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The main types of mineral fuels include oil, natural gas, coal and uranium. Typically, fuel resources are taken into account in two main categories - general geological and explored (reliable, confirmed) resources.
General geological oil reserves are estimated at 270-300 billion tons, but reliable ones are 156 billion tons.

The richest oil and gas basins are located in the basin Persian Gulf. The Near and Middle East region concentrates more than 2/3 of the world's reserves. This is also due to the fact that more than half of the world’s 30 known giant (unique) oil fields are located here. This category includes those deposits whose initial reserve estimates are more than 500 million tons. The Ghawar deposit (Saudi Arabia) is considered the largest in the world, the reserves of which are estimated at 12 billion tons.
Oil fields are known in more than 100 countries around the world, but the concentration of oil resources in the Persian Gulf has determined the top ten countries in terms of proven oil reserves.

Natural gas is distributed in nature in a free state - in the form of gas deposits and fields, as well as in the form of “gas caps” above oil fields (associated gas).
General geological reserves are estimated at 400 billion cubic meters, and explored reserves are approximately 175 billion cubic meters
Almost 1/3 of the world's proven reserves natural gas falls on Russia. Of the 20 giant deposits in the world (i.e. deposits with initial reserves of more than 1 trillion cubic meters), 9 are located in Russia. The largest is the Urengoy deposit, the reserves of which are estimated at 10.2 trillion cubic meters.

The country is the leader in natural gas reserves: Reserves trillion m³
Russia - 47.57, USA - 5.0, 2, Iran - 23.0, Algeria - 4.5, Qatar - 14.4, Saudi Arabia - 6.2, Venezuela - 4.52

Coal. About 4 thousand of its basins and deposits are known. In terms of proven reserves, large regions follow in this order: North America, foreign Asia, foreign Europe, CIS, Australia and Oceania, Latin America.
Top 5 countries by proven coal reserves (billion tons)
USA - 445, China - 296, Russia - 202, South Africa - 116, Australia - 116

Uranium is very widespread in earth's crust. However, it is profitable to develop those deposits that contain at least 0.1% uranium in the ore. According to the IAEA, proven reserves of such uranium amount to 2.3 million tons.
Australia ranks first in the world in terms of proven reserves. It is followed by Kazakhstan and Canada. About half of the world's uranium reserves are concentrated in these three states. In addition to them, the top ten includes (in descending order) South Africa, Brazil, Namibia, USA, Niger, Russia, Uzbekistan

Natural substances and types of energy that serve as means of subsistence human society and used on the farm are called .

One type of natural resource is mineral resources.

Mineral resources - these are rocks and minerals that are used or can be used in national economy: to obtain energy, in the form of raw materials, materials, etc. Mineral resources serve as the mineral resource base of the country's economy. Currently, more than 200 types of mineral resources are used in the economy.

The term is often synonymous with mineral resources "minerals".

There are several classifications of mineral resources.

Based on accounting physical properties allocate solid (various ores, coal, marble, granite, salts) mineral resources, liquid (oil, mineral water) and gaseous (flammable gases, helium, methane).

Based on their origin, mineral resources are divided into sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic.

Based on the scope of use of mineral resources, they distinguish between combustible (coal, peat, oil, natural gas, oil shale), ore (ore rocks, including metal useful components and non-metallic (graphite, asbestos) and non-metallic (or non-metallic, non-flammable: sand, clay, limestone, apatite, sulfur, potassium salts). Precious and ornamental stones are a separate group.

The distribution of mineral resources on our planet is subject to geological laws (Table 1).

Mineral resources of sedimentary origin are most characteristic of platforms, where they are found in the strata of the sedimentary cover, as well as in foothills and marginal troughs.

Igneous mineral resources are confined to folded areas and places where the crystalline basement of ancient platforms is exposed to the surface (or lies close to the surface). This is explained as follows. The ores were formed mainly from magma and hot aqueous solutions released from it. Typically, magma rises during periods of active tectonic movements, so ore minerals are associated with folded areas. On platform plains they are confined to the foundation, and therefore can be found in those parts of the platform where the thickness of the sedimentary cover is small and the foundation comes close to the surface or on shields.

Minerals on the World Map

Minerals on the map of Russia

Table 1. Distribution of deposits of main minerals by continents and parts of the world

They are primarily of sedimentary origin. fuel resources. They were formed from the remains of plants and animals, which could accumulate only in sufficiently moist and warm conditions, favorable for the abundant development of living organisms. This happened in the coastal parts of shallow seas and in lake-marsh land conditions. Of the total mineral fuel reserves, more than 60% is coal, about 12% is oil and 15% is natural gas, the rest is oil shale, peat and other types of fuel. Mineral fuel resources form large coal and oil and gas basins.

Coal Basin(coal-bearing basin) - a large area (thousands of km2) of continuous or discontinuous development of coal-bearing deposits (coal-bearing formation) with layers (deposits) of fossil coal.

Coal basins of the same geological age often form coal accumulation belts extending over thousands of kilometers.

On globe more than 3.6 thousand are known. coal basins, which together occupy 15% of the earth's land area.

More than 90% of all coal resources are located in the Northern Hemisphere - in Asia, North America, and Europe. Africa and Australia are well supplied with coal. The coal-poor continent is South America. Coal resources have been explored in almost 100 countries around the world. The majority of both total and proven coal reserves are concentrated in economically developed countries.

The largest countries in the world in terms of proven coal reserves are: USA, Russia, China, India, Australia, South Africa, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Poland, Brazil. Approximately 80% of the total geological coal reserves are found in only three countries - Russia, the USA, and China.

The qualitative composition of coals is of significant importance, in particular, the proportion of coking coals used in ferrous metallurgy. Their largest share is in the fields of Australia, Germany, Russia, Ukraine, the USA, India and China.

Oil and gas basin— an area of ​​continuous or island distribution of oil, gas or gas condensate fields, significant in size or mineral reserves.

Mineral deposit called a section of the earth's crust in which, as a result of certain geological processes There was an accumulation of mineral matter, in quantity, quality and conditions of occurrence, suitable for industrial use.

Oil and gas bearing More than 600 basins have been explored, 450 are being developed. The main reserves are located in the Northern Hemisphere, mainly in Mesozoic deposits. An important place belongs to the so-called giant fields with reserves of over 500 million tons and even over 1 billion tons of oil and 1 trillion m 3 of gas each. There are 50 such oil fields (more than half are in the countries of the Near and Middle East), 20 gas fields (such fields are most typical for the CIS countries). They contain over 70% of all reserves.

The bulk of oil and gas reserves are concentrated in a relatively small number of major basins.

Largest oil and gas basins: Persian Gulf, Maracaiba, Orinoco, Gulf of Mexico, Texas, Illinois, California, Western Canada, Alaska, North Sea, Volga-Ural, West Siberian, Datsin, Sumatra, Gulf of Guinea, Sahara.

More than half of the proven oil reserves are confined to offshore fields, the continental shelf zone, and sea coasts. Large accumulations of oil have been identified off the coast of Alaska, in the Gulf of Mexico, in the coastal areas of northern South America (the Maracaibo depression), in the North Sea (especially in the waters of the British and Norwegian sectors), as well as in the Barents, Bering and Caspian seas, off the western shores Africa (Guinea waterway), in the Persian Gulf, near the islands South-East Asia and in other places.

The countries in the world with the largest oil reserves are Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, UAE, Iran, Venezuela, Mexico, Libya, and the USA. Large reserves have also been discovered in Qatar, Bahrain, Ecuador, Algeria, Libya, Nigeria, Gabon, Indonesia, Brunei.

The supply of proven oil reserves with modern production is generally 45 years worldwide. The OPEC average is 85 years; in the USA it barely exceeds 10 years, in Russia - 20 years, in Saudi Arabia it is 90 years, in Kuwait and the UAE - about 140 years.

Countries leading in gas reserves in the world, are Russia, Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Large reserves have also been discovered in Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, USA, Canada, Mexico, Venezuela, Algeria, Libya, Norway, the Netherlands, Great Britain, China, Brunei, and Indonesia.

Supply of the world economy with natural gas at modern level its production is 71 years old.

An example of igneous mineral resources is metal ores. Metal ores include ores of iron, manganese, chromium, aluminum, lead and zinc, copper, tin, gold, platinum, nickel, tungsten, molybdenum, etc. They often form huge ore (metallogenic) belts - Alpine-Himalayan, Pacific etc. and serve as a raw material base for the mining industry of individual countries.

Iron ores serve as the main raw material for the production of ferrous metals. The average iron content in ore is 40%. Depending on the percentage of iron, ores are divided into rich and poor. Rich ores, with an iron content above 45%, are used without enrichment, and poor ores undergo preliminary enrichment.

By size of general geological iron ore resources The first place is occupied by the CIS countries, second by Foreign Asia, third and fourth by Africa and South America, fifth by North America.

Many developed and developing countries have iron ore resources. According to them total and confirmed reserves Russia, Ukraine, Brazil, China, Australia stand out. There are large reserves of iron ore in the USA, Canada, India, France, and Sweden. Large deposits are also located in the UK, Norway, Luxembourg, Venezuela, South Africa, Algeria, Liberia, Gabon, Angola, Mauritania, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan.

The supply of iron ore to the world economy at the current level of its production is 250 years.

In the production of ferrous metals great importance have alloying metals (manganese, chromium, nickel, cobalt, tungsten, molybdenum), used in steel smelting as special additives to improve the quality of the metal.

By reserves manganese ores South Africa, Australia, Gabon, Brazil, India, China, Kazakhstan stand out; nickel ores - Russia, Australia, New Caledonia (islands in Melanesia, southwestern part Pacific Ocean), Cuba, as well as Canada, Indonesia, the Philippines; chromites - South Africa, Zimbabwe; cobalt - DR Congo, Zambia, Australia, Philippines; tungsten and molybdenum - USA, Canada, South Korea, Australia.

Non-ferrous metals find wide application in modern industries. Non-ferrous ores, unlike ferrous ones, have a very low percentage useful elements in ore (often tenths and even hundredths of a percent).

Raw material base aluminum industry make up bauxite, nephelines, alunites, syenites. The main type of raw material is bauxite.

There are several bauxite-bearing provinces in the world:

• Mediterranean (France, Italy, Greece, Hungary, Romania, etc.);
• coast of the Gulf of Guinea (Guinea, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Cameroon);
• coast Caribbean Sea(Jamaica, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Guyana, Suriname);
• Australia.

Reserves are also available in the CIS countries and China.

Countries of the world with largest total and proven bauxite reserves: Guinea, Jamaica, Brazil, Australia, Russia. The supply of bauxite to the world economy at the current level of production (80 million tons) is 250 years.

The volumes of raw materials for the production of other non-ferrous metals (copper, polymetallic, tin and other ores) are more limited compared to the raw material base of the aluminum industry.

Reserves copper ores concentrated mainly in the countries of Asia (India, Indonesia, etc.), Africa (Zimbabwe, Zambia, DRC), North America (USA, Canada) and the CIS countries (Russia, Kazakhstan). Copper ore resources are also available in Latin America (Mexico, Panama, Peru, Chile), Europe (Germany, Poland, Yugoslavia), as well as in Australia and Oceania (Australia, Papua New Guinea). Leading in copper ore reserves Chile, USA, Canada, DR Congo, Zambia, Peru, Australia, Kazakhstan, China.

The world economy's supply of proven reserves of copper ore at the current volume of annual production is approximately 56 years.

By reserves polymetallic ores containing lead, zinc, as well as copper, tin, antimony, bismuth, cadmium, gold, silver, selenium, tellurium, sulfur, the leading positions in the world are occupied by the countries of North America (USA, Canada), Latin America (Mexico, Peru), as well as Australia. Countries have resources of polymetallic ores Western Europe(Ireland, Germany), Asia (China, Japan) and CIS countries (Kazakhstan, Russia).

Place of Birth zinc are available in 70 countries of the world; the supply of their reserves, taking into account the growing demand for this metal, is more than 40 years. Australia, Canada, the USA, Russia, Kazakhstan and China have the largest reserves. These countries account for more than 50% of the world's zinc ore reserves.

World deposits tin ores are found in Southeast Asia, mainly in China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. Other large deposits are located in South America(Bolivia, Peru, Brazil) and in Australia.

If we compare economically developed countries and developing countries in terms of their share of resources different types ore raw materials, it is obvious that the former have a sharp advantage in the resources of platinum, vanadium, chromites, gold, manganese, lead, zinc, tungsten, and the latter - in the resources of cobalt, bauxite, tin, nickel, copper.

Uranium ores form the basis of modern nuclear energy. Uranium is very widespread in the earth's crust. Potentially, its reserves are estimated at 10 million tons. However, it is economically profitable to develop only those deposits whose ores contain at least 0.1% uranium, and the production cost does not exceed $80 per 1 kg. The explored reserves of such uranium in the world amount to 1.4 million tons. They are located in Australia, Canada, the USA, South Africa, Niger, Brazil, Namibia, as well as in Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

Diamonds are usually formed at depths of 100-200 km, where the temperature reaches 1100-1300 ° C and the pressure 35-50 kilobars. Such conditions promote the metamorphosis of carbon into diamond. After spending billions of years at great depths, diamonds are brought to the surface by kimberlite magma during volcanic explosions, forming primary diamond deposits - kimberlite pipes. The first of these pipes was discovered in southern Africa in the Kimberley province, after which the pipes were called kimberlite, and the rock containing precious diamonds was called kimberlite. To date, thousands of kimberlite pipes have been found, but only a few dozen of them are profitable.

Currently, diamonds are mined from two types of deposits: primary (kimberlite and lamproite pipes) and secondary - placers. The bulk of diamond reserves, 68.8%, are concentrated in Africa, about 20% in Australia, 11.1% in South and North America; Asia accounts for only 0.3%. Diamond deposits have been discovered in South Africa, Brazil, India, Canada, Australia, Russia, Botswana, Angola, Sierra Lzona, Namibia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, etc. The leaders in diamond production are Botswana, Russia, Canada, South Africa, Angola, Namibia and others. DR Congo.

Non-metallic mineral resources- these are, first of all, mineral chemical raw materials (sulfur, phosphorites, potassium salts), as well as Construction Materials, refractory raw materials, graphite, etc. They are widespread, found both on platforms and in folded areas.

For example, in hot, dry conditions salt accumulation occurred in shallow seas and coastal lagoons.

Potassium salts used as raw materials for production mineral fertilizers. The largest deposits of potassium salts are located in Canada (Saskatchewan Basin), Russia (Solikamsk and Bereznyaki deposits in the Perm Territory), Belarus (Starobinskoye), Ukraine (Kalushskoye, Stebnikskoye), as well as in Germany, France, and the USA. At the current annual production of potassium salts, proven reserves will last for 70 years.

Sulfur It is used primarily to produce sulfuric acid, the vast majority of which is spent on the production of phosphate fertilizers, pesticides, as well as in the pulp and paper industry. IN agriculture sulfur is used to control pests. The USA, Mexico, Poland, France, Germany, Iran, Japan, Ukraine, and Turkmenistan have significant reserves of native sulfur.

The reserves of individual types of mineral raw materials are not the same. The demand for mineral resources is constantly growing, which means that the size of their production is growing. Mineral resources are exhaustible, non-renewable natural resources, therefore, despite the discovery and development of new deposits, the resource supply of mineral resources is declining.

Resource availability is the relationship between the amount of (explored) natural resources and the extent of their use. It is expressed either by the number of years for which a particular resource should last at a given level of consumption, or by its reserves per capita at current rates of extraction or use. The resource availability of mineral resources is determined by the number of years for which this mineral should last.

According to scientists' calculations, the world's general geological reserves of mineral fuel at the current level of production may last for more than 1000 years. However, if we take into account the reserves available for extraction, as well as the constant increase in consumption, this supply may decrease several times.

For economic use, the most advantageous are territorial combinations of mineral resources, which facilitate the complex processing of raw materials.

Only a few countries in the world have significant reserves of many types of mineral resources. Among them are Russia, USA, China.

Many states have deposits of one or more types of resources of global importance. For example, the countries of the Near and Middle East - oil and gas; Chile, Zaire, Zambia - copper, Morocco and Nauru - phosphorites, etc.

Rice. 1. Principles of rational environmental management

The rational use of resources is important - more complete processing of extracted minerals, their integrated use, etc. (Fig. 1).

Fuel and ore minerals determine the wealth of the state. These resources are always in demand, and large production volumes mean large incomes from exports. Fossil fuels include gas and oil. A variety of metals, including precious ones, are considered ore.

Where are the most such fossils?

Fuel and ore minerals are distributed unevenly over the Earth's surface. There are regions where their concentration is highest. There are also regions where there are practically no such minerals. The richest regions should be specified in more detail:

• Arctic waters hide huge reserves of oil and gas under their thickness. Not only the continental shelves are rich in them, but also the land areas adjacent to the ocean. For example, in the north of Russia and the Norwegian ocean area there is active mining of such minerals;
• a lot of oil is located off the coast of Alaska. It is mined by American companies. Large hydrocarbon deposits are found in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, which is located in the southern United States;
• The Middle East region is rich in oil. These are modern Arab states;
• ore minerals are concentrated in mountainous regions. So, Russians are rich in ore minerals Ural Mountains. Many minerals are mined in the mountainous parts of China and India.

Thus, hydrocarbons are concentrated in the eastern region and offshore continental shelves. Ore minerals are concentrated in mountainous areas planets.

What is the value of such minerals?

Fuel minerals are needed to create diesel fuel, gasoline, gas. Due to the specified materials, work is ensured manufacturing enterprises, apartments are heated, cars move. They are necessary to maintain the current level of development. Ore minerals are used for production steel products, electronics and so on. They are used to make railway rails, wire, angles and many other products. And precious metals are used to create jewelry.

The richest oil and gas basins are located in the Persian Gulf basin. The Near and Middle East region concentrates more than 2/3 of the world's reserves. This is also due to the fact that more than half of the world’s 30 known giant (unique) oil fields are located here. This category includes those deposits whose initial reserve estimates are more than 500 million tons. The Ghawar deposit (Saudi Arabia) is considered the largest in the world, the reserves of which are estimated at 12 billion tons.
Oil fields are known in more than 100 countries around the world, but the concentration of oil resources in the Persian Gulf has determined the top ten countries in terms of proven oil reserves.

Natural substances and types of energy that serve as the means of subsistence of human society and are used in the economy are called natural resources.

It is important to note that one type of natural resource is mineral resources.

Mineral resources -϶ᴛᴏ rocks and minerals that can be used or can be used in the national economy: to obtain energy, in the form of raw materials, materials, etc. Mineral resources serve as the mineral resource base of the country's economy. Today, more than 200 types of mineral resources can be used in the economy.

The term is often synonymous with mineral resources "minerals".

There are several classifications of mineral resources.

Based on physical properties, solid (various ores, coal, marble, granite, salts) mineral resources, liquid (oil, mineral waters) and gaseous (flammable gases, helium, methane) are distinguished.

Based on their origin, mineral resources are divided into sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic.

Based on the scope of use of mineral resources, they distinguish between combustible (coal, peat, oil, natural gas, oil shale), ore (rock ores, including metallic useful components and non-metallic (graphite, asbestos) and non-metallic (or non-metallic, non-combustible: sand, clay , limestone, apatite, sulfur, potassium salts) Precious and ornamental stones are a separate group.

The distribution of mineral resources on our planet is subject to geological laws (Table 1)

Mineral resources of sedimentary origin are most characteristic of platforms, where they are found in the strata of the sedimentary cover, as well as in foothills and marginal troughs.

Igneous mineral resources are confined to folded areas and places where the crystalline basement of ancient platforms is exposed to the surface (or lies close to the surface). This is explained as follows. The ores were formed mainly from magma and hot aqueous solutions released from it. Typically, the rise of magma occurs during a period of active tectonic movements, which is why ore minerals are associated with folded areas. On platform plains they are confined to the foundation, therefore they can be found in those parts of the platform where the thickness of the sedimentary cover is small and the foundation comes close to the surface or on shields.

It’s worth saying - minerals on the world map

It’s worth saying - minerals on the map of Russia

Table 1. Distribution of deposits of main minerals by continents and parts of the world

They are primarily of sedimentary origin. fuel resources. It is worth noting that they were formed from the remains of plants and animals, which could accumulate only in sufficiently humid and warm conditions favorable for the abundant development of living organisms. This happened in the coastal parts of shallow seas and in lake-marsh land conditions. Of the total mineral fuel reserves, more than 60% is coal, about 12% is oil and 15% is natural gas, the rest is oil shale, peat and other types of fuel. Mineral fuel resources form large coal and oil and gas basins.

Coal Basin(coal-bearing basin) - a large area (thousands of km2) of continuous or discontinuous development of coal-bearing deposits (coal-bearing formation) with layers (deposits) of fossil coal.

Coal basins of the same geological age often form coal accumulation belts extending over thousands of kilometers.

More than 3.6 thousand coal basins are known on the globe, which together occupy 15% of the earth's land area.

More than 90% of all coal resources are located in the Northern Hemisphere - in Asia, North America, and Europe. Africa and Australia are well supplied with coal. The coal-poor continent is South America. Coal resources have been explored in almost 100 countries around the world. It is important to know that the majority of both total and proven coal reserves are concentrated in economically developed countries.

The largest countries in the world in terms of proven coal reserves will be: USA, Russia, China, India, Australia, South Africa, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, it is worth mentioning - Poland, Brazil. Approximately 80% of the total geological coal reserves are found in only three countries - Russia, the USA, and China.

The qualitative composition of coals is of significant importance, in particular, the proportion of coking coals used in ferrous metallurgy. Their share is greatest in the fields of Australia, Germany, Russia, Ukraine, the USA, India and China.

Oil and gas basin— an area of ​​continuous or island distribution of oil, gas or gas condensate fields, significant in size or mineral reserves.

Mineral deposit is a section of the earth's crust in which, as a result of certain geological processes, an accumulation of mineral matter occurred, in quantity, quality and conditions of occurrence, suitable for industrial use.

Oil and gas bearing More than 600 basins have been explored, 450 are being developed.
It is worth noting that the main reserves are located in the Northern Hemisphere, mainly in Mesozoic deposits. We should not forget that an important place belongs to the so-called giant fields with reserves of over 500 million tons and even over 1 billion tons of oil and 1 trillion m 3 of gas each. There are 50 such oil fields (more than half are in the countries of the Near and Middle East), 20 gas fields (such fields are most typical for the CIS countries). It is worth noting that they contain over 70% of all reserves.

The bulk of oil and gas reserves are concentrated in a relatively small number of major basins.

Largest oil and gas basins: Persian Gulf, Maracaiba, Orinoco, Gulf of Mexico, Note that Texas, Illinois, California, Western Canada, Alaska, North Sea, Volga-Ural, West Siberian, Datsin, Sumatra, Gulf of Guinea, Sahara.

More than half of the proven oil reserves are confined to offshore fields, the continental shelf zone, and sea coasts. Large accumulations of oil have been identified off the coast of Alaska, in the Gulf of Mexico, in the coastal areas of northern South America (the Maracaibo depression), in the North Sea (especially in the waters of the British and Norwegian sectors), as well as in the Barents, Bering and Caspian seas, off the western shores Africa (Guinea), in the Persian Gulf, off the islands of Southeast Asia and in other places.

The countries in the world with the largest oil reserves are Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, UAE, Iran, Venezuela, Mexico, Libya, USA. Large reserves have also been discovered in Qatar, Bahrain, Ecuador, Algeria, Libya, Nigeria, Gabon, Indonesia, Brunei.

The availability of proven oil reserves with modern production is generally 45 years worldwide. The OPEC average is 85 years; in the USA it barely exceeds 10 years, in Russia - 20 years, in Saudi Arabia it is 90 years, in Kuwait and the UAE - about 140 years.

Countries leading in gas reserves in the world, — ϶ᴛᴏ Russia, Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Large reserves have also been discovered in Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, USA, Canada, Mexico, Venezuela, Algeria, Libya, Norway, the Netherlands, Great Britain, China, Brunei, and Indonesia.

The supply of natural gas to the world economy at the current level of its production is 71 years.

An example of igneous mineral resources is metal ores. Metal ores include ores of iron, manganese, chromium, aluminum, lead and zinc, copper, tin, gold, platinum, nickel, tungsten, molybdenum, etc. Quite often they form huge ore (metallogenic) belts - Alpine-Himalayan, Pacific, etc. and serve as a raw material base for the mining industry of individual countries.

Iron ores serve as the main raw material for the production of ferrous metals. The average iron content in the ore is 40%. Taking into account the dependence on the percentage of iron, ores are divided into rich and poor. Rich ores, with an iron content above 45%, can be used without enrichment, while poor ores undergo preliminary enrichment.

By size of general geological iron ore resources The first place is occupied by the CIS countries, second by Foreign Asia, third and fourth by Africa and South America, fifth by North America.

Many developed and developing countries have iron ore resources. According to them total and confirmed reserves Russia, Ukraine, Brazil, China, Australia stand out. There are large reserves of iron ore in the USA, Canada, India, France, and Sweden. Large deposits are also located in the UK, Norway, Luxembourg, Venezuela, South Africa, Algeria, Liberia, Gabon, Angola, Mauritania, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan.

The supply of iron ore to the world economy at the current level of its production is 250 years.

In the production of ferrous metals, alloying metals (manganese, chromium, nickel, cobalt, tungsten, molybdenum), used in steel smelting as special additives to improve the quality of the metal, are of great importance.

By reserves manganese ores South Africa, Australia, Gabon, Brazil, India, China, Kazakhstan stand out; nickel ores - Russia, Australia, New Caledonia (islands in Melanesia, southwest Pacific), Cuba, as well as Canada, Indonesia, the Philippines; chromites - South Africa, Zimbabwe; cobalt - DR Congo, Zambia, Australia, Philippines; tungsten and molybdenum - USA, Canada, South Korea, Australia.

Non-ferrous metals are widely used in modern industries. Non-ferrous ores, unlike ferrous ones, have a very low percentage of useful elements in the ore (often tenths and even hundredths of a percent)

Raw material base aluminum industry make up bauxite, nephelines, alunites, syenites. The main type of raw material is bauxite.

There are several bauxite-bearing provinces in the world:

• Mediterranean (France, Italy, Greece, Hungary, Romania, etc.);
• coast of the Gulf of Guinea (Guinea, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Cameroon);
• Caribbean coast (Jamaica, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Guyana, Suriname);
• Australia.

Reserves are also available in the CIS countries and China.

Countries of the world with largest total and proven bauxite reserves: Guinea, Jamaica, Brazil, Australia, Russia. The supply of bauxite to the world economy at the current level of production (80 million tons) is 250 years.

The volumes of raw materials for the production of other non-ferrous metals (copper, polymetallic, tin and other ores) are more limited compared to the raw material base of the aluminum industry.

Reserves copper ores concentrated mainly in the countries of Asia (India, Indonesia, etc.), Africa (Zimbabwe, Zambia, DRC), North America (USA, Canada) and the CIS countries (Russia, Kazakhstan) Copper ore resources are also available in Latin American countries (Mexico, Panama, Peru, Chile), Europe (Germany, It should be said - Poland, Yugoslavia), as well as in Australia and Oceania (Australia, Papua New Guinea) Leading in copper ore reserves Chile, USA, Canada, DR Congo, Zambia, Peru, Australia, Kazakhstan, China.

The world economy's supply of proven reserves of copper ore at the current volume of annual production is approximately 56 years.

By reserves polymetallic ores containing lead, zinc, as well as copper, tin, antimony, bismuth, cadmium, gold, silver, selenium, tellurium, sulfur, the leading positions in the world are occupied by the countries of North America (USA, Canada), Latin America (Mexico, Peru), as well as Australia. The countries of Western Europe (Ireland, Germany), Asia (China, Japan) and the CIS countries (Kazakhstan, Russia) have resources of polymetallic ores.

Place of Birth zinc are available in 70 countries of the world, the supply of their reserves, taking into account the growing demand for this metal, is more than 40 years. Australia, Canada, the USA, Russia, Kazakhstan and China have the largest reserves. These countries account for more than 50% of the world's zinc ore reserves.

World deposits tin ores are found in Southeast Asia, mainly in China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. Other large deposits are located in South America (Bolivia, Peru, Brazil) and Australia.

If we compare economically developed countries and developing countries in terms of their share in the resources of different types of ore raw materials, it is obvious that the former have a sharp advantage in the resources of platinum, vanadium, chromites, gold, manganese, lead, zinc, tungsten, and the latter - in resources cobalt, bauxite, tin, nickel, copper.

Uranium ores form the basis of modern nuclear energy. Uranium is very widespread in the earth's crust. Potentially, its reserves are estimated at 10 million tons. At the same time, it is economically profitable to develop only those deposits whose ores contain at least 0.1% uranium, and the production cost does not exceed $80 per 1 kg. The explored reserves of such uranium in the world amount to 1.4 million tons. It is worth noting that they are located in Australia, Canada, the USA, South Africa, Niger, Brazil, Namibia, as well as in Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

Diamonds are usually formed at depths of 100-200 km, where the temperature reaches 1100-1300 ° C and the pressure 35-50 kilobars. It must be remembered that such conditions contribute to the metamorphosis of carbon into diamond. After spending billions of years at great depths, diamonds are brought to the surface by kimberlite magma during volcanic explosions, forming primary diamond deposits - kimberlite pipes. The first of these pipes was discovered in southern Africa in the Kimberley province, named after the province, and the pipes began to be called kimberlite, and the rock containing precious diamonds was called kimberlite. To date, thousands of kimberlite pipes have been found, but only a few dozen of them will be profitable.

Today, diamonds are mined from two types of deposits: primary (kimberlite and lamproite pipes) and secondary - placers.
It is worth noting that the bulk of diamond reserves, 68.8%, are concentrated in Africa, about 20% in Australia, 11.1% in South and North America; Asia accounts for only 0.3%. Diamond deposits have been discovered in South Africa, Brazil, India, Canada, Australia, Russia, Botswana, Angola, Sierra Lzona, Namibia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, etc. The leaders in diamond production are Botswana, Russia, Canada, South Africa, Angola, Namibia and others. DR Congo.

Non-metallic mineral resources— ϶ᴛᴏ, first of all, mineral chemical raw materials (sulfur, phosphorites, potassium salts), as well as building materials, refractory raw materials, graphite, etc. It is worth noting that they are widespread, found both on platforms and in folded areas.

For example, in hot, dry conditions salt accumulation occurred in shallow seas and coastal lagoons.

Potassium salts can be used as raw material for the production of mineral fertilizers. The largest deposits of potassium salts are located in Canada (Saskatchewan Basin), Russia (Solikamsk and Bereznyaki deposits in the Perm Territory), Belarus (Starobinskoye), Ukraine (Kalushskoye, Stebnikskoye), as well as in Germany, France, and the USA. At the current annual production of potassium salts, proven reserves will last for 70 years.

Sulfur It is used primarily to produce sulfuric acid, the vast majority of which is spent on the production of phosphate fertilizers, pesticides, as well as in the pulp and paper industry. In agriculture, sulfur is used to control pests. The USA, Mexico have significant reserves of native sulfur. It is worth mentioning - Poland, France, Germany, Iran, Japan, Ukraine, Turkmenistan.

The reserves of individual types of mineral raw materials are not the same. The demand for mineral resources is constantly growing, which means that the size of their production is growing. Mineral resources are exhaustible, non-renewable natural resources, therefore, despite the discovery and development of new deposits, the availability of mineral resources is declining.

Resource availability— ϶ᴛᴏ the relationship between the amount of (explored) natural resources and the extent of their use. It is worth noting that it is expressed either by the number of years for which a particular resource should last at a given level of consumption, or by its reserves per capita at current rates of extraction or use. The resource availability of mineral resources is determined by the number of years for which a given mineral should be sufficient.

According to scientists' calculations, the world's general geological reserves of mineral fuel at the current level of production may last for more than 1000 years. Moreover, if we take into account the reserves available for extraction, as well as the constant increase in consumption, this supply may decrease several times.

For economic use, the most beneficial are territorial combinations of mineral resources, which facilitate the complex processing of raw materials.

Only a few countries in the world have significant reserves of many types of mineral resources. Among them are Russia, USA, China.

Many states have deposits of one or more types of resources of global importance. For example, the countries of the Near and Middle East - oil and gas; Chile, Zaire, Zambia - copper, Morocco and Nauru - phosphorites, etc.

Figure No. 1. Principles of rational environmental management

Do not forget that rational use of resources is important - more complete processing of extracted minerals, their integrated use, etc. (Fig. 1)

Mineral resources It is customary to call minerals extracted from the depths of the Earth. In modern farming, approximately 200 various types mineral fuels and raw materials. Their classifications may be different. The most widespread classification is based on the technical use of resources, which distinguishes fuel, metal, technical resources and building materials. Genetic classification is also used, which is based on age and characteristics of origin; in this case, resources of the Precambrian, Lower Paleozoic, Upper Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic are usually distinguished geological epochs. The world's mineral fuel and raw material resources are periodically assessed and revalued at sessions of the World Energy Council (formerly the World Energy Conference), mining, geological, oil, gas and other congresses.

Fuel resources traditionally attract the most attention. They are usually taken into account in two main categories - general geological And explored(reliable, proven, confirmed) resources. Within the Earth's landmass they are distributed rather unevenly. Thus, according to estimates at the end of the 1990s, the first and second places in terms of their reserves are shared between the CIS and Asian-Australian regions. North America is in third place, followed by the Near and Middle East, foreign Europe, Africa and Latin America. It is also natural that regions differ in the structure of their fuel resources. In general, in the world, coal accounts for 70–75% of all fuel resources (in fuel equivalent), and the rest is approximately equally distributed between oil and natural gas. At the same time, in Europe, for example, the share of coal is 90%, and in the Near and Middle East, on the contrary, 100% comes from oil and natural gas resources.

Coal is widespread in the earth's crust: more than 3.6 thousand of its basins and deposits are known, which together occupy 15% of the earth's land. Both total and proven coal reserves are much larger than oil and natural gas reserves. In 1984, at the XXVII session of the International Geological Congress, the total world coal resources were estimated at 14.8 trillion tons (including 9.4 trillion tons of hard coal and 5.4 trillion tons of brown coal), and in the second half of the 1990s . as a result various kinds revaluations and recalculations - 5.5 trillion tons (including 4.3 trillion tons of hard coal and 1.2 trillion tons of brown coal).

However, much more often in scientific and reference literature, and even in educational literature, they talk about proven reserves that are available for development under the existing technical and economic criteria for use. Back in 1984, they were estimated at 1.2 trillion tons, and at the beginning of 2004 - at approximately 1 trillion tons. Based on proven coal reserves, large regions follow in this order: North America, CIS, foreign Asia, foreign Europe, Australia and Oceania, Africa, Latin America. When determining the ranking of individual countries, data on proven reserves is also usually used. (Table 12).

An analysis of Table 12 shows, firstly, that the USA, China and Russia account for more than 1/2 of all the world's proven coal reserves, and, secondly, that among the top ten countries in terms of coal reserves, economically developed countries significantly predominate over developing ones.

In total, coal resources have been explored in 83 countries. The geological patterns of their distribution across the earth's landmass have been studied by many scientists. Back in 1937, Academician P.I. Stepanov established the minimums and maximums of coal accumulation associated with the characteristics of specific geological eras and their paleogeographical conditions. Then these calculations were refined several times. According to modern ideas, 47% of all coal resources come from Paleozoic sediments, 37% from Mesozoic sediments, and 16% from Cenozoic sediments. Including from individual geological periods the maximum coal accumulation occurred in the Permian, Carboniferous and Cretaceous, and to a lesser extent in the Jurassic, Neogene and Paleogene. In Europe, Carboniferous and Paleogene-Neogene coals sharply predominate, in Asia - Permian.

Table 12

TOP TEN COUNTRIES BY PROVEN COAL RESERVES

Table 13

DISTRIBUTION OF PROVEN OIL RESERVES AMONG LARGE REGIONS

Oil is even more common in the earth's crust than coal: geologists have identified approximately 600 oil and gas basins and examined about 400 of them. As a result, the territories that are actually promising for oil (and natural gas) occupy, according to various estimates, from 15 to 50 million km 2 . However, the world's oil resources are significantly smaller than coal resources.

This applies to general geological resources, estimates of which usually range from 250 to 500 billion tons. Sometimes, however, they rise to 800 billion tons, but in this case not only ordinary, but also the so-called heavy oil contained in tar sands is taken into account and oil shale, which has not yet been practically developed on an industrial scale. This applies to an even greater extent to explored (proven) oil reserves, although they show constant and fairly steady growth. By the beginning of 2007, the world's proven oil reserves amounted to 192.5 billion tons.

The distribution of proven oil reserves by major regions of the world is shown in Table 13.

This distribution (Table 13) it happened gradually. It changed more than once as the largest oil and gas basins opened in South-West Asia, North and West Africa, V overseas Europe(North Sea), in Latin America, as well as in the USSR (Volga-Ural, West Siberian) (rice. 0). But even among them, the richest oil and gas basins located in the province of the Persian Gulf basin, which includes the waters of this gulf and adjacent parts, took first place. Arabian Peninsula and the Iranian plateau. With proven reserves equal to almost 100 billion tons, this province alone concentrates more than 1/2 of the world's reserves, forming, as they sometimes say, the main pole of oil and gas potential of our entire planet. This is largely due to the fact that half of the world’s 30 known giant (unique) oil fields are located here, i.e. those that had initial reserves of more than 500 million and even over 1 billion tons (the largest of them are Gavar in Saudi Arabia, Agha Jhari in Iran and Al Burkan in Kuwait).

Although oil fields (50 thousand in total) are now known in 102 countries, the superconcentration of oil resources in the Persian Gulf province also determines the top ten countries in terms of proven oil reserves, the composition of which is shown in Table 14.

Since the late 80s. XX century in the world there is relatively new trend increase in proven oil reserves. It lies in the fact that the growth of these reserves now occurs not so much through the discovery of new oil and gas basins, but through additional drilling at existing fields. Examples of this kind include Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, and many other countries. Although, of course, new oil basins continue to be discovered in the world both on land and in offshore areas (the Caspian Sea and the Caspian Sea).

Natural gas is distributed in nature in a free state - in the form of gas deposits and fields, as well as in the form of “gas caps” above oil fields (associated gas). Gases from oil and coal deposits are also used.

Table 14

TOP TEN COUNTRIES BY PROVEN OIL RESERVES

Rice. 9. The largest oil and gas basins in the world

General geological natural gas resources in various sources estimates range from 300 trillion m3 to 600 trillion and above, but the most common estimate is 400 trillion m3. Explored (proven) reserves of natural gas by 2004 reached 175 trillion m3. Their distribution by major regions of the world and leading countries is shown in Tables 15 and 16.

Table 15

DISTRIBUTION OF PROVEN NATURAL GAS RESERVES AMONG LARGE REGIONS

Table 16

TOP TEN COUNTRIES BY PROVEN NATURAL GAS RESERVES

An analysis of Table 16 shows that 27% of the world's proven natural gas reserves are in Russia (its geological reserves are estimated at 215 trillion m3). Of the 20 giant gas fields in the world with initial reserves of more than 1 trillion m3, 9 are located in Russia. Among them, the world's largest Urengoyskoye, as well as Yamburgskoye, Bovanenkovskoye, Zapolyarnoye, Medvezhye and Kharasoveyskoye are located within the West Siberian oil and gas province (Table 1 7).

Table 17

THE LARGEST GAS FIELDS IN THE WORLD

* Offshore field.

** In development stage.

Uranium is very widespread in the earth's crust. However, it is economically profitable to develop only those deposits that contain at least 0.1% of the useful component: in this case, obtaining 1 kg of uranium concentrates costs less than $80. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in beginning of XXI V. explored (confirmed) uranium reserves available for extraction at this price were estimated at 3.3 million tons. They are concentrated in approximately 600 deposits in the territories of 44 countries.

Australia ranks first in the world in terms of proven uranium reserves. Kazakhstan follows with a slight margin. Third place belongs to Canada. These three states account for 1/2 of the world's uranium reserves. In addition to them, the top ten countries in terms of proven uranium reserves also include (in descending order) South Africa, Brazil, Namibia, Russia, Uzbekistan, the USA and Niger.

Metal (ore) resources are also widespread in the earth's crust. Unlike fuel deposits, which are always genetically associated with sedimentary deposits, ore deposits are found in deposits of both sedimentary and, to an even greater extent, crystalline origin. Geographically, they also often form entire ore accumulation belts, sometimes as gigantic as the Alpine-Himalayan or Pacific.

The most widely represented ores in the earth's crust are iron and aluminum.

General geological reserves of iron ore, according to various estimates, amount to about 350 billion tons, and explored ones - 150 billion tons. Although these reserves are known in almost 100 countries, the bulk of them are concentrated in relatively few of them (Table 18).

Table 18

TOP TEN COUNTRIES BY EXPLORED IRON ORE RESERVES

In addition to the countries included in Table 18, Canada, France, Venezuela, and Great Britain also have significant reserves of iron ore.

Bauxite is the main aluminum-containing raw material, consisting mainly of aluminum hydroxides. Their deposits are found in sedimentary rocks and are mostly associated with areas of the weathering crust, located within the tropical and subtropical climatic zones. The main bauxite-bearing provinces include the Mediterranean in Europe, Guinea in Africa, the Caribbean in Latin America and North Australia. General geological resources of bauxite are usually estimated at approximately 250 billion tons, and their proven reserves are 20–30 billion tons. The countries with the largest reserves of bauxite are: Guinea, Australia, Brazil, Jamaica, India, China, Guyana, Suriname. The alumina content in bauxite is approximately the same as the iron content in iron ores, so bauxite reserves, like iron ore reserves, are always estimated by the ore, and not by its useful component.

The situation is completely different with ores of other ferrous, non-ferrous and alloying metals. Since the metal content in them is usually very low (from 1 to 10% or less), their reserves are always estimated not by the ore, but by the metal contained in it. At the same time, the world's proven reserves of chromium and manganese ores amount to 5–6 billion tons, copper, zinc, lead – from 100 million to 600 million, and tin, tungsten, molybdenum, cobalt – from 1 million to 10 million tons.

Among nonmetallic minerals large sizes reserves include table and potassium salts, phosphorites, and sulfur.

Statistical sources allow us to compare the mineral resources potential of economically developed Western countries, developing countries and countries with economies in transition. Western countries hold first place in proven reserves of gold, manganese and chromium ores, as well as uranium, lead and zinc. The share of developing countries is particularly large in reserves of oil (more than 80%), bauxite (77%), tin and diamonds (60–65%), and copper (53%). Countries with economies in transition stand out for their large reserves of natural gas and iron ore (50%). All three groups of countries have reserves of nickel, molybdenum, and silver in approximately equal proportions.

Of the countries with economies in transition, Russia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine are the richest in mineral fuels and raw materials.

According to calculations by the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation, the potential gross value of Russian subsoil is currently estimated at 28 trillion dollars (of which natural gas accounts for 32%, coal - 23%, oil - 16%, and metal ores - 14%). It is undeniable that resource potential Russia is huge 1. However, its very spatial location - mainly in the territories east of the Urals - creates many difficulties due to extreme natural conditions, remoteness from the main areas of consumption of fuel and raw materials and sea ports. As a result, from 1/3 to 2/3 of all balance reserves turn out to be unprofitable in the market conditions of other countries.

1 According to the Ministry of Natural Resources Russian Federation, about 20 thousand mineral deposits have been discovered and explored in the country, of which 37% have been put into industrial development. Large and unique deposits (about 5% total number) contain almost 70% of proven reserves and provide 50% of mineral production. Russia's share in world oil reserves is 9-10%, natural gas - 27, coal - 16, iron - 37, lead - 10, zinc - 15, potassium salts - 31%. In terms of proven reserves of nickel, gold, silver, platinum group metals, diamonds, and some other minerals, Russia ranks first or third in the world. However, the quality of mineral ores in Russia as a whole is in many cases significantly inferior to foreign analogues.

In addition to balance reserves, Russia has large forecast resources.