The ultimate question regarding our mineral deposits which faces us today is: Are we running i out ? The answer is: Not yet:
Mineral material is a part and parcel of the inorganic constituents of our planet which cannot be destroyed or consumed. Man tends to scatter them far and wide in the environment. He can extract them, in case of absolute necessity, from rocks, from the soil, from ocean waters, with a little I more efforts and of course cost.
However, there is another question which worries the scientific community more than anything | else. It is : Shall we be able to afford the Environmental cost of such a rapid and enormous mineral extraction ? No one is able to answer this question with precision. We are already facing a number of environmental problems associated with mining industry which are enlarging every day. It is high time we should do something about it.