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Science 15 December 1978:
Vol. 202. no. 4373, pp. 1151 - 1157
DOI: 10.1126/science.202.4373.1151
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Articles

Iron Ore: Energy, Labor, and Capital Changes with Technology

Peter J. Kakela 1

1 Associate professor in the Department of Resource Development and Extension Specialist in Resource Management and Policy, Michigan State University, East Lansing 48824

Resource gathering is depending on leaner crude ores. Iron ore mining typifies this trend. To make lean taconite iron ores useful required a technologic breakthrough—pelletization. The shift to iron ore pellets has the advantage that they require less energy and labor per ton of molten iron than high-grade naturally concentrated ores. Increased reliance on pellets causes a geographic shift of some jobs and environmental effects from blast furnaces to iron ore mines.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Energy and the U.S. Economy: A Biophysical Perspective.
C. J. Cleveland, R. Costanza, C. A. S. Hall, and R. Kaufmann (1984)
Science 225, 890-897
   Abstract »    PDF »
Iron Ore: From Depletion to Abundance.
P. J. Kakela and P. J. Kakela (1981)
Science 212, 132-136
   Abstract »    PDF »


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