Safeguarding of Mineral Raw Materials Deposits – A Concept of Valorization and Selection of Mineral Deposits of Public Importance

Abstract

The article presents a proposal for the new rules for the selection of deposits, which due to their value should be protected as Mineral Deposits of Public Importance (MDoPI) on national level. It was assumed that safeguarding should cover only the largest recognized deposits in terms of resources located in areas not excluding exploitation, which meet jointly two criteria: the total resources of the largest deposits should cover at least 50% of national geological resources and simultaneously they should meet the criterion of security of supply minerals for at least 50 years, with average demand calculated based on data from the last 10 years. Using the above criteria, analysis of the following deposits was performed: gypsum and anhydrite, basalt, granite, granodiorite, erratic boulder and syenite, dolomite, marl, travertine, limestone and dolomitic limestone, quartzite, greywacke, sandstone, quartzite sandstone, marl and limestone for the cement industry as well as limestone and marl for the lime industry. In total, 828 deposits were analyzed, and the assumed criteria were fulfilled in this group of deposits by a total number of 82 deposits. Among them, 6 deposits are very conflict, 71 – conflict, and 5 – partly conflict. In the case of several very conflict deposits, there is a high probability that their exploitation will not be possible, so meeting the criteria will require extending the list of deposits by 6 other ones. It was proposed that the verification of valorisation of deposits classified as MDoPI should be carried out periodically – not more often than every 5, but not less than every 10 years. This task should belong to the duties of the geological survey.

Safeguarding of Key Minerals Deposits as a Basis of Sustainable Development of Polish Economy

“…The group of valued deposits also includes gypsum and anhydrite deposits, four of which require the highest level of safeguarding and another five require a regional decision. This result was also confirmed in other assessments carried out in Poland [100].…”

“…In Poland, the methodology of ranking and assessment of deposits has been repeatedly applied to various types of minerals (e.g., [91][92][93][94][95][96][97][98][99][100][101]). As a result of such extensive work, deposits were selected which-based on various criteria, but basically in view of the size of resources and quality of the minerals-seem to be the most attractive and valuable.…”