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Bhutan Mining
The mining and quarrying industry was projected to
produce 1.5
percent of GDP in 1991. Limestone--used in cement
production--and
clay were the major minerals being extracted in the
mid-1980s.
Mineral production also has included marble, dolomite,
graphite,
and slate. In addition, deposits of copper, gypsum, lead,
tin,
tungsten, zinc, coal, beryl, mica, pyrites, tufa, and talc
have
been found, primarily through an exploration program
operated
initially by the Geological Survey of India and, starting
in 1982,
in cooperation with the Geological Survey of Bhutan.
Although not
being exploited as much as other minerals, Bhutan's slate
deposits
have been described by experts as some of the best in the
world.
Bhutan's high-quality limestone deposits and energy
resources were
expected to take on increasing importance in the 1990s
because of
the contributions they could make to the ferro-silicon
industry,
which the government hoped to invest in through Bhutan
Carbide and
Chemicals.
Data as of September 1991
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