26 July 1991

32nd plenary meeting

Trends and salient issues in the development of mineral resources

The Economic and Social Council,

Recalling the Declaration on International Economic Cooperation, in particular the Revitalization of Economic Growth and Development of the Developing Countries, and the International Development Strategy for the Fourth United Nations Development Decade,

Recalling also its resolutions 1985/47 of 25 July 1985, 1987/8 of 26 May 1987 and 1989/5 of 22 May 1989 concerning mineral resources,

Stressing the significance of mineral resources in the economic and social development of the developing countries,

Reaffirming the permanent sovereignty of States over their natural resources,

Recognizing the need for substantial flows of financial resources and transfer of technology to the developing countries to enable them to explore and develop their mineral resources,

Acknowledging the important role that the United Nations system can play in the field of mineral resources, through, inter alia, its technical cooperation activities and advisory services in support of mineral resources exploration and development in the developing countries,

Bearing in mind the invaluable impact of small-scale mining on the economic and social development process of the developing countries and its identification as an economic activity providing significant employment opportunities,

Aware of the need to balance small-scale mining operations with the improvement of social working conditions and benefits and the consideration of health and safety hazards,

1. Takes note with appreciation of the reports of the Secretary-General entitled "Trends and salient issues in the development of mineral resources:

a review of recent supply, demand/consumption and price trends" and "Small-scale mining prospects in developing countries: a review of recent activities";

2. Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the Committee on Natural Resources at its thirteenth session a report on ways and means of facilitating the flow of financial resources and transfer of technology to the developing countries to enable them to optimize the exploration and development of their mineral sectors;

3. Also requests the Secretary-General to include in that report information on existing programmes - governmental, intergovernmental and, to the extent possible, private - as well as proposals for investment possibilities in developing countries to support the efforts of developing countries in securing the investments they require for the development of their mineral resources;

4. Further requests the Secretary-General to include in that report the conclusions and recommendations of meetings and seminars related to mineral resources, in particular the Conference on Mining and Environment, held in Berlin in June 1991, and information on the feasibility of establishing geological information systems in developing countries to assist in the development of mineral resources, for consideration and follow-up action by the Committee at its thirteenth session;

5. Requests the Secretary-General to continue to report to the Committee on Natural Resources on recent positive achievements in small-scale mining activities in developing countries and national legislation regarding the activities of enterprises in this area, as well as on progress made in the establishment of demonstration and training projects for the transfer of small-scale mining technology and methods and on national approaches and international cooperation for maximizing the benefits of small-scale mining for economic and social development in developing countries; the report should include information on the economic contribution of women in small-scale mining.