The mineral resource base is the main wealth of Russia, on the solution of whose problems many issues of the economy and welfare of society depend. Russia meets its domestic needs for most types of raw materials and has significant export capabilities.
Minerals
Russia has the world's most powerful potential of mineral resources, occupying one of the first places on the planet in terms of explored reserves of the most important minerals. In particular, our country is one of the world leaders in reserves of such mineral resources as coal, iron ore, potassium salts and phosphorus raw materials. Here, Russia's share in world reserves is at least 30%. On a per capita basis, Russia's natural resource potential is 2-2.5 times greater than that of the United States.
Mineral raw materials extracted from the subsoil and their processed products provide 65-70% of Russia's foreign exchange earnings and account for 30-35% of its GDP. Oil and natural gas are the basis of the country's fuel and energy balance and raw material exports. There are oil and gas fields in 37 constituent entities of the Russian Federation. In terms of oil and gas reserves and their production, the West Siberian (50-75%) and Volga-Ural oil and gas provinces (including the Volga-Ural and Timan-Pechora oil and gas regions) stand out especially. The largest oil reserves are concentrated in the central part of Western Siberia (Samotlor, etc.), gas - in its northern regions ( New Urengoy, Yamburg, etc.). There are oil reserves on Sakhalin and in the Ciscaucasia. Proven oil reserves - 51.22 billion barrels (2002; almost 5% of world production, 7th place in the world), production - 7.286 million barrels per day (2001; almost 10% of world production, 3rd place in the world) world after Saudi Arabia and the USA). Proven reserves of natural gas - 47.86 trillion m3 (2002, almost 32% of world production, 1st place in the world), production - 580.8 billion m3 (2001, almost 23% of world production, 1st place in the world). Russia has unique coal resources of various types, which are estimated at 4 trillion tons, but most of them lie mainly in uninhabited areas of Siberia and the Far East. By reserves coal The Tunguska and Lena basins stand out. About 75% of Russian coal is mined in Siberia, with about 40% coming from the Kuznetsk basin (Kuzbass), which is famous for high-quality coal (balance sheet reserves - 114.3 million tons). In Siberia, production is also carried out in the Kansko-Achinsk, Cheremkhovo (Irkutsk region), South Yakutsk and some other, less significant basins. In the European part of the country, suppliers of hard coal are the eastern Donbass and the Pechora basin (Vorkuta, etc.). The Kansk-Achinsky, Lensky and Moscow region basins are distinguished by brown coal reserves.
Russia is one of the five world leaders in iron ore mining (along with China, Brazil, Australia and Ukraine). The world's largest iron ore deposits are located in the Kursk Magnetic Anomaly (KMA) region. Only three KMA iron ore mines provide more than 45% of the total volume of ore mined in Russia. Smaller iron ore deposits are scattered throughout the country: they are found on Kola Peninsula, in Karelia, the Urals, the Angara region, South Yakutia and other areas. More scarce (after the loss of Ukraine, Kazakhstan, etc.) minerals include manganese, chromium and uranium ores.
Security certain types colored and rare metals is currently assessed as stable. Non-ferrous and rare metals are contained in complex ores, their share in the total volume of ores is often insignificant, and when extracting them they are used complex technologies. Russia has reserves of various non-ferrous and rare metals. The Urals are distinguished by titanomagnetite ores and bauxites, which are also found in the north of the Russian Plain and in the mountains of southern Siberia. Copper ores were found in the North Caucasus, Middle and Southern Urals, V Eastern Siberia(Stanovoye Highlands). Copper-nickel ores are mined in the Norilsk ore region, which plays a special role in the country’s economy, and on the Kola Peninsula.
The main feature of Russian copper-nickel deposits is their enrichment in precious and platinum group metals, gold, silver and rare metals - selenium, tellurium. Deposits of lead-zinc ores are available in the North Caucasus, Transbaikalia and Far East, tin - in Yakutia, the Magadan region, Chukotka, Khabarovsk and Primorsky territories, tungsten and molybdenum - in the North Caucasus, Transbaikalia and the Far East.
Gold-bearing subsoil of Yakutia, Kolyma, Chukotka, mountains Southern Siberia. The Murmansk region is famous for its deposits of apatite-nepheline ores. Phosphorites are mined in a number of central regions European part of Russia and in the south Central Siberia. The country is also rich in sulfur, mica, asbestos, graphite, and various precious, semiprecious and ornamental stones. There are especially many of them in the Urals, Altai, Transbaikalia and the Kola Peninsula. Table salt mined in the Caspian region, the Urals, the Altai Territory and the Baikal region.
Diamond is the hardest of all natural materials. Diamonds vary in color, from colorless to dark gray. 80-85% of diamonds are mined from placers. In Russia, diamonds were first discovered in the Middle Urals, then in Yakutia and later in Arkhangelsk region. The most beautiful and valuable diamonds are kept in the Diamond Fund of Russia. Products made from precious and semi-precious stones are also stored there. The Urals are richest in them, where emeralds, malachites, jasper, aquamarines, rock crystal, alexandrite, topazes, and amethysts are found. Altai jasper, Sayan jade, and Baikal lapis lazuli are also known. Natural resources extracted from the depths of our country constitute important Russian exports. 30-40% of produced gas, more than 2/3 of oil, 90% of copper and tin, 65% of zinc, and almost all raw materials for the production of phosphate and potash fertilizers are sent abroad.
Russia's mineral resources are currently the main pillar of its struggling economy. Οʜᴎ are exported to the developed countries Europe, Japan, etc.
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and to rapidly developing China. Minerals are non-renewable natural resources. Reasonable use of mineral resources is achieved by reducing losses during their extraction and processing, more complete extraction of all useful components contained in them, integrated use resources.
Reserves natural resources are distributed very unevenly throughout the country, most of them are in Siberia, which is rightfully considered the main storehouse of the country. About a third of all mineral resources in Russia are located in Western Siberia, and about a quarter in Eastern Siberia. Most of the minerals are concentrated in the harshest, least developed zone, which is also remote from basic production facilities. For this reason, the main problem of developing Russia's mineral wealth is related to the high cost of their extraction and problems of transportation to consumers. It is no coincidence that minerals make up almost half of all goods transported by rail and water transport in the country.
Think about the phrase “minerals”. "Fossils" means we're talking about about something that is extracted from the bowels of the earth. It can be solid (for example, it can be a mineral), but it can be liquid and even gaseous. “Useful” means that we are talking about something necessary for people, something that brings benefits.
Everything seems to be clear. But there is a subtlety here associated with understanding what exactly appears to a person useful. Many centuries passed before our distant ancestors began to realize the usefulness of the stone picked up on the river bank and learned to process this find of theirs. Over the centuries, man's understanding of what a rich storehouse lies beneath his feet has grown. By and large, there are no “unuseful” minerals. In fact, everything that is in earth's crust, can be useful for humans. If not today, then in the future.
And here a very difficult problem arises. By extracting all kinds of minerals from the depths of the earth, people deplete these subsoils, disrupt the geological structure of the subsoil, and overload the earth's surface with both mineral processing products and waste generated during processing. It is clear that this environmental problem is becoming more and more aggravated as the extraction of minerals increases and the range of minerals that people include in the category of “useful” expands.
Fossil fuels
You can probably guess which fossils are classified as fuels. This peat, brown and hard coals, oil, natural gases, oil shale. However, the term “flammable” is not very appropriate. It suggests that these fossils are used only as fuel. Fuel for industrial enterprises, power plants, various engines, etc. This is true, but not the whole truth. So-called fossil fuels are widely used for many other purposes, especially in chemical industry. This is especially true for oil. It is often said that “to drown with oil is the same as to drown with banknotes.”
Peat, brown coals, and oil shale formed on the site of lakes, which over time turned first into swamps and then into plains (the so-called lake plains). The remains of plants and other organisms were deposited at the bottom of the lake over many years. All this gradually rotted and turned into the so-called sapropel.“Sapros” means “rotten” in Greek, and “pelos” means “dirt.” So sapropel is “dirt” from the rotted remains of living organisms. Gradually, as the lake turned into swamp, and the swamp into a lake plain, sapropels became peat bogs or turned into brown coals or oil shale. By the way, oil shale is also called sapropelites.
Let us note that the processes of formation of fossil fuels from sapropel are very complex processes that also require considerable time. Peat bogs, for example, take thousands of years to form. This, by the way, should be remembered by all lovers of swamp drainage. The first deposits of oil shale were formed in the Proterozoic - they are more than a billion years old. About 40% of all oil shale was formed during the Paleozoic era.
As for coal, almost all of its layers were formed 350-250 million years ago - in the Carboniferous and Permian periods Paleozoic In those days, the Earth was covered with lush thickets of giant tree ferns, mosses, and horsetails. The soil did not have time to “digest” all this woody mass. When the trees died, they fell into the water, were covered with sand and clay and did not decompose (rot), but gradually turned into coal. Take a piece of coal in your hands and imagine that in front of you is an “alien” from a time that ended approximately 300 million years ago.
The origin of coal, peat, and oil shale is quite well understood today. This, however, cannot be said about oil. About five thousand years ago, residents of the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates (where the states of Iraq and Kuwait are now located) noticed fountains of dark water erupting from the ground. oily liquid, which burned well. They named it "nafata", which means "erupting" in Arabic. And now millennia have passed, but there are still discussions about the origin of “nafata”.
There are two main hypotheses. According to one hypothesis, oil was formed organic by way, i.e. from the remains of plants and animals that lived many millions of years ago (similar to how peat, coal, and oil shale were formed). According to another hypothesis, oil has inorganic origin.
The organic hypothesis of the origin of oil was once put forward by the famous Russian scientist Mikhail Vasilievich Lomonosov(1711 - 1765). In his work “On the Layers of the Earth,” he wrote about oil: “This brown and black oily matter is expelled by underground heat from the preparing coals and appears in various crevices and cavities, dry and wet, filled with water...”.
In 1919, Russian academician Nikolai Dmitrievich Zelinsky(1861-1953) performed double distillation of sapropel taken from Lake Balkhash and obtained gasoline. Scientists have now found that organic compounds are in fact capable of turning into oil and that this happens best at temperatures of 100-200 "C. But these are precisely the temperatures that are characteristic of depths of 3-5 km, which are considered the main zone of oil formation. While depths with higher temperature belongs to the zone of formation of natural gases.
One of the variants of the inorganic hypothesis of the origin of oil assumes the formation of oil on great depths from igneous rocks. For the first time such an assumption was made in 1805 by a German naturalist. Alexander Humboldt. While traveling around South America he watched oil ooze from such rocks. In 1877, the famous Russian scientist Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev (1834-1907) spoke in favor of the mineral origin of oil in the depths of the earth. And today, some scientists continue to defend the “magmatic version” of the formation of oil at great depths in the earth’s mantle, where at sufficiently high temperatures carbon and hydrogen form various hydrocarbon compounds.
Disputes about the origin of oil continue to this day. It is suggested that there are different types oils of different origins.
Metal ores
Surely you've heard about ferrous metals And non-ferrous metals. I hope you understand that “ferrous metals” do not have to be black in color. This is the name of the metals used in the smelting of cast iron and steel. These are silver-white (not at all black!) iron, manganese, titanium, vanadium, and also bluish-gray chromium. And the so-called non-ferrous metals are silver-white aluminum, tin, nickel, silver, platinum, zinc, red copper, yellow gold, bluish gray lead and a number of other metals.
Most metals were formed in deep igneous rocks. They went up to earth's surface together with molten magma, which, when solidified, created hills and mountain ranges in the form of intrusive igneous rocks (mainly in the form of granites). Then natural influences (sun, water, air) destroyed the mountains, and metal deposits appeared in sedimentary rocks.
One should not think that when they talk about the formation of metals and their deposits, then we are certainly talking about metals in their pure, native form. Some metals, as you know, actually occur in this form. However, metals are extracted mainly from the corresponding metal ores. So deposits of metals are, as a rule, deposits of corresponding ores. No wonder metal mining is called mining production.
Among the ores gland need to mark magnetic iron ore (magnetite), red iron ore (hematite) And brown iron ore (limonite). Magnetite got its name due to its magnetic properties. This ore is the richest in iron (up to 70%). But hematite, the most common iron ore in the earth’s crust, is of greater importance for ferrous metallurgy. Her chemical composition: Its 2 0 3 plus impurities of manganese (up to 17%), aluminum (up to 14%), titanium (up to 11%). Large deposits of hematite are located in Ukraine in the Krivoy Rog region and in Russia in Kursk region(the so-called Kursk magnetic anomaly).
Aluminum obtained mainly from bauxite ores, which contain alumina, silica, iron oxides. Alumina is aluminum oxide (A1 2 0 3); its content in bauxite reaches 70%. In addition to bauxite, raw materials for the production of aluminum also serve nephelines - gray and reddish minerals of the silicate class (KMa 3 [A18Yu 4] 4) and alunites- minerals of the sulfate class (KA1 3 2). Alunite ores are used to produce not only aluminum, but also sulfuric acid, vanadium, and gallium. Let us also note kaolin- clay
white, raw material for the production of aluminum, porcelain, earthenware. It contains the mineral kaolinite (A1 4).
The most important copper ore - red-yellow chalcopyrite, or copper pyrite (CiGe8 2). To obtain copper, dark, copper-red is also used. bornite(Ci 5 Ge8 4). The main titanium ores are rutile(TYU 2) and ilmenite, or titanium iron ore (the name “iron ore” is explained by its chemical formula: HeTYu 3). Mined in limestone rocks lead ore galena, or lead sheen (Pb8). Next we note tin ore cassiterite, or tin stone (8p0 2), zinc ore sphalerite, or zinc blende (2p8), copper-red nickel ore nickel(SHAZ), red poisonous mercury ore cinnabar(H&8).
I hope you understand that all these names, and especially chemical formulas, do not need to be specially memorized. They are presented here, as they say, for the sake of completeness. In addition, it won’t hurt to gradually get used to chemical formulas. Moreover, if they are examined not in a chemical laboratory, but directly in nature.
Russia, among other countries in the world, occupies a leading place in mineral reserves. What minerals are mined in the depths of the country in this moment? Everyone knows that currently more than 20,000 deposits have been discovered on the territory of the Russian Federation. various types. The country has large deposits of coal, gold, aluminum raw materials, tin, platinum, tungsten, graphite, nickel and other types of minerals. In this article, we will look in detail at what mineral resources there are in Russia and their types. Of course, the predominant mineral resources are solid ones, which are located almost throughout the entire territory of the country. We will also take a detailed look at which minerals are combustible, as well as the most important strategic raw materials that provide energy for our country - coal, oil, natural gas and peat.
Liquid minerals
Many people are interested in what liquid minerals are available in Russia? Let's try to answer:
Oil
Everyone knows that the country ranks fifth in oil production. These resources are mainly concentrated in the northern and eastern regions of Russia, western Siberia, as well as in Arctic shelves. At the moment, no more than half of all discovered reserves are involved in development, starting from beginning of the XXI century. On average, exploited fields have a depleted reserve of no more than 45%. Oil deposits are mainly found in sedimentary rocks, ranging from the Vendian to the Neogene, as well as in Paleozoic and Mesozoic sediments.
At the moment, the main oil and gas provinces in Russia have been identified: the Volga-Ural, West Siberian, Caspian, Timan-Pechora, North Caucasus-Mangyshlak, Leno-Tungus, Okhotsk, Yenisei-Anabar, Leno-Vilyuy, as well as the Baltic, East Kamchatka and Anadyr oil and gas regions.
Ground, artesian and mineral waters
About 3,367 groundwater deposits are known on the territory of Russia. Of these, less than 50% are currently in operation.
Solid minerals
Coal
In terms of coal reserves, Russia is second only to the United States and China. Explored coal deposits have been established in Devonian and Pliocene deposits. The main coal basins are: Pechora, Kuznetsk, South Yakutsk and part of the Donetsk basin located in Russia.
In western Siberia, in the spurs of the Kuznetsk Alatau, there is one of the largest coal basins. It is the one that is currently the most used among all the others. Coal mining is also carried out in the Donetsk region in the southeast and northeast of the country, where the Donetsk and Pechersk coal basins are located.
The Central Siberian Plateau and Yakutia also have large reserves of coal, but due to the poor development of the territory and difficult natural and climatic conditions, they are practically not used, being considered promising. The most famous and largest deposit of brown coal is Kansko-Anachinskoye, which is located in the Krasnoyarsk Territory.
Peat
Approximately 46,000 peat deposits have been identified on the territory of Russia, of which the largest percentage, namely 76%, is located in the Asian part of the republic, and the rest in the European part. The largest reserves of this mineral are located in the northwestern regions of the country, as well as in Siberia and the Urals. The largest deposit is considered to be Vasyuganskoye, which is located in Western Siberia.
Iron ores
Many are interested in which mineral resources in Russia rank first in the world in terms of confirmed total reserves - this is iron ore - (264 billion tons). Deposits iron ore differ great depth occurrence, as well as enhanced strength and complex mineral composition, which contains 16-32% iron.
The deposits are mainly concentrated in the European part of the country. One of largest basins in the world it is considered to be the Kursk Magnetic Anomaly. Russian deposits are represented by all genetic types and are characterized by industrial content of titanium, iron and vanadium, as well as low content of phosphorus and sulfur. Igneous deposits are located in the Urals, Karelia, Gorny Altai, Transbaikalia and the eastern Sayan Mountains.
Gold
On given time Russia ranks fourth in the world in terms of gold reserves, sharing it with Canada. There are five large deposits in the country, as well as more than 200 primary and more than one hundred complex deposits. The bulk of the gold reserves are concentrated in the Far Eastern and East Siberian regions. Approximately 80% of reserves are located in ore deposits, and the rest is in placers.
Titanium ores
This type of minerals is divided into two main types: placer and bedrock. Primary deposits contain low titanium dioxide content, inferior to Norway and Canada. Ore is mined from ancient coastal marine rocks, as well as aluminum ilmenite placers. These deposits are located in the Urals, on the East European Platform, in Transbaikalia, as well as in eastern and western Siberia.
Silver
It is believed that Russia occupies a leading place in the world in terms of silver reserves. 73% of the deposits are concentrated in complex ores of gold and non-ferrous metals. Largest quantity Silver among complex deposits can be distinguished: Uzelskoye, Gaiskoye and Podolskoye deposits, where the silver content is measured from 10-30 grams. About 98% of the main silver reserves in Russia are located in the East Sikhote-Alin and Okhotsk-Chukotka volcanic belts, located on the territory of the republic. All deposits belong to volcano-hydrothermal formations and are post-matic.
Gaseous minerals
Natural gas
Russia ranks first in the world in natural gas reserves. The country has 867 fields with free gas reserves on its balance sheet. They are concentrated mainly in Siberia and Eastern regions of Russia. The largest gas fields are concentrated here, such as Uregoiskoye, Yamburgskoye, Balakhninskoye, Medvezhye, Kharasaveyskoye and others.
IN last years new natural gas fields were discovered on Russian territory, namely Shtokman, located on the shelf Barents Sea and the Leningradskoye gas condensate field, located on the Red Sea shelf.
Good afternoon, my reader. Today I will tell you about what the largest mineral deposits exist in the world and separately in our country. First, let me remind you what minerals are.
Minerals throughout the world are considered to be organic and mineral formations located in the earth's crust, the composition and properties of which can be effectively used in the national economy.
One of the types of natural resources are mineral resources - rocks and minerals used in mineral resource base world economy.
Today world economy uses over 200 types of ore, fuel, energy and mineral resources.
In the distant past, our Earth has experienced numerous natural disasters, one of which was volcanic eruptions. Hot magma from the crater of the volcano spread over the surface of our planet and then cooled, flowing into deep crevices, where it crystallized over time.
Magmatic activity was most evident in areas of seismically active zones, where over a long period of time the development of the earth's crust formed useful resources, which are distributed relatively evenly throughout the planet. The main continents for the distribution of raw materials are South and North America, Eurasia and Africa, Asia and Australia.
As is known, different metals different temperatures melting, and the composition and location of ore accumulations depend on temperature.
The location of these deposits had its own certain patterns, depending on geological features and weather factors:
- the time of the appearance of the earth,
- structure of the earth's crust,
- type and terrain,
- shape, size and geological structure territories,
- climatic conditions,
- atmospheric phenomena,
- water balance.
Mineral resource areas are characterized by a closed area of concentration of local mineral deposits and are called basins. They are characterized by common formations rocks, single process accumulation of sediments in a tectonic structure.
Large accumulations of minerals of industrial importance are called deposits, and closely located, closed groups of them are called basins.
Types of resources on our planet
The main resources on our planet are found on all continents - South and North America, Africa and Eurasia, Australia and Asia, are not evenly distributed and therefore different territories their set is different.
World industry annually requires more and more raw materials and energy, so geologists do not stop searching for new deposits for a minute, and scientists and industry specialists are developing modern technologies extraction and processing of extracted raw materials. 
This raw material is already mined not only, but also at the bottom of the seas and coastal oceans, in hard-to-reach areas of the earth and even in permafrost conditions.
The presence of proven reserves over time required specialists in this industry to record and classify them, so all minerals were divided according to their physical properties into: solid, liquid and gaseous.
Examples of solid minerals include marble and granite, coal and peat, as well as ores of various metals. Accordingly, liquid - mineral water and oil. As well as gaseous ones - methane and helium, as well as various gases.
According to their origin, all fossils were divided into sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic.
Igneous fossils are classified as places that are superficial or close to the surface of the outcrop of the crystalline foundation of platforms during the period of activity of tectonic processes.
Sedimentary fossils are formed over many centuries and millennia from the remains of ancient plants and animals, and are used primarily as fuel.
Fuel minerals form the largest oil, gas and coal basins. Metamorphic fossils are formed by alteration of sedimentary and igneous rocks due to changes in physicochemical conditions. 
By area of use: combustible, ore and non-metallic, where precious and ornamental stones were designated as a separate group.
Fossil fuels are natural gas and oil, coal and peat. Ore minerals are rocks containing metal components. Non-metallic minerals are rocks of substances that do not contain metals - limestone and clay, sulfur and sand, various salts and apatites.
Availability of general mineral reserves
For industrial development, not all explored mineral deposits could be extracted by humanity due to their unfavorable and inaccessible conditions, therefore, in the world ranking for the extraction of reserves of natural raw materials, each country is retaining its specific place.
Every year, mining engineers and geologists continue to identify new reserves of underground wealth, which is why the leading positions of individual states change from year to year.
So it is believed that Russia is the richest country in the world in terms of natural resource production, namely 1/3 of the world's natural gas reserves are located here.
The largest gas fields in Russia are Urengoyskoye and Yamburgskoye, which is why our country ranks first in the world ranking for this raw material. Russia is in second place in terms of tungsten reserves and production.
Our largest coal basins are located not only in the Urals, but also in Eastern Siberia, the Far East and Central Russia Therefore, Russia is in third place in the world ranking for coal. In fourth place - in gold, in seventh - in oil.
The main gas and oil fields on the continents are located in foothill troughs and depressions, but the world's largest deposits of this raw material are located on seabed continental shelf. So in Africa and Australia, large reserves of oil and gas were found in the shelf zone of the mainland coast.
Latin America has huge reserves of non-ferrous and rare metals, so this country ranks first in the world for this natural raw material. IN North America There are the largest coal basins, so these natural resources in terms of their reserves have brought this country to first place in the world. 
The Chinese platform, where fossil fuels such as oil and gas have been used for lighting and heating human homes since the 4th century BC, can be considered very promising in terms of oil reserves.
IN foreign Asia contains the richest variety of mineral resources, influenced by volcanic and seismic landforms, as well as activities permafrost, glaciers, wind and flowing waters.
Asia is famous all over the world for its reserves of precious and semi-precious stones, so this continent is very rich in a variety of minerals.
The tectonic structure in the history of the geological development of such a continent as Eurasia determined the diversity of the terrain, which is why it has the richest oil reserves in the world compared to other countries.
Large reserves of ore minerals in Eurasia are associated with the foundation of Mesozoic folding platforms.
In search of fuel and other raw materials, humanity is moving more and more confidently to where black gold and natural gas is produced at continental depths of over 3000 meters, because the bottom of this region of our planet has been little studied and definitely contains innumerable reserves of precious natural raw materials.
And that's all for today. I hope you liked my article about largest deposits minerals in Russia and in the world, and you learned a lot of useful things from it. Maybe you also had to engage in amateur mining of some of them, write about it in your comments, I will be interested in reading about it. Let me say goodbye to you and see you again.
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The topic "Geography of the world's natural resources" is one of the central ones in school course geography. What are natural resources? What types of them stand out, and how are they distributed across the planet? What factors determine geography? Read about this in the article.
What are natural resources?
The geography of the world's natural resources is extremely important for understanding the development of the world economy and the economies of individual states. This concept can be interpreted in different ways. In the broadest sense, this is the entire complex of natural benefits, necessary for a person. In the narrow sense of natural resources imply a set of goods natural origin, which can serve as sources for production.
Natural resources are not just used in economic activity. Without them, it is essentially impossible to exist. human society as such. One of the most important and current problems modern geographical science is the geography of world natural resources (grade 10 high school). Both geographers and economists study this issue.
Classification of the Earth's natural resources
The planet's natural resources are classified according to various criteria. Thus, they distinguish between exhaustible and inexhaustible resources, as well as partially renewable ones. According to the prospects for their use, natural resources are divided into industrial, agricultural, energy, recreational and tourist, etc.
According to genetic classification, natural resources include:
- mineral;
- land;
- aquatic;
- forest;
- biological (including resources of the World Ocean);
- energy;
- climatic;
- recreational.
Features of the planetary distribution of natural resources
What features does geography represent? How are they distributed across the planet?
It is immediately worth noting that the world's natural resources are distributed extremely unevenly between states. Thus, several countries (such as Russia, the USA or Australia) have been endowed by nature with wide range mineral. Others (for example, Japan or Moldova) have to be content with only two or three types of mineral raw materials.
As for consumption volumes, about 70% of the world's natural resources are used by the countries of the USA, Canada and Japan, where no more than nine percent of the world's population lives. And here is the group developing countries, which account for about 60% of the world's population, consume only 15% of the planet's natural resources.
The geography of the world's natural resources is uneven not only in relation to minerals. In terms of forest, land, and water resources, countries and continents also differ greatly from each other. So, most of The planet's fresh water is concentrated in the glaciers of Antarctica and Greenland - regions with minimal population. At the same time, dozens African states experiencing acute
Such an uneven geography of the world's natural resources forces many countries to solve the problem of their shortage different ways. Some do this by actively financing geological exploration activities, others are introducing the latest energy-saving technologies and minimizing the material consumption of their production.
World natural resources (mineral) and their distribution
Mineral raw materials are natural ingredients(substances) that are used by humans in production or to generate electricity. Mineral resources have important for the economy of any state. Our planet's crust contains about two hundred minerals. 160 of them are actively mined by humans. Depending on the method and scope of use, mineral resources are divided into several types:
Perhaps the most important mineral resource today is oil. It is rightly called “black gold”; wars were fought for it (and are fought to this day). major wars. Typically, oil occurs along with associated natural gas. The main regions for the extraction of these resources in the world are Alaska, Texas, the Middle East, and Mexico. Another fuel resource is coal (hard and brown). It is mined in many countries (more than 70).
Ore mineral resources include ferrous, non-ferrous and noble metals. Geological deposits of these minerals often have a clear connection to the zones of crystalline shields - protrusions of the platform foundations.
Non-metallic mineral resources have completely different uses. Thus, granite and asbestos are used in the construction industry, potassium salts - in the production of fertilizers, graphite - in nuclear energy, etc. The geography of the world's natural resources is presented in more detail below. The table includes a list of the most important and sought-after minerals.
Mineral resource | Leading countries in its production |
Saudi Arabia, Russia, China, USA, Iran |
|
Coal | USA, Russia, India, China, Australia |
Oil shale | China, USA, Estonia, Sweden, Germany |
Iron ore | Russia, China, Ukraine, Brazil, India |
Manganese ore | China, Australia, South Africa, Ukraine, Gabon |
Copper ores | Chile, USA, Peru, Zambia, DR Congo |
Uranium ores | Australia, Kazakhstan, Canada, Niger, Namibia |
Nickel ores | Canada, Russia, Australia, Philippines, New Caledonia |
Australia, Brazil, India, China, Guinea |
|
USA, South Africa, Canada, Russia, Australia |
|
South Africa, Australia, Russia, Namibia, Botswana |
|
Phosphorites | USA, Tunisia, Morocco, Senegal, Iraq |
France, Greece, Norway, Germany, Ukraine |
|
Potassium salt | Russia, Ukraine, Canada, Belarus, China |
Native sulfur | USA, Mexico, Iraq, Ukraine, Poland |
Land resources and their geography
Land resources are one of the most important resources of the planet and of any country in the world. This concept refers to the part of the Earth's surface suitable for life, construction and agriculture. The world land fund is about 13 billion hectares of area. It includes:
Different countries have different land resources. Some have vast expanses of free land at their disposal (Russia, Ukraine), while others experience an acute shortage of free space (Japan, Denmark). Agricultural land is extremely unevenly distributed: about 60% of the world's arable land is in Eurasia, while Australia has only 3%.
Water resources and their geography
Water is the most abundant and most important mineral on Earth. It was there that it was born earthly life, and it is water that is necessary for every living organism. Under water resources planets include all surface as well as underground water that is used by humans or can be used in the future. Fresh water is especially in demand. It is used in everyday life, in production and in the agricultural sector. The maximum reserves of fresh river flow fall in Asia and Latin America, and minimal ones - for Australia and Africa. Moreover, on one third of the world's landmass there is a problem with fresh water is particularly acute.
Among the richest countries in the world in terms of reserves fresh water includes Brazil, Russia, Canada, China and the USA. But the five countries least supplied with fresh water look like this: Kuwait, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Jordan.
Forest resources and their geography
Forests are often called the “lungs” of our planet. And completely justified. After all, they play an important climate-forming, water-protection, and recreational role. TO forest resources include forests themselves, as well as all of them useful qualities- protective, recreational, therapeutic, etc.
According to statistics, about 25% of the earth's land is covered by forests. The bulk of them are in the so-called “northern forest belt,” which includes countries such as Russia, Canada, the USA, Sweden, and Finland.
The table below shows the countries that are leaders in terms of forest cover in their territories:
Percentage of area covered by forests |
|
French Guiana | |
Mozambique | |
Biological resources of the planet
Biological resources are all plant and animal organisms that are used by humans in for various purposes. Floristic resources are more in demand in the modern world. There are about six thousand species on the planet cultivated plants. However, only one hundred of them are widely distributed throughout the world. In addition to cultivated plants, people actively breed livestock and poultry, use strains of bacteria in agriculture and industry.
Biological resources are classified as renewable. Nevertheless, with their modern, sometimes predatory and ill-considered use, some of them are threatened with destruction.
Geography of the world's natural resources: environmental problems
Modern environmental management is characterized by a number of serious environmental problems. Active mining of minerals not only pollutes the atmosphere and soil, but also significantly alters the surface of our planet, changing some landscapes beyond recognition.
What words are associated with modern geography of world natural resources? Pollution, depletion, destruction... Unfortunately, it's true. Thousands of hectares of ancient forests disappear from the face of our planet every year. Poaching is destroying rare and endangered species of animals. Heavy industry pollutes soils with metals and other harmful substances.
There is an urgent need to change the concept of human behavior at a global level. natural environment. Otherwise, the future of world civilization will not look very bright.
The phenomenon of the “resource curse”
“The paradox of abundance”, or “the curse of raw materials”, is the name of a phenomenon in economics that was first formulated in 1993 by Richard Auty. The essence of this phenomenon is as follows: states with significant natural resource potential, as a rule, are characterized by low economic growth and development. In turn, countries “poor” in natural resources achieve great economic success.
There are indeed a lot of examples confirming this conclusion in the modern world. People first started talking about the “resource curse” of countries back in the 80s of the last century. Some researchers already traced this trend in their works.
Economists identify several main reasons explaining this phenomenon:
- lack of desire on the part of the authorities to carry out effective and necessary reforms;
- development of corruption based on “easy money”;
- a decrease in the competitiveness of other sectors of the economy that are not so heavily dependent on natural resources.
Conclusion
The geography of the world's natural resources is extremely uneven. This applies to almost all of their types - mineral, energy, land, water, forest.
Some states own large reserves of mineral resources, but the mineral resource potential of other countries is significantly limited to just a few types. True, an exceptional supply of natural resources does not always guarantee a high standard of living or the development of the economy of a particular state. A striking example This includes countries such as Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and others. This phenomenon has even received its name in economics - the “resource curse.”
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