The mineral industry of

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

produces small quantities of

gemstones A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, or semiprecious stone) is a piece of mineral crystal which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments. However, certain rocks (such as lapis lazuli, opal, ...

and

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quant ...

.Thomas R. Yager
"The Mineral Industry of Somalia"
''2006 Minerals Yearbook''.

U.S. Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and ...

(August 2007). ''This article incorporates text from this U.S. government source, which is in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired, ...

''. The country also has deposits of

feldspar Feldspars are a group of rock-forming aluminium tectosilicate minerals, also containing other cations such as sodium, calcium, potassium, or barium. The most common members of the feldspar group are the ''plagioclase'' (sodium-calcium) felds ...

gypsum Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, blackboard or sidewalk chalk, and drywal ...

, iron ore, copper, gold,

kaolin Kaolinite ( ) is a clay mineral, with the chemical composition Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4. It is an important industrial mineral. It is a layered silicate mineral, with one tetrahedral sheet of silica () linked through oxygen atoms to one octahedral ...

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...

, quartz, silica sand, tantalum, tin, and uranium. The mineral industry makes a small contribution to Somalia’s exports and economy in general. The collapse of the central Government and the Somali Republic in 1991 led to ambiguity over mineral rights. The governing authority of Somaliland, formerly part of the Republic, granted East African Mining Corp. Ltd. exclusive rights to explore all mineral deposits in Somaliland. The company planned to start producing gemstones and marble in the Berbera area in mid-2006. In June 2006, Range Resources Ltd. of Australia announced that its agreement with the governing authority of Puntland (which is located in northern Somalia) that gave the company a majority interest in the rights to all mineral and mineral fuel exploration in Puntland was supported by the TFG. The agreement was previously declared to be invalid on the grounds that only the national Government had the authority to negotiate mineral rights. Range planned to farm out or form joint-venture agreements for some properties. As of 2006, mineral production and trade data continued to be unavailable because of the lack of a functioning central Government since 1991 and the conflict that pervaded most of the country. The war forced the closure of Somalia’s cement plant and oil refinery. The Indian Ocean 2004 tsunami, tsunami of December 26, 2004, disrupted salt production in Hurdiye in late 2004 and early 2005; it is unclear to what extent output has recovered. Gemstone and salt producers appear to be artisanal and small-scale in nature. The cement plant and refinery were operated by parastatal companies prior to their closure.

References

See also