The Bulqizë mine is a large mine located in central

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

Dibër County Dibër County (; sq, Qarku i Dibrës) is one of the 12 counties of the Republic of Albania, spanning a surface area of with the capital in Peshkopi. The county borders on the counties of Durrës, Elbasan, Kukës, Lezhë, Tirana and the ...

, east of the capital,

Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...

. Bulqizë represents the largest chromium reserve in Albania and one of the largest in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

, having estimated reserves of 2.82 million tonnes of

ore Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically containing metals, that can be mined, treated and sold at a profit.Encyclopædia Britannica. "Ore". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 7 Apr ...

grading 45.83% chromium

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

. The mine is part of the Bulqizë Massif, a area which has a

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

thickness between and and contains 65 verified chromium

deposits A deposit account is a bank account maintained by a financial institution in which a customer can deposit and withdraw money. Deposit accounts can be savings accounts, current accounts or any of several other types of accounts explained below. ...

and occurrences. The deposit has been explored to depths of up to and the

geological Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other E ...

reserves amount to 12 million tonnes, of which 7.5 million tonnes grading over 38% chromium metal. The Bulqizë mine began operating in 1942. Between 1942 and 1944 it produced chromium ore only from occurrences. In 1948 production from the mine started. The total combined chromium ore production from the mine between 1948 and 2006 amounted to 13,075,500 tonnes. The deepest level of the mine is the Level XVI which reaches a depth of . The chromium ore reserves of the mine are split into two categories above and below Level XVI. The proven ore reserves located above the Level XVI amount to 690,000 tonnes of ore grading 46.75% chromium metal. The proven ore reserves located below the Level XVI amount to 2,126,800 tonnes of ore grading 44.91% chromium metal. The mine's total reserves amount to 2.82 million tonnes of ore grading 45.83% chromium metal. Since 2001 the mine has been owned by the

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

company Empire Mining Corporation. The Bulqizë mine is one of the eight Albanian chromium mines to have reserves of over 1 million tonnes of chromium ore.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bulqize Mine Chromium mines in Albania Underground mines in Albania Bulqizë