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METALS FROM BALKANS

RESOURCES OF ASIATIC TURKEY. . ' One important aspect of the operations. in the Balkan war' zone concerns 'the mineral wealth that may be made . available to the enemy. In a recent ; : -.; issue; of the New York- ''Engineering; /and Mining 1 Journal"' the patter ;is dealt wiili under 'the 'heading, !'Minerals.Qf Asiatic Turkey," and it is as- ' ' .serted that "should tlie Germans suc•k ceed in hewing a road through to Tur- •">£ • key, a mineral empire of the first mag- . aiitude ..will be opened up tc the Teutons—one which contains some ■ rich, though little-developed deposits, of copvper—a metal. of prime importance to the - Central ■ Monarchies."- ' Coal, .is stated to be of widespdead: occurrence ■ in Asia Minor, the best developed field •! i 'being at ;Heraclea, on " tho Black Sea coast, whence the. output for . 1912 exceeded- 700,000 : metric • tons. Little gold is produced, - though the metal is known to occur. Hie environs of Izpiiyon the east Pontic, area, con--y:)y' tained goldfields that are known to ' - have been worked from the 'third contury. 8.C..t0 the end. of the seventeenth '. century A.D.: . The besjt developed sil- ,• vor-lead mines are ; found near Ba'iia, to the north of Smyra. The.ores carry : galena, blende, tend pyrite,. and, as foj> . inerly mined,-'contained an average of 1G to 20 per cent, lead, and 8 per cent, pine. • The 1913 production was valued at £171,000. Concerning copper, the ■"Journal" says:—"The two most important copper belts in Asiatic Turkey . ; :--'-'-.:-.o«rur-iii the eastern portion of the Black Sea coast, as far. inland as the Pontic - lUnges, and around'Argana (Arghahali), . in tii© upper valley of - the Tigris. .... . The celeb.rated.':Argana mines, from all . accounts, contain high-grade ore.-These deposits; are. known .to have!been -,exy ploited since 1090 a.d. In 'recent veai-s f. mining has been carried on by the Twit-1 ish'Government, both on a leasing system and byi direct management. The ore is broken to nut size, and undel'- ; ~ goes l siiccessjng roasting, until * a pro- • ' duct containing about 30 per cent, copper is. obtained. In this form, the product is transported, on camels to BlackSea or Mediterranean harbours. .-The : cost of mining and treatment at Ar- . Ro.na is estimated at less than 3 cents j)or lb. The disturbances of tho last ' ~ ;th're£'or'four-years have'caused ccssa- ' , tion of work throughout Turkey. Although. it is possible exploitation has .' .been resumed recently, under ..German management, the production cannot be of great importance'immediately, however, as the organisation of operations willrequiro time in order to be produc- ; . live in a large sense." : . Morcury, manganese, antimony, and . chrome ores are'stated to occur in-im-portant quantities, and among nonmetallic minerals which have proved valuable are borax,' emery, and meerschaum.. In regard to tho ■ two last•nientioned,' tho territory has been one of the world's principal sources of s'up.V ply. Iron and zinc resources also exist, 1 .v.iiilc petroleum is found in the pro.••viiices of Erzerum, Mosul, and Bagdad. The same authority says, concerning f copper mines in Serbia, that a good -- deal of nonsense has been printed about ~ the great supplies of copper that tho Teutonic Allies are going to gain when v they have conquered - Serbia. The copper mines of Serbia are indeed a little . more important than tho alleged copi per. mines'of Poland, but they have never biJeii largely productive. The only copper-producing concern is the company owning the Bor mines, which, previous to tho war, produced 6000 or 7000 tons per annum.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DOM19151228.2.55

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2654, 28 December 1915, Page 6

Word count
Tapeke kupu
562

METALS FROM BALKANS Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2654, 28 December 1915, Page 6

METALS FROM BALKANS Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2654, 28 December 1915, Page 6

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