1.5 Sustainable Use of Rocks and Minerals

Main Content

Objective 1: What is a Sustainable Resource and Sustainable Development?

Sustainable Resource

A sustainable resource is a resource that is used in a way that meets the needs of people today without stopping future generations from being able to meet their own needs.

Think of it this way: if you have a jar of biscuits and you eat them all today, there are none left for tomorrow. But if you eat just a few each day, the supply lasts much longer and everyone gets a fair share over time. A sustainable resource works on the same idea — we use it carefully so it doesn't run out.

Rocks and minerals (like iron ore, copper, limestone, and gold) are non-renewable — this means they took millions of years to form and cannot be replaced once they are used up. Because of this, using them sustainably is extremely important.

Sustainable Development

Sustainable development means improving people's quality of life and economic growth in a way that does not permanently damage the environment or use up all natural resources.

It tries to balance three things at once:

• Economic needs — people need jobs, income, and products
• Social needs — people need food, shelter, healthcare, and fair living conditions
• Environmental needs — the planet needs to be protected so it can support life in the future

Sustainable development does not mean stopping all mining or industrial activity. It means finding smarter, more responsible ways to do those things.

Objective 2 & 3: Strategies for the Sustainable Use of Rocks and Minerals

There are four main strategies used to make the use of rocks and minerals more sustainable. Each one is explained below.