Gold deposits of the Czech Republic from a mineral policy perspective
1
Raw Materials and Energy Security Division, Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic, Praha, Czech Republic
2
Czech Geological Survey, Praha, Czech Republic
3
Czech Mining Authority, Department for Moravian-Silesian and Olomouc Regions, Ostrava, Czech Republic
4
Insitute of Geological Engineering, Faculty of Mining and Geology, Vysoká škola báňská – Technical University of Ostrava, Ostrava-Poruba, Czech Republic
Gospodarka Surowcami Mineralnymi – Mineral Resources Management 2015;31(4):35-49
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
Gold production in the region that currently makes up the Czech Republic has a thousand-year-old tradition with peaks around the third century BC, 14th century AD and 20th century AD. In general, approximately 100 metric tonnes were produced by the end of mining in 1994, of which nearly 9 tonnes were produced in the 20th century and approximately 3 tonnes were produced after World War II. Significant gold deposits were discovered during the last extensive exploration conducted in the 1970s to 1995, motivated by the sharp rise in the price of gold at the beginning of the 1970s and in the 1980s. Fifteen deposits with 239 tonnes of geological resources of gold were registered. Another 112 tonnesare recorded as prognosticated resources. None of these deposits are mined, due to unresolved issues involving environmental protection. The exploitation of these deposits is restricted primarily due to concerns regarding the environmental impacts of the mining and processing of extracted minerals. A key aspect of these restrictions is likely the existing ban on the use of cyanide mining technologies. A new and yet-to-be-approved proposal for an updated mineral policy in the Czech Republic is attempting to gradually change this stance. Yet another problem lies in the unfinished surveys of mineral deposits, which would specify the total amount of gold and upgrade the resources to higher categories concerning the level of exploration. Without these, it is impossible to prepare the necessary economic assessments of potential production and of the deposits to the fullest extent of activities involving exploration, mineral extraction and processing, including subsequent reclamation of affected areas, elimination of mining impacts and regeneration of post-mining landscapes. The future of gold deposits in the Czech Republic also greatly depends on future trends in the price of gold and accompanying (by-product) minerals occurring together with gold in mined ores.
METADATA IN OTHER LANGUAGES:
Polish
Złoża złota w Republice Czeskiej z punktu widzenia polityki surowców mineralnych
złoże złota, czeski masyw, polityka surowcowa, ługowanie cyjankiem
Produkcja złota w Czechach ma ponad tysiącletnią tradycję sięgającą trzeciego wieku przed naszą erą. Ogółem do końca 1994 roku wyprodukowano około 100 ton złota, z czego prawie 9 ton zostało wyprodukowanych w XX wieku i około 3 tony − po II wojnie światowej. Znaczne złoża złota odkryto podczas ostatnich rozległych badań, przeprowadzonych w latach 1970−1995, które determinowane były gwałtownym wzrostem cen złota w latach 1970−1980. Odkryto 15 złóż złota o zasobach geologicznych wynoszących 239 ton. Kolejnych 112 ton złota oszacowano w zasobach prognostycznych. Żadne z tych złóż nie jest eksploatowane z powodu nierozwiązanych problemów dotyczących ochrony środowiska. Eksploatacja tych złóż jest ograniczana przede wszystkim ze względu na obawy dotyczące wpływu na środowisko procesów wydobywczych i przetwórstwa wydobywanych kopalin. Kluczowym aspektem tych ograniczeń jest istniejący zakaz stosowania technologii wydobywczych z wykorzystaniem cyjanku. Nowy, jeszcze nie zatwierdzony, wniosek o zaktualizowanej polityce surowców mineralnych w Czechach, stopniowo stara się zmienić tę postawę. Jeszcze innym problemem są niedokończone badania złóż kopalin, które określą całkowitą ilość złota i spowodują przeszacowanie zasobów do wyższych kategorii. Bez nich niemożliwe jest przygotowanie niezbędnych analiz ekonomicznych, potencjalnej produkcji, rekultywacji obszarów dotkniętych działalnością górniczą. Przyszłość złóż złota w Republice Czeskiej zależy również od przyszłych trendów cen tego surowca i towarzyszących mu (produkt uboczny) minerałów.
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