Leading countries in Which countries are leading in the production of metals? Features of the oil industry in Russia

Leading countries in gold mining - who are they? It is believed that the first states that began to mine it were Akad and Sumer. Statistics for 2015 showed that in total, more than 190,000 tons of gems were mined this year. valuable metal. If it is melted into a huge cube, then it will reach the height of a five-story building. In total, 1 cubic meter of gold weighs 19321 kg. The growth rate is increasing, therefore, in 2016, compared to the previous year, it was possible to extract 5% more of the treasured mineral.

How many leading gold mining countries are there? This question must be fully answered in order to put everything in its place.

World gold production

How is gold produced? All mined ore is smelted into gold bars. After that, they are redeemed by national banks and sent to their own warehouses. Thanks to this approach, the gold reserve of the state is formed. It performs 3 important tasks:

• stabilizes the exchange rate of the country;
• ensures its safety;
• is an economic reserve in case many financial crises occur.

Regarding the last point, an interesting point emerged: after 2008, the main countries of the world began to significantly replenish in national banks gold reserves. As a result, the United States of America and Germany today are the leading countries in terms of the main gold production. In addition, there are cases when a number of entrepreneurs have accumulations of these precious metals that exceed the state budget small countries.

How is gold mined? If you carefully analyze its entire history, it becomes clear that the methods have not changed much, only approaches and equipment have changed. Today, the method of washing river sand is still used.

The leading countries in world gold mining are:

• 12.9% - China. He takes first place. 300 tons - this is the record of Chinese gold mining corporations. At the same time, the country is not going to slow down the pace of development. According to forecasts, it will not be possible for anyone to catch up with her for a very long time.
• 11.2% - Russia. In 2016, 288 tons of this mineral were mined. The leaderboard included Krasnoyarsk region and Altai.
• 9.5% - South Africa. The annual output is 250 tons of precious metal. In the 70s, an unprecedented record was set here - more than 1 million kilograms of yellow metal were mined. This is the largest gold mine in the world.
• 9% - Australia. The country occupies the fourth position. Gold mining companies send more than 225 tons per year to the national reserve. The largest deposits are located in the east and north of the mainland.
• 8.9% - USA. Most gold is mined in Peru. Annually, 175 tons are supplied to the banks of the country. After mining, the yellow metal is thoroughly washed in the waters of Mariatega. Illegal gold mining also flourishes in these places, the market occupied by it reaches 20%.

Extraction of gold reserves in the world: methods

Gold is an unwritten symbol of power and real wealth. So it was and still is in all countries. The legendary Mephistopheles rightly noticed when he said that people die for metal. World history knows dozens of cases of manifestations of the gold rush, when a brother rebelled against his brother because of a piece of a valuable ingot. In addition, hundreds of thousands of people went to new deposits and tried to get something. Sometimes summer was even called the golden season. Only particularly persistent units were lucky, who became rich because of their true faith in miracles and perseverance. History is silent about how many people disappeared without a trace in the struggle for ingots. In addition, it is not known for certain how much gold there was in the world at that time.

AT natural conditions several centuries ago, native gold was found, in which there were no foreign impurities. Luck smiled far from all countries, in other states such rare nuggets did not appear.

Today, secondary, or ore, deposits are used for industrial purposes. The former are easiest to find closer to the ground. Because of this, in the 19th century, almost the entire people of Australia went in search. Gold here was in myriad quantities. For the second deposits, people have to build mines. The leading countries in the rapid production of gold succeed in this.

Due to constantly changing economic and political events, prices for precious metals turn out different. Today they are actively rising up, and tomorrow they are rapidly falling down. A number of experts predicted that there would be no gold left on earth, but so far the situation shows the opposite. Without this valuable metal, many countries would not be economically protected in the event of a critical force majeure. Today, the amount of gold in the world is constantly growing. When this process will stop, no one knows.

28/04/2012

The 24/7 Wall Street website conducted a detailed analysis of the 10 countries with the largest and most valuable natural resources on Earth. Using estimates of total reserves in each country and market value of these resources, 10 countries were identified as having the most valuable reserves of natural resources.

H Some of these resources, including uranium, silver, phosphate, are not as valuable as others due to low demand or because they are rare. However, in the case of oil, natural gas, timber, coal - these natural resources can be worth tens of trillions of dollars, because the demand for them is high and these resources are relatively plentiful.

1. Russia

Total resource cost: $75.7 trillion.
Oil reserves (value): 60 billion barrels ($7.08 billion)
Natural gas reserves (value): 1.680 trillion. cubic feet ($19 billion)
Timber stock (value): 1.95 billion acres ($28.4 trillion)

When it comes to natural resources, Russia is richest country in the world. It leads among all countries of the world in terms of natural gas and timber reserves. The sheer size of the country is both a blessing and a curse, as the construction of pipelines to transport gas, as well as railways for the transportation of timber cost fabulous sums.

In addition to having such a large supply of gas and timber, Russia ranks second in the world in terms of coal deposits and third in gold deposits. In addition, it has the second largest deposits of rare earth minerals, although they are not currently mined.

2. United States

Total resource cost: $45 trillion
Natural gas reserves (value): 272.5 cubic meters m ($ 3.1 trillion)
Timber stock (value): 750 million acres ($10.9 trillion)

The US has 31.2% of the world's proven coal reserves. They are estimated at 30 trillion dollars. Today they are the most valuable reserves on earth. The country has about 750 million acres of forest plantations, which are worth about $11 trillion. Wood and coal, combined, cost approximately 89% of the country's total natural resource value. The US is also among the top five countries with global reserves of copper, gold and natural gas.

3. Saudi Arabia

Total resource cost: $34.4 trillion
Oil reserves (value): 266.7 trillion. barrels ($31.5 trillion)
Natural gas reserves (value): 258.5 trillion. m cube ($ 2.9 trillion)

Saudi Arabia owns about 20% of the world's oil, the largest share of any country. All significant resources of the country lie in carbons - oil or gas. The Kingdom is in fifth place in the world in terms of natural gas reserves. As these resources dwindle, Saudi Arabia will eventually lose its high position on this list. However, this won't happen for another few decades.

4. Canada

Total resource cost: $33.2 trillion
Oil reserves (value): 178.1 billion barrels ($21 trillion)
Timber stock (value): 775 million acres ($11.3 trillion)

Prior to the discovery of the oil sands, Canada's total mineral reserves would probably have kept it out of this list. The oil sands added about 150 billion barrels to Canada's total oil in 2009 and 2010. The country also produces a decent amount of phosphate, although the phosphate rock deposits are not among the top 10 in the world. In addition, Canada has the world's second largest proven uranium reserves and the third largest timber reserves.

5. Iran

Total resource cost: $27.3 trillion
Oil reserves (value): 136.2 billion barrels ($16.1 trillion)
Natural gas reserves (value): 991600000000000 cubic meters m ($ 11.2 trillion)
Timber stock (value): not in the top 10

Iran shares with Qatar the giant South Pars/North Dome gas field in the Persian Gulf. The country holds about 16% of the world's natural gas reserves. Iran also has the third largest proven amount of oil in the world. This is more than 10% of the world's oil reserves. AT this moment the country is experiencing problems in the implementation of its resources in connection with its alienation from international markets.

6. China

Total resource cost: $23 trillion
Oil reserves (value): not in the top 10
Natural gas reserves (value): not in the top 10
Timber stock (value): 450 million acres ($6.5 trillion)

The cost of China's resources is based largely on the reserves of coal and rare earth minerals. China has significant coal reserves, which account for over 13% of the world's total. Recently, shale gas deposits have been discovered here. After their assessment, China's status as a leader in natural resources will only improve.

7. Brazil

Total resource cost: $21.8 trillion
Oil reserves (value): not in the top 10
Natural gas reserves (value): not in the top 10
Timber stock (value): 1.2 billion acres ($17.5 trillion)

Significant reserves of gold and uranium contributed more to getting a place on this list. Brazil also owns 17% of the world's iron ore. most valuable natural resource, however, is wood. The country owns 12.3% of the world's timber resources, which are valued at $17.45 trillion. In order to ensure consistency and accuracy of the study, recently discovered offshore oil reserves have not been included in this report. According to preliminary estimates, the field may contain 44 billion barrels of oil.

8. Australia

Total resource cost: $19.9 trillion
Oil reserves (value): not in the top 10
Natural gas reserves (values): not in the top 10
Timber stock (value): 369 million acres ($5.3 trillion)

Australia's natural wealth lies in its vast amount of timber, coal, copper and iron. The country is in the top three in total reserves of the seven resources on this list. Australia has the largest gold reserves in the world - it has 14.3% of the world's reserves. It also supplies 46% of the world's uranium. In addition, the country has significant offshore natural gas reserves on the northwest coast, which it shares with Indonesia.

9. Iraq

Total resource cost: $15.9 trillion W
Oil reserves (value): 115 billion barrels ($13.6 trillion)
Natural gas reserves (value): 111.9 trillion. cube feet ($1.3 trillion)
Timber stock (value): not in the top 10

Iraq's biggest wealth is oil - 115 billion barrels of proven reserves. This is almost 9% of the total amount of oil in the world. Despite relatively easy production, most of these reserves remain untapped due to political disagreements between the central government and Kurdistan over ownership of the oil. Iraq also has one of the largest reserves of phosphate rock in the world, worth more than $1.1 trillion. However, these deposits are not fully developed.

10. Venezuela

Total resource cost: $14.3 trillion
Oil reserves (value): 99.4 billion barrels ($11.7 trillion)
Natural gas reserves (value): 170.9 cubic meters feet ($1.9 trillion)
Timber stock (value): not in the top 10

Venezuela is one of the top 10 resource holders in terms of iron, natural gas and oil. Natural gas reserves in this South American country rank eighth in the world and amount to 179.9 cubic meters. pounds. These reserves account for just over 2.7% of the world's reserves. In Venezuela, according to experts, there are 99 billion barrels of oil, which is 7.4% of the total number of reserves in the world .

In this article, we will get acquainted with the list of countries that are leaders in coal mining. In addition, we will consider the main features of this process and the existing problems in the coal mining industry, as well as find out where coal is mined in Russia.

Features of coal mining

Coal is a mineral that is one of the main fuel resources on our planet. It is formed in the bowels of the earth's crust due to the fact that for a long time the remains of ancient plants and microorganisms accumulated in it without oxygen. Currently, there are several options for extracting this mineral.

The first coal mining took place at the beginning of the 18th century. A century later, the final formation and development of the coal industry took place. For a long time, miners extracted coal from the bowels of the earth with ordinary shovels, they also actively used picks. In the future, simple tools were replaced by jackhammers. Currently, all modern equipment is used in the mines, which allows mining with maximum speed and convenience.

The most commonly used coal mining methods are:

The cheapest way to mine coal is open pit. This method is the easiest, cheapest and safest. Large excavators cut off the top layer of the earth, which blocks access to coal deposits. Then coal is extracted in layers and loaded into special wagons.

Underground (mine). Unlike the first, this method is more time-consuming and dangerous. Underground way loot has to be used because a large number of reserves are located deep underground. For mining, multi-meter mines are drilled, from which dissected coal seams are extracted.

The hydraulic method is widely used, which is based on the fact that a jet of water is supplied under high pressure, which breaks the coal seams and is fed through a special pipeline to the production workshops.

Leading countries in coal mining

China is the unattainable leader. Almost half of the world's coal reserves are mined in this country, with an annual figure of around 3,700 million tons. The rest of the countries are far behind China.

Coal reserves in the world and have the following indicators:

1. China - 3700 million tons;
2. USA - 900 million tons;
3. India - 600 million tons;
4. Australia - 480 million tons;
5. Indonesia - 420 million tons.

Russia is not among the top five and is in 6th place with an indicator of 350 million tons per year. After it, slightly yielding, comes South Africa, then Germany and Poland, and Kazakhstan, as well as Ukraine and Turkey, close the top ten.

Coal mining in the world, million tons

Which countries in Europe have large coal reserves?

In Europe, most coal is mined in Germany and Poland. The total amount of coal mined in the European Union is just over 500 million tons per year. The total world production is 9,000 million tons. On average, each inhabitant of the planet accounts for 1000 kg of coal per year.

This amount, which is supplied by the leading countries in coal mining, is quite enough to provide energy and fuel to the whole world, since along with oil and gas, a sufficient amount of resources is produced that can satisfy the needs of society. Currently, the focus is on more environmentally friendly and safer methods of extraction, so as not to harm the environment.

Leading countries in coal production in 2017

AT current year The leading countries in the extraction of hard coal have not changed, China still occupies the first place. The rest of the states cannot even come close to the volume that is mined in the Middle Kingdom. The leading countries account for about 90% of the total amount of coal produced. The list of leading countries has not changed for several decades.

Every year countries produce more and more coal, thereby increasing general reserves this fossil. The processes of extracting coal from the bowels of the earth are constantly being improved, making it possible to automate the process and significantly increase the volume of extracted fuel.

Coal mining in Russia, million tons

Our country is rich in minerals and extracts them both for its own needs and for export to foreign countries. Russia is among the top ten countries that are leaders in coal mining and annually it produces about 350 million tons. In terms of the reserves of this mineral, our country is in second place, second only to the United States.

70% of hard coal is mined open way. As already mentioned, it is safer and less time consuming. But there is one main drawback, which is serious damage to the environment. With open mining, deep craters remain, the integrity of the earth is violated and rock falls appear.

The remaining third is accounted for by underground coal mining in mines. This method requires not only high physical costs from the miners, but also modern, improved technology. It is worth noting that half of all tools and fixtures are significantly outdated and in need of modernization.

Coal deposits in Russia

The following entities are leading in coal mining:

• Krasnoyarsk Territory, partly Irkutsk and Kemerovo Regions;
• Ural;
• Rostov region;
• Irkutsk region;
• Yakutia.

Kuzbass is considered to be the main region for coal mining. More than half of the total coal production in Russia is mined there. The largest deposits and deposits of coal are concentrated in this area.

Conclusion

Millions of tons of coal are mined every year in the world. The countries that are at the top of the list and are the leading countries in terms of coal reserves not only use the mineral for their own needs, but also actively export it to other states, thereby improving their economic condition and making multibillion-dollar profits.

Mining is a labor-intensive and complex process that requires certain knowledge and skills. This also requires special tools and high-tech equipment, which can significantly reduce the time to extract minerals from the bowels of the earth and increase coal reserves. Different countries use different methods of coal mining. Someone prefers a safer method, sacrificing speed, while others rely on the volume produced.

The leading countries in coal production in 2017 remained unchanged. This rating has remained unchanged for many years. China occupies the leading position, and our country is in 6th place, however, in terms of reserves, our country is in the top three. Russia supplies coal to many countries, providing them with the necessary volumes of fuel.

Volume industrial production in China 2.5 times more than the USA!!!

When in 2011 China overtook the United States in industrial. production, there was no particular noise (according to the IMF and WB PPP data). Now, they say, we have post-industrial and information societies, so the "old-fashioned" industry "does not roll."

In 2014, the IMF and the WB “recognized” that China had surpassed the US in terms of GDP at PPP as well. There was no noise either. Like, in the US, the population is 4 times smaller, and therefore the GDP per capita in China is 4 times less than the US one. That is, the states are still “cooler”.

But over the past five years, the situation has changed again. China, although it dropped its growth rate to 6-7%, but industry already 2.5 times the US. Although per capita is still 1.8 times less.

I think industry is more important than GDP indicator or the volume of the service sector in GDP, since I believe that industrial production is “primary” to the service sector, and rural production is now without tractors, diesel fuel and chemicals. fertilizer is hard to imagine.

1. Table of TOP-20 countries in terms of industrial production at PPP.

2. "Debriefing", or my amateur analysis of the table.

3. In conclusion, let's compare the initial energy positions of China and the United States, before the battle of the giants.

1. Table of TOP-20 countries in terms of industrial production at PPP.

Before presenting the TOP-20 countries in terms of industrial. production, a few words about the sources of information.

There is some oddity here. Since the GDP is divided only three parts industry, Agriculture and services, but where the construction “disappeared” is not indicated. Apparently, the construction was "added" to the industry according to one of the "modern" classifications.

Quote about one of the "modern" classifications.

“According to this model, the GDP of each state is subdivided

1) for the primary sector (agriculture: agriculture and forestry, fishing, hunting),

2) secondary sector (industry: mining and manufacturing, construction, public utilities, including electricity, gas and water supply)

3) the tertiary sector or the service sector (services: trade, finance, real estate, communications, transport and storage facilities, information services, science, education, healthcare, domestic services, culture, tourism, management, defense).

For example, this is how it is for the world.

Knowing world GDP at PPP 120 trillion dollars ($ 119,428,098,290,000), it is not difficult to calculate in dollars.

Like this (2016, CIA).

Doing this operation for all countries and sorting, we get the desired table.

TOP-20 countries in terms of industrial production at PPP(2016).

China produces a quarter of the world's industrial output (24.45%).

China + USA produce 35%.

All 20 countries from the Top 20 produce 75%.

2. "Debriefing", or my amateur analysis of the table.

A) Prom. production per capita.

Saudi Arabia surprised (two right-most columns). Almost 25 thousand dollars prom. production per capita! 5 times higher than the world average (502%)!!!

I always thought that the leaders were Germany (302%) or Japan (211%). But it turned out that Japan has even less than the United States (239%) and slightly more than Russia (189%).

Great Britain (19th century Workshop of the World) is worse than in Russia. Only 170% of the world average.

China (132%) will catch up with England in five years, since the growth rate, although it has decreased to 6-7%, is much higher than the world average, and especially England.

Let's take another look at the two fast-growing giants.

China is 1.32 times the world average (132%), but it will be more difficult to move on due to the Energy shortage.

India is still very backward (39%), 2.5 times lower than the world average. With Energy, it will also be difficult for her, like China, but the “low base effect” should help.

B) let's go to volumes prom. production.

Big Three (2016).

China is the undisputed leader, a quarter of world production (24.45%).

The US has already lagged behind by 2.5 times (10.39%).

India is “sneaking” behind the US and since its growth rate is higher than the US, then in 2026 India will catch up with the US.

As you can see, these three countries with 41.77% determine the entire world industry and therefore world economy and represent three different worlds.

1) The USA is the core and the “richest” part of the “Golden Billion”, the face of the “civilized world”.

2) China is the Golden Mean. Industrial leader. Competitor for energy for the "golden billion".

3) India is still in the shadows. Poor part of the world, but what prospects!!!

These three countries are the world's largest economies in terms of GDP (41% combined), population (41% combined) and energy consumption (44%).

Although Russia is only slightly behind India in terms of energy consumption, this is not for long. But on the territory, you know.

In general, this could stop further analysis of the table, since the Big Three determines the world industry (41.77%), and therefore the world economy. The rest of the "small fry" only "gets underfoot." But the Big Three is followed by the Small Four, where Russia is present, so it is necessary.

B) small four(probably 2016) .

It's nice that Russia is in 4th place, overtaking Japan and Germany (in terms of GDP, Japan is ahead, and we compete with the Fritz). But if you remember that the RSFSR in the eighties produced 12% of the world's industrial. production, and now the Russian Federation is only 3.61%, it becomes sad. Although, of course, the “numbers are very, very good” are not accurate. I took the data profitable for RF from here http://www.proza.ru/2009/10/01/311

Quote .

“According to the US CIA, the GNP of the USSR in 1989 was $2.66 trillion, which was 51% of that of the United States. If in 1960 the volume of industrial production of the USSR compared to the USA was 55%, then in 20 years, in 1980 - already more than 80%. During the period from 1950 to 1981, the GNP of the USSR, according to the same CIA, grew by an average of 4.6% per year, while the growth of US GNP over the same period averaged 3.4% per year. In 1985, the USSR economy accounted for about 20 % world industrial production. The share of Russia in 1913 was 5.3%, the RSFSR in 1985 was about 12% , the share of Russia in 2000 was 4.4%, in 2013 about 3.2%.

And in Russia and Japan and Germany, the population is decreasing, so at best, these three will retain their share in the world industry. production, but Indonesia will come out on the 4th place.

And we will complete the "debriefing" with England, the former leader.

Yes. The world factory of the 19th century ranks 13th, with a miserable 1.48%, yielding to its former semi-colony Iran, and the gap per capita ind. production with Iran is not very large. Everything.

In general, it is not worth paying attention to such "small fry". The population of England is less than a percentage of the world's population. Prom. production is 1.5%, GDP at PPP is also frail, only 2.4%.

On this sad note (for those who love England) we will end our amateur review of the Top 20 table. Let's move on to the final part.

3. In conclusion, let's compare the initial energy positions of China and the United States, before the battle of the giants.

First, I give a table from the IEA.

The data can be checked here on page 5.

Top 10 countries in 2014 by TPES and comparison with 1971.

( TPES or TPES - apparently Total Primary Energy Consumption)

We see that the leader has changed. In 1971, the US consumed 29% of the world's energy. Considering that the entire population of the world at that time was 3.7 billion people, and in the US 203 million, we get that 5.5% of US residents consumed 29% of energy. That is, 29% / 5.5% = 5.3 times the global average.

Now (2014) the share of the USA in energy consumption has decreased to 16%, they are overtaken by China (22%). But the per capita gap is enormous.

US = energy/population = 16%/4.4% = 3.6 times above world average.

China = energy/population = 22%/18.5% = 1.2 times total above world average.

India = energy/population = 6%/18% = is 1/3 of the world, i.e. 3 times less than the world average!!!

In these "numbers" (US 3.6 times above, China 1.2 times above and here India 3 times below world average) I see the main contradiction of our time.

China and India will tell the Golden Billion to share energy.

The situation is aggravated by the fact that third energy crisis.

In 1929, "peak coal" came to the United States. All the "cream" from the coal fields was removed, and the cost of coal mining increased dramatically. All this resulted in the Great Depression and the first falling global energy consumption after the start of the industrial revolution.

But there was a way out. Oil. Therefore, the growth of energy consumption continued, including per capita of the planet Earth.

Second crisis came in 1972. The predicted “peak oil” has arrived in the United States.

Again, the fall in world energy consumption in 1974 and especially in 1981. There was no cheap substitute for oil here. Neither the atom, nor gas, nor coal could replace cheap oil.

Since 1980 shower world energy consumption stopped growing.

In the 20 years from 1960 to 1980, per capita energy consumption increased in the world 1.435 times. My data.

1.16 times. Data from the first figure of the article.

OUTPUT. Since 1980, per capita consumption in the world has practically not grown.

As I thought.

Period 1960-1980.

Population

in 1960 there were 3,035 million people.

That is, it increased by 4442/3035= 1.464 times

World energy production.

in 1960 there were 5,000 million tons of reference fuel.

in 1980 there were 10,500 million tons of standard fuel.

That is increased by 10500/5000= 2,100 times

Output. In 20 years per capita consumption has increased 2.1/1.464=1.435 times.

Period 1980-2014.

Population

in 1980 there were 4,442 million people.

in 2014 there were 7,270 million people.

That is increased to 7270/4442= 1.64 times

World energy production. This is from the graph of the article.

in 1980 it was on schedule 284 Quadrillion BTU

541 Quadrillion BTU was on schedule in 2014

That is increased by 541/284= 1.90 times

Output. In 34 years, per capita consumption increased by 1.90/1.64= 1.16 times.

I repeat the conclusion.

From 1960 to 1980 energy consumption per capita increased in the world 1.435 times..

In the 34 years from 1980 to 2014, per capita energy consumption increased by 1.16 times.

OUTPUTSince 1980, per capita consumption in the world has practically not grown.

The total energy consumption is growing, but the rate of growth almost coincides with the growth of the world's population.

The third crisis began in 2008. Energy consumption fell in 2009, and even global GDP fell for the first time since 1945.

It is not yet clear what is here. But apparently all three crises have merged. And Peak Oil and Peak Coal and Peak Gas.

By at least, in China, the peak of coal production came in 2013.

I'm afraid that at best, the world's per capita energy consumption will not fall.

And for this it is necessary to urgently build nuclear power plants and increase coal production. But, most likely, the "green demons" will not give way to this scenario.

Therefore, in the Baseline scenario, I think there will be a slight decrease in the per capita consumption of the world's population.

They will build nuclear power plants, increase capital investments in coal mining, etc.

But the “Energy Catastrophe” scenario is also possible. Politicians "will not agree" and there will be an "energy battle" between China, India and the rest of the Golden Billion. The United States will not participate in this struggle with the help of the “shale revolution” (see).

People are provided with materials that serve for the construction of various structures in many technological areas. Until the 70s of the last century, the metallurgical industry developed at an accelerated pace, but then there was a slight decrease in activity associated with a decrease in production metal consumption. To date, metallurgy has taken a course of development in the following areas:

• focus on consumer needs;
• increased interest in the development of transport routes instead of the export of raw materials.
• preference for the development of enterprises with small and medium capacities;
• bias towards the development of the industry in developing countries.

The metallurgical industry is subdivided into the production of ferrous and non-ferrous metals.

The development of ferrous metallurgy in the world

Ferrous metallurgy involves the following steps:

• development of ore deposits;
• raw material preparation;
• smelting materials such as cast iron, steel, rolled metal and ferroalloys.

Ferrous metallurgy uses as ore containing metals such as iron, chromium and manganese. In addition, many enterprises work with recyclable materials, such as depreciation scrap and metallurgy waste.

The use of scrap makes it possible to significantly reduce the cost of production, since the stage of casting iron is skipped, and the process of obtaining steel begins immediately. Coking coal is used as fuel for iron production.

Full-cycle ferrous metallurgy produces its own product at each stage. Depending on this, there are several types of enterprises, such as:

• factories of small capacities;
• conversion metallurgy enterprises;
• full cycle plants;
• enterprises producing ferroalloys;
• electric steel plants.

In accordance with the location of coal or iron ore basins, ferrous metallurgy was often inconsistent in its localization. In the current period of a scientific and technological breakthrough, the benchmarks have shifted towards fuel and raw material cargo flows.

Thanks to this, the size of enterprises under construction is reduced, and their geographical location does not depend on deposits. For example, steel mills in Western European countries and Japan are now located in areas with access to the seaport.

The main countries in the extraction of iron ore

Deposits are being developed different countries, however, not all. Until the 1940s, the main development of iron ore deposits was carried out by Germany, France, the USA, Great Britain and Sweden. In the post-war years, these countries lost their primacy to South Africa, Australia, Canada and the USSR. Today the situation has changed somewhat, and the following countries are leading in this area:

• China;
• Brazil;
• India;
• Australia.

More than 40 states in the world are engaged in the development of ore deposits, and the total amount of mined minerals is almost 1 billion tons. Approximately 70% of the total ore mined falls on such states as China (23%), Brazil (17%), Australia (13 %), Russia (9%), India (8%).

Despite impressive volumes, not all of these countries export this species raw materials. Australia and Brazil are the most important exporters, accounting for more than half of the world's exports.

Some states exporting iron ore resources are also engaged in its import. These countries include China, the USA, Italy and the UK, since they have full-cycle enterprises that are characterized by an increased production material intensity.

In this case, the consumption of raw materials and fuel used exceeds the amount of cast iron obtained by 4–5 times by weight. Especially significant are the costs compared to coking coal.

For this reason, the most economically advantageous location of full-cycle plants are territories that are rich in raw materials and fuel at the same time. Representatives of such states are Ukraine, India, China, Australia. In other cases, ferrous metallurgy centers arose near iron ore or coal deposits.

The localization of metallurgical centers in coastal areas provides an alternative in the quality of sea supplies of coal and iron ore. Sometimes the exploitation of imported raw materials and fuel is more profitable than the development of our own deposits.

In particular, India and Latin America iron ore is transported by sea to the coastal plants of Japan, while Australia and China transport energy raw materials. In the EU countries, coal is supplied in the same way from the USA, and ore is supplied by Brazil and South Africa.

Iron production

Basic intermediate product in the production of ferrous metals - cast iron, through which 50% of the total steel in the world is obtained. Recently, the volume of the iron industry has been slowly declining, as it is economically unprofitable and pollutes the atmosphere. Since the beginning of the 90s of the last century, China has occupied a leading position in iron production, before that the USSR had the championship.

Leading in steel production

Steelmaking is considered an important process in the iron and steel industry.

Usually, pig iron is supplied as a primary raw material for steel production, but increasingly, blast furnace production is being replaced by the use of recycled materials in the form of scrap metal. Thanks to scientific and technological revolution modern technologies practically supplanted the old ways of producing steel.

Electrothermal and methods spend less resources, reduce energy consumption and the duration of smelting. A new technique for producing steel by processing metallized pellets made it possible to abandon the classic iron production and build steel plants, regardless of the location of iron ore deposits.

The main producing countries of ferrous metallurgy are:

• Japan;
• The Russian Federation;
• Germany;
• South Korea;
• Brazil;
• India;
• Italy.

rolling production

The most demanded product in the production of ferrous metals is rolled metal, which is the end product of a full cycle. Steel costs several times less than rolled products, from which about 30 thousand types of products are produced in related industrial areas.

The list of states producing high-quality rolled products:

• Japan;
• EU countries.

Leading countries in the production of non-ferrous metals

Non-ferrous metallurgy is divided into two major industries: heavy (production of Pb, Cu, Zn, Sn, Ni) and light (production of Al, Mg, Co, Ti, Li, Be and other metals). In terms of its production scale, ferrous metallurgy surpasses nonferrous metals by about 20 times.

Usually, non-ferrous metallurgy plants are built depending on the localization of deposits, since the amount of valuable metal in the ore is insignificant.

Other factors affecting the localization of non-ferrous metallurgy plants:

• energy;
• consumer;
• transport.

The initial production stages, which involve the extraction and enrichment of ore, are localized in third world countries. States that do not have large copper reserves are focused on the final products of the production cycle.

Leading positions in obtaining copper are occupied by the following countries:

• Chile;
• Indonesia;
• Canada;
• Russia.

Transportation of aluminum ore is more cost-effective than heavy metal raw materials, since the aluminum content of bauxite is about 50%. The total distance of bauxite transportation by sea is more than 7 thousand km, since their main deposits are located in regions with a tropical and subtropical climate.

Countries that mine the largest volumes of aluminum ore:

• Australia;
• Guinea;
• Jamaica;
• Brazil.

The USA, Germany, Japan, Norway, Russia, Canada are the leaders in aluminum production.