Regional, National and Continental Minerals Indicators Projects: commonalities and differences in process and product

Abstract

In recent years, the sustainability paradigm has been successfully extended to mineral resources and a body of literature on the linkages among the goals of sustainable development, mineral resources and societal needs has developed. This in turn has led to efforts to monitor and measure progress toward minerals-related sustainability goals. Initiatives in a number of regions have made substantial progress in creating sets of meaningful sustainable development indicators for minerals. We present background information on the European Union, Latin American, and United States, reviewing the goals of each process, applicable spatial scale, methods and structure of the indicator set, and current status. Each process has been unique with regard to its background, methods, and goals, and the indicators themselves differ. Although they are in different stages of completion, these processes have many common features and outcomes.