Ore TMRs, which are the total amount of overburden and rock to obtain metal ore, were estimated as a fundamental data to estimate the value of TMR(Total Materials Requirement) of metals. Ore TMR of coal, iron, copper, zinc and tin are estimated 12.5, 5.1, 304, 34 and 95 representatively by statistic method based on hearing and investigation of practical mining sites. An approximation from the quality of crude ore and further approximation from the concentration of the metal in the crust were also proposed as (ore TMR)＝2.0/{100×(quality of crude ore )} and (ore TMR)＝2.0×(concentration in the crust [ppm])  2/3)

The final decade of the 20th century was the most important period yet in establishing a sustainable society for the coming century. After the Earth summit held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, the world's population was challenged to decrease its environmental impact on the Earth. Nine years after the Rio summit, we are living in a more dangerous and unsustainable world with a higher population, more resource consumption, more waste, and more poverty, but with less biodiversity, less forest area, less available fresh water, less fertile soil, and less stratospheric ozone.

Forecasting are made regarding the consumption up to 2050 of following metals: Fe, Al, Cu, Mn, Zn, Cr, Pb, Ni, Si, Sn, rare earths, Mo, Li, Sb, W, Ag, Co, In, Au, Ga, Pt and Pd. The forecasts are based on the liniar decoupling model of the relation between per capita metal consumption and per capita GDP. The models of each metal are applied to the economic development model of BRICs and G6 countries. According these forecasts, the overall consumption of metals in 2050 will be five times greater than the current levels, and demand for metals, such as Au, Ag, Cu, Ni, Sn, Zn, Pb, and Sb, is expected to be several times greater than the amount of their respective reserves. Demand for iron and platinum, which is considered to be optimistic about the resource exhaustion, will also exceed the current reserves. Urgent measures are needed to find alternatives from common resources and to shift into materials circulation society.

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