Nonferrous metal mining industry

Japanese: 非鉄金属鉱業 - ひてつきんぞくこうぎょう（英語表記）nonferrous metal industry

In general, it refers to the industry that mines ores containing nonferrous metals, dresses them, and refines and processes them into metals. There are companies that refine their own ores and buy ores, and companies that only sell ores and do not have refineries. Because nonferrous metals are important as basic industrial raw materials, there is a strong demand for them, and Japan is at a global level in refining metals such as aluminum and copper. In recent years, there has been a noticeable trend from simply buying ores to financing ores, and then to independent development, as in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Peru. However, nonferrous metal products are highly international, and are greatly influenced by trends in the London Metal Exchange (LNE). It should also be noted that most of the countries that produce the raw materials are developing countries, and that conflicts are likely to occur between them and consumer countries. For this reason, rare metals and other metals are subject to domestic stockpiling. In the 1970s, pollution problems such as Itai-Itai disease came to the surface, and consideration of pollution and environmental problems has become an important issue.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

一般的には，非鉄金属を含む鉱石の採掘，選鉱，さらに地金の精錬，2次加工を行う産業をいう。自山鉱と買鉱とを精錬する企業と，鉱石を売るだけで精錬所をもたない企業とがある。工業用基礎原料として重要であるため，非鉄金属に対する需要は旺盛で，アルミニウム，銅など地金精錬では日本は世界的水準にある。近年の傾向としては，単鈍買鉱から融資買鉱へ，さらにコンゴ民主共和国，ペルーなどにおけるように自主開発への動きが目立っている。ただ非鉄金属製品は国際性が強く，LNE (ロンドン金属取引所) の動向が大きく影響し，また，原料産出国の大半が開発途上国で，需要国との間に確執の起りやすいことも見逃せない。このためレアメタルを中心に国内備蓄の対象となっている。また 1970年代に入って，イタイイタイ病などの公害問題が表面化し，公害問題や環境問題への配慮も重要な課題となっている。

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