To begin, we define soil as the weathered and fragmented outer layer of the earth’s terrestrial surface. It is formed initially through disintegration, decomposition, and recomposition of mineral material contained in exposed rocks by physical, chemical, and biological processes. The material thus modified is further conditioned by the activity and accumulated residues of numerous microscopic and macroscopic organisms (plants and animals). In a series of processes that may require hundreds or even thousands of years and that is called soil genesis, the loose debris of rock fragments is transmuted into a more or less stable, internally ordered, actively functioning natural body. Ultimately, this culminates in the formation of a characteristic soil profile, which resembles a layer cake. We can visualize the soil profile as a composite living body, in the same way that we think of the human body as a distinct organism, even though in reality it is an ensemble of numerous interdependent and symbiotically coordinated groups of organelles, cells, organs, and colonies of myriad organisms. <...>

Q1.1 Describe the main depositional environments and transport processes relevant to soils, and explain their influence on soil fabric and structure.
Q1.1 Solution Use material in Section 1.3.1 to describe and explain
• transport processes: water, wind, ice, ice and water

Minerals are crucial for the development of modern economy. Since mineral resources are exhaustible, increase in their consumption causes its scarcity and the commodity gradually becomes exhausted, so that it is no further available for the mankind. With the increasing demand, the mineral resources would deplete much faster than envisaged earlier. There has been a rising concern about the environmental degradation due to increased exploitation of minerals. Nevertheless, minerals are important drivers of a nation’s economy. Therefore, using the natural resources is imminent, albeit sustainably. Continuous mining of minerals, discovery of new mineral deposits, and import-export-stockpiling of minerals greatly influences the economics of mineral commodities. These data must be perpetually updated in order to provide future perspective and framing of policies at the government level. Therefore, the impulse to write this book stemmed from a need for an updated, compiled and properly interpreted database of the Indian mineral sector.  <...>

Geology has evolved greatly since I wrote the Manual of Field Geology in the 1950s. Advances in theory have transformed the formation mapping of that time into increasingly broader and more interpretive studies.

Structural Geology is the study of deformed rocks. To do so, we define the geometries of rock bodies in three dimensions. Then, we measure or infer the translations, rotations, and strains experienced by rocks both during, and particularly since, their formation based on indicators of what they looked like prior to their deformation. Finally, we try to infer the stresses that produced the deformation based on our knowledge of material properties. Structure is closely related to various fields of engineering mechanics, structural engineering, and material science. <...>

Soils are a valuable resource and a critical component in many of the environmental and economic issues facing society today. Understanding soil properties and soil behaviour and interpreting soil data are especially relevant for many environmental and land management issues facing the community. These issues include urban development, control of salinity, clearing of native vegetation, prevention of land degradation, control of water and wind erosion, irrigation development, the management of effluent disposal, contamination and the management of acid sulfate soils.

During the past century, scientists, world statesmen, and international entrepreneurs have become increasingly aware of the potential of the oceans as a source for minerals. This book provides an authoritative picture of the currentstate of marine mineral extraction. A major work of reference, it will be essential reading both for those engaged in maritime studies and for professional organizations involved in the extraction of underwater minerals.

In 2014, China has continued the implementation of National Exploration and Development Planning and achieved outstanding progress in geological prospecting, and it is the reserves & resources of major mineral resources that increased obviously. There is a sustainable growth in the production and import of major mineral products as well as a further improvement in the supplying capacity. Efforts have been made to promote the survey and evaluation of geology and mineral resources, and better social services. To facilitate the construction of ecological civilization, China has paid more attention to enhance the environmental recovery of mines, and over 25% of the land damaged by mining development has been reclaimed.

Why did we write a book on the economics of mineral resources? As economists, we would be tempted to say that the absence of a French title on the subject was the motivation for the very existence of the original French edition of this book. Nevertheless, this answer might seem rather sketchy, since there are so many reasons for the creation of this collective work.

The U.S. Congress directed the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to develop a program plan for its mineral-resource activities. In 1995, the USGS completed the Mineral Resource Surveys Program (MRSP) plan requested by Congress (Appendix A). To obtain an independent review of the five-year MRSP plan, the U.S. Geological Survey, in a letter from Dr. Willis H. White, the Chief of the USGS Office of Mineral Resources, requested in July, 1995, that the National Research Council (NRC) evaluate the MRSP plan and recommend improvements.