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I've always wondered the same about iron ore, granite, marble etc.


The BBC put together a world resource list a couple years back that I think you might find interesting.

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20120618-global-resources-st...

It lists a variety of elements (like antimony) that are surprisingly constrained. If I were to pick the most critical material on the list, though, it would be phosphates. The green boom that feeds the world needs phosphates, the world supply of phosphate-bearing rock is small, and there are no possible substitutes.




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