The Kalimashi 1 mine is a large mine located near the village

Kalimash Kalimash is a village in the former municipality of Malzi in Kukës County, Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became part of the municipality Kukës Kukës ( sq-definite, Kukësi) is a city in the Republic of Albania. The city is th ...

in northern

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 ...

Kukës County Kukës County (; sq, Qarku i Kukësit) is a landlocked county in northeastern Albania, with the capital in Kukës. The county spans and had a total population of 74,388 people as of 2021. The county borders on the counties of Dibër, Lezhë a ...

, north-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 ...

.infomine
/ref> Kalimashi 1 represents the fourth largest

chromium Chromium is a chemical element with the symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the first element in group 6. It is a steely-grey, lustrous, hard, and brittle transition metal. Chromium metal is valued for its high corrosion resistance and hardne ...

reserve in

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 Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

having estimated reserves of 1.9 million tonnes of ore grading 20% chromium metal. The mine is part of the Kukës 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 54 verified

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, Transaction account#Current accounts, current accounts or any of several othe ...

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 Eart ...

reserves amount to 6.8 million tonnes grading 21.4%

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 Kalimashi 1 mine began operating in 1978. The total combined chromium ore production from the mine between 1986 and 1998 amounted to 860,000 tonnes. The deepest level of the mine is the + 600 Level which reaches a depth of . The

ore reserves of the mine are split into two

categories Category, plural categories, may refer to: Philosophy and general uses *Categorization, categories in cognitive science, information science and generally *Category of being *Categories (Aristotle), ''Categories'' (Aristotle) *Category (Kant) ...

above and below + 600 Level. The proven ore reserves located above the + 600 Level amount to 1,900,000 tonnes of ore grading 20%

. The proven ore reserves located below the + 600 Level are currently not estimated or calculated but are expected to be grading over 30%

. The mine's total reserves amount to 1.9 million tonnes of ore grading 20% chromium metal. The chromium ore exploitation complex is located completely underground and has been shut down since 2000 due to financial difficulties. The Kalimashi 1 mine is one of the eight Albanian chromium mines to have reserves of over 1 million tonnes of chromium ore.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kalimashi 1 Mine Chromium mines in Albania Underground mines in Albania Kukës