The Mineral Industries of the Commonwealth of Independent
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2006 Minerals Yearbook COMMONWEALTH OF INDEPENDENT STATES U.S. Department of the Interior November 2009 U.S. Geological Survey THE MINERAL INDUS T RIES OF T HE CO mm ONWEAL T H OF INDEPENDEN T ST A T ES AR M ENIA , AZERBAIJAN , BELARUS , GEOR G IA , KAZA K HS T AN , KYR G YZS T AN , MOLDOVA , RUSSIA , TAJI K IS T AN , TUR km ENIS T AN , UK RAINE , AND UZBE K IS T AN By Richard M. Levine and Glenn J. Wallace The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was created Integration of the countries of the CIS was executed through in December 1991 by Republics of the former Soviet Union its coordinating institutions (charter bodies, executive bodies, (FSU) and then extended to all the former Soviet Republics and the bodies of branch cooperation of the CIS). To reestablish except the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. In ties among the mineral industries of the CIS states that had been the adopted Declaration, the participants of the Commonwealth broken with the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Executive declared their interaction to be based on the principle of the Committee of the CIS, with the participation of leading sovereign equality of all members and that the member states scientists and specialists, prepared a Mining Charter and an were independent and equal subjects of international law. Agreement on Cooperation in the study, exploration, and use of The CIS was not a state and it did not have supranational mineral resources of the CIS states. The agreement was signed powers. In 2006, the members of the CIS were Armenia, on March 27, 1997, by Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, and Ukraine. On Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and the basis of this agreement, an intergovernmental council was Uzbekistan. Turkmenistan discontinued permanent membership formed to fulfill the mission of the agreement. An important step as of August 26, 2005, and became an associate member. taken by the intergovernmental council was an agreement signed Turkmenistan, however, was establishing closer cooperation in Minsk, Belarus, on May 30, 2001, to settle disputes regarding with the CIS following the death of its President in December mineral development in border areas, to implement environmental 2006 and the installation of a new President (Durdiyeva, 2007). measures to protect the population of the neighboring states In September 1993, the Governments of the CIS states signed when developing mineral resources, and to specify conditions an agreement on the creation of an economic union that would for cooperation between neighboring CIS states in mineral form a common economic space based on the free movement development. One of the basic documents regulating these of goods, services, labor, and capital; the union would work matters was a Model Law Code regarding Earth’s resources and to coordinate monetary, tax, price, customs, and external their use signed by an interparliamentary assembly of the CIS economic policy; develop methods of regulating economic countries in 2002; the Model Law Code deals with a wide range activity; and create favorable conditions for the development of of issues regarding minerals and mineral development. By 2006, direct production relations. To facilitate further integration, an the intergovernmental council was coordinating more than 10 agreement on deepening integration in the economic and social joint programs and projects relating to scientific and technical spheres was entered into by four countries (Belarus, Kazakhstan, cooperation, harmonizing laws about the use of resources, and Kyrgyzstan, and Russia) and Belarus and Russia signed engaging in information exchanges (Glimadov, 2007). an agreement in 1995 on the creation of a Commonwealth The countries of the CIS, which were formerly part of the of Sovereign Republics for Belarus and Russia that would Soviet Union, inherited the Soviet reserve classification system, establish coordinating bodies. In February 1999, Tajikistan which was based on a system that was not comparable to that was recognized as a participant of the customs union, and by used in market economy countries. The Soviet system did not the decision of the Interstate Council of Belarus, Kazakhstan, determine reserves based on the part of the reserve base that Kyrgyzstan, and Russia, would have full rights in the union. could be economically extracted or produced at the time of In October 2000, the Governments of five countries (Belarus, determination in a market economy system. Rather, the Soviet Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan) signed an system was a cross-imposed system, which related, on the one agreement to create a Eurasian Economic Community (EAEC). hand, to the reliability of information on the quantity of material Armenia, Moldova, and Ukraine have observer status under in place based on data obtained from an exploration grid and the EAEC. In October 2005, Uzbekistan joined the EAEC. other testing and, on the other hand, on the economic viability In September 2003, four countries (Belarus, Kazakhstan, of the material in place based on the goals of the central Russia, and Ukraine) signed an agreement on the formation planning system. The term “reserve” when used in this report of a Common Economic Space (CES) (Interstate Statistical refers in most cases to reserves that were calculated according Committee of the Commonwealth of Independent States, to the Soviet system. Countries of the CIS have been engaged undated). in efforts to reevaluate their reserves according to market COMMONWEALTH OF INDEPENDENT STATES—2006 7.1 economy criteria, and if it is known that such a reevaluation Commodity Review has been made, it is noted in the text of this report. [A more detailed description of the Soviet reserve classification system is Metals available in the U.S. Bureau of Mines Minerals Yearbook 1989, v. 3, Europe and the USSR.] Aluminum.—The Kanaker aluminum foil rolling mill was founded in May 2000. It was one of the leading production References Cited facilities in Armenia and was the only producer of aluminum foil in the Caucasus and Central Asia regions. On May 18, 2000, Durdiyeva, Chemen, 2007, Ashgabat hosts summit of CIS prime ministers: the mill was integrated into the Russian aluminum company Cental Asia-Caucasus Institute, November 28. (Accessed February 25, 2008, RUSAL and renamed ARMENAL and, in January 2003, the at http://www.cacianalyst.org/?q=node/4750.) Glimadov, I.L. 2007, Mezhpraviltel’stenniy sovet po raxvedke, ispol’zovaniyu Armenian Government and RUSAL signed an investment I okhrane nedr-effektivnaya forma sotrudnichestva starn SNG v sfere cooperation agreement under which RUSAL acquired a 26% nedropol;zovaniya [The inter-governmental council on exploration, use, and share and undertook modernization of the plant. Together environmental issues regarding the use of the earth’s mineral resources—An with two other Russian foil mills (Sayanal in the Republic effective form of cooperation between the countries of the CIS in the sphere of the use of the earth’s resources]: Gornyy Zhurnal [Mining Journal], no. 10, of Khakasia and Urals Foil), ARMENAL formed RUSAL’s p. 4-7.) packaging division. The mill employed more than 600 people Interstate Statistical Committee of the Commonwealth of Independent States, (RUSAL, 2007). [undated], About Commonwealth of Independent States: Interstate Statistical In 2006, ARMENAL produced 949.7 t of foil, including Committee of the Commonwealth of Independent States. (Accessed March 6, 2008, at http://www.cisstat.com/eng/cis.htm.) 945.5 t of plain foil and 4.2 t of aluminum tape. The mill was on track to operate at capacity by mid-2007. ARMENAL had a ARMENIA portfolio of orders from various foil consumers in Europe, the Middle East, the United States, and other regions. ARMENAL Armenia was a major producer of molybdenum, ranking was scheduled to begin operating at full capacity in 2007, when seventh in the world in mine output in 2006 (Magyar, 2008). it was expected to become one of the leading aluminum foil Besides molybdenum, Armenia produced other metals, producers in the CIS; its sales would likely be targeted at the including copper, gold, lead, silver, and zinc; and industrial European and U.S. markets (RUSAL, 2007). minerals, including basalt, diatomite, granite, gypsum, On October 26, RUSAL announced the reopening of limestone, and perlite. The country also produced aluminum foil ARMENAL after the completion of the modernization program. using raw materials imported from Russia and had developed The renewed mill had super casters for continuous casting a diamond cutting industry based on imported rough diamond. and a modernized billet mill (Quarto 180). Rolling equipment A major part of the country’s mine production was exported. was equipped with automatic process control systems. Armenia had almost no domestic fuel production and relied Overall investment in the project exceeded $70 million. After for electric power on a domestic nuclear powerplant and modernization, ARMENAL was able to turn out products that hydroelectric plants. It imported fuel for its nuclear powerplant met world standards, including foil that was less than 9µm-thick, and natural gas from Russia. which was in the highest demand on the international market. Armenia possesses significant resources of copper, gold, Implementation of the modernization project would allow for iron, lead, molybdenum, and zinc. It also has resources of increasing foil output to 25,000 metric tons per year (t/yr), construction material, such as basalt, granite, limestone, including 18,000 t/yr of thin foil (6-9µm) and 7,000 t/yr of marble, tuff, and so forth; semiprecious stones, such as agate, household foil. Future plans included increasing output of plain jasper, obsidian, and so forth; and other nonmetallic minerals, foil up to 40,000 million metric tons per year (Mt/yr) (RUSAL, such as bentonite, diatomite, perlite, and zeolite. The copper, 2007).