a: does your country export a lot of natural resources?

B; we export some coal to European countries, but our biggest exports is copper, which weexport to Europe, north America, and china.

A: which resources do you have to import?

B: we import a little oil from Venezuela, but we are fairly self-sufficient. We import some iron and alot of aluminium from neighouring countries.

A: I heard that you country recently discovered deposits of precious stone.

B: yes, that’s right. So far, only small deposits have been found. Engineers in my country arefocusing on drilling for oil. The government is keen to exploit our natural resources to get moneyto import our country.

A: if your government invests in your country’s infrastructure, it will be money well spent.

B: yes. We need to put the money into long-term projects rather than wasting it on short-termones.

Intermediate

A: is there a lot of oil and coal in your country?

B: there is some, but my country is not amongst the leading producers. The oil and coal depositsare in the north of my country. Your country is a big oil producer, isn’t it?

A: yes, it is. My country is famous for having that natural resources. We also have a lot of naturalgas.

B: we have some too. Do you have a lot of coal?

A; no coal has been discovered in my country, but there may be undiscovered deposits. We don’thave many metal deposits.

B: there are a few in my country. We have deposit of gold, but they are very small.

A: when I traveled around your country, I bought some jewellery made from gold form yourcountry. The jewellery told me that there are few gold mines in your country. The gold was foundin mountain steams.

B: that’s right. A few people go panning for gold in rivers.

A: you have many trees in your country. That’s another natural resources.

B: it’s a natural resources that we hardly use. Government policy is to conserve those forests.

A: I see. That’s probably a good idea. Too many forest are being destroyed.

B: is your country’s environment being damaged by the oil industry?

A; we have some inspections, but it is very hard to avoid pollution when extracting oil. There hasbeen some damage, but it is under control.