Final answer:
The human race digs up around 90,000 tons of iron ore every 90 minutes. This reflects our increased capacity for mining and the dramatic rise in the consumption of resources. However, the intense pace of resource exploitation cannot continue indefinitely.
Step-by-step explanation:
The human race digs up approximately 90,000 tons of iron ore every 90 minutes. Even with the per capita consumption of iron in Australia at about 1.3 kilograms per day, these figures pale in comparison to the global exploitation of iron ore. Over the centuries, from Shakespeare's time to the contemporary era, our thirst for materials like iron has exponentially increased. The ancient Song dynasty's iron production of 125,000 tons per year seemed massive at the time but is now far surpassed in just 90 minutes of today's mining activities. This rapid consumption is part of a broader change where energy use by humanity is 20,000 times more than it was when farming began.
Rapid increases in consumption and improvements in mining technology have allowed us to extract these vast quantities of iron ore. However, it's important to note that such a rate cannot sustain indefinitely. The narrative that continuous mining at the current pace is unsustainable is echoed in discussions about the pace of consumption of natural resources. Mining activities will likely need to adapt to the decreasing availability of high-quality deposits of essential minerals, including iron ore.