[...]... them N Arndt and C Ganino, Metals and Society: an Introduction to Economic Geology, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-22996-1_2, # Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2012 19 20 2 Classification, Distribution and Uses of Ores and Ore Deposits Table 2.1 Metals, useful minerals and their ores Class Element Mineral Ferrous metals Iron (Fe) Manganese (Mn) Chromium (Cr) Nickel (Ni) Aluminium Base metals Precious metals Molybdinum(Mo)... rose sharply to about $9,000 per ton Over the same period, the total amount of copper mined gradually increased, except in the early 1920s and 1930s when both price and production dropped Figure 1.2 shows that other metals followed similar trends How do we explain these changes, and what do they tell us about how the metal is found and mined, and about how it is used by society? Understanding these... Arndt and C Ganino, Metals and Society: an Introduction to Economic Geology, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-22996-1_1, # Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2012 1 2 1 Introduction 18 Production (x 100000 tonnes/yr) Grade (%) Recession 8 Depression 10 War 12 Recession Post-war growth 14 China effect Price ($US/tonne(/100) 16 War 6 4 2 0 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 Year Fig 1.1 Evolution in the price and production... operation To be able to follow such a discussion requires at least a basic knowledge of the commercial aspects of mining operations and of world trade in mineral products Our aim in this book is to provide basic information about the scientific issues related to the nature and origin of ore deposits, to explain how, where and why metals and mineral products are used in our modern society, and to illustrate... ideas lead us to examine several notions and definitions that are fundamental to economic geology Box 1.1 Consider the Following Statements and Discuss What They Tell Us About Economic Geology and the Mining Industry, as Perceived by the General Public 1 In the 1990s a Japanese scientist developed a new type of catalytic converter in which manganese replaced platinum Why is this discovery important? 2 English... well taken into account by Meadows and co-authors is the impact of improvements in technology, which has allowed even low-grade deposits to be mined efficiently, and the metals and other mineral products to be extracted economically Later chapters provide striking examples of the evolution of mining and extraction technologies A fundamental difference between the long-term production of metals and energy... Supply risk What Is an Ore Deposit? An ore deposit is defined as an accumulation of a useful commodity that is present in high-enough concentration and in sufficient quantity to be extractable at a profit In this definition as well we find the terms useful commodity and profit: the definition is both geological and economic To understand these ideas, consider the following exercise 12 1 Introduction Box 1.4... the past 5 years The economic miracles in China and to a lesser extent in India have boosted the industrial and societal demands of two billion people To construct the cell phones, cooking pans and power stations that 1.1 What Is Economic Geology? 3 Fig 1.2 (a) Evolution of production of selected metals since the mid-nineteenth century, (b) evolution of ore grades for the same metals (Modified from... basis of economic geology To explain these trends – the broad correlation between price and grade, the anticorrelation between price and production, and the periods that bucked the trend in the 1930s and in the past few years – we first consider the declining prices Why was the price of copper in the year 2000 only 30% of the price at the start of the previous century? The more important, and apparently... price rose drastically and this led to a search for substitutes; electric lighting replaced oil lamps, and oil from the jojoba plant was used as a lubricant The demand for the product diminished, in part a consequence of social pressure to ban or restrict whaling Now, as stocks of sperm whale slowly rebuild, not even Japanese whalers talk of hunting them Box 1.2 Peak Spermaceti and Peak Oil We have drawn . class="bi x0 y0 w0 h0" alt="" Metals and Society: an Introduction to Economic Geology . Nicholas Arndt l Cle ´ ment Ganino Metals and Society: an Introduction to Economic Geology Nicholas Arndt University. according to the economic rule of supply and demand, have led to a price increase. Yet, from the start of the century, the opposite has happened. Why? N. Arndt and C. Ganino, Metals and Society: an Introduction. related to the nature and origin of ore deposits, to explain how, where and why metals and mineral products are used in our modern society, and to illustrate the extent to which society cannot function