ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Earth Sci.
Sec. Economic Geology
Secondary risk in mineral resource management: a preliminary theoretical conception
- XM
Xiaodi Ma 1
- CL
Chonghao Liu 1
- NL
Niannian Li 1
- XJ
Xiangying Jia 1
- WX
Wang Xiu 1
- ZJ
Zhao Jia-Nan 2
1. Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing, China
2. Guangdong Province Nuclear Industry Geological Bureau, Guangzhou, China
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Abstract
Mineral resource security, influenced by uneven global distribution and escalating geopolitical tensions, has emerged as a central issue in resource governance. Traditional research on mineral resource risk management has overlooked the secondary risks that may arise from response measures, resulting in incomplete understanding of risks. This study pioneers integrating secondary risk theory into mineral resources, defines its scientific connotation, constructs a theoretical model, clarifies the "risk trigger-response-derivative iteration" logic, and identifies four risk evolutionary forms: persistence, migration, transformation, and restructuring. Using China's tin resources as a case, the study finds that response actions induce risk persistence, migration, and transformation, with affected entities shifting from upstream to downstream. This research pioneers defining secondary risk in mineral resources management, develops a full-industry-chain theoretical model, reveals its evolutionary forms, provides a new dynamic risk management paradigm, and offers implications for resource security and sustainable industrial development.
Summary
Keywords
Mineral resource security, Risk evolution, Risk Management, Risk response, Secondary risk
Received
16 March 2026
Accepted
24 June 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Ma, Liu, Li, Jia, Xiu and Jia-Nan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Chonghao Liu
Disclaimer
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