Million A Year Iron Ore Essay - 1,461 words

Mauritania is a poorly developed country with a low GDP (gross domestic products), which totally depends on agriculture's and livestock, which have been lately demolished by droughts. It has a purchasing power partly of $ 2. 8 billion, a GDP real growth rate of 4 %, which is also low, and a GDP per capital of $ 1, 200. Mauritania makes $ 390 million a year on iron ore, fish, and fish products. Mauritania imports $ 335 million a year and its commodities are foodstuffs, consumers goods, petroleum products, and capital goods. The inflation rate has been increasing making it difficult for anyone to afford many products. Mauritania's few info structures are it's single railed railways, highways, ports, merchant marines, and small airports.


Mauritania is located in Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Senegal and Western Sahara. The people speak mostly Hansaniya Arabic (official language), Plan, Soninke, and Wolof. It's geographic coordinates are 20 00 N, and 12 00 W. It's neighbors are Algeria to its northwest, Mali to it's west, Western Sahara to it's northeast, Morocco to it's north, and to its south Burkina Faso. Its total area is about 1, 030, 700 sq miles and it's land area about 1, 030, 400 sq miles, which is slightly larger than three times the size of New Mexico. It has land boundaries are Algeria, Mali, Senegal, Western Sahara which make up the 5, 074 sq miles of it's total land.


Mauritania is made up of mostly desert and barren plains of the Sahara. There is only one rainy season from July to October, and it delivers about 25 inches of precipitation a year. Afternoon temperatures in the summer months exceed 100 degrees with daily highs around 115 degrees. The frequency of vegetation increases from north to south. The Sudanic Savanna, located in the Mauritania extreme south, is covered with palm trees and acacia trees.


It is full of antelope, lions, elephants, gazelle, ostrich, warthogs, pant-hers, hyenas, and lynx with crocodiles in lakes and streams. A current issue right now is overgrazing, deforestation, and soil erosion aggravated by drought. The level of fresh water is being limited away from the Senegal River, which is the main river in Mauritania. The info structures in Mauritania are very weak. Their railways only cover a total average of 704 km, they are single tracked, and are owned by the government. The mining company uses it the majority of the time leaving little or no room for passengers.


The highways total about 7, 496 km and only 1, 342 km are paved. The roads aren't updated like they are in the United States and they do not have the money to finish paving them. The ones that are paved are ruined by mass flooding and extreme hot weather. The waterways are more technology improved then the roads, which is why they receive their goods via the waterways. The Senegal River is used for ferry traffic. They have very important ports such as Kaedi, Nouadhibou, Nouakchott, and the Rosso.


They have many airports but many are unpaved like the roads. Mauritania has a developing mixed economy based largely on agriculture and mineral exports. The gross national product (GNP) is not growing as fast as the population, and the GNP per capital is still really low. Agriculture accounts for approximately one-third of the gross domestic products (GDP) and employs two-thirds of the work force, largely in substance-level farming. Millet, sorghum, rice, and other cereals are grown along the Senegal River. The production of livestock is the county's most important agricultural activity.


Cyclical drought conditions can drastically lower output, and the construction of the Gordon irrigation project on the Senegal River was designed to improve this situation. Fish are also caught in the Atlantic and are sold domestically, which is also the main export. They also allow foreign vessels to fish in there territory in which they also get endorsements for it in return. One other main source is the production and export of iron ore. It accounts for 1 / 8 of the country's GDP but employs less than 5 % of the work force.


A petroleum refinery that was completed in 1978 has recently opened and an old copper mine at Akjoujit has reopened. The iron ore supplies about 50 % of the GDP total exports. T ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

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Essay Tags: million a year, iron ore, gross domestic, developed country, food supply

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