ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the earlier demonstration that depletion and relative factor price changes are insufficient to explain the shifting pattern of supply and demand in the world industry, suggesting alternative hypotheses on the demand side. It examines the economic, geotechnical, and engineering bases for making predictions. The chapter explores the implications for the industry and its corporate planning strategies. According to the theory, the inability of United States firms to produce copper at lower costs than firms in the rest of the world influenced this disparate regional growth pattern. In a study of grade depletion Newcomb examined the factors contributing to the hypothesis of declining North American comparative advantage relative to the costs of expanding better situated copper production in South America, Australia, and Africa. United States copper firms have higher costs mandated for improved control of sulfur oxide emissions and other environmental and safety problems.
