Issues of Resource Depletion in Earth Crust

L.V. Oganesian¹, E.G. Mirlin^2
1 Russian Geological Society, Moscow, The Russian Federation
² Vernadskiy State Geological Museum of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, The Russian Federation

Russian Mining Industry №6 / 2019 pp.100-105

Abstract: Relevance of concerns regrading the exhaustibility of elements of the mineral resources in the Earth’s crust was studied based on the V.I. Vernadskiy’s conceptual approach. The paper provides a quantitative assessment of the ever increasing use of different mineral resources in the economic activities. The cross-disciplinary nature of this problem is exemplified by the potential use of solid minerals deposited in the world oceans, and metals contained in these minerals. It was demonstrated that the attitude towards this problem is closely connected to the general trends in the development of civilization and with tendencies in changes of the human demands. A conclusion was made that these worries are justified, however, the cause of this anxiety does not lie in the exhaustibility of the mineral resources: Resources of the Earth's crust can be considered inexhaustible for a significantly long period of time that is comparable to the geologic time scales. The root cause is the irreversible damage to the natural environment done by the humans through mining subsoil resources at exponentially increasing rates and using them in economic activities.

Keywords: depletion, periodic table, natural environment, civilization, world oceans, subsoil resources

For citation: Oganesian L.V., Mirlin E.G. Issues of Resource Depletion in Earth Crust. Gornaya promyshlennost = Russian Mining Industry. 2019;(6):100–105. (In Russ.) DOI 10.30686/1609-9192-2019-6-148-100-105.

Article info

Received: 15.10.2019
Revised: 25.11.2019
Accepted: 05.12.2019

Information about the authors

Levon V. Oganesian – Doctor of geological and mineralogical sciences, Professor, Vice President of the Russian Geological Society, Moscow, The Russian Federation; e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Evgeniy G. Mirlin – Doctor of geological and mineralogical sciences, Chief Scientific Officer, Vernadskiy State Geological Museum of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, The Russian Federation; e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

References

1. Vernadskii V. I. Biosphere. Moscow: Noosfera; 2001. (In Russ.)

2. Oganesian L.V. Ecological, technical and technological issues of development of non-conventional sources of mineral raw materials. Mineralnye resursy Rossii. Ekonomika i upravlenie = Mineral Recourses of Russia. Economics and Management. 2019;(2):48–52. (In Russ.)

3. Oganesian L.V. Problems of shale hydrocarbons: pros and cons. Mineralnye resursy Rossii. Ekonomika i upravlenie = Mineral Recourses of Russia. Economics and Management. 2016;(3):24–29. (In Russ.)

4. Mirlin E.G. Plate tectonic: what next? Priroda. 2017;(8):15–23. (In Russ.)

5. Mirlin E.G., Oganesian L.V. Vortices in the lithosphere. Moscow: Vniigeosistem; 2015. (In Russ.)

6. Oganesian L.V., Andreev S.I., Mirlin E.G. Systemic problems of the study and development of mineral resource potential of Russian exploration areas in the World Ocean. Mineralnye resursy Rossii. Ekonomika i upravlenie = Mineral Recourses of Russia. Economics and Management. 2018;(4):44–52. (In Russ.)

7. Mirlin E.G. (ed.) Metallogenic of the modern and ancient oceans. Moscow: Geoekspert; 1992. (In Russ.)

8. Mirlin E.G., Mironov Yu.V. Interaction of Geospheres Is the Foundation of Life of Our Planet. Priroda. 2013;(3):43–49. (In Russ.)