The distribution of the minerals and resources has played a leading role in the development and growth of human civilizations. The four original cradles of civilization in Egypt, Mesopotamia, India, and China relied on water. Without ready access to the Nile, Tigris & Euphrates, Indus, and Yellow rivers, it’s hard to imagine their rapid population growth. That in turn drove the development of administrative technologies (writing, math, etc.) as well as supporting a larger artistic class.
The age of European exploration and discovery was also driven by the uneven distribution of resources. While they initially went in search of spices, the explorers quickly discovered vast mineral wealth. In Central and South America explorers turned conquerors toppling the rich Aztec and Inca empires. While devastating to the local populations (slavery, epidemic diseases, etc.) the conquest opened new mineral resources to exploitation. The Potosi silver mines of Cerro Rico in modern Bolivia produced nearly two-thirds of the world’s silver in the latter half of the 16th century. The wealth fueled the growth of the Hapsburg dynasty which played a leading role in Europe through the end of World War I.
The trend of unequal distribution of minerals driving history continues today. The most obvious example is the concentration of petroleum in a handful of countries. The thirteen OPEC countries produce 40% of the world’s oil, but they sit on nearly three-quarters of the proven oil reserves. The impact of this distribution on global wealth and security as well as the planet’s health (pollution, global warming, etc.) is hard to overstate.
What about other minerals? How are they distributed? What impact does that distribution have on global events? Of course we’ve got a map to help answer that question.
Today’s Map
Courtesy of Yale Scientific Magazine, our map shows reserves of sixteen important minerals.
Only twenty-three countries contain sizeable reserves of these resources. It makes sense that larger countries, Canada, Russia, China, the US and Australia lead the way. Besides their size advantage they also have well developed extraction industries. Most of you probably knew about South Africa’s large gold deposits, but perhaps not about it’s wealth of other minerals, too. Interestingly outside of Russia the only European nation with any reserves of any of the listed resources is Poland.
As always thanks for reading.
Armen
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