Non-Renewable Resources

R/P ratio

The number of years that the reserves of a non-renewable resource will last at current rates of production

Reserves

how much of a resource is thought to be in the ground, based on exploration to date.

Production

how much of a resource is being taken from the ground each year.

oil sands/tar sands

deposits of sand containing a heavy form of crude oil called bitumen

Fracking

a variety of techniques used to break up shale layers far below the surface in order to release natural gas and/or oil that has been trapped. Injecting a mixture of water, sand, and dozens of chemicals into a well usually breaks up the rock.

mineral reserve

a mineral deposit that can be mined profitably

metallic mineral

a mineral that yields a metal (e.g., iron, gold, copper uranium, zinc, silver, lead) when melted. It typically comes from igneous and metamorphic rocks.

Non-metallic mineral

a mineral that doesn’t change its form when melted (e.g., potash, sand, gravel, diamonds, salt, limestone, building stone). It most commonlgy comes from sedimentary rocks.

Ore

A rock that contains enough of a valuable metallic mineral to make mining profitable