Extraction Industry
Extraction Industry
production sectors that engage in the extraction of various types of raw material and fuel from the interior of the earth; from lakes, streams, and oceans; and from forests. The primary sectors of the industry are the extraction of mineral products (coal; petroleum; natural gas; slates; peat; iron ore; ores of nonferrous, rare, and precious metals; and nonore raw materials); hunting; fishing; catching marine animals and whales and extracting marine products; and logging. Products of the extraction industry are in most cases passed on for processing.
The extraction industry is an important base for obtaining food and raw materials for industry. As technology progresses, national economic demand for various types of raw material and fuel increases, and new sectors of the extraction industry arise accordingly. The level of development of the extraction industry is a function of both the natural and especially the socioeconomic conditions of a country. In the USSR the concentration of all resources in state hands under conditions of a planned socialist economy ensures rapid growth in all sectors of the extraction industry (see Table 1).
| Table 1. Output of the USSR extractive industry | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Types of output | 1913 | 1940 | 1945 | 1950 | 1960 | 1970 |
| Coal (millions of tons) ............... | 29.2 | 166 | 149 | 261 | 510 | 624.1 |
| Petroleum (millions of tons) ............... | 10.3 | 31.1 | 19.4 | 37.9 | 148 | 352.6 |
| Natural gas, including by-products (billions of cu m) ............... | — | 3.2 | 3.3 | 5.8 | 45.3 | 197.9 |
| Iron ore (millions of tons) ............... | 9.2 | 29.9 | 15.9 | 39.7 | 106 | 195.5 |
| Manganese ore (millions of tons) ............... | 1.2 | 2.6 | 1.5 | 3.4 | 5.9 | 6.8 |
| Fish catch, catch of marine animals and whales, and the extraction of marine products (thousands of tons) ............... | 1.051 | 1.404 | 1.125 | 1.755 | 3.541 | 7.9000 |
| Logging (thousands of cu m) ............... | 30.5 | 118 | 61.6 | 161 | 262 | 298.6 |
The strong technological base established in the USSR underlies the sectors of the extraction industry as well.
The extraction industry is also developing successfully in other socialist countries. In 1970 the extraction of (commercial-grade) coal had risen to 29.2 million tons in Bulgaria, 109.5 million tons in Czechoslovakia, 262 million tons in East Germany, 27.8 million tons in Hungary, 172.9 million tons in Poland, 20.5 million tons in Rumania, and 28.4 million tons in Yugoslavia. Petroleum extraction was 1.9 million tons in Hungary, 13.4 million tons in Rumania, and 2.9 million tons in Yugoslavia. About 3.5 billion cu m of natural gas were extracted in Hungary, 5 billion in Poland, and 25 billion in Rumania. Iron ore extraction was 1.3 million tons in Bulgaria, 1.4 million tons in Poland, 1.7 million tons in Rumania, and 3.7 million tons in Yugoslavia.
Among the capitalist countries the United States has the most developed extraction industry. In 1970 the extraction of (commercial-grade) coal was 542 million tons in the United States, 145 million tons in Great Britain, and 219 million tons in West Germany. Petroleum extraction stood at 475 million tons for the United States and 7.5 million tons for West Germany. For natural gas, the figures were 586 billion cu m for the United States (1969) and 12 billion cu m for West Germany. Iron ore extraction was 90.7 million tons for the United States and 57.4 million tons for France.
I. M. BUDNITSKII