Factors Leading Pressure to Natural Resources
There is high unevenness in the distribution of minerals in nature. Only presence of minerals in a particular region is not the only racier for mining mineral ore. There are physical and economic factors involved in affecting the exploitation of minerals.
Technical knowledge related to geography is must to recognize reserves, nature and manner of occurrence of minerals and smelting technology to extract maximum metal from ore. Minerals of high value like Gold, Diamonds, Copper, Tin and Uranium are frequently mined at high cost. These minerals are in great demand as they help in acquiring high prices. On the other hand, bulky and less important minerals are mined after considering the cost and profit percentage.
Large investments in machinery are essential for the entire process of mining. If the size of deposit is small, it will exhaust in couple of months. This will no longer remain profitable to work on such deposit. Moreover, high-grade mineral ores are more economical to mine. This is because it not only brings good returns but also it is easier and cheaper to smelt.
Due to migration, the immigrated regions face the problem of overcrowding. Population exposition has resulted into exhaustion of natural resources at many places and disturbance in ecological balance. This brings more pressure on the available natural resources.
Cheaper method of open cast mining is used when minerals occur near or just below the surface of the earth. On the other hand, expensive channels are used when mineral ores lie deep below the surface of the earth. As mineral ores are bulky and heavy, it is economical to mine them near the industrial markets. Long distant transportation increases the cost of minerals. Moreover, minerals occurring at distant areas with lack of transport facilities are less likely to be exploited compared to areas with good transportation systems.
Cheap working force is needed to mine ores. As deposits having smaller size cannot be mined profitably with expensive equipment, cheap labour becomes essential. However, to carry out successful mining and its related operations, huge capital for extracting the ores to its smelting is required. However, pressure and exploitation of natural resources leads to pressure on society. Sometimes health of society can come in danger.
