Is There a Global Exhaustion of Mineral Resources?

Environmentally Friendly Solutions and In Place Mining to Extract Precious Metals

There have been many talks that mineral resources will be depleted in the next few decades. However, a team of scientists from around the world has demonstrated that this is inaccurate, and most mineral commodities’ resources are sufficient to fulfill the increased demand from future demographic shifts. 

On the other hand, industrial and economic exploitation can cause future metal shortages rather than the physical exhaustion of different metals.

Understanding Reserves and Resources

It takes a lot of research, analysis, and numerical and economic evaluations to define reserves. 

How did the insight on shortage come to be? Most mineral commodities have a life expectancy of up to forty years and have remained reasonably stable over decades. When the numbers are used to anticipate the quantity of money available, the possibility of a shortage is usually mentioned. 

However, this form of computation is blatantly incorrect because it ignores the amount of metal in lower-grade deposits unaccounted for.

Mining deposits have been identified at the surface or in the crust’s uppermost 300 meters, but we know that resources exist at deeper depths as well. This indicated that existing mineral resources have yet to be identified and are not included in the statistics. 

Canada’s Mining Sector

Canada is a big country with a wealth of mineral resources. More than sixty minerals and metals worth $41 billion were extracted from 200 mines and 7,000 quarries solely in 2016.

The country also ranks in the following:

  • Sodium phosphate (1st)
  • Uranium and niobium (2nd)
  • Nickel, cobalt, aluminum, and platinum (3rd)
  • Gold and diamonds (5th)

Mineral exploration businesses put a lot of money into finding new resources and moving forward with mineral development projects. Their research focuses on “conventional” minerals and metals (copper, gold, nickel, and so on) and rare earth elements. 

Environmental consultants, community consultation advisers, and drilling contractors are only a few of the experts and equipment suppliers available in Canada for these exploration efforts. There are more than 700 exploration and mining businesses in British Columbia alone.

Possessing a strong, well-earned reputation as a premier mining nation, Canada has a long and successful history of sustainable resource development. It was given the Best Country Award in 2016 for its international leadership in governance.

Conclusion 

The country’s leadership in mineral resource governance and sustainable development has contributed to creating a global “Canada Brand.” The brand has been built on social responsibility leadership and gives importance to partnerships with indigenous peoples, local community involvement, and environmental protection commitment. Canada’s mining sector aims to be driven by innovation and expertise in clean technology, mining services, and supply chains.

In fact, companies in Canada have proved their commitment to doing business responsibly by developing tools alongside relevant bodies. They include the Mining Association of Canada (MAC) and the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC).

Given this present situation, it will be no surprise if the country becomes more involved in adopting clean and ethical practices within the mining industry. Canadian practitioners and researchers prove that mineral resource exhaustion does not exist, constantly looking for ways to leverage technologies in pursuit of the mining sector’s growth. 

If you want to learn more about mineral extraction technology in Canada, check out Group 11 Technologies. We are committed to developing and applying environmentally and socially responsible mineral extraction. Collaborate with us!

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