Extraction

Extraction is the removal of non-renewable subsurface resources — mining, quarrying, drilling.

Resource extraction involves any activity that withdraws resources from nature. This can range in scale from the traditional use of preindustrial societies to global industry. Extractive industries are, along with agriculture, the basis of the primary sector of the economy. Extraction produces raw material, which is then processed to add value. Examples of extractive industries are hunting, trapping, mining, oil and gas drilling, and forestry. Natural resources can be a substantial part of a country's wealth; however, a sudden inflow of money caused by a resource extraction boom can create social problems, including inflation harming other industries ("Dutch disease") and corruption, leading to inequality and underdevelopment. This is known as the "resource curse".

Extractive industries represent a large growing activity in many less-developed countries, but the wealth generated does not always lead to sustainable and inclusive growth. People often accuse extractive industry businesses of acting only to maximize short-term value, implying that less-developed countries are vulnerable to powerful corporations. Alternatively, host governments are often assumed to be only maximizing immediate revenue. Researchers argue there are areas of common interest where development goals and business cross. These present opportunities for international governmental agencies to engage with the private sector and host governments through revenue management and expenditure accountability, infrastructure development, employment creation, skills and enterprise development, and impacts on children, especially girls and women. A strong civil society can play an important role in ensuring the effective management of natural resources. Norway can serve as a role model in this regard, as it has good institutions and open and dynamic public debate with strong civil society actors that provide an effective checks and balances system for the government's management of extractive industries, such as the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), a global standard for the good governance of oil, gas, and mineral resources. It seeks to address the key governance issues in the extractive sectors. However, in countries that do not have a very strong and unified society, meaning that there are dissidents who are not as happy with the government as in Norway's case, natural resources can actually be a factor in whether a civil war starts and how long the war lasts.