completed. Therefore, there is an increase in cases of underground mining. For example, the purity of copper ore imported by Japan declined from approximately 32.5% in 2001 to approximately 29.0% in 2008. The decline in quality causes increases, not only in terms of costs but also of environmental impact, by increasing energy consumption and mining waste.

The global demand for metal resources is increasing with economic development and population increases in developing countries, and this trend seems to continue (Figure 1-3-21; Figure 1-3-22).

The prices of metal resources are rising against the background of various factors in demand (Figure 1-3-21; Figure 1-3-22). The UNEP International Resource Panel has published a report arguing that although global economic growth has been supported by low metal resource prices, in recent years, the price of metal resources has been increasing, and that innovations in systems and technologies are needed to achieve sustainability for using metal resources efficiently.

Of course, in the short term, the possibility of restrictions arising in the use of base metals such as iron or copper is not high; but there is no security of sustainable use of metal resources in the long term, for the next 50 or 100 years.

## b) Environmental impact of mining

Mining of resources causes various environmental impacts such as damage to ecosystems because of deforestation in large areas, water pollution because of inappropriate management of mining waste, or river pollution and inhibition of the growth of coral reefs because of red-soil erosion. Therefore, mining development that gives consideration to environmental conservation is required.

UNESCO designed the List of World Heritage in Danger to inform the international community of conditions that threaten the very characteristics for which a property was inscribed on the World Heritage List. There are two natural heritage sites that have been designated as World Heritage in Danger because of mining: the Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve and the Okapi Wildlife Reserve.

There are more than 500 species of animals, 2,000 species of plants, and 200 endemic species including viviparous toads in the Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve, which was designated as a World Natural Heritage Site in 1981. For example, chimpanzees and the pigmy hippopotamus

Photo 1-3-1 Chimpanzees at the Outdoor Experimental Area in Mount Nimba

Source: Asahi Newspaper

are distributed in this area. However, the possibility of the loss of the ecosystem has become high because of large-scale open cut mining after the discovery of a vein of iron ore. For this reason, UNESCO put Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve on the World Heritage in Danger list in 1992.

There have also been cases in which waste produced by mining development without appropriate processing caused environmental pollution.

At a mine in Southeast Asia, acid tailings in excess of the regulation standard spilled out due to an increase in tailings combined with mining production growth. Because of this, the mine was directed to reduce production and observe the law in order to mitigate environmental impact.

Also, in some countries, mountain surface soils are removed for mining development. Deforestation in the case of such mines is greater than that of open-cut mining.

On the other hand, in order to prevent such environmental destruction, advanced approaches to develop mines with care for the environment are ongoing. The International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM), established by the world's major mining companies, has established a set of 10 fundamental principles for sustainable development. They are requesting that their members pursue continuous improvement of environmental performance and that they contribute to integrative plans for biodiversity conservation and land use plans. They are also requesting that mine development companies work on biodiversity according to samples described in their Good Practice Guidance for Mining and Biodiversity.

Upon receiving such a request, some companies have recovered unique land vegetation by backfilling closed mines, and some have set up protection zones.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has established guidelines for environmental measures appropriate for mine development that business operators have to follow, and they apply it in their project examinations. In these guidelines, the following are required: controlling mine discharged water so as not to exceed the water quality standard; establishing mine waste site safety; blocking

Photo 1-3-2 Mine Development Situation in Mount Nimba

Source: Google Maps, scale size about 1/17,000

out harmful discharged water that can leak from waste; and conserving biodiversity by minimizing disturbance of vegetation or soil.

In Japan, environmental conservation has already been practiced in mining development by adopting leading-edge techniques that fully care for the environment. However, many mines are located in developing countries such as those in Asia or Africa. In these countries, mines are characteristically developed by mining majors from foreign countries such as Europe or the United States. People in Japan need to pay attention to whether appropriate environment measures are practiced in resource mining overseas, since Japan is importing resources and enjoying an affluent lifestyle thanks to this.

## C) Rare metals

Rare metals, which are useful as well as scarce, are increasingly attracting attention due to the prevalence of precision machinery in the world.

Rare metals have respective special properties such as heat resistance, corrosion resistance, or fluorescence. They are widely used as primary materials in precision machinery such as automobiles or IT products (Figure 1-3-23).

For instance, tantalum, when used as a raw material for electronic circuits, has the same capabilities and high stability as aluminum despite being one-sixtieth the size. Because of its benefits, production is increasing with the growth in demand for computers and cell phones.

Titanium has high corrosion resistance to acid or salt seawater. Its mass is 45% that of iron steel, and its durability is higher than that of iron steel. Because of these features, the demand is increasing for its use in additive substances for cemented carbide, aircraft engines, or watches.

Figure 1-3-23 Uses of Rare Metals

However, since rare metals are mainly produced as by-products of base metals, their supply structure is fragile. For example, there is no mineral ore of which the primary component is indium, gallium, cadmium, or germanium. As a result, economically or quantitatively, the conditions for mining operations cannot be satisfied. Therefore, these rare metals are produced as by-products of zinc ore, which is economically feasible. Zinc ore contains a small amount of iron or rare metals. After a calcination step, which is a process for zinc production, iron is separated off by melting with a sulfuric acid solution, after which the crude material of rare metals remains. From this crude material, the respective rare metals are purified. Because of this kind of situation, production cannot be controlled based on the demand for rare metals: production of rare metals must depend on the trend of zinc production. Accordingly, for instance, even if the demand for electrodes for liquid-crystal displays (LCDs) increases, the natural resource supply of indium cannot be increased at the same rate.

The countries that produce rare metals are not equally distributed: half or more of the reserves of most rare metals are shared by the top three producing countries (Table 1-3-2). Therefore, as seen in the example of China's export restrictions on rare earth, Japan's economic activity would be affected by changes in export policy in the major producing countries.

Because of the supply-demand circumstances shown above, the price of rare metals is distinctly unstable compared with base metals such as iron or copper, which can be supplied stably and in large quantities. Figure 1-3-24 shows the price fluctuation of some rare metals, with an index of the price as of 2000 given as 100. The price of selenium, which is used for thin film solar panels or photoconductor drums of photocopy machines, or

Source: Website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan Understand! Foreign Affairs