Geology Reference
In-Depth Information
6.9 Summary of the chapter
This chapter closes the analysis of the Earth's components by undertaking a re-
view of the different natural resources used by Man. Specifically, the available
energy, potential energy use and current energy consumption of all known renew-
able (geothermal, nuclear, tidal, solar, wind and ocean power, as well as for biomass)
and non-renewable energy resources (coal, natural gas, oil and unconventional fuels)
has been shown.
In addition to energy sources, non-fuel minerals have been analysed. As opposed
to fossil fuels, a mineral's abundance is not so important if it does not occur in
a concentrated deposit. Hence, in addition to the available resources registered,
average ore grades for the main mineral resources have been provided. This is
because both abundance and concentration are essential ingredients for calculating
the exergy of non-fuel minerals.
The topic now turns to an analysis of how Man through “his” mining and met-
allurgical industry makes use of the mineral resources.
Search WWH ::
Custom Search