), black gold(deposits of Indonesia, Iran and Iraq), iron ore (deposits India and China), lead ore (deposits of Burma), graphite (deposits of Korea). On the African continent, exploration work has begun and rich deposits of manganese ores are being developed on the Gold Coast (modern Ghana) and in the Union of South Africa (modern South Africa), extensive industrial development of diamond deposits is being carried out in the Congo and gold Bereg, development of new iron ore deposits in northern, western and southern Africa; deposits of uranium-radium ores were discovered in the Congo. The influence of the monopolists in the mining industry has increased even more. In the early 30s of the 20th century in the United States, one organization united 50% oil production, 4 organizations— 60% of iron ore mining, 6 companies — 90% of anthracite mining. AT Federal Republic of Germany 10 companies concentrated 45% of coal mining. Bauxite mining and aluminum production in the US and Canada were the monopolist of the largest aluminum association of enterprises "Aluminium Comp. of America" ​​("Alcoa"). AT England, Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and French production aluminum was monopolized by 85-90%, and almost all products belonged in each of these countries to one firms.

At the 2nd stage of the general crisis capitalism, which began in the late 30s - early 40s, there was a further intensification of inter-imperialist contradictions between the United States and Western Europe in the field of providing sources of mineral raw materials. During the 2nd World wars 1939-45 in countries whose territories were not covered by hostilities, there was an increase in the extraction of mineral raw materials (mainly due to the loading of reserve capacities and the involvement in the operation of lower-grade ores). After the war, mining in the leading capitalist states, especially the United States, began to decline. In 1948, signs of a rapidly growing economic crisis. Coal mining in the capitalist countries decreased by 12.5% ​​in 1948-49, continuing to decline in subsequent years.

In the coal industry, a part-time work week began to be used with a corresponding reduction in the wages of workers. In 1949, many US coal mines only worked 3 days a week. Production in other sectors of the mining industry also declined. Thus, the extraction of iron ore in the USA decreased by 16% in 1949 compared with 1948. 3rd stage of the general crisis capitalism was marked by the collapse of the colonial system, the struggle of developing countries to establish control over their own natural resources. Under the prevailing conditions, the industrially developed capitalist states were forced to change the tactics of exporting raw materials and fuel from the developing countries. They switched to forms of economic coercion, in particular through an extensive network of monopolistic business associations and their affiliates operating in developing countries.

A special place in this network was occupied by multinational corporations (MNCs), which created a kind of "non-colonial empire" of the international capital. They practically control the extraction, processing, and especially the international trade of many important minerals. American and Anglo-Dutch occupies key positions in the INC, Japanese organizations have also become a major depositor in the mining industry. As the structure of American, Japanese and British investments in developing countries shows, these are directed primarily to oil production, ores of non-ferrous metals, iron or in the development of those types of minerals whose reserves are limited. This creates the prerequisites for obtaining high profits, especially in the case of predatory exploitation of concession areas without taking into account the natural possibilities of deposits, as well as extremely low level deductions in favor of the true owners of the subsoil.

Foreign firms, interested in the export of certain types of raw materials and fuel, in every possible way hold back the industrial growth of developing countries. For many years they pursued a policy aimed at breaking the unified technological process production of ferrous and non-ferrous metals, oil products, chemical goods, concentrating enterprises for the production finished products in developed consumer countries. The entry of developing countries on the path of creating the foundations of an independent economy, expanding the positions of the public sector and limiting the scope of foreign capital as a result of nationalization and other measures enable these countries to more resolutely advocate for the establishment of a fair level of prices for minerals mined in their territories, for the revision of the terms of agreements with monopolists about exploitation natural resources. An example would be the activity oil exporting countries united in the company of black gold exporting countries, which in the early 70s. carried out a successful offensive against the positions of the oil cartel. The effectiveness of other organizations that unite commodity exporters from developing countries, in particular SIPEC (Intergovernmental Council of Exporting Countries cuprum) and IABS (International Bauxite Mining Countries).

The aggravation of the energy crisis, the main culprits of which were the oil monopolists, who sought through deliberate limitation supplies black gold to increase their profits, demonstrated the instability of the development of the leading capitalist countries, their inability to solve critical issues international economic relations. In their desire to replace sources of raw materials that are getting out of control in the territories of developing countries, as well as to exert political and economic pressure on these states, large monopolistic trust United States, countries of the European Economic Community and Japan at the present stage, they rely on the development of the fuel industry in Canada, Australia, South Africa, Greenland, Alaska, Northern Scandinavia, the North Sea, as well as in developing countries with the smallest scope of the national liberation movement, i.e. in areas with a "politically stable climate" where they can count on the security of their investment. Orientation towards the accelerated development of mining in Canada and australia led to the creation of a powerful mining industry in them, which increased the share of these countries in the total cost mining products of the capitalist world from 4.5% in 1950 to 7.1% in 1982, i.e. more than 1.5 times. At the same time, the share of these states in the extraction of minerals, excluding energy raw materials, amounted to in the early 80s. about 20%. The current structure of the production of the world mining industry is characterized by a clear predominance (in value terms) of fuel and energy raw materials.

Cumulative price products of the mining industry (excluding socialist countries) were distributed among individual types of mineral raw materials as follows (%): energy raw materials - 61.64, 13.44, coal 10.43, lignite 0.64, uranium 0.59; ores of ferrous and alloying metals - iron 2.18, molybdenum 0.27, manganese 0.16, tungsten 0.13, chromium 0.1; non-ferrous metal ores - copper 2.8, gold 1.78, tin 1.19, silver 0.43, lead 0.42, zinc 0.42, bauxite 0.42, nickel 0.32, platinum 0.18; non-metallic industrial raw materials - phosphorites 0.67, salt 0.52, potassium salt 0.4, asbestos 0.28, sulfur 0.27, kaolin 0.19, boron ore 0.12, talc 0.1, pyrites 0.05; gems- diamonds 0.47. On the listed species accounts for about 98-99% of the total cost of mined mineral raw materials, and the rest - only 1-2%, although many of them are of no small importance for the development of scientific and technological progress and new areas of technology. The cost of mineral raw materials mined in 1982 increased compared to 1950 at current prices by 20 times, at constant prices ( , 1978) - by 8 times, and the volume of production (tons) increased by the considered period almost 4 times. Thus, the average annual growth rate was determined at 4.5%, and in 1973-82 there was a decrease in this indicator to 1.7% per year. The extraction of the main types of mineral raw materials in 1950-78 is characterized by high growth rates of this indicator for non-metallic raw materials (% per year, in brackets - in 1973-78) - non-metallic minerals 5.3 (3.6), mineral energy raw materials 4.9 (2), metal ores 3.4 (0.1).

By the end of the 70s. the share of industrially developed capitalist countries in the total value of mining products in the capitalist world amounted to about 45%; their share in the production of energy raw materials in 1978 (%) - 41, incl. coal 94, lignite 96, natural gas 82, uranium 81, black gold 22. They accounted for about 63% of the extraction of metal ores, including over 99% of platinum group metals, 90-95% of ilmenite, rutile, zircon, gold, about 80% of manganese ore, about 70% lead, zinc, iron ores, 45-50% chromites, bauxites, ores of tungsten, cuprum, silver, about 70% of non-metallic raw materials. Developing countries are characterized by a high share in the extraction of ores tin(90%), black gold (about 80%), diamonds (about 70%), a number of non-ferrous and rare metals. Between 1950 and 1978 (tonnes) the output of the mining industry in these countries grew 7 times, and its value (billion dollars) grew 14.5 times; for energy raw materials, the increase was 8 and 19.5 times, respectively, and for other minerals, 2.5 and 3.8 times.

The development of the prevailing trends in the mining industry of the world (excluding the socialist countries) led to the fact that by the end of the 70s. the main producers of mineral raw materials became steel (in parentheses, the value of the output of the mining industry in 1978, bln. dollars): USA (73.9), (39.3), Iran(25.1), (14.7), England (12.3), Iraq (12), Libya (10.7), Republic of Venezuela (10.4), Germany (10), Nigeria (9.9) , Kuwait (9.8), Indonesia (9), South Africa (8.1), (7.4), Australia(7.3), UAE (7.2), Algeria (6.8), (6.4), France(2.8), (2.7). Among the leading producers of mineral energy raw materials are states in which production in 1978 amounted to billions of tons. dollars(share in brackets in world capitalist production,%): USA 65.1 (22.6), Saudi Arabia 39,3 (13,6), Iran 24.9 (8.6), Britain 12 (4.2), Iraq 12 (4.2), Libya 10.7 (3.7), Canada 10.3 (3.5), Republic of Venezuela 10.2 (3.5), Nigeria 9.9 (3.4), Kuwait 9.8 (3.43), Germany 9.4 (3.3), Indonesia 8.6 (3), United Arab Emirates 7, 2 (2.5), Algeria 6.7 (2.3). Among the countries that are large producers of non-energy minerals, the first 15 places (in the same indicators) are occupied by: USA 8.8 (20), South Africa 6.8 (15.4), Canada 4.4 (10), 3.1 (7) Republic of Chile 1,5 (3,4), 1,4 (3,2), Republic of Peru 1 (2,3), 1 (2,3), Mexico 0.9 (2), Zaire 0.9 (2), France 0.8 (1.8), Zambia 0.7 (1.6), Malaysia 0.7 (1.6), Morocco 0.6 (1.4), Germany 0.6 (1.4).

The uneven distribution of mining industries across individual continents and regions led to varying degrees of their self-sufficiency in mineral raw materials and fuel, as well as their processing products, and thus led to the development of an active international trade in this region. Thus, the group of industrially developed capitalist countries as a whole by the beginning of the 80s. ensured the satisfaction of its needs (%) in energy and other minerals by about 60; while the corresponding figures for Australia were 108 and 162, for South Africa 91 and 100, for the USA and Canada 78 and 78, for Japan 6 and 6, for Western European countries 41 and 40. Developing countries extract mineral raw material several times more than they consume: on average, for this group of states, the degree of self-sufficiency in energy raw materials, metal ores, and others was at the end of the 70s. (%): 294, 381 and 299, incl. for African countries 556, 878 and 589; Asia 396, 239 and 385; Latin America 112, 402 and 133. B international trade The products of the mining industry have the highest proportion of mineral energy raw materials (about 92% of the total value in 1981); metal ores and other raw materials account for 8%. The largest exporters of mineral raw materials in the world market the developing countries, which in 1981 accounted for 75% of world exports of these products (not including the socialist countries), including 77% of energy minerals, come forward.

Mineral raw materials rank 1st in terms of tonnage in world trade. More than 150 million tons of coal are exported annually (without the socialist countries) (the volume exporting constantly growing), about 300 million tons of iron ores, tens of millions of tons of bauxite and alumina, phosphate raw materials, several million tons of manganese ores, chromites and other metal raw materials, and the total volume of the annual exporting approaching 2.5 billion tons. Significant volumes of transportation of raw materials and fuel between countries required the creation of an appropriate cargo fleet, and above all tankers, the tonnage of which in 1981 was 346 million deadweight tons. In the 70s. the need for supertankers with a displacement of 150-200 thousand tons to 500 thousand tons and more increased. In the early 80s. increased demand on ships (with a displacement of 60-80 thousand tons) for the combined transportation of black gold, ore and other general cargo (ore-bulk-oil) - oil-ballers. The carrying capacity of special ships designed to transport ore (primarily iron ore) has increased to 180-250 thousand tons. The creation of a large-tonnage fleet, a large volume of transportation of mineral raw materials and fuel led to the construction of large specialized oil (several tens and hundreds of million tons) and ore ports (20-80 million tons). Along with the development of maritime transport, the role of pipeline transport, intended for the intracontinental supply of raw materials within one country and between countries, has sharply increased.

In terms of scale of production, the mining industry of the capitalist world is one of the largest branches of industry. Thus, in capitalist and developing countries, about 90% of the extraction of 22 types of the most important minerals, excluding fuel and energy raw materials, falls on enterprises processing more than 150 thousand tons of ore annually. In the capitalist world in 1984 there were 668 large mines (including 193 with a capacity of 150-300 thousand tons, 125 - 300-500 thousand tons, 150 - 500-1000 thousand tons, 132 - 1-3 million tons, 68 - over 3 million tons) and 525 quarries (including 68 with a capacity of 150-300 thousand tons, 60 - 300-500 thousand tons, 85 - 500-1000 thousand tons, 118 - 1-3 million tons, 194 - over 3 million tons). The largest number of the largest mining enterprises concentrated in Canada, the USA, South Africa - about 50% of all mines and quarries with an annual capacity of 1-3 million tons or more.

In the 80s. the development of the mining industry is associated with a predominant transition to open-pit mining of deposits of solid minerals. Of the 1200 largest mining enterprises in the world, about 530 mine ore deposits in an open way, about 670 underground.

The ever-increasing demand for minerals raw material leads to the use of increasingly poorer raw materials, an increase in the volume of processed rock mass, the depths of mountain works and others that require improvement in the methods of extraction and processing technology of raw materials. In the oil industry of the mining industry, the depth of operating oil productive wells (the total number is about 600,000) has increased to 5-6 km or more. In the USA alone, more than 10,000 exploratory wells with a total length of 18-20 million meters are drilled annually. At the same time, hundreds of wells are drilled to a depth of more than 5 km, and some - up to 8-9 km; the cost of sinking one deep or ultra-deep well several million dollars. The scale of construction of special drilling platforms and vessels for the production of geological exploration works and offshore oil and gas production. In order to increase the oil recovery factor, secondary, and in some cases, tertiary methods of oil production are widely used. Modern processes primary processing or enrichment of mineral metal and non-metallic raw materials made it possible to raise the level of enrichment enterprises to highly efficient production of marketable ore or concentrate. Every year the scale of active industrialization of the mining industry is expanding. The nature of the development of the mining industry and its relationship with other areas of the world economy affect the constant growth of costs mining, the intensity of their increase, on the one hand, is restrained by the development of technology and technology, on the other hand, it is intensified by the tightening of measures to protect the environment, the increasing limitation of new areas for prospecting for mineral deposits, and the increase in the energy intensity of production and the cost of energy. In this regard, the progress of the mining industry is mainly associated with both further development traditional methods extraction and primary processing of raw materials, which allow increasing the scale and degree of extraction, and with the introduction of fundamentally new technological schemes and technical solutions, for example, the creation of complexes for the development of ferromanganese nodules on the ocean floor, relatively inexpensive methods for extracting metals from sea waters, etc.

Mining industry is