Figure 36—The big increase in demand for fishing may create some investment opportunities on 
private lands. 
Minerals Demand—- 
Supply—The Outlook 
Outlook Overview 
For the purposes of this Assessment, 
minerals’ are grouped into three 
categories: (1) energy minerals—oil, 
natural gas, coal, geothermal steam, 
and uranium; (2) metallic minerals— 
copper, lead, molybdenum, gems, gold, 
and silver; and (3) industrial minerals 
and mineral materials—phosphate 
rock, limestone, and sand and gravel. 
These categories include most of the 
minerals that are of special significance 
to the U.S. economy. 
e Although the United States is a 
mineral-rich Nation, it imports 
significant quantities of some minerals, 
especially petroleum. 
e Demands for energy minerals will 
increase, with domestic energy 
production and energy prices 
dependent on foreign competition and 
technological developments in minerals 
exploration and recovery. 
e Overall, there will be no quantitative 
shortage of any energy materials 
worldwide, although the price of oil is 
expected to increase significantly after 
the turn of the century. 
e In general, domestic demand for 
metallic minerals and precious metals 
will continue to increase, but demand 
for any given metallic mineral is likely 
to be highly variable and dependent on 
technology developments and the 
evolution of end-use markets. 
e The United States has supplies of 
many metallic minerals and precious 
metals sufficient to accommodate 
To simplify the discussion further, this report 
frequently uses the term “mineral” when actually 
talking about the constituent elements of 
minerals. For example, iron is referred to in this 
report as a mineral when, in actuality, it is an 
element found in many minerals such as 
hematite, bornite, ete. 
