- Asked 3/26
- 2075 Bhadra · 2 marks
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- 2078 Poush
Reserve versus resource
Short answer
A resource is the total natural concentration of material potentially feasible for economic extraction. A reserve is the identified, economically extractable subset of a resource. Total resource includes both identified and undiscovered material, while undiscovered resource comprises only hypothetical and speculative material not yet found.
What is a resource? Differentiate between reserve and resource, and between total resource and undiscovered resource.
Resource
A resource is the total concentration of naturally occurring material (rock, sand, minerals, fuels) in or on the earth's crust in such form and quantity that its economic extraction is currently or potentially feasible. It includes both discovered and undiscovered material.
Reserve versus resource
| Basis | Reserve | Resource |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Identified material that can be extracted economically and legally now | Total occurrence, including material not yet economic or not yet discovered |
| Certainty | Well known (measured and indicated) | Known to unknown |
| Economic viability | Viable at present | Viable now or in the future |
| Size | Smaller | Larger (a reserve is part of a resource) |
| Change | Changes with price and technology | Changes slowly with new discoveries |
| Example | Quarry sandstone with an approved volume | All the sandstone in the formation |
Total resource versus undiscovered resource
| Basis | Total resource | Undiscovered resource |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Identified + undiscovered | Only material not yet found, but expected to exist |
| Parts | Demonstrated (measured + indicated), inferred, hypothetical and speculative | Hypothetical (in known districts) and speculative (in unknown districts) |
| Basis of knowledge | Evidence and assumption | Geological inference only |
✓ Answer checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort)
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