Resource extraction
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The related terms resource extraction and resource extraction industry both refer to the practice of locating, acquiring and selling any resource, but typically a natural resource.
Throughout most of the world it is an international and capitalist operation, with the sources for the material being extracted being far away from the possible markets.
Thus resources are often exploited in phases with regular periods of inactivity, as methods of resource extraction advance, the commodity becomes more valuable, or in the special case in which the resource is renewable. This secondary extraction may take the form of a further exploitation of a previously unaccessible source (such as modern mining techniques that are allowing access to heavily faulted seams) or a reprocessing of previously discarded material such as mine tailings.
This phased exploitation is often criticized for the effect it has on the workforce in the surrounding area, providing much opportunity for skilled and unskilled labor, followed by long periods of heavy unemployment, particularly with respect to logging in America's Pacific Northwest.
The specifics of resource extraction depend on the resource being exploited; for instance, the exploitation of timber is called logging, metal ore exploitation is called mining.
In recent times, environmental pressure groups have attempted to reduce the ecological impact of resource extraction, and there have been many successful redevelopment schemes such as reforestation of logging sites, and the large-scale successful conversion of British gravel pits into nature reserves.
