MINERALS IN THE WORLD ECONOMY—1991  1MINERALS IN THE 
WORLD ECONOMY 
By Charles L. Kimbell 
 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 This study is intended to serve three roles. First, it represents a global
overview and summary to supplement and complement the five regional companion
volumes of the 1991 edition of the Minerals Yearbook - International Review.
In this regard, it also extends previous time series under this title that
appeared as ~ the introductory chapter to the international volume of the
Minerals Yearbook from the inception of that volume in 1963 until it was
subdivided into separate regional volumes in 1989. The basic statistical
presentations herein generally contain data through and including that for
1991, although in a few instances the most recent statistics are those for
earlier years because more recent, comprehensive global statistics simply
are not yet available owing to delays in data collection and processing in
some countries and continued governmental suppression of data in others.

 The second role of this study is to provide an update to the coverage of
~ events impacting the world's mineral ~ industry that have occurred between
the end of 1991 and the preparation of this study. Inclusion of this update
is almost essential because of the potential effect of some of these events
on global mineral industry activities. 
Finally, this study, in parallel with the regional volumes that it summarizes
and complements, includes limited materials ~ on the short-term outlook for
the world's mineral industry, at least as far as the impact of events covered
in the update can be examined. To simplify the outline 
of this study, the update and outlook appear as a single section with regional
subdivisions following the 1991 review. This arrangement was selected because
most of the noteworthy events are regional in nature, and most seem destined
to have their greatest impact on one specific region or on a selected group
of regions rather than on the world as a whole. 
 
1991 SUMMARY 
 
 In broadest overview, UN global industrial production indicators released
and shown in table 2 suggest that the extractive sector of the world's mineral
industry in aggregate registered a very slight upturn in 1991 relative to
its 1990 performance. It also shows a continued rebound in the industry from
the recessionary period of the mid- to late1980's. These same indicators
as calculated in late 1991, however, reflected a very minor downturn in extractive
mineral industry operations between 1989 and 1990. This latter downturn represented
a notable revision from the data reported in the immediate previous edition
of this chapter, which suggested a tiny upturn. 
 The apparent slight 1991 upturn in extractive sector industrial output generally
was not mirrored in the performance of the processing sectors of the global
mineral industry. Although the aggregate index for the chemicals, petroleum,
coal, and rubber products manufacturers (see table 3) showed a notable gain
in 1991, similar indices for nonmetallic mineral products and for base metals
registered declines between 1990 and 1991. Examination of regional 
performance indices shows that the difficulties experienced in 1990 in maintaining
output levels within the countries that formerly constituted the CMEA were
reinforced by trends toward reduced gains in output levels, if not actual
reductions in output, in several other areas. Generally speaking, the traditional
developed market economy countries recorded downswings in overall industrial
activity in 1991, particularly after midyear, whereas developing market economy
countries logged gains. The developed market economy country downturns, however,
were not nearly as significant as were the downturns recorded for the former
centrally planned ~ economy states — those that before 1992 ~ were
either constituent Republics within the U.S.S.R. or the latter's CMEA partners.

Before detailing statistical assessments ~ of global mineral industry performance,
~ some attention must be given to other ~ politicoeconomic events of 1991
that bore ~ upon fuel and nonfuel mineral industry operations. Heading that
list must be the events associated with the crisis over Kuwait. The United
States led the UN Coalition action to forcibly evict Iraqi forces from the
land area of Kuwait, under the military operation code-named 5Desert Storm.
" The attendant destruction of Kuwaiti oil- and gasproducing and processing
facilities was primarily the result of industrial sabotage by the Iraqis,
but it also included some war damages resulting from Coalition efforts to
oust the invaders, for example, the destruction of valve stations controlling
the flow of crude oil to loading piers, from which the Iraqis were intentionally
polluting the waters of the