Sustainability of Metallic Mining

Introduction

Metallic mining is a vital part of today’s civilization, where so many components of our everyday life put high demands on the natural resources. At current demand and consumption rates the sustainability of metallic minerals is unknown. The article “Assessing the long run availability of copper” and its response “On the sustainability of metal supplies” gives insight to matters that we as a society will be facing in the near future.

Summary

Paper 1

Tilton and Lagos make note that an increase in population at the current demand will inevitably lead to scarcity. In contrary, the opportunity-cost paradigm that is made apparent in the article states that copper could become conceivably less scarce in the future (Tilton, Lagos 2010). By neglecting the fixed-stock paradigm they suggest that the physical quantity of copper does not determine its future abundance Instead they support the notion that a sufficient increase in cost and price will eliminate demands.

Tilton and Lagos state that over the last 130 years there has been minimal fluctuation in the real copper price due to a constant battle between the cost increasing effects of depletion (remote sources, lower quality ore etc.) and cost reducing innovative technology, due to them more or less offsetting each other. This has allowed for high consumption and rapid depletion of copper minerals however as Tilton and Lagos point out that this favorable trend will not continue.

Paper 2

In response to Tilton and Lagos’s theories, the article “On the sustainability of metal supplies” investigates limits and possible trends rather then predictions. The author’s main point for argument is that sufficiency will eventually replace the economic norm. The article opposes Tilton...

... middle of paper ...

... No. 4228, Materials Issue (Feb. 20, 1976) , pp. 677-682

Published by: American Association for the Advancement of Science

Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1741483

Gordon R.B., Bertram M., Graedal T.E. (2007), “On the sustainability of metal supplies: A response to Titlton and Lagos”, Resources Policy, Vol 32 (1-2), June 2007, pp 24-28

Myers, N. (2005). Learning to say "enough". Science, 310(5755), 1771. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.lib.monash.edu.au/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA140996325&v=2.1&u=monash&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w&asid=316f2c470dfdbe9335b6076bfa312364

Taylor, Shelley E., Brown, Jonathan D. 1988, “Illusion and Well-Being: A social Psychological Perspective on Mental Health”, vol 103(2), March 1988, p 193–210, ISSN: 0033-2909

Tilton J.E., Lagos G. (2010), “Assessing the long-run availability of copper”, Resources Policy, 32 (1-2), pp. 677-682