Resource Development

Stock resources - can run out, can't be replaced in the near future as the planet has a limited 'stock'. An example would be fossil fuels, they take millions of years to form so once they are used up they're no longer available.

Flow Resources - can be replenished because they are resources that will never run out and don't rely on human input to manage them. E.g. sunlight and wind 

Critical flow resources - resources that may require careful management by humans to ensure they are replenished. E.g. wood from forests

1) Uneven global distribution of resources. Some countries have the resources they need from the environment, however other resources are gained through trade. 

2) Resulting in local, regional, and global transfers of resources, enabling countries to get the resources they need 

3) Stock resources are expensive to transport and extract but can be valuable - companies go through 'evaluation' to decide if the resource is economically viable.

4) Companies decide whether the material is a 'resource' or reserve'

Resource - entire supply of material including bits that aren't economically viable

Reserve - the amount of resource that is economically viable 

The international scale used to evaluate resources: 

Possible resources: thought to exist, based on knowledge of geology and but hasn't been sampled

Inferred resources - identified, from limited samples of geology, but haven't been measured

Indicated reserve - size of reserve partly measured, measurement used to estimate actual extent

Measured reserve - size of reserve measured and is accurately known

5) Resource stages of development:

Exploration -locating potential resource and evaluating through sampling + surveying local area

Exploitation - extracting then preparing resource for use and transporting it.

Depletion - resource begins to run out 

Development - new methods of extraction developed to prolong the life of the resource

Exhaustion…