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{{Short description|Basic material that is used to produce goods, finished products, energy, or intermediate materials}} {{redirect|Raw Material|other uses|Raw material (disambiguation)}} [[File:AlbertaSulfurAtVancouverBC.jpg|thumb|[[Sulfur]] at harbor in [[North Vancouver (city)|North Vancouver]], British Columbia, ready to be loaded onto a ship|alt=Refer to caption ]] [[File:Latex - Hevea - Cameroun.JPG|thumb|[[Latex]] being collected from a [[rubber tapping|tapped]] [[Pará rubber tree|rubber tree]]|alt=Latex flowing from a tapped rubber tree into a bucket]] A '''raw material''', also known as a '''feedstock''', '''unprocessed material''', or '''primary commodity''', is a basic material that is used to produce [[goods]], [[finished goods]], energy, or intermediate materials/[[Intermediate good]]s that are feedstock for future finished products. As feedstock, the term connotes these materials are bottleneck assets and are required to produce other products. The term raw material denotes materials in unprocessed or minimally processed states such as raw [[latex]], [[crude oil]], [[cotton]], [[coal]], raw [[biomass]], [[iron ore]], [[plastic]], [[air]], [[lumber|logs]], and [[water]].<ref>Christophe Degryse, L'économie en 100 et quelques mots d'actualité, De Boeck, 2005, p. 140.</ref> The term secondary raw material denotes waste material which has been recycled and injected back into use as productive material.<ref>European Commission, [https://ec.europa.eu/environment/green-growth/raw-materials/index_en.htm Raw materials], updated 26 March 2020, accessed 31 December 2020</ref> {{Economic sectors}} ==Raw material in supply chain== [[Supply chain]]s typically begin with the acquisition or extraction of raw materials.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Supply Chain: From Raw Materials to Order Fulfillment |url=https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/supplychain.asp |access-date=2023-03-03 |website=Investopedia |language=en}}</ref> For example, the [[European Commission]] notes that food supply chains commence in the agricultural phase of food production.<ref>European Commission, [https://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/publications/pages/publication16061_en.pdf Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: A better functioning food supply chain in Europe], page 2, provisional version published 28 October 2019, accessed 2 February 2023</ref> A 2022 report on changes affecting [[international trade]] noted that improving sourcing of raw materials has become one of the main objectives of companies reconfiguring their supply chains.<ref>Economist Impact and [[DP World]], [https://impact.economist.com/projects/tradeintransition-2022/key-findings-08/ Trade in Transition 2022: Key Findings], accessed 2 February 2023</ref> In a 2022 survey conducted by [[SAP]], wherein 400 US-based leaders in logistics and supply chain were interviewed, 44% of respondents cited a lack of raw materials as a reason for their supply chain issues.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jenkins |first=Abby |date=January 31, 2024 |title=15 Key Supply Chain Challenges to Overcome |url=https://www.netsuite.com/portal/resource/articles/erp/supply-chain-challenges.shtml |access-date=April 10, 2025}}</ref> Forecasting for 2023, 50% of respondents expect a reduced availability of raw materials in the US to drive supply chain disruptions.<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 24, 2022 |title=New Research Forecasts the State of U.S. Supply Chains in 2023 |url=https://news.sap.com/2022/10/us-supply-chains-in-2023-new-research-forecast/ |access-date=March 14, 2023 |website=SAP News Center}}</ref> === Raw materials markets === Raw materials markets are affected by consumer behavior, supply chain uncertainty, [[manufacturing]] disruptions, and regulations, amongst other factors. This results in [[Volatility (finance)|volatile]] raw materials markets that are difficult to optimize and manage. Companies can struggle when faced with raw material volatility due to a lack of understanding of market demands, poor or no visibility into the indirect supply chain, and the time lag of raw materials price changes.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Read @Kearney: How to navigate a volatile raw materials market |url=https://www.kearney.com/procurement/article/-/insights/how-to-navigate-a-volatile-raw-materials-market |access-date=2023-03-03 |website=Kearney |language=en}}</ref> Volatility in the raw materials markets can also be driven by [[Natural disaster|natural disasters]] and [[Geopolitics|geopolitcal]] conflict. The [[COVID-19 pandemic]] disrupted the steel industry, and once demand rebounded, prices increased 250% in the [[United States|US]]. The [[Russian invasion of Ukraine]] caused the price of natural gas to increase by 50% in 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-10-07 |title=Gauging the Risks of Raw-Material Volatility |url=https://www.bcg.com/publications/2022/gauging-risks-of-raw-material-price-volatility |access-date=2023-03-03 |website=BCG Global |language=en}}</ref> ==Raw material processing== ===Ceramic=== While [[pottery]] originated in many different points around the world, it is certain that it was brought to light mostly through the [[Neolithic Revolution]]. That is important because it was a way for the first agrarians to store and carry a surplus of supplies. While most jars and pots were fire-clay [[ceramics]], Neolithic communities also created [[kiln]]s that were able to fire such materials to remove most of the [[water]] to create very stable and hard materials. Without the presence of [[clay]] on the riverbanks of the Tigris and Euphrates in the Fertile Crescent, such kilns would have been impossible for people in the region to have produced. Using these kilns, the process of [[metallurgy]] was possible once the [[Bronze Age|Bronze]] and [[Iron Age]]s came upon the people that lived there.<ref>James E. McClellan III; Harold Dorn (2006). ''Science and Technology in World History: An Introduction''. JHU Press. {{ISBN|978-0-8018-8360-6}}. p. 21.</ref> ===Metallic=== Many raw metallic materials used in industrial purposes must first be processed into a usable state. Metallic [[ore]]s are first [[Ore processing|processed]] through a combination of crushing, roasting, magnetic separation, flotation, and leaching to make them suitable for use in a [[foundry]]. Foundries then [[Smelting|smelt]] the ore into usable metal that may be [[alloy]]ed with other materials to improve certain properties.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/technology/materials-processing|title=Materials processing|access-date=8 February 2018}}</ref> One metallic raw material that is commonly found across the world is [[iron]], and combined with [[nickel]], this material makes up over 35% of the material in the Earth's [[Earth's inner core|inner]] and [[Earth's outer core|outer core]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Morgan |first1=John W. |last2=Anders |first2=Edward |title=Chemical composition of Earth, Venus, and Mercury |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |date=December 1980 |volume=77 |issue=12 |pages=6973–6977 |doi=10.1073/pnas.77.12.6973 |pmid=16592930 |pmc=350422 |bibcode=1980PNAS...77.6973M |doi-access=free }}</ref> The iron that was initially used as early as 4000 BC was called [[meteoric iron]] and was found on the surface of the Earth. This type of [[iron]] came from the meteorites that struck the Earth before humans appeared, and was in very limited supply. This type is unlike most of the iron in the Earth, as the iron in the [[Earth]] was much deeper than the humans of that time period were able to excavate. The nickel content of the meteoric iron made it not necessary to be heated up, and instead, it was hammered and shaped into tools and weapons.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=DaAmwiJ4rnEC&pg=PA125 ''Understanding materials science'', p. 125, Rolf E. Hummel, Springer, 2004]</ref> === Iron ore === [[File: Vyasanakere Iron Ore Mine.png|thumb|Vyasanakere Iron Ore Mine in [[Karnataka]], India|alt=Refer to caption]] Iron ore can be found in a multitude of forms and sources. The primary forms of iron ore today are [[Hematite]] and [[Magnetite]]. While iron ore can be found throughout the world, only the deposits in the order of millions of tonnes are processed for industrial purposes.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mii.org/Minerals/photoiron.html|title=Mineral Information Institute - IRON ORE|date=2006-04-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060417160321/http://www.mii.org/Minerals/photoiron.html|access-date=2019-03-17|archive-date=2006-04-17}}</ref> The top five exporters of Iron ore are Australia, Brazil, South Africa, Canada, and Ukraine.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.worldstopexports.com/iron-ore-exports-country/|title=Iron Ore Exports by Country|last=Workman|first=Daniel|date=2018-12-08|website=World's Top Exports|language=en-US|access-date=2019-03-17}}</ref> One of the first sources of iron ore is [[bog iron]]. Bog iron takes the form of pea-sized nodules that are created under peat bogs at the base of mountains.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.hurstwic.org/history/articles/manufacturing/text/bog_iron.htm|title=Hurstwic: Iron Production in the Viking Age|website=www.hurstwic.org|access-date=2019-03-17}}</ref> == Conflicts of raw materials == Places with plentiful raw materials and little economic development often show a phenomenon known as "[[Dutch disease]]" or the "[[resource curse]]", which occurs when the economy of a country is mainly based upon its exports because of its method of governance.<ref>Bernard Tchibambelela, Le commerce mondial de la faim: stratégie de rupture positive au Congo-Brazzaville, Éditions L'Harmattan, 2009, p. 183.</ref> An example of this is the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]].{{citation needed|date=August 2021}} ==See also== {{Div col|colwidth=22em}} * [[Bulk cargo]] * [[Bulk materials]] * [[Bulk liquids]] * [[Biomaterial]] * [[Commodity]] * [[Conflict resource]] * [[Critical mineral raw materials]] * [[Downcycling]] * [[List of building materials]] * [[Marginal factor cost]] * [[Material passport]] * [[Materials science]] * [[Nature]]{{div col end}} ==References== {{Reflist}} ==Further reading== * [[Elizabeth Kolbert]], "Needful Things: The raw materials for the world we've built come at a cost" (largely based on [[Ed Conway]], ''Material World: The Six Raw Materials That Shape Modern Civilization'', Knopf, 2023; [[Vince Beiser]], ''The World in a Grain''; and [[Chip Colwell]], ''So Much Stuff: How Humans Discovered Tools, Invented Meaning, and Made More of Everything'', Chicago), ''[[The New Yorker]]'', 30 October 2023, pp. 20–23. Kolbert mainly discusses the importance to modern civilization, and the finite sources of, six raw materials: high-purity [[quartz]] (needed to produce [[silicon chip]]s), [[sand]], [[iron]], [[copper]], [[petroleum]] (which Conway lumps together with another [[fossil fuel]], [[natural gas]]), and [[lithium]]. Kolbert summarizes archeologist Colwell's review of the evolution of [[technology]], which has ended up giving the [[Global North]] a superabundance of "stuff," at an unsustainable cost to the world's [[Natural environment|environment]] and reserves of raw materials. * [[Karl Marx]], [http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1867-c1/ch07.htm ''Capital'', Vol. 1, Part III, Chap. 7]. {{Authority control}} [[Category:Materials]] [[Category:Minerals]]
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