ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses of David Ricardo's sometimes puzzling analysis of the rent of mines. Analytical treatment of the economics of mining cannot be found elsewhere in Ricardo's works - although some of his parliamentary speeches do refer to conditions in the domestic coal trade. Ricardo's analysis of the mineral industries is very different from that of Adam Smith; it is more analytical than descriptive and accords with the common view of Ricardo's writings as being difficult and contradictory. However, it can be argued that Ricardo wishes to make a distinction between mines and land which relates to the basis for rent. There are two lasting legacies of Ricardo's treatment of mines. The first is his identification of the different basis for rent in mining as compared to agriculture. The second and more important legacy of Ricardo's treatment of mines is the hypothesis that long run increases in mineral output must come from increasingly inferior mineral deposits.
