What can be done?

1. Stop unnecessary and undesirable uses of minerals.

   Stop using high-technology weapons.
   Stop keeping gold stocks for international exchange.

2. Substitute common minerals for rare ones.

3. Be efficient in the mining, refining and use of minerals.

4. Limit consumption
   This can only be done if the First World actually reduces its level of per-capita consumption. In order to help the poor people of the Third World, the Third World could raise its level of consumption a little while using the steps of elimination, substitution and efficiency.

5. Recycle first, mine second
   The amount of fuel needed to refine even low-grade scrap metal is much less than the amount of fuel needed to refine the best quality mineral ore.

6. Control mining
   Use internationally agreed standards to ensure the smallest possible environmental impact and the least possible exploitation of people.

HIGH TECHNOLOGY WEAPONS: are weapons such as guided missiles that require very complicated technology. This complicated technology uses lots of rare minerals for no purpose.

The supplies of gold that countries and banks keep are called GOLD STOCKS.

Now very little is recycled and a lot is consumed:

• In a lifetime each US citizen uses 1,520 tonnes of new minerals.
• Compared to people in less-developed countries, people in industrial countries consume
  • 19 times as much aluminium,
  • 18 times as many chemicals and
  • 13 times as much iron and steel.
• US residents throw away 2.3 million tons of aluminium each year. The energy saved by recycling this waste instead of producing new aluminium could meet the annual electricity needs of Chicago.

Estimates of Recycling rates in the Western world
(US, Japan, Europe and other OECD Countries)

Data from Worldwatch Institute Washington DC, US.
Figures for steel from International Iron and Steel Institute Brussels, Belgium.