The anticipated state of mining in the first half of 21th century

Abstract

The development and state of mining and availability of earth resources is also connected with the required state of the environment, human population, respecting the concept of the sustainable development, adopting new technologies and materials, globalization, the transfer of the capital in the form of investments, and with political and economic intentions of decision-taking countries and groups throughout the world.In the presented study I devote a minimum attention to the problem of energetic resources because such studies are numerous, easily available and well-known. Another reason is that the question of availability of fossil fuels is today especially a matter of politics. Therefore, the study is primarily directed toward the mining industry and availability of non-energetic resources.Basing on the development in the second half of the 20th century, we can expect that in the 21th the same mineral resources will be explored. Ceramic materials, glass, polymers, composite materials and laminates, which may decrease the demand for metals, will be certainly of a higher importance. The same metals however will be of use in new technologies and products. Commodities for which an increased demand can be expected with a high probability are:• light, strong materials such as magnesium, titanium, carbon filaments and materials of petrochemical industry. The volume of production of plastics should overcome that of metals at the beginning of the 21th century. The development of plastics is oriented toward regulating their durability or biological tolerance because of the environmental protection.• Zirconium, tantalum, rare-earth elements, pure quartz in high-tech applications• elements of platinum group• iron, aluminium, copper – steel is expected to persist as a dominant metal in the 21th century concerning the produced amount. A high consumption of aluminium and its alloys could also be predicted. Copper will increasingly be consumed in technologies for utilization of alternative sources of energy.• Concretes – the development of second generation (nonporous and homogeneous) with mechanical propertie comparable to these of aluminium alloys is assumed.In the second half of the 20th century, important changes in the world mining occured. Most European mining companies producing coal and metals dramatically restricted their activities. The reason were political and social changes in the Europe leading to the increase of expenses for the man work and protection of nature. The new environmental legislation complicated opening of new mines. The next important factor causing the depression of mining activities in Europe has been the introduction of the high-capacity marine transport capable to economically transfer goods from a continent to a continent.I am of the opinion that due to the lack of economically exploitable mineral raw materials, the Europe must adopt a solution, already realized in the second half of the 18th century, when important personalities of the mining research, education and industry were concentrated to speed up the development of new technologies and their introduction to the practice; qualitative step was achieved in the field of mining which became an industrial production. A similar step could also be attained at the present time when European mining is looked on as a source of many problems causing negative changes in the environment.Till now, the development of mining and processing technologies and equipments was made with the account of safety of peoples present in the process and of the economy. Presently, the environmental requirements must be meet primarily.According to me, Europe has four possibilities how to withstand the pressure of ecologists and to render the resources necessary for its sustainable development:1. The mining industry is global and does not depend on the place of its realization. The research and the work and business organization are essential. European research institutions may realize their research at the place of mining or universities.2. It is necessary to establish an European commission, e.g. from outstanding mining professors and research workers, which would be responsible for the coordination of the mining research and definition of future requirements of Europe for minerals.3. The European Community will provide finances for the prognosis and research of questions related to the saturation of European requirements for minerals.4. Considering the unfavourable state of the amount of earth reserves, the development in Europe will be immediately interconnected with that in Russia having a sufficient amount of reserves. If this requirement seems to be politically unacceptable, the development of relations between USA and Kazakhstan on the same base (the presence of crude oil in the area of the Caspian Sea) should be followed as an example.From technologies which might influence the mining of 21th century, I would like to mention:• New information technologies allowing to determine structures of new deposits and exploitable reserves in them on the base of modeling economic and mining activity• Technologies for reaching deeper deposits in the earth´s crust• Exploitation at the sea bottom and in the outer space• New methods of processing valuable components including mineral biotechnologies and technologies for the production of pure materials from primary and secondary resources.