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Czechoslovakia RESOURCE BASE
Czechoslovakia has significant quantities of coal and
lignite. Hard coal suitable for extraction is found in the
Ostrava coalfields and near Kladno, Plzen (Pilsen), Kosice, and
Trutnov. Brown coal and lignite deposits are located around
Chomutov and Most, in the Sokolov field near Karlovy Vary, at
Teplice, at Ceske Budejovice, and near Modry Kamen and Handlova
in Slovakia. Reserves of oil and natural gas are rather small.
Iron ore continues to be mined in the Slovenske Rudohorie
(Slovak Ore Mountains) and near Prague and Plzen, but reserves
have nearly been exhausted. There are also deposits of copper and
manganese ores in the Slovenske Rudohorie. Lead and zinc ores are
found at Kutna Hora and Pribram in central Bohemia, but in
insignificant quantities. There are small amounts of mercury,
antimony, and tin in the Krusne Hory (Ore Mountains), which also
contain substantial uranium deposits. Additional mineral
resources include salt in Slovakia, graphite near Ceske
Budejovice, and kaolin near Plzen and Karlovy Vary.
In the 1980s, agricultural land constituted just under 55
percent of the country's total land area, and most of this land
was suitable for tillage. The soil is relatively fertile in the
lowlands but less productive in the mountainous regions. About
one-third of the country's territory is forested.
Czechoslovakia's forests have serious environmental problems,
primarily as a result of "acid rain" pollution from coal-fired
power stations. In the 1980s, the authorities acknowledged the
seriousness of the problem, and the Eighth Five-Year Plan (1986-
90) allocated funding to combat the pollution.
Data as of August 1987
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