ABSTRACT
Just as minerals have no intrinsic worth outside the human system which creates their resource value, so the mineral production and consumption process can only be judged in terms of its implications for human welfare. In other words, the mineral sector must be evaluated by its performance, by the extent to which it fulfils the wider economic, social, environmental and political objectives of society. This chapter concerns economic efficiency; distributive equity; economic growth and employment generation against which the results of the mineral production system can be evaluated. Decisions on rates of mineral consumption may involve conflict between, on the one hand, groups with strong economic interests in development and anxious to maintain levels of material growth, and on the other, those concerned with current levels of environmental pollution or with sustainable future lifestyles and intergenerational equity.
