Natural resources and economic development

Mineral, power and forest resources are the foundation of economic development
They help in giving an initial push to the raising of production in all sectors of the
economy. If the quality of manpower is high a country, it will make the best use of
the natural resources and attain development in the shortest possible period of time.
Human and natural resources are thus both determining factors in economic
development. We, in this article, briefly examine the importance, quantity and the
quality of the mineral power and forest resources available in Pakistan. The
resources are discussed under separate heads.

MINERAL RESOURCES

The minerals, like the forest are the precious wealth of a country. These are extracted
from earth. Some minerals like coal, iron, copper et .are found in solid forms and some
like gas, petrol, oil etc are discovered in liquid shape. A country with large deposits of
minerals provides a sound base for the development of a large number of industries
viz.. iron, steel, petrol chemicals, cement, pottery etc. The discovery of varied mineral
deposits provides employment to a large number of persons living in that area. Their
economic condition improves. The availability of mineral resources in the country
reduces the import bill of many items like oil, chemicals machinery etc. The mining
sector thus makes a significant contribution to GDP.

MINERAL DEPOSITS

Natural Gas.

The discovery of huge reservoirs of natural gas is a great blessing of God Pakistan. The
gas is a very good substitute for coal and petroleum. It is also used as a raw material in
various industries such as fertilizer, rayon ,plastic, resin etc. The Oil and Gas
Development Corporation (OGDC)assisted by a few other foreign oil companies is
making hectic efforts in the survey and exploration of gas and oil resources in different
parts of the country. These efforts have born fruit atmany places like Pirkoh Toot and
Dhodak. The recent discovery of oil andgas reserves at Dement is very significant. As
on April, 1,2007, there coverable reserves of natural gas have been estimated at 31.81
trillion cubic feet. The average production of natural gas by 13 different gas companies
is3876 million cubic feet per day.

LPG:

LIQUEFIED Petroleum Gas: The LPG is economical, clear, and environmental friendly
fuel. It is the most popular domestic fuel in areas where supply of natural gas is
technical or operationally not feasible. All present about 1650 million tons per day LPG
is being produced daily. There are 22 LPG companies marketing the indigenous and
imported LPG in the country. The Government has deregulated the allocation and price
of LPG from Sept.2000 to keep the prices of LPG at reasonable level.

CNG:

compressed Natural Gas: The use of CNG in automotive vehicles is being encouraged
to reduce pressure on petroleum imports and improve environment. The Government
has issued instructions to promote CNG inthe transport sector as an alternative fuel.2.
Crude Oil. Oil is called the liquid gold. It is an important source of energy. It contributes
about 44.6% to the total energy supply of the country. The balance recoverable
reserves of crude oils 1.1.2007 is estimated at 317 million barrels.

Coal.

Pakistan has a sufficiently large re source base of coal of about 185 billion tunes.
Deposits of over 175 billion tunes in the deserts of Send have been discovered. The
drilling is in progress. During the year 2006-07 the PMDC (Pakistan Mineral
DevelopmentCorporation) has produced 4.9 million tunes of coal.

Chlorite.

Chlorite is an important mineral and is used in hardening andr efining ores, leather
tanning, manufacture of steel goods, chemicalsetc. Fairly large deposits of Chlorite
have been found near Muslim bagh in Zhob District (Baluchistan). Chlorite deposits also
occur in Peshawar and Kalat Divisions but are not being mined. The production of
Chlorite has been persistently declining in the past few years due to the tough
international competition from Rhodesia, Korea,Turkey, and U.S.A.

Barite.

Barite (commonly called drilling mud) is mainly used in oil well drilling operations. Fairly
large deposits
of Barite have been discovered in Khuzdar district in Baluchistan and inHazara district
NWFP. A Barite grinding plant has been set up at Khuzdar.6. Gypsum. Gypsum is being
used in the production of cement, chemical fertilizers, plaster of Paris etc. Very large
deposits of gypsum are found in all the four provinces of Pakistan.

Limestone.

Limestone is used in cement industry, building and constructional material. Large

deposits of limestone are found in all the provinces of Pakistan. The total production of
limestone was 14.6thousand tones in 2006.8. Rock Salt. Rock Salt is used for domestic
and commercial purposes. Its main deposits are found in Jhelum,Mianwail and Kohat
district. The annual production of rock salt was 2012thousand tones in 2007.9.

Silica Sand.
Silica Sand is mainly used in chemicals metallurgical and refractory industries. Its
deposits are in Mian wali. Dera Ghazi Khan, Dera Ismail Khan, Dadu and Hazara
districts.10. Soapstone. Soapstone is used as a raw material in many industries like
paints, roofing tiles soap insecticides etc. The production of soapstone was 42thousand
tones.

Magnetite.

Magnetite is mainlyfound in Nasal in Zhob district. Somequantity has also been

discovered inSherwan in NWFP.This Hub was last updated on June 25,2012

Role of Natural Resources in Economic Development!

 The principal factor affecting the development of an economy is the natural
resources or land. “Land” as used in economics includes natural resources such
as the fertility of land, its situation and composition, forest wealth, minerals,
climate, water resources and sea resources etc.
 For economic growth, the existence of natural resources in abundance is
essential. A country which is deficient in natural resources will not be in a position
to develop rapidly. As pointed out by Lewis, “Other things being equal, men can
make better use of rich resources than they can of poor,”
 In LDCs, natural resources are either unutilised, underutilised or misutilised. This
is one of the reasons for their backwardness. The presence of abundant
resources is not sufficient for economic growth. What is required is their proper
exploitation. If the existing resources are not being properly exploited and
utilised, the country cannot develop. J.L. Fisher has rightly said, “There is little
reason to expect natural-resource development if people are indifferent to the
products or services which such resources can contribute”.
 This is due to economic backwardness and lack of technological factors.
Therefore, natural resources can be developed through improved technology and
increase in knowledge. In reality, as pointed out by Lewis, “the value of a
resource depends upon its usefulness, and its usefulness is changing all the time
through changes in tastes, technique or new discovery.”
 When such changes are taking place, any nation can develop itself economically
through the fuller utilisation of its natural resources. For example, Britain
underwent agricultural revolution by adopting the method of rotation of crops
between 1740 to 1760.
 Similarly, France was able to revolutionise its agriculture on the British pattern
despite shortage of land. On the other hand, the countries of Asia and Africa
have not been able to develop their agriculture because they have been using
old methods of production.
 It is often said that economic growth is possible even when an economy is
deficient in natural resources. As pointed out by Lewis, “A country which is
considered to be poor in resources today may be considered very rich in
resources at some later time, not merely because unknown resources are
discovered, but equally because new uses are discovered for the known
resources.”
 Japan is one such country which is deficient in natural resources but it is one of
the advanced countries of the world because it has been able to discover new
uses for limited resources. Moreover, by importing certain raw materials and
minerals from other countries, it has been successful in overcoming the
deficiency of its natural resources through superior technology, new researches,
and higher knowledge. Similarly, Britain has developed without non-ferrous
metals.
 Thus for economic growth the existence of abundant natural resources is not
enough. What is essential is their proper exploitation through improved
techniques so that there is little wastage and they could be utilised for a longer
time.