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IN FOCUS
The rareST
elemeNTS
Pd
Palladium
0.015 *
* Abundance of elements in
Earth’s crust in parts per million
(ppm, 10,000 ppm = 1%)
Source: Israel Science
and Technology,
www.science.co.il
Blessing or curse?
Natural resource wealth is not always a blessing. Often, it goes hand in hand
with poverty, corruption and conflict and seems to hinder rather than help
sustainable development. For mineral wealth to have a positive impact, you
need transparent policies and commodity flows and sustainable production
systems.
Text Petra Hannen Illustrations Britta Siebert
Most people think of oil states as wealthy
states. But Nigeria proves that sometimes
the opposite is true. It is Africa’s leading oil
producer, and yet it is one of the world’s 20
poorest countries. What’s more, the people living in the
Niger Delta, the country’s oil-producing region, are among
Nigeria’s most impoverished communities, with a large
percentage of the population having to survive on less than
one dollar a day. For these people, ‘black gold’ has not
brought prosperity or development. Instead, it has increased
corruption, social problems, environmental damage
and armed conflict. The many billions of US dollars in
oil revenue that have poured into the country during its oil
industry’s 50-year history have completely bypassed these
communities.
Oil and other natural resources are a lucrative business,
accounting for more than one third of world trade.
The United Nations estimates that global consumption of
these resources could almost triple to 140 billion tonnes a
year by 2050. This sharp increase is being driven by world
population growth, high levels of consumption in industrialised
countries, and the ongoing transformation of emerg-
ing economies and more advanced developing countries
into modern industrial nations. With a combined GDP of
almost USD 9 trillion, the flourishing BRICS economies
alone – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa –
comprise 40% of the world’s population and have accounted
for 45% of global economic growth since the onset
of the latest financial crisis, according to these countries’
own figures and a recent study by Louisiana State
University. Experts like investment guru Jim Rogers, who
has been active in the resource segment for decades, are
predicting that more resources will be extracted in the next
25 years than in the whole of human history.
Some produce, others consume
Metals and minerals, oil, coal and gas generally do not originate
in the regions where they are processed or consumed.
Germany, for example, is one of the world’s largest consumers
of raw materials. It imports its energy resources, metals
and numerous industrial minerals from more than
160 countries. This sounds like a good basis for lively international
trade and economic prosperity throughout the »
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akzente 04/2011