THE WORLD OF INDUSTRY3 Year Geography

Almudena Corrales Marbán

Social Studies Department

1. THE SECONDARY SECTOR

The secondary sector includes the

economic activities that transform raw

materials into other products in order to

meet human needs.

This activities are:

INDUSTRY

Industry is the biggest activity

within the secondary sector. It

transforms raw materials into finished

products, for direct consumption, or

semifinished products, which are

used as materials in other industrial

processes.

MINING

Mining is the process of locating, extracting and refining the rocks and minerals that are in the ground. To carry out this activity, the following steps are required:

• Prospecting

• Extraction techniques, which vary depending on whether theminerals are found in open-air deposits or in underground deposits known as mines.

• Refining systems, to separate the usable mineral (ore) from thesurrounding rocks (gangue) which are of no commercial interest.

Ore: Mena

Gangue: ganga

ENERGY PRODUCTION

Energy production transforms

fuel into forms of energy, such as

heat or electricity, which make

it possible to do work.

Major investments and large

facilities are required to produce

energy, for example power

stations*, which are specialised in

each type of energy source:

thermal power stations, wind

power stations, solar power

stations, hydraulic power stations.

Power stations: centrales electricas

CONSTRUCTION

Construction creates different

types of structures (buildings) and

infrastructure (roads, bridges,

dams*, etc.). This activity requires

construction projects and

materials, such as steel* and

concrete*, which are the most

used today. Construction has a

great impact on the environment.

Dams: dique

Steel: acero

Concrete: hormigón

2. INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY USESA. RAW MATERIALS (Materias primas)

Depending on the origin they can be:

Biological:

• Plant raw materials come from agriculture like cotton or linen, and forestry like cork (corcho).

• Animal raw materials come from livestock farming like wool or leather, and fishing activities like fishing for the canning industry, oils and fishmeal.

Geological:

• Minerals which can be used to extract metals (iron, lead*, aluminium, copper*, zinc, uranium), precious metals (gold, silver) and also nonmetallic materials (glass, precious stones and fertilisers).

• Rocks, such as granite, clay*, limestone* and marble, are used to manufacture construction materials (cement, concrete, ceramics)

• Fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas), which we obtain energy from.

INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY ALSO USESB. ENERGY RESOURCES (Fuentes de energía)

Which can be classified into:

Traditional CoalFuentes de energía Oil tradicionales Natural gas

Nuclear

SolarAlternative Wind power

Biomass

Tidal power

Geothermal Nuclear fusion

All of these resources are non-renewable energies, because they are being used at a much faster rate than they can be replaced, which means that in the future they will run out.

Oil is the most commonly used, representing 42%, followed by natural gas (23%), coal (22%), hydroelectric (7%) and nuclear (7%).

Fuentes de energía

alternativas

The word ‘alternative’ is used to describe sources of energy that could replace traditional energies in the future.They are also called GREEN ENERGIES

3. HOW HAS IT BEEN THE EVOLUTION OF THE INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY?

First we must talk about:

Manual industry

Before the middle of the 18th century almost all

industrial work was done by hand, using traditional

instruments and low level power sources, such as

animals and wood fires.

Production was very low and as each worker made the

product entirely by hand, each one was unique.

People worked in small workshops, which were owned by

a ‘master’. These workshops were found all across the

country in towns and cities.

workshops: talleres

Then

Modern industry was introduced

Things began to change in Great Britain in the First Industrial Revolution

(1770-1850) and developed even more in the Second Industrial

Revolution (1850-1950). Machines were used which were driven by more

powerful sources of energy, such as coal, oil and electricity.

Production increased dramatically and because it was done using

machines the items were uniform and much cheaper. People built larger

factories near areas rich in raw materials, sources of energy or in large

cities.

Large factories.Powerful machines driven by new energies. Workers specialised in a single task. Abundant, uniform and cheap production.

Industry today

From the middle of the 20th century to the present day, industry has been

developing due to what is known as the Third Industrial Revolution. Today,

work tends to be automated, and incorporates new energy sources

(nuclear, alternative energies), new technologies (microelectronics,

telecommunications, IT) and industrial robots.

Production consists of short production runs of diverse, cheap products,

made in factories which can be located anywhere in the world

because of the use of new technologies and cheap transport.

IT: Information Technology

INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTIONS

4. INDUSTRY ACTIVITY CREATESDifferent types of industries such as:

• BASIC INDUSTRIES (Industrias de primera elaboración o de base). They

include the iron and steel industry and the petrochemical industry, which

produces chemical products.

• EQUIPMENT AND MACHINERY (Industrias de equipo). Examples are

machinery, industrial equipment and railway, naval and construction

materials. These are also considered heavy industries (industria pesada)

because of the high consumption of energy and materials.

• CONSUMER INDUSTRIES (Industrias de bienes de uso y consumo). This

kind of industry makes finished products aimed directly at the consumer,

such as foods, textiles, chemical products, etc. All of them are light

industries (industria ligera), as they consume less energy and raw

materials.

5. INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY ALSO CREATES

INDUSTRIAL SPACES SUCH AS

1. Industrial Estates: (Áreas industriales)

They are different sized spaces for traditional industries. They have the appropriate infrastructure for industrial activity.

2. Technology parks: (Parques tecnológicos)

They are similar in size to the industrial estates, but contain high-tech industries.

3. High-tech zones: (Zonas de alto desarrollo tecnológico)

These are large areas where high-tech industries are concentrated, many of these are innovative companies and R&D centres. (Research and Development centres)

6. FINALLY INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY GIVES RISE TO :

INDUSTRIAL REGIONS

• United States, Japan and the European Union

have high concentrations of industry which benefit from

advanced technology and large markets for their

products.

• Some regional powers, such as Russia, Australia,

New Zealand, South Africa and the oil exporting

countries, owe their high levels of industrialisation to

the exploitation of their abundant natural resources.

• Emerging countries in Asia, such as China, South

Korea and India, or in Latin America, such as Brazil and

Mexico, have developed industrially because of

globalisation. Many multinational companies have

transferred* some of their factories to these countries .

The least industrialised areas of

the Earth are in developing

countries. The reasons why they

have little industry is because they

lack of resources or the capital to

exploit them, the absence of

markets and poor transport and

Communications infrastructure.

What are the reasons why some areas of the Earth are least

industrialised?

DEVELOPED COUNTRY REGIONAL POWER EMERGING COUNTRY

USSAPORTUGAL

RUSSIANEW ZELAND

SOUTH KOREACHINAINDIABRAZIL

THE INDUSTRIAL AREAS IN EUROPE

The industrial areas in Europe are

• Western Europe, and the EU, is the most industrialised area.

In this area, traditional industries are having serious problems

new industrial spaces for high-technology industries are growing

rapidly near the large metropolises.

• In Eastern Europe, the main industrial areas are located in

Ukraine, in the Donets basin, and in Russia around Moscow and

in the Ural Mountains. They are specialised in traditional sectors

and are currently having serious problems.