The Mineral Industry of Albania in 1998
THE MINERAL INDUSTRY OF ALBANIA By Walter G. Steblez In 1998, Albania continued to experience an economic and rolling mills at Lac and Rubic produced copper wire, most downturn as evidenced by the bankruptcy filings by such of which was exported. minerals industry enterprises as Albakri (copper), Albchrome Albania’s commercial resources of lateritic nickeliferous iron (chromite), Albpetrol (oil and gas and refining), and GeoAlba ore were estimated to be about 300 million metric tons (Mt). In (geologic exploration and survey). The chief mineral the 1980’s, yearly output ranged from 1 to 1.2 Mt of ore, of commodities that traditionally had been produced in Albania which about one-half was consumed at the Elbasan iron and were chromite, copper, ferrochromium, nickeliferous iron ore, steel works to produce pig iron, a small amount of steel, and and petroleum refinery products, all of which, until recently, salts of nickel and cobalt. constituted the dominant component of the country’s foreign Deposits of commercial-grade nickeliferous iron ore were exchange earnings (Kocibelli, 1999). In 1998, the output of exploited in ultrabasic massifs, near Pogradec, in east-central many minerals continued to decline but increases in output for Albania. The principal mines were at Bitinska, Guri i Kuq, and such commodities as copper reflected a virtual restart of Prrenjas. Between 1963 and 1991, the largest mining operation, operations. (See table 1.) This performance may be attributable at Prrenjas, produced about 600,000 t/yr of ore. The majority of to the high level of military and political tensions in the nearby Albanian ores are lateritic and grade about 35% to 45% Fe, 1.4% Balkan areas and to the slow transition from centrally planned to Ni, and 0.05% Co.
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