In recent years, the world economy has gradually recovered, the demand for mineral products has increased strongly, and the prices of mineral products have generally increased. The regions where the world economy is growing continue to expand, the US economy is running steadily, and the Japanese economy is recovering, especially in developing countries such as China and India, which have improved the balance and stability of world economic growth. The recovery of the world economy, the increase of investment in fixed assets, the strong demand for energy and raw materials due to political factors and speculative fund speculation, and the shortage of mineral products, coupled with the continued weakness of the US dollar, have caused the prices of most international mineral products settled in US dollars to generally rise, and many mineral products have reached record highs for many years, which is an obvious feature of the recent world mining industry. At the same time, although the output of mineral products in the world is increasing (Table 1.6), the demand growth is too strong in a short period of time (Table 1.7), which makes it difficult for mining production and mineral products market to adapt, which is characterized by strong demand, insufficient supply, tight supply and demand situation, and generally rising mineral products prices. However, affected by the spreading financial crisis, some new changes have taken place in the situation of mineral resources, such as slowing demand and plummeting prices, which are likely to affect mineral exploration and development in the future.

in p>27, the annual average price of crude oil in the international market (spot price of new york crude oil) was 72.26 USD/barrel, up 9.5% compared with 26; In 27, the long-term supply price of iron ore increased by 9.5%; in 28, the import price of iron ore from Brazil increased by 65% and that from Australia increased by 96.5%; In 27, the average price of refined copper in the world was $7,119/ton, up 5.8% year-on-year; The price of refined aluminum was 2638 USD/ton, up 2.8% year-on-year.

Table 1.6 Output of major mineral products in the world

Continued table

Table 1.7 Consumption of some mineral products in the world

1.4.1 The contradiction between energy supply and demand is prominent, and the price of crude oil in the international market continues to rise

27 is the fourth year of sustained growth in the global energy market. The sustained growth of the world economy has led to the continuous growth of global primary energy consumption. In 27, although the consumption of all fuels continued to increase, the growth rate has obviously slowed down. With the increasing public concern about energy security and climate change, the energy industry has become the focus of the world. In 27, the price of crude oil (Daqing crude oil) continued to fluctuate and rose to a high of $9.41 per barrel in December. The price of natural gas was pushed up by the rising oil price. Facing the change of demand, the average price of natural gas in Henry Hub of the United States in 27 was $6.95 per million British thermal units, up 2.7% from 26. In 27, the price of Herenbp in Britain fell by 23.7% to $6.1 per million British thermal units. Tight production capacity, bad weather conditions, persistent conflicts in the Middle East, civil strife in many countries around the world, and a large number of investment funds entering the energy field are all important factors to promote the continuous rise of energy prices in the international market. Although the prices of oil and natural gas in the international market have risen sharply, there is no shortage of oil and natural gas supply. The security of energy supply has attracted widespread attention, and the influence of geopolitics on the world oil market has gradually intensified (Table 1.8).

In p>27, the world oil output was 3.96 billion tons, down .2% year-on-year (Table 1.6), the first decline since 22; Consumption was 3.953 billion tons, up 1.6% year-on-year. In 27, China's oil consumption increased by 4.1%. For the third consecutive year, the oil consumption of the United States experienced negative growth, which was .1% lower than that of 26, but it still accounted for 23.9% of the world oil consumption. From the main consumption areas, North America, Asia-Pacific and Europe are still the main consumption areas of oil, accounting for 28.7%, 3.% and 24.% of the total world consumption respectively. In 27, the global oil consumption increased to 99, barrels a day, thus making the daily oil consumption reach 85.22 million barrels. The consumption of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has dropped by about 385, barrels per day. In 27, OPEC oil production decreased by 356, barrels per day. In 27, the output of other producing countries decreased by 256, barrels per day. The output of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development decreased by 287, barrels per day, which was the fifth consecutive year. During this period, Russia's output reached a new peak, with an increase of .9 million barrels per day. The output of the United States, Brazil, Venezuela and other countries has also increased. In 27, the average price of Brent crude oil was $71.82 per barrel, which was 1.3% higher than the average price in 26 and reached the peak of $9.85 per barrel in December (Table 1.8).

table 1.8 price unit of crude oil in major markets in the world from 22 to 27: USD/barrel

In 27, the world natural gas output was 2.94 trillion cubic meters, up by 2.4% over 26, slightly lower than the 1-year average. Russia and the United States are the two countries with the largest natural gas production, with the output of 67.4 billion cubic meters and 545.9 billion cubic meters respectively, accounting for 2.6% and 18.6% of the world's total natural gas production respectively. China's natural gas production increased by 18.4%, accounting for only 2.4% of the world's output. In 27, the world's natural gas consumption was 2.925 trillion cubic meters, an increase of 3.1% over 26, which was higher than the growth rate of 2.4% in 26. The United States and Russia are the two largest natural gas consumers in the world, with natural gas consumption of 613.1 billion cubic meters and 432.1 billion cubic meters respectively, accounting for 22.6% and 15.% of the world's natural gas consumption respectively. In 27, China's natural gas consumption increased by 19.9% year-on-year, which was the largest in the world, but it only accounted for 2.3% of the world's natural gas consumption. The slowdown of global economic growth is the main reason for the slowdown of world natural gas consumption growth.

in p>27, coal remained the fastest growing fuel in the world. In 27, the coal output was 6.396 billion tons, up 3.3% year-on-year; The consumption was 3.178 billion tons of oil equivalent, up 4.5% year-on-year, higher than the 1-year average. Among them, Latin America has the fastest growth rate, and the coal production and consumption in Latin America have increased by 6.% and 7.3% respectively compared with the previous year. China is still the largest coal consumer in the world, and the growth of coal consumption slowed down in 27, but it is still higher than the 1-year average. In 27, China's consumption increased by 7.9%, accounting for 41.3% of the global coal consumption, accounting for more than 7% of the global consumption increase; The rise of oil price and natural gas price is the main reason for the increase of coal consumption in China. The United States is the second largest coal consumer. In 27, the coal consumption was 574 million tons of oil equivalent, accounting for 18.1% of the global consumption, showing the first decline since 22. Outside of China, the growth of coal is moderate, with an increase rate of 2.%, which is higher than the average annual growth rate in the past 1 years. At present, the international coal price is still relatively low, and the increase of coal price is less than that of oil and natural gas.

in p>27, the consumption of nuclear energy was 622 million tons of oil equivalent, down 2.% year-on-year. The United States is still the world's largest producer and consumer of nuclear energy. In 27, the United States consumed 192 million tons of oil equivalent, accounting for 3.9% of the world's nuclear energy consumption that year. The consumption of OECD member countries is 527 million tons of oil equivalent, accounting for 84.7% of the global consumption increase. China's nuclear consumption increased by 14.6% to 14.2 million tons of oil equivalent. As a big consumer of nuclear power, France's nuclear power consumption in 27 was 99.7 million tons of oil equivalent, down 2.4% year-on-year, accounting for 16.% of the world's total nuclear power consumption.

1.4.2 The demand in the world steel market is strong, and the iron ore supply is tight, and the price has risen sharply

In p>27, the world steel output reached a record 1.322 billion tons, an increase of 6.7% over 26. This is the fourth consecutive year that the world's steel output has exceeded 1 billion tons. In 27, the world steel output increased by 76.4% compared with 1 years ago and 55.5% compared with 5 years ago. China is the largest steel producer in the world, and its output reached 489 million tons in 27. China's steel output accounts for 37.% of the world's output. Among the top five steel producers, the total steel output of Japan, the United States, Russia and South Korea is only 69.6% of that of China. Japan is the second largest steel producer with an output of 12 million tons. The United States ranks third in the world with 97.21 million tons. Other important steel producers are Russia, South Korea, Germany, India and Ukraine. At present, China, Japan, South Korea, the United States, Germany, Canada and Russia are the major iron and steel importers and exporters in the world. The steel trade of these countries occupies a large share in the world steel trade. Due to the current global steel overcapacity and fierce competition in the international steel market, the countries with higher international market share are Japan, Germany and Russia.

The increase in iron ore demand has driven iron ore production companies to accelerate capacity expansion and production increase, thus making the world iron ore output reach 1.69 billion tons in 26, an increase of 9.7% over 25. Due to the shortage of iron ore in the international market, the world's major iron ore production companies raised the price of iron ore again in the price negotiation in 26. Although China, as a big iron ore trading country, directly participated in the iron ore price negotiation in 26, because the three mining giants monopolized 7% of the global seaborne iron ore trade, China was always at a disadvantage in the negotiation, and finally had to accept the price increase agreement of 9.5% again.

In recent years, except molybdenum, most ferroalloy mineral products in the world, such as refined nickel, manganese ore, chromite, cobalt ore and tungsten ore, are in short supply, and their prices generally rise.

1.4.3 The market is in short supply, and the prices of most non-ferrous metals have reached a record high

Since the 21st century, the consumption of major non-ferrous metals has increased rapidly. Although the output has also increased, the overall supply is still in short supply (Table 1.9), and the prices have continued to rise (Table 1.1). In 27, the demand of the world nonferrous metals market surged, and the supply of many nonferrous metals mineral markets was insufficient. In addition, the inventory of some products declined, and the prices rose sharply. The overall price level of non-ferrous metals has also reached a new high in the past 1 years. Among the six major non-ferrous metals in 27, the annual average price of lead increased by 1.5% after the sharp increase in 26, reaching $2,58/ton. The average annual prices of tin and nickel were US$ 14,539/ton and US$ 37,23/ton, respectively, increasing by 65.9% and 53.3% year-on-year, both hitting new highs in 17 years. The average annual prices of copper and aluminum were $7,119/ton and $2,638/ton, respectively, up by 5.8% and 2.8% year-on-year, which turned from a sharp price increase to a high level. The annual average price of zinc is $3,242/ton, down .9% year-on-year, which is the only drop among the six non-ferrous metals. The output and consumption of the world's major non-ferrous metals have increased in different degrees, but the market supply situation is becoming increasingly serious. In 27, most other non-ferrous metals also showed a good situation of increasing production and consumption and booming market supply and demand. The prices of metals such as antimony, bismuth, cadmium, indium, titanium, cobalt and selenium all increased greatly.

Table 1.9 Supply and demand of major non-ferrous metals in the world in 27 Unit: 1, tons

Table 1.1 Spot prices of major metals (annual average prices) from 21 to 27

1.4.4 Precious metal market is booming, and most precious metal prices are rising

Although the world demand for gold has not changed much in recent years, the price of gold has been rising all the way. In 27, like most mineral products, the international precious metals market showed a scene of booming supply and demand. The annual gold price fluctuated greatly, with an average annual gold price of 696.39 US dollars/ounce, up 15.2% from 26 (Table 1.1). On December 28th, the gold price rose to 833.75 US dollars/ounce, a 27-year high. In terms of supply, the world gold mine output in 27 was 2,2.7 tons, down 1.3% year-on-year, resulting in a decrease in supply. Although China, Indonesian and other countries' mineral gold output continued to rise, which led to the growth of Asian mineral gold output, the output of other continents declined to varying degrees. From the demand side, investment in 27 is still the main field of gold demand, and it is also the main driving force for the rise and fall of gold prices in 27.

with the continuous adjustment of the global economic structure and the change of the political situation, the monetary function and strategic value preservation function of gold are becoming more and more important. In addition, traditionally, the US dollar is the main part of foreign exchange reserves of Asian countries. Due to the long-term depreciation of the US dollar and the fluctuation of exchange rates of other major currencies, countries have increased their gold reserves to resist the risk of depreciation. At present, China's foreign exchange reserves have exceeded 1.7 trillion US dollars, but the official gold reserves are only over 6 tons. It is imperative to adjust the strategic reserve structure and enhance the flexibility and initiative of the exchange rate. In addition, the proportion of gold in the official reserves of Russia, Japan and other countries is also small, so the demand for increasing gold reserves is gradually increasing.

in p>26, the total demand of world silver manufacturing industry was 26,142 tons, which was .9% lower than that in 25. From the consumption field, industrial application is the largest consumption field, accounting for 51.2% of the total demand, followed by jewelry industry, accounting for 19.7%, other photography industry accounting for 17.3%, silverware accounting for 7.%, and silver coins and badges accounting for 4.7%. In addition, the investment demand is about 15 tons. In 26, the world mineral silver supply was estimated to be 28,359 tons, which was 1.5% lower than that in 25. Among them, 7% is mine output, 21% is waste recycling and 9% is sold by the government. On the whole, the international silver market was basically balanced in supply and demand in 26, with only a small supply gap. Judging from the international silver market in recent years, there is no necessary connection between the trend of silver price and the market supply and demand. When the price of silver in the international market exceeds $6. per ounce, it is not the relationship between supply and demand that directly affects the market, but factors such as speculation and exchange rate. The international silver market in recent two years has proved this point, and the current situation of silver supply and demand has little direct influence on the market. In the short term, the economic situation, the change of US dollar exchange rate and the international oil price are still the main factors that determine the price of silver. At the same time, because silver is mainly associated with copper, lead, zinc and gold, the quality of silver-related metal market also affects the silver market.

the automobile industry is the main end use of platinum group metals, so the platinum group metals market is increasingly dependent on the automobile industry. In 26, the global demand for platinum was 6.78 million ounces, an increase of 1.2% over 25. The increase in demand mainly comes from industrial uses such as automobiles, while the demand of jewelry processing industry has dropped significantly. In 26, the supply growth of platinum exceeded the demand growth. The total supply for the whole year was 6.79 million ounces, an increase of 2.2% over 25. The increase in supply mainly comes from the expansion of South Africa's production capacity to 5.29 million ounces, which led to a large increase in supply. Overall, the supply and demand of the platinum market in 26 were basically balanced, with a surplus of only 1, ounces. In 26, the global demand for palladium was 6.64 million ounces, down 1% from 25. The decline in demand is mainly due to the 3% decline in demand for jewelry processing industry, which needs