posts_gdocs: 1pWACzd00Cc74sAUvFqszD36GP-zmsJMZWfLLkW6hvxI

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                    "text": "The terms \u201creserves\u201d and \u201cresources\u201d are often used interchangeably when it comes to minerals. But there is an important distinction between the two. The chart explains this distinction visually.",
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                    "text": "Every reserve is indeed a resource, but not every resource is a reserve.",
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                    "text": "Two requirements determine whether a mineral resource becomes a reserve. The first is the ",
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                    "children": [
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                            "text": "degree of certainty that it exists",
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                {
                    "text": ": the planet likely has many mineral resources that we have not yet discovered. So to be defined as a reserve, we must have either a proven, probable, or possible understanding of its existence.",
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                    "text": "The second criterion relates to the ",
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                    "children": [
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                            "text": "economic feasibility",
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                {
                    "text": " of accessing and extracting the mineral resource. To be defined as a reserve, it must be economically and technologically viable to recover. If the economics are subeconomic (i.e. would result in a net loss) or marginal, a mineral resource is not a reserve.",
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                    "text": "Whilst the original source of this concept \u2014 the American geologist Vincent McKelvey \u2014 visualized it as a static box, this transition between resources and reserve classifications is dynamic.",
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                    "text": "As we discover previously unknown resources and develop improved extraction technologies for economic recovery, this reserve box can grow with time. It can also shrink if we consume them at a faster rate than they\u2019re discovered.",
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            "filename": "reserves-vs-resources.png",
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    },
    "type": "article",
    "title": "What\u2019s the difference between mineral reserves and resources?",
    "authors": [
        "Hannah Ritchie",
        "Max Roser"
    ],
    "excerpt": "Every reserve is a resource, but not every resource is a reserve.",
    "dateline": "July 29, 2024",
    "subtitle": "Every reserve is a resource, but not every resource is a reserve.",
    "featured-image": "reserve-resource-thumbnail.png"
}