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Colombian mineral resources: An analysis from a Thermodynamic Second Law perspective

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  • Gabriel Carmona, Luis
  • Whiting, Kai
  • Valero, Alicia
  • Valero, Antonio

Abstract

Natural non-renewable resources, such as minerals, are becoming increasingly depleted against a backdrop of intense industrialisation. Through the exergy analysis and thermoeconomic tools it is possible to assign a figure to the degree of depletion. This is because the exergy replacement cost represents the effort needed by humankind to return minerals to their original conditions from the “commercially dead state”, Thanatia. The authors undertake an evaluation of the ten most significantly produced minerals in Colombia, since 1990. Via the 2011 mineral balance, this paper shows that the highest exergetic losses are in the extraction for export and not national consumption rates. The loss in mineral wealth, quantified in exergy terms for 2011 is 119.2Mtoe (4.99×109GJ) and has, since 1990, accumulated to 1,543.4Mtoe (6.46×1010GJ). In converting these losses into economic terms, it becomes clear that the nation must re-think its mineral export strategy, if it is develop sustainably.

Suggested Citation

  • Gabriel Carmona, Luis & Whiting, Kai & Valero, Alicia & Valero, Antonio, 2015. "Colombian mineral resources: An analysis from a Thermodynamic Second Law perspective," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 23-28.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jrpoli:v:45:y:2015:i:c:p:23-28
    DOI: 10.1016/j.resourpol.2015.03.005
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Valero, Alicia & Valero, Antonio & Gómez, Javier B., 2011. "The crepuscular planet. A model for the exhausted continental crust," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 694-707.
    2. Valero, Antonio & Agudelo, Andrés & Valero, Alicia, 2011. "The crepuscular planet. A model for the exhausted atmosphere and hydrosphere," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(6), pages 3745-3753.
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    Cited by:

    1. Palacios, Jose-Luis & Calvo, Guiomar & Valero, Alicia & Valero, Antonio, 2018. "The cost of mineral depletion in Latin America: An exergoecology view," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 117-124.
    2. Qi, Hai & Dong, Zhiliang & Dong, Shaohui & Sun, Xiaotian & Zhao, Yiran & Li, Yu, 2021. "Extended exergy accounting for smelting and pressing of metals industry in China," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    3. Whiting, Kai & Carmona, Luis Gabriel & Sousa, Tânia, 2017. "A review of the use of exergy to evaluate the sustainability of fossil fuels and non-fuel mineral depletion," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 202-211.
    4. Jose-Luis Palacios & Guiomar Calvo & Alicia Valero & Antonio Valero, 2018. "Exergoecology Assessment of Mineral Exports from Latin America: Beyond a Tonnage Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-18, March.
    5. Kai Whiting & Luis Gabriel Carmona & Angeles Carrasco & Tânia Sousa, 2017. "Exergy Replacement Cost of Fossil Fuels: Closing the Carbon Cycle," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-21, July.
    6. Li, Tianjiao & Wang, Anjian & Xing, Wanli & Li, Ying & Zhou, Yanjing, 2019. "Assessing mineral extraction and trade in China from 1992 to 2015: A comparison of material flow analysis and exergoecological approach," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 1-1.
    7. Guiomar Calvo & Alicia Valero & Luis Gabriel Carmona & Kai Whiting, 2015. "Physical Assessment of the Mineral Capital of a Nation: The Case of an Importing and an Exporting Country," Resources, MDPI, vol. 4(4), pages 1-14, November.
    8. Wang, Ran & Cheng, Jinhua & Zhu, Yali & Xiong, Weiwei, 2016. "Research on diversity of mineral resources carrying capacity in Chinese mining cities," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 108-114.
    9. Jia, Hongxiang & Li, Tianjiao & Wang, Anjian & Liu, Guwang & Guo, Xiaoqian, 2021. "Decoupling analysis of economic growth and mineral resources consumption in China from 1992 to 2017: A comparison between tonnage and exergy perspective," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).

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