Political and commercial geology and the world's mineral resources — John Shaqi
Political and commercial geology and the world's mineral resources
Science
Political and commercial geology and the world's mineral resources
Geology, Economic; Mines and mineral resources
=Summary.=--By way of summary, it may be said that the United States
leads the world in coal resources; moreover, its resources are most
immediately available, because of their shallow depth and general
undisturbed (geologic) condition and their accessibility through
railway systems. This is particularly true in the Appalachian region,
which contains by far the best coal, is the nearest to the coast, and
hence is the most available for ocean trade. On the other hand, the
average haul to export points, as already noted, is far greater than
that of Great Britain and greater than that of Westphalia; but to
offset this the coal has been and can be mined more cheaply than in
either Westphalia or Great Britain. The resources of Upper Silesia are
large, and the coal is easily mined, but the output will all be needed
for central Europe. As regards both quality and quantity, Pennsylvania
anthracite is unique; nevertheless, the home needs will continue to
be a brake on extensive exports. United States steam and coking coals
available for shipment average a little poorer than the corresponding
coals of Great Britain, but are superior to the German coals.
The total resources of Great Britain, possible, actual, and probable,
are only 190,000 million tons, as contrasted with 423,000 million tons
in the old German Empire and 3,838,000 million tons in the United
States.
=Probable Future Production.=--The possible depletion of coal resources
is of course important in considering the future, but it can be safely
stated that in none of the principal fields now being mined are the
resources so depleted that the output therefrom will be reduced for
another generation at least.
Of the great coal-producing countries, Great Britain, with its
increasing rate of production, most nearly approaches the point of
ultimate depletion, but that point has been variously placed at one
hundred to several hundred years in the future, much depending upon
whether with better methods of use the output will continue to increase
at the same rate as in the past. Meantime, certain areas in Great
Britain with shallower coal beds will be depleted much sooner and the
remaining coal will become more and more difficult to get, because of
the increasing depth of mining, which in turn will cause a continually
increasing cost.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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