The role of mining industry in the world economy and the economy of Ukraine

Abstract

The level of development has been considered, the impact of mining industry on the world economy and its connections with other spheres of the world economy have been analyzed. Today mining industry is not only one of the leading fields of global economy, but it has also promoted the emergence of other fundamental branches. The development of this sphere is extremely important not only for the state, which plays the role of a regulator, but also for investors, contractors, suppliers, service companies, indigenous population and consumers. Due to its long-term development, mining industry differs from the majority of other kinds of human activity. Diversified mining industry is generally a prerogative of highly developed countries since only several segments are often functioning in less developed countries, and sometimes mineral raw materials are only extracted there. Nowadays no country in the world possesses full range of all types of rocks and minerals. Basic tendencies in development of extraction of mineral raw materials in different countries have been described. The current state of global mining industry can be called the advent of the so-called new era due to the increase of cost of mineral raw materials; however it is also necessary to develop the fields even with quite small and low-quality mineral reserves. Mining operations and development of mineral deposits are being relocated from the developed countries to the developing ones. It is better to consider the possibility of improvement of already existing objects instead of building brand new ones for more efficient and easier operation of mining companies. Problems of functioning and obstacles of development of mining enterprises in Ukraine under current conditions have been determined, ways of their elimination and increase of effectiveness in the branch in general have been proposed. National mining industry is adversely affected by such external factors as the global financial and economic crisis, processes of globalization. Although the mineral-raw material base of Ukraine has a sufficient amount of explored reserves of most mineral resources, it is currently at the stage of depletion of the subsoil, which requires the reformation of the economic mechanism for its use.