82 • Marine Minerals: Exploring Our New Ocean Frontier 



activity, consumer preference, changing technol- 

 ogies, prices, and other unpredictable factors (see 

 box 3-A). 



Long-term demand is difficult to forecast. Sim- 

 ple projections of consumption trends may be mis- 

 leading (figure 3-1).^ From the late 1970s through 



^J. Tilton, "Changing Trends in Metal Demand and the Dedine 

 of Mining and Mineral Processing in North America," paper pre- 

 sented at Colorado School of Mines Conference on Public Policy and 

 the Competitiveness of U.S. and Canadian Metals Production, 

 Golden, CO, Jan. 27-30, 1987. 



Figure 3-1.— Actual and Projected Consumption of 



Selected Minerals in the Market-Economy Countries 



(1950-85) 



12 

 10 



m 8 



o 



c 6|- 



2 - 



50 



55 



60 



65 70 

 Year 



75 



80 



85 



Box 3-A. — Government Sources of Information 

 and Units of Measure Used in This Report 



The U.S. Bureau of Mines compiles statistics 

 related to production, demand, and availability 

 of minerals and mineral commodities. The U.S. 

 Geological Survey compiles information and data 

 about domestic and world mineral resources. Both 

 are agencies of the U.S. Department of the In- 

 terior which has responsibility for managing the 

 resources of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) 

 and the onshore public lands. The Minerals Man- 

 agement Service (MMS) administers the OCS 

 program, and the Bureau of Land Management 

 (BLM) manages the onshore lands within the De- 

 partment of the Interior. 



Information about mining and manufacturing 

 is 2ilso available from the International Trade 

 Administration (ITA) and the Bureau of Eco- 

 nomics housed in the Department of Commerce. 

 The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin- 

 istration (NOAA), another Commerce agency, is 

 responsible for information and services related 

 to the ocean environment and marine science; it 

 is also a source of information related to the re- 

 sources of the EEZ. 



Although commodity statistics are often re- 

 ported in several different units of weight depend- 

 ing on which commodity is being discussed, all 

 tonnage has been converted to short tons (2,000 

 pounds) in this report unless otherwise specified 

 all uses of the term "ton" means "short ton." 

 Weights are reported in elemental form, although 

 some minerals are more commonly used as other 

 compounds, e.g., titanium as titanium dioxide 

 (Ti02) for pigments. 



1.2 

 1.0 

 0.8 

 0.6 

 0.4 



0.2 



0.0 



50 



80 85 



55 



60 



65 70 

 Year 



75 



80 



85 



Changes in the world economy since 1973 have made it 



difficult to forecast the long-term consumption of metals 



by the Market-Economy Countries. 



SOURCE: J. Tilton. "Ctianging Trends in Metal Demand and ttie Decline of Min- 

 ing and Mineral Processing in North America," paper presented at a 

 cpnference on Public Policy and ttie Competitiveness of U.S. and Cana- 

 dian Metals Production, Colorado Sctiooi of Mines, Jan. 27-30, 1987 

 (modified). 



