Mineral Resource Abundance: An Assessment Methodology for a Responsible Use of Mineral Raw Materials in Downstream Industries

Abstract

The sustainability of mineral resources and, in particular, their abundance is a topic of growing interest. Nevertheless, the abundance of mineral raw materials is an extremely complex notion as it not only encompasses geological considerations but also environmental, technical, economic, and social constraints. In addition, to the best of our knowledge, no tools are currently available to allow a comprehensive evaluation of mineral raw material abundance. This research paper, therefore, aims to present an innovative and unique methodology to evaluate the abundance of non-energy mineral resources and determine a mineral abundance index (MAI). Based on a multicriteria analysis, MAI considers the natural abundance of a mineral raw material in the Earth’s crust and its availability on the market and integrates the influence of factors that could constrain or promote future market changes. This new index ranging from 0 (very scarce) to 100 (very abundant) aims to qualify the abundance of mineral resources in a simple and rapid manner based on published and reliable data. This new methodology could be a powerful decision-making support tool for any downstream industrials and end-users making use of mineral raw materials.