Minerals concerning disasters to science poor nations

Beijing based Titanium Company has collected an article written on utilization of mineral resources of Bangladesh. The article was published recently in a national daily. Chinese Company has explained the reasons of their interests in solid minerals that are available in huge quantities in the forms of compounds like Rutile, Ilmenite, Zircon etc. at different locations of Bangladesh. The email has described the most recent effective developments in areas of applications of Titanium all over the world.                                                          

For the past several centuries, the modern world has been organized around the natural resources, such as land, fossil fuels, minerals and heavy industry. But the most valuable resource of the 21^st century is the scientific knowledge along with the educated and well trained people who can take advantage of that knowledge said Bruce Alberts, President of the National Academy of Science, Washington, DC in last World Science Conference. He said physical resources are inherently limited in the world but knowledge is unlimited and that can be reproduced at virtually no cost.

Here is the bright example of a national disaster created mostly due to lack of science knowledge and conflicting attitudes of the citizens of the concerned country:

In the 21st century some of the elegant symbols of modernity like smart phones, laptops and digital cameras are built from minerals available in the scientifically knowledge poor country like Congo in the central Africa: A report has recently been published in the New York Times on Mineral Wars in Congo and the reporter has mentioned that he has never reported on a war more barbaric than Congo’s. He has seen the women who have been mutilated, the children who have been forced to eat their parents’ flesh and the girls who have been subjected to rapes that destroyed their insides. But the Warlords meet expenses of war in part through the sale of mineral ores containing tantalum, tungsten, tin and gold. Tantalum collected from Congo is used to make electrical capacitors that go into phones, computers and gaming devices. Electronics manufacturers have tried to hide this secrecy and they want the people should look at their nice products and enjoy.

Fortunately, there’s now a grass-roots movement pressuring companies to keep conflict minerals out of high-tech supply chains. Using Facebook and YouTube, the activists are harassing companies like Apple, Intel and Research in Motion to get them to lean on their suppliers and ensure the use of Australian tantalum rather than tantalum peddled by the Congolese militia. The war had claimed 5.4 million deaths as of April 2007, according to a study by the International Rescue Committee.

What is next? Is there a magic-bullet solution to peace in Congo? ---   This is one of the drivers of the conflict in the central African country Congo. Some suggest the economics of the war should be addressed to resolve it. The Obama administration can play an active role putting more pressure on Rwanda to play a constructive role. Impeding trade in the conflict minerals is also a cause of the Congo puzzle, and because of public pressure, a group of companies led by Intel and Motorola is now developing a process to audit the origins of Tantalum in supply chains. This is undoubtedly a positive signal for Congo.

The other good news is ---the grass-roots movement is bringing some positive impacts. Some big companies are convinced to buy conflict free minerals Tantalum and Titanium. The two minerals have similarities in names and both are solid minerals. Tantalum is found in Congo, Africa but Titanium is available in Bangladesh, Asia.

Bangladesh is rich in natural as well as mineral resources like Gas, Zircon, Garnet etc. They are our national but God gifted resources. We want to utilize them fully using own strategies. We don’t want to be exploited by others and we must not be recognized as the citizens of a conflicting country like Congo. We have experience and we have expertise

Some of the world’s most brutal militias may be undercut simply by making it clear to electronics manufacturers that we don’t want our beloved gadgets to enrich the gunmen. No phone or tablet computer can be considered effective if it may be helping perpetuate one of the most brutal wars on the planet. This is a good lesson for all living in the planet.

Now we can come to the conclusion that the fruits of science and technology have not significantly benefited the majority of human beings living in the Third World. This type of asymmetry in distribution of wealth, safety and comfort has increased in recent times. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is also bringing new risks affecting not only fundamental individual rights such as right to privacy, but also the safety of trade and national security itself in the face of a growing potential for war: the cyber war.

We must ensure that scientists everywhere on the planet are able to contribute effectively to solve problems that will require all of the efforts we can muster. Let adjust ourselves in that way to utilize our national minerals as the best source of peace, not conflict.