Thursday, February 13, 2003

This table from the Concise Encyclopedia of Economics is pretty amazing.


TABLE 1
World Reserves and Cumulative Production of Selected Minerals: 1950-1980
(millions of metric tons of metal content)

Mineral1950 ReservesProduction 1950-19801980 Reserves

Aluminum1,4001,346 5,200
Copper100 156494
Iron19,00011,04093,466
Lead4085 127
SOURCE: Repetto, p. 23.

So that's what "known reserves" means, huh? That we have no clue how much aluminum, copper, iron and lead really exists? I wonder about oil?

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