Minerals Exploitation

Abstract

Minerals deposits only occur in fixed locations with specific geological features. They are a necessary input into construction activity, energy supply and industrial production. And they pose a problem for planning in terms of ensuring a continuous flow of essential resources while protecting local environments from the adverse effects of minerals exploitation. Yet planning often finds itself in a reactive and relatively powerless position when confronted by the economic dynamics of changing minerals production. This chapter explores these dynamics of minerals exploitation from the point of view of the alternative economic approaches.