Post-industrial shifts in the world’s mining industry

Abstract

The changes in the sectoral and spatial structure of the world’s mining industry that occurred the period during 1980–2019 in the conditions of post-industrial development of the world economy are considered. The relevance of the study is dictated by the global process of dematerialisation of the economy under the influence of scientific and technological progress and the transition of world production to the principles of sustainable development, which causes not only a change in the role of the mining industry in the structure of the economy, but also entails a qualitative transformation of its spatial structure. On the base of calculations of indices characterising the intensity of dynamics, structural shifts and the spatial concentration of the volumes of mineral raw materials extraction with the subsequent interpretation of their values, the key trends in the development of the mining industry and the features characteristic of its constituent sectors, including the extraction of coal, oil, natural gas, iron ore, bauxite, copper, potash and phosphate rock were identified. The result of the conducted research is the revealed features of the mining industry development in the post-industrial period, which consist of positive dynamics of its functioning, stabilisation of the sectoral structure and strengthening of the positions of developing countries and individual regions in the extraction of mineral resources. The obtained results allow us to assess the features of processes taking place in the primary sector of the world economy at the present stage of development and the role of individual countries and regions in the mining industry of the world.