The Mineral Industries of Central Europe in 2005
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2005 Minerals Yearbook CENTRAL EUROPE U.S. Department of the Interior December 2007 U.S. Geological Survey THE MINERAL INDUSTRIES OF CENTRAL EUROPE CZECH REPUBLIC, HUNGARY, POLAND, AND SLOVAKIA By Walter G. Steblez The Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia, which Mining Administration (Authority/Sedenka), as amended; are the most economically dynamic countries of the former and the Czech National Council Act No. 62/988 Coll., on centrally planned economy areas of Europe and Central Geological Works, as amended. The Mining Act classifies Eurasia, joined the European Union (EU) on May , 2004. The minerals as either “reserved” or “unreserved”. The “reserved” denationalization of the iron and steel sectors continued in the category refers to mineral deposits that, apart from immediate Central European region. Mining in these countries continued market considerations, are determined to be necessary for the to undergo rationalization to meet market economy norms development of the national economy (GEOFOND, 2004, and had a much-reduced share in industrial production and p. 0, ). Other provisions in the Mining Act (law) address gross domestic product than it had during the years of central issues of licensing and Federal and regional compliance economic planning when Government policies dictated mineral with environmental regulations during the exploration and self-sufficiency at all costs. exploitation of mineral deposits and the reclamation of mined- out areas. CZECH REPUBLIC These regulations composed the environmental law of 997 (Act No. 25/997). The law became in force on The Czech Republic was an important Central European January , 998. The environmental law focuses on reducing the producer of heavy industrial goods manufactured by the volume of waste, discreet collection of waste by category, and country’s toolmaking, machine building, and chemical recycling. The law adopts the main provision of EU and OECD industries. Steelmaking, the mining and processing of industrial regulations and the Basel Convention. The catalog of wastes is minerals, and the production of construction materials continued compatible with the European Catalogue of Wastes of the EU. to be of domestic and regional importance. In 2005, the Czech Republic’s real gross domestic product Production and Trade (GDP) increased by 6.% compared with that of 2004. Based on purchasing power parity, the GDP in 2005 amounted to about In 2005, the iron and steel industry constituted the major part $75 billion (International Monetary Fund. 2006§). Industrial of the country’s metallurgical sector. The output of pig iron production increased by about 5.7% compared with that of declined by almost 5% compared with that of 2004; crude steel 2004 (U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, 2005, p. 250). In 2005, production fell by about 2% (table ). Trade data for 2004 the privatization of the iron and steel sector continued to be an (the latest year for which trade data were available), indicate important process in the country’s mineral industry. that total imports of iron ore and concentrates amounted to about 7.6 million metric tons (Mt), or about 8% less than total Government Policies and Programs imports of these commodities in 2003. Ukraine (about 6%) and Russia (about 33%) accounted for the major share of the Czech The Government continued programs of economic Republic’s imports of iron ore and concentrate. Total imports development that were consonant with the EU’s criteria of pig iron amounted to about 87,000 metric tons (t), which for newly admitted and applicant countries. The country’s was an increase of about 2% compared with those of 2003; membership in The World Bank, the International Monetary net imports of pig iron increased by 54%. Total exports of iron Fund, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and and steel scrap increased considerably to more than .4 Mt. Net Development (OECD), and the World Trade Organization, as exports of iron and steel scrap amounted to 898,000 t, which well as participation in the General Agreement on Tariffs and was an increase of about 43% compared with those of 2003 Trade, was largely an outcome of the Czech Republic’s full (GEOFOND, 2005, p. 28). Among industrial minerals, cement orientation toward Western European political and economic production increased by about 7.3% compared with that of values. 2004; sand and gravel and dimension stone output increased by Three constituent Acts compose the country’s mining law, about 5% and 5%, respectively. The output of diatomite rose by which forms the foundation of the Government’s mining and 5% compared with that of 2004. In 2005, dolomite production other mineral-related policies. These are Act No. 44/988 increased by more than 2%. Total dolomite imports in 2004 Coll., on Protection and Use of Mineral Resources (the amounted to 44,823 t. Net imports of dolomite have been Mining Act), as amended; the Czech National Council Act declining since 2000; net imports of dolomite in 2004 declined No. 6/988 Coll., on Mining Activity, Explosives, and State by about 20% compared with those of 2003 (GEOFOND, 2005, p. 209). Mined garnet output (pyrope ore) increased by about 2.4% compared with that of 2004 (table ). References that include a section mark (§) are found in the Internet In 2005, the production of mineral fuels showed overall gains. Reference Cited sections. Although the production of bituminous coal declined by about CENTRAL EURope—2005 6. 3% compared with that of 2004, the production of brown coal Mineral Fuels and lignite increased by almost 2% during this period (table ). In 2004, imports of bituminous coal amounted to about .7 Mt; Bituminous or hard coal occurs mainly in the Upper Silesian net exports were more than 4 Mt, or 9% less than in 2003. Basin. Of the resources in this region, only about 5% is located Natural gas production increased twofold compared with that in the Czech Republic; the balance of the resources is located of 2004; crude petroleum rose by about 2.3%. In 2004, total in Poland. In addition to bituminous coal, the Czech Republic imports of natural gas amounted to 6,346 million cubic meters; differentiates two types of lower rank coal—brown coal and about 79% of the total was imported from Russia. Russia also lignite. The Czech Republic’s brown coal deposits are worked in accounted for about 67% of the 6.5 Mt of petroleum that the the northwestern part of the country in the Bohemian brown coal Czech Republic imported in 2004 (GEOFOND, 2005, p. 89, 97, basins. The major brown coal basins are found in the Krusne 07, 3). hory Mountains region and cover an area of ,900 square kilometers (km2). Coal also is mined in the Cheb, the Sokolov, Commodity Review and the Zitava basins. In 2005, the Government approved the privatization of Severoceske Doly AS, which was the leading Metals coal producer in the country (Mining Journal, 2005a, b). The Czech Republic’s petroleum resources as of The Czech Republic’s metals sector produced a broad range December 3, 2004, amounted to about 32.8 Mt, of which of base metals and semimanufactures from imported primary about 2.8 Mt was categorized as economic proven; 8.6 Mt as raw materials (ores and concentrates) and secondary materials economic probable; and about .4 Mt as subeconomic. Total (scrap). Although interest in gold mining continued in some resources of natural gas were put at about 42 billion cubic parts of the Czech Republic, other metals reportedly were meters (GEOFOND, 2005, p. 08, 6). depleted. According to official data, most of the country’s metallic mineral deposits as of December 3, 2000, were not Outlook economic. All the raw materials consumed by the country’s steel The Czech Republic is expected to continue to rely on industry—iron ore and concentrate, and pellets and imports of natural gas and petroleum, given the country’s agglomerate—were imported. The steel industry operated limited resources of these commodities. Import reliance on eight steel plants with a collective capacity to produce almost base and precious metals also will continue, although demand million metric tons per year (Mt/yr) of steel. The main steel is not expected to increase significantly owing to the fairly high producers were, in order of crude steel production capacity, technological level of the Czech Republic’s fabrication and Mittal Steel Ostrava (Nova Hut), Zelezarne Vitcovice (ZV, a service sectors. In these sectors, material input per unit of output subsidiary of the Evraz Group of Russia), Trinecke Zelezarny, is expected to continue to decline from the high level of material and Poldi Hutte s.r.o. (a subsidiary of Scholz Edelstahl A.G.) input in production during the country’s central economic and accounted for more than 87% of the country’s total crude planning period. steel production capacity. The privatization of the iron and steel industry and the References Cited increasing foreign investor interest in Czech ferrous metallurgy continued in 2005. In 2005, the Evraz Group of Russia acquired GEOFOND, 2004, Mineral commodity summaries of the Czech Republic: ZV for $285 million following competitive bidding that included Prague, Czech Republic, Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic, June, 20 p. bids from Mittal Steel (Reuters, 2005). GEOFOND, 2005, Mineral commodity summaries of the Czech Republic: Prague, Czech Republic, Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic, Industrial Minerals June, 267 p. Mining Journal, 2005a, CEZ Severoceske bid: London, United Kingdom, Mining Communications Ltd., July 5, p. 7. The Czech Republic was well endowed with and produced Mining Journal, 2005b, Czech lignite sale: London, United Kingdom, Mining a broad range of industrial minerals that met most domestic Communications, October 7, p. 3. construction and chemical industry requirements, as well as Reuters, 2005, Czechs seen rejecting Mittal offer for Vitcovice: London, United those for export.