ABSTRACT
From time immemorial humankind has always relied on materials for every aspect of life and for the improvement of the quality of life of modern industry and society. As direct inputs for many sectors of the economy these materials play a vital role in all the stages of entire supply chains. The origins of these materials are mineral ores from which metals, industrial materials, stones and energy sources are produced to anchor a very wide variety of industrial activities. Thus, materials derived from minerals are intrinsically linked to every aspect of our life. The access to mineral-based resources has been given great attention globally, and the concept of very important or ‘critical’ resources or materials has emerged in several studies in the EU, USA, Japan and elsewhere. The economic importance of a material may be calculated from a detailed assessment of the use of the material in specific industrial sectors as well as a raw material-specific substitution index.
