Finding resource priorities for the developing country

Itam Bassey Ekpeniong, Kuznetsov Sergey Urievich

Method of analysis hierarchy can be used to assess the overall priorities of the seven most important mineral resources discovered in developing countries, and six criteria’s connected with them. This has been done so that the existing and future potentials could be taken into account when forming strategies of mineral extraction.

The hierarchy has the structure shown in Fig. 1. The Criteria’s are defined as follows. The magnitudes of the resource-potential costs (in monetary terms) to develop the country’s mineral separate commensurate with projections for a whole region in the continent. Within this region there are confirmed areas for which the possibility of mining is documented.

Calculating the potential in the country based on these materials, production lag time deposits compared with brief data substantiate the fact that the detection and extraction of ore can be large.

Iron

Copper

Phosphates

Uranium

Aluminum

Gold

diamond

Resource quantity

Cost of mining

Risk

Demand

Strategic importance

Accessibility

Figure 1 – Ierarhy of Task

The cost of production is the estimated value of mining land and underground services including drilling laboratory analysis and incidental expenses. Risk is a measure of the potential success of detection of mineral deposits in the estimated quantity . Risk is little with increasing prices and demand.

Demand is a measure of the expected supply. Is there a high supply for a widely consumed mineral of low demand, or low supply and there is a high demand? A strategic consideration, of the choice of these criteria, is based on two factors.

The Role that a useful mineral resource can play in the development of world energy or as a means to achieve political goals such as Iron ore being considered vital strategic resource On the other hand uranium that has not yet produced should be seen as a strategic resource for the region as a whole but not necessarily for the country.

The possibility that the country will be one of the material supplier that developed countries consider strategic Availability – available source is useful mineral extraction that is near a transportation path. An unavailable mineral resource is that, that is in a deserted area, and the development of which may be cost-effective.

Posed the following question, what are the advantages of one mineral to another in terms of their impact on industrial and economic development based on estimates of its reserves? The six criteria’s were compared according to their importance in relation to each of the seven minerals here raised the question (for each mineral) how much higher the importance of one criteria in relation to another in terms of developing the mineral?

All priorities are given in Tables 1 and 2.

Table 1 - Priorities of minerals

iron	copper	phosphates	uranium	aluminium	gold	diamond
0.40	0.26	0.15	0.09	0.04	0.04	0.02

Table 2 - Priorities of criteria

	Iron	Copper	Phosphates	Uranium	Aluminum	Gold	diamond	Total weight
Resource quantity	0.18	0.11	0.07	0.03	0.01	0.007	0.002	0.40
Cost of mining	0.02	0.04	0.01	0.003	0.004	0.008	0.003	0.09
Risk	0.02	0.008	0.01	0.004	0.014	0.01	0.01	0.08
Demand	0.95	0.05	0.034	0.014	0.003	0.003	0.001	0.16
Strategic importance	0.10	0.04	0.017	0.03	0.002	0.001	0.003	0.19
Accessibility	0.03	0.013	0.01	0.01	0.004	0.01	0.003	0.08

We explain these results Available estimates show two-thirds of the projected future impact factors of minerals on the economy, the role of phosphate increased to noteworthy levels 15% effect of each individual of the remaining minerals seem insignificant but together they affect the economy up to 20%.

Now will review criteria Relative resource quantity first four minerals is higher than for any other criterion for aluminum gold and diamonds are at risk of more significant than quantity resource as expected Since there was little attempt to explore reserves of these minerals example diamond resource evaluation quantity approximately 0.13 and its 4 times less than the risk – 0.50 in addition the demand for these minerals as it is at present a small projected relative demand for phosphates seems most of all because of the value of mineral resources for agriculture , the most intense activity in the world

Several composite scales shows that the overall benefits of their resource value and strategic importance of the availability of much-compensates the negative criteria of production costs and risk coefficient 67/17, or about 4/1. In practice, this suggests that the country should do everything possible to identify their potential resources of the future of its economy based on projected changes in demand and prices for minerals and their presence in other regions of the world

Projected resources mainly determine the stocks of iron then copper and uranium production cost low for all minerals compared to the quantity of their resources and above all for copper then for iron and copper, followed by iron phosphates strategic importance for the country far exceeds that of other useful minerals among which copper. Availability greatest resource of iron followed by copper and uranium is phosphates.

Literature:

1. Andrejchikov, A.V. The Analysis, Synthesis, Planning of Decisions in Economics / A.V. Andrejchikov, O.N. Andrejchikova. – М.: Finansi i statistica, 2000. - 368 p.

2. Tereliansky, P. V. The Information Technologies of the Prognostication of the Technical Solutions on the Basis of the Fuzzy Sets and Hierarchical Models: the Monograph / P. V. Tereliansky, A. V. Andreychikov. – Volgograd: VSTU, 2007. - 204 p.