extractive industry

The extractive industry involves the extraction of natural resources from the Earth, such as minerals, fossil fuels, and timber. Economic geology is the scientific discipline focused on the distribution of these mineral deposits, the economics of their recovery, and assessing available reserves.12

While these resources can bring significant wealth, they can also lead to economic challenges. The "resource curse," or "Dutch disease," occurs when a windfall in one sector, like oil or gas discovery, causes a country's currency to appreciate. This makes other export industries less competitive, potentially harming the overall economy despite resource abundance. Diversifying the economy is crucial to avoid these pitfalls.3

Examples of extractive industries include mining for sand and gravel for construction, offshore oil and natural gas exploration, and the recovery of minerals like ilmenite and tin.45