Raw materials are the foundation of human society. Meeting the needs of industry and the population is the main problem of the economy. In a broad sense, they include all the natural resources that are used by man, in the narrow - only that which is the source of material production. An example of a raw material resource is oil. It is used for the production of chemicals, fuels, plastics, and pharmaceutical products. Another example is wood. It is used in the manufacture of many products, including furniture. In each region of the Russian Federation, there is a separate Department of Forestry, which is concerned with the protection of wood resources.
The concept
Raw materials - this is any products of agriculture and forestry, fisheries, all kinds of minerals that are in their original form or have undergone changes in preparation for sale on an international scale. For example, oil, cotton, coal, iron ore, air, logs, sea water. About 30% of the world's non-energy mineral resources are concentrated on the African continent. However, this state of affairs negatively affected the development of states. This phenomenon is called "Dutch disease." Its feature is the dependence of the economy on resource exports.
As the basis of the economy
Thus, raw materials are all that exists in nature and was created without effort on the part of humanity. They may need pretreatment or not. For example, fresh water or air can be attributed to the first group, metal ores, oil, and most types of energy resources to the second. The distribution of raw materials is a serious problem, especially in conditions of depletion of its reserves. The export of natural resources is the foundation of many economies. Some raw materials are ubiquitous, such as sunlight and air. The rest can only be found in certain areas. Only a few types of natural resources are inexhaustible. However, the reserves of most raw materials are quite limited, that is, it can end in the foreseeable future, especially with inefficient use in production.
Classification
There are several criteria for allocating groups of natural resources. The most common classification is their breakdown by source of origin, degree of processing and renewability. Taking into account the first criterion, the following two groups can be distinguished:
- Biotic raw materials. These are animals, plants and organic materials that can be obtained from them. For example, this category also includes fossil fuels, in particular coal and oil. They are formed from decomposed organic substances.
- Abiotic raw materials. Their difference is that they are not organic in origin. Abiotic raw materials include land, clean water, air and heavy metals, including gold, iron, copper, silver.
In production
Another criterion for classification may be the degree of processing. The following groups can be distinguished by it:
- Potential resources. These include the raw materials whose reserves are in the region, but their use is planned only in the future. For example, oil can be found in the extraction of sedimentary rocks. However, until the development of its field has actually begun, it remains a potential resource.
- Actual raw materials. This category includes resources, the quantity and quality of which has been determined, and their production is currently underway. The degree of processing of such raw materials depends on the available technologies and the associated costs.
- Reserve resources. This is part of the actual raw materials that can be used with greater profit in the future.
- "Spare" resources. This category includes raw materials, the deposits of which have been investigated, but new and not yet studied technologies are necessary for their development. For example, hydrogen.
For reproduction
The eternal problem of the economy is the infinity of human needs and the limited resources available. Natural raw materials for the production of products can be classified by renewability. Based on this criterion, two groups are distinguished:
- Renewable resources. They are made up in a natural way. Some of these resources, such as sunlight, air, water, are constantly available, and their human consumption does not significantly affect their volume. However, part of the renewable raw materials may be depleted due to excessive involvement in the production process. This occurs if their natural replenishment occurs more slowly than is necessary for a person, but not for millions of years.
- Non-renewable resources. Raw materials from this category are either formed very slowly or are not created naturally in the environment at all. An example of nonrenewable resources is most minerals. Their formation will take millions of years. Therefore, from a human point of view, fossil fuels fall into this category.
Natural resource extraction
The use of raw materials took place, albeit at different scales, both in pre-industrial societies and today. Mining, forestry and agriculture and fishing are among the primary sectors of the economy. They supply resources to other areas in which value added is accumulated. The country's wealth largely depends on how effectively the mineral resources are used. However, the inflow of money from their sale can create significant problems associated with the appearance of inflation, which damages other sectors (the “Dutch disease”), and corruption, which leads to an increase in income distribution inequality and a hinder in economic growth.
Depletion of raw materials
In recent years, the problem of increasing industrial consumption of natural resources has been particularly acute. The issue of depletion is dealt not only with national governments, but also with an international organization such as the United Nations. In each state there are separate departments that are involved in the protection of certain types of raw materials. For example, in each region of the Russian Federation there is a Forestry Department, the main task of which is the effective exercise of the rights to use wood resources.
Ways to improve efficiency
In order to conserve resources - wood and mineral - for future generations, it is necessary to use them correctly. It is around the problem of depletion of raw materials that the concept of sustainable development is built. Its implementation is associated with balancing current and future needs. The depletion of natural resources is due to both their direct extraction and inefficient use. For example, the deterioration of soil quality is the result of an extensive agricultural development path.
