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2015 Minerals Yearbook

GEORGIA [ADVANCE RELEASE]

U.S. Department of the Interior August 2019 U.S. Geological Survey The Mineral Industry of By Elena Safirova

Prior to the proclamation of Georgia’s independence in mining was $43 million, or 3% of the total. Compared with 1991, a range of mineral commodities were mined in Georgia, the FDI in 2014, investment in the energy sector decreased by including arsenic, barite, bentonite, coal, copper, diatomite, 53%, but investment in mining remained unchanged (National lead, manganese, zeolites, zinc, and others. The country’s Statistics Office of Georgia, 2016b). metallurgical sector produced ferroalloys and steel. Production of many of these mineral commodities ceased or had been Government Policies and Programs significantly reduced since 1991 because many supply chains In June 2014, the Government initiated a new program called were broken after the breakup of the . In 2015, “Produce in Georgia” that was focused on the development mineral production in Georgia was limited, and the most of entrepreneurship in Georgia. The rationale for the program important contributors to the GDP was mining of copper, gold, was that, although Georgia was considered a country where and manganese and production of ferroalloys (table 1). setting up a new business was easy, startup businesses were Prior to 2015, Georgia did not have domestic sources of usually short-lived and not successful. The program included hydrocarbons and had to import energy for both industrial and three forms of support for local businesses—access to finance, residential needs. In 2007, the Government decided to stop access to real estate property, and technical assistance. The importing natural gas from Russia and to import most of its beneficiaries were allowed to use all three components separately natural gas from . In 2013, members of the new or simultaneously as a matter of their choice (Patsuria, 2014). Government thought that reliance on a single source for such In the beginning, the program was allocated 46 million laris an important energy product posed an unacceptable risk, and (about $20 million); of this amount, 30 million laris (about they were developing some alternative sources of natural gas. $13.2 million) was earmarked for agricultural projects, and The options included obtaining natural gas from , the other 16 million laris (about $7 million) was earmarked Turkmenistan, and possibly Iran with the goal of supply for industrial projects. The priority sectors of the program diversification. The Government also considered the possibility included those that have the potential to supplant imports. The of purchasing gas from Russia again. On the other hand, recent list of beneficiary sectors included production of construction discoveries of natural gas in Georgia are likely to convert the materials, such as ceramic tiles, and marble, granite, and other problem of dependency on natural gas imports from a perpetual natural stones; the chemical industry; and production of metal issue to a short-term one (Kikaleishvili, 2013; Frontera products, among others. The program was coordinated by the Resources Corp., 2015). Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development, and the Minerals in the National Economy agencies involved in the program were the Entrepreneurship Development Agency, the National Agency of State Property, In 2015, the real gross domestic product (GDP) of Georgia and the Technology and Innovation Agency of Georgia increased by 2.8% compared with that of 2014, to $14.5 billion.1 (Inasaridze, 2014; Patsuria, 2014). The country’s real GDP increased by 4.6% (revised) in 2014 The Government was very optimistic about the “Produce in compared with that of 2013. The share of industrial production Georgia” program and was confident that the program had the in the GDP in 2015 was 16.5%. Mining and quarrying accounted potential to open a path for products made in Georgia to the for 6.5% of the value of industrial production. In 2015, the markets of the European Union. Some other observers, however, real value of production in mining and quarrying increased saw several potential drawbacks. One serious criticism was that by a record 21.0%, whereas the real value of manufacturing the program would put different businesses on unequal footing, production decreased by 4.9%. Other fast growing sectors were increase inequality among businesses, and perhaps create a construction (15.2%), financial intermediation (9.4%), and real potential for irregularities in the distribution of financial and estate (6.9%) (Bizzone.info, 2016b; National Statistics Office of real estate resources. As of November 2015, the Government Georgia, 2016c; U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, 2016). had financed 123 projects, and the total investment associated In 2015, foreign direct investment (FDI) decreased by 23% with those projects was 350 million laris ($154 million). It to $1.35 billion from an adjusted $1.76 billion in 2014, and remained to be seen, however, whether these new businesses the share of reinvestments in total FDI was 22%. Azerbaijan would have better long-term potential than those created without was the leading investor in Georgia (accounting for 40% of the Government support (Inasaridze, 2014; Apsny.ge, 2015). total FDI in 2015), followed by the United Kingdom (15%), the Netherlands (8%), Luxembourg and Turkey (6% each), China Production and Russia (4% each), and the United States (3%). FDI in the About one-half of the 2015 production data in table 1 were energy sector was $90 million, or 7% of the total, and FDI in estimated because data for many mineral commodities were not 1Where necessary, values have been converted from Georgian laris (GEL) to available. Production of limestone increased by 37%, and that U.S. dollars (US$) at an annual average exchange rate of GEL2.270=US$1.00 of copper increased by an estimated 30%. Gold output increased for 2015 and GEL1.766=US$1.00 for 2014.

GEORGIA—2015 [ADVANCE RELEASE] 17.1 by an estimated 19%; gypsum, by an estimated 15%; silver, by RGM Gold and the public during the past several years. In 2006, an estimated 14%; coal, by 14%; nitrogen, by an estimated 12%; the mine was awarded the status of an archeological cultural natural gas, by 11%; and cement, by 7.9%. At the same time, heritage monument. In October 2013, however, the Government production of silicomanganese decreased by 18%, and that of annulled the status of the monument and declared that the status steel rebar, by 7.6%. These and other production data are in table 1. was awarded illegally. Some members of the public disagreed with the October 2013 decision and appealed the decision. In Structure of the Mineral Industry June 2014, the City Court ordered RMG Gold to halt mining operations at Sakdrisi until the final court decision. Table 2 is a list of major mineral industry facilities. The Court argued that mining activities could permanently Mineral Trade damage the old mine and destroy its archaeological value. In December, the Ministry of Culture and the National Agency In 2015, Georgia ran a substantial trade deficit—the total for Protection of Cultural Heritage issued decrees that removed value of its exports ($2.20 billion) was greatly exceeded by the the status of cultural heritage from the Sakdrisi Mine, but the total value of its imports ($7.73 billion). The country’s major mine retained the status of an archaeological object. At the export trade partners in 2015 were, in descending order of export same time, the Government decided to support the RMG Gold value, Azerbaijan (which received 10.9% of Georgia’s exports), workers and granted permission for mining to continue in the (9.7%), Turkey (8.5%), (8.2%), Russia (7.4%), area. The Government stated that RMG Gold had promised to China (5.7%), the United States (4.7%), Uzbekistan (4.4%), and build an archaeological museum that could house and preserve and Italy (3.4% each). Its major import trade partners all historically significant objects that might be found on the site in 2015 were, in descending order of import value, Turkey (Apsny.ge, 2014; EurasiaNet.org, 2014; Israelyan, 2015). (which supplied 17.2% of Georgia’s imports), Russia (8.1%), In May 2015, the Tbilisi City Court decided to allow RMG China (7.6%), Azerbaijan (7.0%), Ireland and Ukraine (5.9% Gold to continue mining gold at the Sakdrisi Mine. According each), Germany (5.6%), the United States (3.3%), Japan and the to the Sputnik news agency, the judge on the case, together (2.7% each), and Italy (2.6%) (National with experts, archaeologists, and representatives of the public, Statistics Office of Georgia, 2016a). visited the mine and personally assessed the situation prior to Mineral commodities, especially metals, played a significant making the decision. Also, in January 2015, the Government role in the country’s exports. In 2015, copper ores and extended the mining license for RGM Gold by 5 years concentrates accounted for 12.2% of the country’s total export (Goldminingunion.ru, 2015). value; ferroalloys, 8.8%; and gold, 2.8%. In 2014, the shares In July 2015, Noricum Gold Ltd. of the United Kingdom of those commodities in the country’s exports were, by value, acquired a 50% share and operating control of the 8.7%, 10.0%, and 1.4%, respectively (Interfax.com.ua, 2016; project. Noricum announced that it would issue 1.3 billion National Statistics Office of Georgia, 2016a). new shares in GMC Investment Ltd. and pay about $4 million for them; GMC Investment owned a 50% share in Georgian Commodity Review Copper and Gold Ltd., which, in turn, had a license for the Bolnisi copper-gold project. Noricum promised to invest at Metals least $6 million in the development of the Bolnisi project during the next 2 years. According to Noricum, Bolnisi occupied Copper and Gold.—In 2012, GeoProMining, Ltd. (GPM) an area of 861 square kilometers (km2), and its resources of Russia sold both of its holdings in Georgia—JSC Madneuli were assessed to be 980,000 metric tons (t) of copper, about and Quartzite Ltd.—to Rich Metals Group (RMG) of Russia 205,000 kilograms (kg) (reported as 6.6 million troy ounces) of for a total of $120 million. The new owner renamed the two gold, and about 680,000 kg (reported as 22 million troy ounces) companies JSC RMG Copper (formerly JSC Madneuli) and of silver. In addition, the deposit contained barite, lead, and zinc LTD RMG Gold (formerly Quartzite Ltd.). In February 2012, (RosInvest.com, 2015; Noricum Gold Ltd., 2016). the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources auctioned the Noricum was a junior mining company which, in addition rights to mine the Sakdrisi deposit in the Bolnisi region. As to the Bolnisi project in Georgia, was working on several gold a result of the auction, RMG obtained the license to mine the projects in Austria. In 2015, Noricum was able to reduce its deposit. In 2015, RMG Copper and RMG Gold were the only annual losses to about $940,000 compared with annual losses producers of copper and gold in Georgia (Apsny.ge, 2012a, b; of almost $2 million in 2014. In 2015, the company was Rich Metals Group, 2016). conducting its drilling program in the Bolnisi project’s two RMG Gold extracted precious metals using the heap-leaching target areas—Kvemo Bolnisi and Tsitel Sopeli—and expected to method whereby quartzite ore was processed using a low- start mining in Bolnisi in the third quarter of 2016 (Metaltorg.ru, concentration cyanide solution. RMG Gold operated the 2016; Noricum Gold Ltd., 2016). Madneuli Mine and beneficiated the ore at its plant in . Iron and Steel.—In 2015, Georgia had four steel plants, all of According to RMG, the company employed about 3,000 people, which specialized in the production of steel-reinforcing products 90% of whom were local residents. RMG stated that, from 2011 (mostly rebar) from metal scrap. The Metallurgical to 2014, it had invested about $300 million in Georgia (Rich Plant (Rustavi Steel LLC), which was built in the 1940s, was the Metals Group, 2016). oldest plant. In addition to rebar, the Rustavi Metallurgical Plant The Sakdrisi Mine, which was located in the Kvemo produced cast-iron billets, ferroalloys, seamless pipes, slag, region in eastern Georgia, was the subject of a conflict between

17.2 [ADVANCE RELEASE] U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY MINERALS YEARBOOK—2015 and other finished steel products. The plant had the capacity to 234,256 t of liquid ammonia, and 415,537 t of nitric acid. The produce 125,000 metric tons per year (t/yr) of rebar, 70,000 t/yr company also produced ammonium sulfate, copper sulfate, of seamless pipe, and 12,000 t/yr of cast-iron billets, and it liquid gaseous oxygen, and sodium cyanide. Rustavi Azot sold employed about 1,300 people. its output domestically and exported it to 23 countries. The Geosteel LLC was also located in the City of Rustavi. It was plant employed about 2,300 people and was one of the leading a joint venture between JSW Steel Ltd. of India and Georgian taxpayers of Georgia (Nregion.com, 2015; Bizzone.info, 2016a; Steel Holding Group of Georgia. As of 2015, Geosteel was the Rustavi Azot, 2016). largest steel plant in Georgia and had the capacity to produce In December 2015, Rustavi Azot announced that it had 175,000 t/yr of steel. Geosteel specialized in the production of begun production of copper sulfate, which is also known as thermomechanically treated construction steel rebar; its products blue vitriol. The company announced that the new product were used in the construction of bridges, multistory buildings, would have 98% purity and contain no harmful minerals. In and hydropower plants. The Metallurgical Plant was the Caucasus region, copper sulfate is used primarily in grape built by Euroasian Steels LLC, which was a joint venture with production (Nregion.com, 2015). Manaksia Industries Ltd. of India. It was built in 2008 and had In 2012, the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic a design capacity of 100,000 t/yr of rebar. Finally, Moulds and (SOCAR) announced that it was planning to build two carbamide Metals Georgia Ltd.’s metallurgical plant in was built in (urea) plants. One of them was to be located in Sumgayit, 2012 and employed 220 people (table 2; EkhoKavkaza.com, Azerbaijan, on the Caspian Sea, and the other, in Kulevi, Georgia, 2012; Deloros.ru, 2014; Rustavi Metallurgical Plant, 2016). on the . The two plants together would have the During the past several years, the Rustavi Steel Plant was in capacity to produce a total of between 1.2 million and the midst of an ownership dispute. After the death of the 1.3 million metric tons per year of carbamide. The construction previous owner of the plant in 2008, according to the decision of the plant in Kulevi began in September 2012 and was of the Tbilisi City Court, the plant’s ownership was transferred expected to be completed in 2016. The plant’s construction to AO Georgian Steel instead of to the family of the deceased, was expected to cost about $100 million. The carbamide plant which inherited OOO Rustavi Steel. In February 2015, the in Kulevi, when completed, was to have an annual capacity of Tbilisi City Court seized all the plant’s assets, including raw about 600,000 t/yr and would employ about 300 people. The materials and inventories of finished products, until the plant output was to be exported to the countries on the Black Sea paid off its debt of $4,500 laris (about $2,000). In March 2015, through the Poti seaport, located close to Kulevi. SOCAR spent the company put 350 workers on leave without pay status for 3 years developing the project and studied carbamide production an indefinite period of time and, in August, Rustavi Steel laid off experience in other countries, such as Egypt, Iran, and Jordan about 500 workers because of a management reorganization. (RCCnews.ru, 2012; Vesti.az, 2012; Rupec.ru, 2015). According to the company, Rustavi Steel sustained losses of In May 2015, SOCAR decided to stop construction of the about $20,000 because of the legal actions. Company carbamide plant in Georgia temporarily. The cited reasons were management stated that the company intended to appeal the the decrease of fertilizer prices on the world market, reduced court decision in Georgia’s Superior Court (Gazeta.ru, 2013; ability to finance the project owing to low fertilizer prices, and Bizzone.info, 2015; GeorgianPress.ru, 2015; Kmuzov, 2015; reported difficulties with the availability of natural gas for the Metaltorg.ru, 2015). project. The Government of Georgia stated that, although it As a part of the “Produce in Georgia” program, the continued to be interested in the project, it was unable to help Government signed an agreement with OOO Georgian Steel, with its financing. As of yearend, it was unclear if the project according to which TBS Bank gave the company a $2 million would be revived (Rupec.ru, 2015). loan, and the Agency for Development and Entrepreneurship would cover 10% of the gross interest owed during the first Mineral Fuels 2 years of the loan. In addition to the financial support, Georgian Natural Gas and Petroleum.—In June 2014, Frontera Steel planned also to use other elements of the “Produce in Resources Corp. of the United States started natural gas Georgia” program. The Agency for Management of Government production at the Mtsare deposit located close to Property provided the company with real estate to open a new Iormuganlo village in the region of eastern Georgia. production facility in Tbilisi. As a result, the company’s total The company had a 25-year license for oil and gas production new investment in the Georgian economy would amount to in Block 12, which covered an area of 5,000 km2. The company $2.4 million. The new production unit would provide work for had been working in Georgia since 1997 and had a joint venture about 90 people, 50 of whom would be employed full time. The with AO Gruzneft called Frontera Eastern Georgia. Since 1997, new facility was projected to open in the third quarter of 2015 Frontera had prospected several deposits, including the Baida, the (Sputnik-georgia.ru, 2015). , the Muare Khevi, the Nazarlebi, the Patara Shiraki, and Industrial Minerals the Taribani deposits. The development of the Mtsare Khevi deposit started in 2011, and Frontera invested about $400 million in the Nitrogen.—OOO Rustavi Azot was the only producer of project. As of 2014, the deposit’s resources were estimated to be nitrogen and nitrogen fertilizers in the southern Caucasus region. 42 billion cubic meters of natural gas, and the company expected The plant was located in the city of Rustavi, 23 kilometers (km) to be able to produce about 75,000 cubic meters per day of south of Tbilisi and 25 km from the border with Azerbaijan. In natural gas from the deposit (Interfax.ru, 2014; Kavkaz-uzel.ru, 2015, the company produced 519,830 t of ammonium nitrate, 2014; Neftegaz.ru, 2014; Frontera Resources Corp., 2016).

GEORGIA—2015 [ADVANCE RELEASE] 17.3 In October 2015, Frontera provided a significant upgrade Apsny.ge, 2014, END utverzhdaet, chto kompaniya RMG Gold vhodit v sferu to its gas resources associated with ongoing exploration and interesov eks-premyera Gruzii [END claims that RMG Gold is included in the former prime minister’s sphere of interests]: Apsny.ge, October 7. (Accessed production efforts in Georgia. The company stated that it had July 15, 2015, at http://www.apsny.ge/2014/eco/1412707052.php.) previously considered its Mtsare Khevi Gas Complex and Apsny.ge, 2015, Garibashvili utverzhdaet, chto v ramkah programmy Taribani Field Complex to be separate fields. When Frontera “Proizvodi v Gruzii” uzhe profinansirovano 123 proekta [Garibashvili combined the two into the South Gas Complex, an claims that 123 projects are already financed within the “Produce in 2 Georgia” framework]: Apsny.ge, November 25. (Accessed June 30, 2016, at integrated 2,000-km geologic unit, ongoing work recently http://www.apsny.ge/2015/eco/1448494576.php.) resulted in a new estimate of as much as 3.8 trillion cubic Bizzone.info, 2015, Rustavskiy metallurgicheskiy zavod na grani zakrytiya meters (reported as 135 trillion cubic feet) of gas in place [Rustavi metallurgical plant is on the brink of closing]: Bizzone.info, March 2. from reservoir targets found at depths of between 300 and (Accessed June 30, 2016, at http://bizzone.info/industry/2015/1425348972.php.) Bizzone.info, 2016a, EBRD oformit kreditnyi dogovor s “Rustavi Azot” [EBRD 5,000 meters. Frontera stated that an independent assessment will sign a loan agreement with Rustavi Azot]: Bizzone.info, March 30. of the company’s internal estimates was underway. Given a (Accessed June 30, 2016, at http://bizzone.info/industry/2016/1459379516.php.) significant increase in gas resources, Frontera started developing Bizzone.info, 2016b, Gornodobyvayushaya promyshlennost’ pokazala samyi plans for exporting its future gas output. In particular, it began a bol’shoy rost [Mining industry showed fastest growth]: Bizzone.info, March 24. (Accessed June 30, 2016, at http://bizzone.info/ study on the possibility of bringing liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry/2016/1458852203.php.) to Ukraine and potentially to other Black Sea markets, as well Deloros.ru, 2014, Gruzinskaya metallurgiya, ili podskazka nachinayushim as contemplated regional pipeline routes (Frontera Resources biznesmenam [Georgian metallurgy, or a tip to the beginner businessmen]: Corp., 2015). Deloros.ru, June 9. (Accessed July 15, 2015, at http://www.deloros.ru/ gruzinskaya-metallurgiya-ili-podskazka-nachinayushhim-biznesmenam.html.) In March 2015, representatives of an international consortium EkhoKavkaza.com, 2012, V avguste v Poti otkroetsya metallurgicheskiy zavod of the Government, BP p.l.c. of the United Kingdom, and [A metallurgical plant will open in Poti in August]: EkhoKavkaza.com, SOCAR announced that they had found large oil and gas May 14. (Accessed July 15, 2015, at http://www.ekhokavkaza.com/archive/ resources in Sagarejo in the Kakheti region. The estimated news/20120514/3235/2759.html?id=24580313.) EurasiaNet.org, 2014, Gruziya razreshila rossiyskoy kompanii dobyvat’ zoloto na resources were about 5 billion metric tons (about 36 billion meste unikal’nykh istoricheskih raskopok [Georgia allowed Russian company barrels) of petroleum and more than 15 billion cubic meters of to mine gold at the site of historic excavation]: EurasiaNet.org, March 19. natural gas. The consortium stated that the produced gas would (Accessed July 15, 2015, at http://russian.eurasianet.org/node/60526.) first of all be sold domestically. If the production volumes were Frontera Resources Corp., 2015, Frontera Resources upgrades gas potential in Georgia operations: Frontera Resources Corp., October 8. (Accessed to saturate the domestic market, then natural gas would be July 15, 2016, at http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20151008005538/ exported by way of the Trans-Anatolian Natural gas pipeline en/Frontera-Resources-Upgrades-Gas-Potential-Georgia-Operations.) (TANAP) to Europe. The Government assured the public that Frontera Resources Corp., 2016, Operations: Frontera Resources Corp. 25% of Georgia’s share of the profits would be placed in a (Accessed June 30, 2016, at http://www.fronteraresources.com/operations/ introduction/.) stabilization fund and preserved for future generations. The Gazeta.ru, 2013, Metallurgicheskiy zavod v Rustavi vozvrashen consortium expected to start petroleum production by 2020, and rodstvenniku Patarkatsishvili [Metallurgical plant in Rustavi is returned to gas production, by 2022 (Oilexp.ru, 2015). Patarkatsishvili’s relative]: Gazeta.ru, July 20. (Accessed June 30, 2015, at http://www.gazeta.ru/business/news/2013/07/20/n_3054153.shtml.) Outlook GeorgianPress.ru, 2015, Rustavskiy metallurgicheskiy zavod na grani zakrytiya [Rustavi metallurgical plant is on the brink of closing]: GeorgianPress.ru, March 2. (Accessed July 15, 2015, at http://georgianpress.ru/economicss/ In the past 10 years, the Government of Georgia significantly 39883-rustavskiy-metallurgicheskiy-zavod-na-grani-zakryitiya.html.) improved the business climate in the country and continued Goldminingunion.ru, 2015, Tbilisskiy sud ne stal priostanavlivat’ dobychu positioning Georgia as a transit hub for hydrocarbons and other zolota Sakdrisi [Tbilisi Court decided not to stop gold mining in goods. The mineral sector, however, was unable to take full Sakdrisi]: Goldminingunion.ru, May 20. (Accessed June 30, 2016, at http://www.goldminingunion.ru/news/view/2768/tbilisskiy_sud_ne_stal_ advantage of those changes. In the next 3 to 5 years, the mineral priostanavlivat_dobyichu_zolota_sakdrisi.htm?PHPSESSID=81f557542fcbac industry of Georgia is expected to have moderate but stable 916dec84f4a9873388.) growth. Copper, ferroalloys, manganese, and steel are likely Inasaridze, Givi, 2014, Pravitel’stvo predstavilo programmu “Proizvodi v Gruzii” to remain the dominant mineral commodities in the short and [The Government introduced the “Produce in Georgia” program]: Svobodnaya.info. (Accessed June 30, 2016, at http://svobodnaya.info/index.php?option=com_ medium terms. At the same time, recent discoveries of natural content&view=article&id=2189:-l-r&catid=43:economics&Itemid=87#. gas and petroleum resources and the implementation of these V3cVY9IrK9I.) projects will likely result in increased energy production in the Interfax.com.ua, 2016, Gruziya v 2015 g. uvelichila eksport zolota bolee chem near future, which could reduce the country’s reliance on energy na tret’, medi na 28% [In 2015, Georgia increased gold exports by more than one-third, and copper, by 28%]: Interfax.com.ua, January 25. (Accessed imports and serve as a catalyst for faster future growth in all June 30, 2016, at http://interfax.com.ua/news/economic/319743.html.) sectors of the economy. Interfax.ru, 2014, Kompaniya Frontera Resources obnaruzhila v Gruzii zapasy gaza v ob’eme 40 mlrd kub.m. [Frontera Resources Corp. discovered References Cited 40 billion cubic meters of natural gas reserves in Georgia]: Interfax.ru, June 20. (Accessed July 15, 2016, at http://www.interfax.ru/business/381884.) Apsny.ge, 2012a, GeoProMining prodal gruzinskie aktivy za 120 millionov Israelyan, Yana, 2015, Chto delat’ s zolotym naslediem Gruzii [What to do with dollarov [GeoProMining has sold its Georgian assets for $120 million]: the Georgian gold legacy?]: Ru.delfi, February 4. (Accessed July 15, 2015, Apsny.ge, June 19. (Accessed July 15, 2015, at http://www.apsny.ge/2012/ at http://ru.delfi.lt/opinions/comments/chto-delat-s-zolotym-naslediem- eco/1340151201.php.) gruzii.d?id=66963928.) Apsny.ge, 2012b, Novyy vladelets “Madneuli” i “Kvartsita” prodolzhit Kavkaz-uzel.ru, 2014, V Gruzii amerikanskaya kompaniya nachala dobyvat’ gaz sotsial’nye I ekologicheskie programmy [The new owner of Madneuli and [An American company began gas production in Georgia]: Kazkaz-uzel.ru, Quartzite will continue social and environmental programs]: Apsny.ge, July 27. June 21. (Accessed June 30, 2016, at http://www.kavkaz-uzel.ru/ (Accessed July 15, 2015, at http://www.apsny.ge/2012/eco/1343424126.php.) articles/244637/.)

17.4 [ADVANCE RELEASE] U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY MINERALS YEARBOOK—2015 Kikaleishvili, Megi, 2013, Gruziya mozhet vozobnovit’ pokupku gaza u Rossii Oilexp.ru, 2015, V Gruzii naydeny bol’shie zapasy nefti i gaza [Large [Georgia may start buying gas from Russia again]: 1prime.ru, May 6. reserves of oil and gas are found in Georgia]: Oilexp.ru, April 2. (Accessed (Accessed July 15, 2015, at http://1prime.ru/Energy/20130506/763226679- June 30, 2016, at http://www.oilexp.ru/news/v-gruzii-najdeny-bolshie-zapasy- print.html.) nefti-i-gaza/91874/.) Kmuzov, Beslan, 2015, Premyer-ministr Gruzii raskritikoval resheniye suda Patsuria, Nino, 2014, “Produce in Georgia” about to start: Georgian Journal, ob areste imushestva zavoda v Rustavi [Georgian Prime Minister criticized May 22. (Accessed June 30, 2016, at http://www.georgianjournal.ge/ the court decision on Rustavi plant property arrest]: Kavkaz-uzel.ru, April 4. business/27285-produce-in-georgia-about-to-start.html.) (Accessed July 15, 2015, at http://www.kavkaz-uzel.ru/articles/260031/.) RCCnews.ru, 2012, Stroitel’stvo karbamidnogo zavoda v Gruzii zavershitsya Metaltorg.ru, 2015, Rustavskiy MZ uvolil pochti 500 sotrudnikov [Rustavi k 2016 godu [Construction of the carbamide plant in Georgia will be Metallurgical Plant laid off almost 500 workers]: Metaltorg.ru, August 11. finished by 2016]: RCCnews.ru, September 19. (Accessed June 30, 2016, at (Accessed June 30, 2016, at http://www.metaltorg.ru/n/9A5E29.) http://rccnews.ru/ru/news/fertilizers/85239/.) Metaltorg.ru, 2016, Noricum Gold umen’shila ubytochnost’ [Noricum Rich Metals Group, 2016, Home page: Rich Metals Group. (Accessed Gold cut losses]: Metaltorg.ru, April 20. (Accessed June 30, 2016, at June 30, 2016, at http://www.richmetalsgroup.com/?lang=eng.) http://www.metaltorg.ru/n/9A7FAC.) RosInvest.com, 2015, Noricum Gold poluchila kontrol’ nad gruzinskim National Statistics Office of Georgia [Geostat], 2016a, External trade of proektom Bolnisi [Noricum Gold obtained control over the Bolnisi Georgia 2015: National Statistics Office of Georgia, 18 p. (Accessed project in Georgia]: RosInvest.com, July 15. (Accessed June 30, 2016, at October 14, 2016, at http://www.geostat.ge/cms/site_images/_files/georgian/ http://rosinvest.com/novosti/1213886.) bop/External%20Merchandise%20Trade%202015_publication%202016.pdf.) Rupec.ru, 2015, GNKAP ob’yasnila ostanovku karbamidnogo proekta v Gruzii National Statistics Office of Georgia [Geostat], 2016b, Foreign direct otsutstviyem sredstv [SOCAR explained stopping of the carbamide project in investments in 2015: National Statistics Office of Georgia, 12 p. (Accessed Georgia by lack of money]: Rupec.ru, May 14. (Accessed June 30, 2016, at July 15, 2016, at http://www.geostat.ge/cms/site_images/_files/english/bop/ http://www.rupec.ru/news/31358/.) FDI_2015Q4-2015-ENG.pdf.) Rustavi Azot, 2016, Home page: Rustavi Azot. (Accessed June 30, 2016, at National Statistics Office of Georgia [Geostat], 2016c, Gross domestic product http://www.azot.ge/.) of Georgia in 2015: National Statistics Office of Georgia, 7 p. (Accessed Rustavi Metallurgical Plant, 2016, Home page: Rustavi Metallurgical Plant. June 30, 2016, at http://www.geostat.ge/cms/site_images/_files/english/nad/ (Accessed June 30, 2016, at http://www.rmp.ge/en/.) pres-relizi_2015_ENG.pdf.) Sputnik-georgia.ru, 2015, V Tbilisi otkroyetsya predpriyatiye po proizvodstvu Neftegaz.ru, 2014, Amerikanskaya Frontera nachala dobychu gaza na metallicheskih izdeliy [A plant for making metal products will open mestorozhdenii Mtsare khevi v Gruzii [American Frontera began gas in Tbilisi]: Sputnik-Georgia.ru, April 14. (Accessed June 30, 2016, at production at Mtsare Khevi deposit in Georgia]: Neftegaz.ru, June 20. http://sputnik-georgia.ru/economy/20150414/217527908.html.) (Accessed July 15, 2015, at http://neftegaz.ru/news/view/125870.) U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, 2016, Georgia, in The world factbook: Noricum Gold Ltd., 2016, Home page: Noricum Gold Ltd. U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. (Accessed June 30, 2016, at (Accessed June 30, 2016, at http://www.noricumgold.com/.) https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/gg.html.) Nregion.com, 2015, Gruzinskoye predpriyatiye “Azot” pristupilo k proizvodstvu Vesti.az, 2012, Karbamidnye zavody socar v Gruzii i Azerbaidzhane budut mednogo kuporosa [Azot company of Georgia started production of analogichnymi po parametram [SOCAR carbamide plants in Georgia and copper sulfate]: NRegion.com, December 16. (Accessed June 30, 2016, at Azerbaijan will have similar technical parameters]: Vesti.az, September 24. http://www.nregion.com/txt.php?i=54788#.V3ckZ9IrK9J.) (Accessed June 30, 2016, at http://vesti.az/news/130752.)

TABLE 1 GEORGIA: PRODUCTION OF MINERAL COMMODITIES1

(Metric tons unless otherwise specified)

Commodity2 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 METALS Copper, mine output, Cu content of concentratee 6,300 7,400 5,000 5,000 6,500 Gold kilograms 7,000 e 3,900 4,300 2,600 e 3,100 e Iron and steel: Ferroalloys, electric furnace: Ferromanganese 195 ------Silicomanganese 242,746 261,075 253,361 256,677 210,700 Total 242,941 261,075 253,361 256,677 210,700 Steel, rebar 200,000 e 220,132 188,737 197,300 r 182,300 Manganese ore:e Gross weight 400,000 380,000 380,000 380,000 380,000 Mn content 116,000 110,000 110,000 110,000 110,000 Silvere kilograms 1,700 1,000 1,100 700 r 800 INDUSTRIAL MINERALS Cement 1,501,972 1,545,546 1,618,723 1,626,198 1,755,400 Clay, bentonitee 4,800 4,900 5,000 5,000 5,300 Gypsume 125 130 130 135 155 Limestone NA NA NA 849,800 1,160,700 Nitrogen, N content of ammoniae 145,000 150,000 150,000 170,000 r 190,000 Salte 28,000 29,000 30,000 28,000 30,000 See footnotes at end of table.

GEORGIA—2015 [ADVANCE RELEASE] 17.5 TABLE 1—Continued GEORGIA: PRODUCTION OF MINERAL COMMODITIES1

(Metric tons unless otherwise specified)

Commodity2 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 MINERAL FUELS AND RELATED MATERIALS Coal, bituminous 352,872 421,755 371,847 299,300 r 342,000 Natural gas thousand cubic meters 5,800 5,400 5,400 10,300 r 11,400 Petroleum, crude: In gravimetric units 48,942 44,061 56,995 42,600 r 41,500 In volumetric units 42-gallon barrels 355,800 320,000 414,400 309,700 r 301,700 eEstimated; estimated data are rounded to no more than three significant digits; may not add to totals shown. rRevised. NA Not available. -- Zero. 1Table includes data available through June 30, 2016. 2In addition to the commodities listed, Georgia may have produced arsenic, barite, diatomite, iron ore, lead, perlite, petroleum refinery products, zeolites, and zinc, but available information was inadequate to make reliable estimates of output.

TABLE 2 GEORGIA: STRUCTURE OF THE MINERAL INDUSTRY IN 2015

(Metric tons unless otherwise specified)

Major operating companies Annual Commodity and major equity owners1 Location or deposit names1 capacitye Arsenic: Includes: Of which: 2,000 2 As content of ore mining and chemical plant Lukhumi Mine, region Tsana mining and chemical plant Tsana Mine, region Metal and compounds Racha mining and chemical plant Racha region Tsana mining and chemical plant Ts'ana region Barite NA Chordskoye deposit, Onis Raioni 70,000 Do. RMG Copper (Rich Metals Group) Madneuli Mine NA Barite-zinc ore NA Kvaisi Mine NA Cement LLC Kartuli Cementi (LLC HeidelbergCement Rustavi 1,500,000 Caucasus Shared Services, 70%) Do. LLC SaqCementi (LLC HeidelbergCement and Rustavi 500,000 Caucasus Shared Services, 75%) Clay, bentonite Includes: Of which: 200,000 2 Askana LLC (Silver & Baryte Ores Mining Askanskoye Mine, Ozurget'i Co., 97.7%) NA Gumbrskoye Mine, Gumbra region Coal Saqnakhshiri Ltd. , -Shaorskoye, 400,000 2 and Tkvarchelskoye deposits in Akhalts'ikhis Raioni, Tkibuli, and Tqvarch'eli regions Copper concentrate RMG Copper (Rich Metals Group) Sakdrisi deposit, Bolnisi region 15,000 Diatomite NA Kisatibskoye deposit, K'isat'ibi 150,000 region Ferroalloys: Ferromanganese RMG Copper (Rich Metals Group) Zestafoni ferroalloys plant, 400,000 Zestap'onis Raioni Silicomanganese do. do. 250,000 Manganese sinter do. do. 250,000 Gold kilograms RMG Gold (Rich Metals Group) Madneuli Mine 3,500 Iron and steel, steel, rebar Kutaisi Metallurgical Plant (Euroasian Steels LLC) Kutaisi 100,000 Do. Rustavi Metallurgical Plant (Georgian Steel Rustavi 125,000 Holding Group, 100%) Do. Geosteel (JSW Steel Ltd., 51%, and do. 175,000 Georgian Steel Holding Group, 49%) Do. Moulds and Metals Georgia Ltd. Poti NA See footnotes at end of table.

17.6 [ADVANCE RELEASE] U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY MINERALS YEARBOOK—2015 TABLE 2—Continued GEORGIA: STRUCTURE OF THE MINERAL INDUSTRY IN 2015

(Metric tons unless otherwise specified)

Major operating companies Annual Commodity and major equity owners1 Location or deposit names1 capacitye Manganese ore Chiaturamanganumi enterprise of Georgian Mine, region 500,000 Manganese Holding Limited LLC (Georgian American Alloys, Inc.) Natural gas Frontera Resources Corp. South Kakheti Gas Complex NA Nitrogen OOO Rustavi Azot Rustavi 330,000 Petroleum: Crude Saknavtobi Oil and Gas Co. and most Georgian About 60 wells that account for 80,000 2 petroleum companies in joint ventures with 98% of output in Mirzaani, Frontera Resources Corp., Ioris Valley Oil & Gas Ltd., Sup'sa, and Zemo T'elet'i regions Oil Co. Ltd., Georgian-British Oil Co. (GBOC), Anadarko Petroleum Corp., and GeoGeroil Do. Canagro Ltd. Sagarejo, eastern Georgia NA eEstimated; estimated data are rounded to no more than three significant digits. Do., do. Ditto. NA Not available. 1Many location names have changed since the breakup of the Soviet Union. Many enterprises, however, are still named or commonly referred to based on the former location name, which accounts for discrepancies in the names of enterprises and names of locations. 2Capacity estimate is the total for all enterprises that could produce the commodity.

GEORGIA—2015 [ADVANCE RELEASE] 17.7