David Humphreys

Sustainable development: can the mining industry afford it?

Abstract Adopting the values of sustainable development implies an increase in the mining industrys environmental and social costs. For an industry already offering poor returns on capital this is potentially a problem. An examination of the historical record, however, reveals that past increases in environmental and social costs have been more than offset by developments in industry productivity. The emergence of information and communication technologies seems likely to extend this trend into the future. The particular challenges being faced by mining in the US appear to be less to do with rising environmental costs than with competition from countries which have recently opened up to foreign mining investment and to a strong dollar. It seems likely that industrys adoption of more sustainable practices will require, and could even promote, improved returns to capital in mining.

From economic to sustainable development: Establishing a new framework for mineral extraction

Abstract Traditional development models emphasised the contribution which mining could make towards national economic objectives in the form of income, employment and exports and in the generation of tax revenues to be used to fund public welfare programmes. They often also looked to the potential of mining to stimulate related economic activities upstream and downstream. The model of sustainable development now emerging does not ignore the national perspective on mining but gives relatively more emphasis to its regional economic impacts, to issues of income distribution and poverty alleviation, and to using the shot in the arm supplied by mining capital to leverage the development of other, complementary, economic activities which have the capacity to continue after mining has ceased.

A mineral commodity life-cycle?: Relationships between production, price and economic resources

Abstract The production, price and economic resources profiles of a number of mineral commodities are examined and consideration is given to the theory that such profiles can be related to one another within the framework of a life-cycle model of development. While the behaviour of some of the commodities examined appears to lend support to the theory, that of others reveals fundamental problems with its underlying assumptions. It is concluded that, while the demand for a mineral commodity in specific uses may indeed manifest cyclical tendencies, as a general behavioural theory and as a basis for resource estimation the life-cycle model applied to minerals is of little value.

Taxing or talking: Addressing environmental externalities in the extractive industries

Abstract Proposals have emerged in recent years to use taxation as a means to internalise the environmental costs of mineral extraction. An example is the proposal to introduce a tax on mineral aggregates in the United Kingdom in 2002. It is argued here that the economic tools used to put a price on environmental externalities in this sector are fundamentally flawed, taking insufficient account of the trade‐offs normally implicit in the price‐setting process. Moreover, flat‐rate taxes across an industry fail to take account of the wide range of differences in local impacts and will only influence producer behaviour in so far as the demand for the mineral product is elastic (which often it is not). A more effective approach to the internalisation of environmental costs, and one which addresses the specifics of environmental disturbance at a local level, is through the better use of formal regulatory processes and through constructive dialogue between those engaged in mineral extraction and those directly i...

Mineral consumption in the UK, 1945–1980: A statistical analysis☆

Abstract Trends in the UK consumption of 12 metallic and 19 non-metallic minerals are examined for the period 1945–1980. Comparisons are drawn between these trends and developments in per capita GDP, total world consumption and UK mineral processing capacity. Although the consumption of most minerals has shown a tendency to stagnate or decline in recent years, taking the post-war period as a whole the consumption of non-metallics has displayed a faster and more sustained growth than that of metallics; thus their share of the total value of minerals consumed in the UK has increased significantly.

The value of mineral resources: Perspectives and conflicts

Abstract The concept of value is central to mineral economics as it is all branches of economics. In the minerals sphere particular problems are posed for a theory of value by, firstly, the non- renewability of mineral resources, secondly the substantial effort that must be made to convert a mineral into a useful product, and finally the perception of minerals, both economically and symbolically, as peculiarly national forms of wealth. Some thoughts are offered on different approaches to mineral resource valuation and on the frequently conflicting principles of exploitation to which these various approaches give rise.

Metal prices in the 1980s: A view from the supply side

Abstract Failure of demand was a critical factor in producing low metal prices in the first part of the 1980s. However, it does not satisfactorily explain why prices went as low as they did for as long as they did. For an explanation of this we need to look to supply factors, notably to industry costs and the impact of high real interest rates on stockholding and output behaviour. These same supply factors seem also to have played a part in the eventual turnaround in prices in 1987. The paper concludes with some thoughts on the lessons the analysis might hold for the future.

Towards an EEC minerals policy

Abstract Despite being the worlds largest consumer of non-fuel minerals the EEC does not have a common minerals policy. The EECs position is assessed and compared with those of the USA and Japan. Moves towards the establishment of a minerals policy, which have been reinforced by changes in the composition of the EEC and by the approach of the single market in 1993, are traced from the mid-1970s, concluding with a description of a major new initiative launched in 1989.

Mining interests overseas : UK and the EEC

Abstract The issues of minerals supply and minerals interests are examined from a corporate, rather than the conventional national, perspective. Attention is focused on the UKs overseas mining interests and on the extent to which ore processing operations in the EEC are fed from mines located overseas but carrying an EEC company interest. The analysis reveals that UK and EEC mining interests are more extensive, and more complex, than might be deduced from national data alone.

Trade in ferroalloying materials : Chromium and molybdenum

Abstract This paper analyses East-West trade in ferroalloying materials, with special attention being paid to chromium and molybdenum. It identifies the major changes in this trade and describes three sets of factors which have influenced these changes. It concludes that while the East continues to seek to avoid undue dependence on the West, rising demand coupled to changing inter-CMEA priorities have created new pressures for the expansion of this trade.