Closing addresses

SIR WILLIAM HARRIS

I am sure that everyone will agree that the Conference has been most successful and enjoyable. Discussion has ranged widely over future resources, and many of the speakers have thrown a new light on various aspects of the problems concerned.

It is almost impossible at this stage to draw any specific conclusions or to formulate any recommendations of specific action to be taken either as individuals, as separate institutions or jointly. However, one or two important points seem to have emerged.

Within the foreseeable future, the principal resource problems will arise in the fields of energy and chemical feedstocks, which have been shown by Mr Lofthouse to be closely related. As far as metallic and most non-metallic, nonreplaceable materials are concerned, there appear to be ample world resources, though with a general down-grading of the ores available. It seems in all these areas that, within a reasonable timescale, the technical problems can be solved, provided that priorities are correctly ordered and that adequate resources are made available to develop new energy sources in time.