There is a good understanding of current supply and demand
relationships for aggregates, including relatively detailed spatial
and time-series information on inter- and intra-regional
mass flows in Britain (Department for Communities and Local
Government, 2006a). For other minerals, our knowledge of production
and import metrics is good, but there is no detailed information
on mass flows and apparent consumption. There is reasonably good
understanding of the amount and location of aggregate reserves in
England and trends in changes in the reserve over time (Brown
and Highley, 2006). Good-quality statistics on coal production and
remaining resources at surface and underground mines are available
(Coal Authority, 2008).