Mineral Resources: Types and Uses

Mineral Resources

• Resources are useful living/non-living things to people in their society.
• Resources are natural or physical assets used to create wealth or improve living standards.
• These assets meet demands and achieve goals.
• Types include natural/physical and human resources.

Natural/Physical Resources

• These are the environment's natural features humans use.

Categories of Natural Resources

• Renewable resources can renew themselves, like forests, water and animals.
• Non-renewable resources cannot renew themselves, such as fossil fuels and minerals like gold and natural gas.
• Mineral resources are natural resources that reside in the soil/land, including petroleum, coal, salt, manganese, and copper.
• Guyana is rich in mineral resources such as precious/semi-precious stones, bauxite, sand, and stone.
• Guyana also has vast kaolin deposits and some petroleum, which have not been fully exploited.

Uses of Mineral Resources

• Bauxite mining occurs in Linden, Kwakwani, and Aroaima in Administrative Region 10, mostly in the Sand and Clay Natural Region.
• Bauxite is processed into aluminum for pots, pans, roof sheeting, and airplane chassis.
• Gold and diamonds are mined mostly in Guyana's mountainous areas
• Key mining towns include the Cuyuni-Mazaruni-Potaro area.
• Diamond is specifically mined in the Kamarang, Kurupung, and Issano areas.
• Gold is used to manufacture jewelry like rings, necklaces, bands, pendants and chains.
• Diamonds are used for wedding rings, necklaces, and other expensive jewelry.
• Semi-precious minerals are found in large quantities in Guyana's mountainous areas for cheap decorative items and jewelry.
• Examples of semi-precious minerals in Guyana: opal, jasper, rose quartz, amethyst, topaz, and black pearl.
• Agate and soapstone are usually crafted into ornamental pieces.
• Guyana has large quantities of sand and stone which are mostly used in building and road construction.
• White sand can be turned to glass, but Guyana has yet to fully explore this.
• Brown sand is used extensively in road construction, found throughout the Sand and Clay region.
• Stone mining takes place in Teperu and Makouria areas.
• Bauxite accounts for about 7.2% (1999) of foreign exchange earnings
• Omai Gold Mines Ltd exports gold and diamond used in expensive jewellery.
• Where minerals are mined, small settlements, such as Mahdia, have developed.
• Kamarang and Omai are settlements linked to the gold and diamond industries.
• Quartz, opal, and black pearl are also semi-precious, highly valued for craft pieces/ornaments.

Importance of Mineral Resources

• Countries like Australia, Canada, Finland, Sweden, and the United States benefited greatly from mineral extraction, forming a basis for industrial development.
• Guyana continues to gain revenue from its minerals.

Economic Importance of Minerals

• Creates further employment through raw material manufacturing.
• Exports generate foreign exchange.
• Reduces foreign spending by not importing products.
• Creates indirect jobs (taxi drivers, store owners, tailors, etc.) in gold mining areas.

Human Resources

• Human resources are key to a country's development
• Utilization depends on the quality of the people.
• Human talent is responsible for using the physical resources.
• It includes labor, skill, and entrepreneurship to extract and develop natural resources.
• It refers to all physical and mental abilities in production

Human Resource Development

• Human resource development improves the quality of labor and entrepreneurship.
• This is an investment of human capital, improving productivity and lowering production costs.

How To Develop Human Resources

• Improvements in the levels of education make human resources training easier.
• More training and retraining make workers faster and benefit the organization and the country.
• Greater emphasis on worker health leads to higher production from healthy workers.
• Improved working conditions affect human resources by including ventilation, light, workspace, and safe surroundings.
• External motivation improves human resources through incentives like bonuses.
• Adequate amount of and quality capital ensure workers with quality machinery and equipment will work well.
• Good management through managers organizing people and materials leads to production and productivity increase.

Definitions

• Human resources include people that make up the workforce with skills and knowledge to contribute to economic and social development.
• Population distribution is how people are spread out across area.

Population as Part of the Labor Force

• A population's labor force contributions include all individuals capable of working, employed or actively seeking employment.
• A high proportion of working-age people (15-64 years) often means a larger labor force.
• The level of education and skill development influences individual's productivity and employability.
• A thriving economy creates job opportunities.
• Cultural attitudes and policies influence labor force participation, especially among women.
• Effective human resource management and policy planning drives economic growth, innovation, and societal development.

Reasons for Sparse Population in Guyana

• Guyana regions are not densely populated do the geography and climate
• Mainly dense rainforests savannahs and mountainous terrain.
• High temperatures, heavy rainfall, and diseases make interior areas less hospitable.
• Lack of transport, healthcare, and education make them less attractive for settlement.
• Subsistence agriculture, mining, and logging offer limited development opportunities in the interior regions.
• Settlements were focused along the coast during colonization due to sugar plantations and trade.
• Coastal regions have fresh water, fertile land, and economic hubs.

Aspects of Human Resources

• Labor is physical and mental efforts in production
• Skills are the expertise the workforce has making them adaptable to new changes and challenges.
• Technology increases productivity by creating workers who are proficient in technologies to maintain economy.
• Capital includes financial and material workforce resources such as machinery and funding, help businesses operate.
• Entrepreneurship drives job innovation from innovation and creates opportunity by making business and managing human resources.
• Attitude of the workforce influences the success of economic productivity, positive attitudes encourage teamwork and resilience for the labor force.

Interconnection of Human Resources Aspects

• Skilled workforce is more effective when giving advanced technology.
• Capital investment increases labor productivity.
• Entrepreneurial initiatives get assistance from motivated and skilled workers to expand markets