Musan mine

Last updated
Musan mine
Location
Location Musan County
North Hamgyong Province
Country North Korea
Production
Products Iron ore
History
Opened1935

The Musan mine is a large iron mine located in north-east North Korea in North Hamgyong Province. Musan represents one of the largest iron ore reserves in North Korea and in the world having estimated reserves of 3 billion tonnes of ore grading 41% iron metal. [1]

Industrial-level mining operations began in 1935 during the Japanese occupation of Korea and was carried out by the Mitsubishi Mining Co. [2] From 1940-45, the mine produced a combined 3,838,454 tonnes of ore concentrate at an average iron concentration of 58% elemental iron. The Korean War brought mining operations to a halt but by 1989, national iron ore production had risen to 9.8 million tonnes, with Musan producing upwards of two-thirds of the total. [2] The mining industry once again collapsed as a result of the fall of the Soviet Union and the 1994-99 North Korean famine. Production levels at Musan have yet to rebound to pre-famine highs.

Related Research Articles

Codelco Chilean copper company

Codelco is a Chilean state owned copper mining company. It was formed in 1976 from foreign-owned copper companies that were nationalised in 1971.

Mining in Japan

Mining in Japan is minimal because Japan does not possess many on-shore mineral resources. Many of the on-shore minerals have already been mined to the point that it has become less expensive to import minerals. There are small deposits of coal, oil, iron and minerals in the Japanese archipelago. Japan is scarce in critical natural resources and has been heavily dependent on imported energy and raw materials. There are major deep sea mineral resources in the seabed of Japan. This is not mined yet due to technological obstacles for deep sea mining.

Mining in Western Australia

Mining in Western Australia, together with the petroleum industry in the state, accounted for 94% of the State's and 41% of Australia's income from total merchandise exports in 2018–19. The state of Western Australia hosted 127 principal mining projects and hundreds of smaller quarries and mines. The principal projects produced more than 99 per cent of the industry's total sales value.

Mining in Iran

Mining in Iran is still under development, yet the country is one of the most important mineral producers in the world, ranked among 15 major mineral-rich countries, holding some 68 types of minerals, 37 billion tonnes of proven reserves and more than 57 billion tonnes of potential reserves worth $770 billion in 2014. Mineral production contributes only 0.6 per cent to the country's GDP. Add other mining-related industries and this figure increases to just four per cent (2005). Many factors have contributed to this, namely lack of suitable infrastructure, legal barriers, exploration difficulties, and government control.

The mineral industry of Russia is one of the world's leading mineral industries and accounts for a large percentage of the Commonwealth of Independent States' production of a range of mineral products, including metals, industrial minerals, and mineral fuels. In 2005, Russia ranked among the leading world producers or was a significant producer of a vast range of mineral commodities, including aluminum, arsenic, cement, copper, magnesium compounds and metals, nitrogen, palladium, silicon, nickel and vanadium.

Resources are classified as either biotic or abiotic on the basis of their origin. The Indian landmass contains a multitude of both types of resource and its economy, especially in rural areas, is heavily dependent on their consumption or export. Due to overconsumption, they are rapidly being depleted.

Mining in the United Kingdom

Mining in the United Kingdom produces a wide variety of fossil fuels, metals, and industrial minerals due to its complex geology. In 2013, there were over 2,000 active mines, quarries, and offshore drilling sites on the continental land mass of the United Kingdom producing £34bn of minerals and employing 36,000 people.

Telfer Mine copper and gold mine located at Telfer, Western Australia

The Telfer Mine is a gold, copper and silver mine located at Telfer on the land of the Martu people, in the Great Sandy Desert of Western Australia. It is owned by Newcrest Mining, "the largest gold producer listed on the Australian Securities Exchange."

The Malmberget mine is one of the largest iron ore mines in Sweden. The mine is located in Malmberget in Norrbotten County, Lapland. The mine which is owned by Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara AB (LKAB) has an annual production capacity of over 5 million tonnes of iron ore. The mine has reserves amounting to 350 million tonnes of ore grading 43.8% iron thus resulting 153.3 million tonnes of iron. In 2009 the mine produced 4.3 million tonnes of iron. It is one of the largest underground mines for iron ore in the world.

Brockman 2 mine Mine in Western Australia

The Brockman 2 mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 60 kilometres north-west of Tom Price. It should not be confused with Rio Tinto's Brockman 4 mine, also in the area.

Nammuldi mine Iron ore mine in Western Australia

The Nammuldi mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 60 kilometres north-west of Tom Price.

Mesa J mine iron ore mine in Western Australia

The Mesa J mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 16 kilometres south-west of Pannawonica.

West Angelas mine Iron ore mine in Western Australia

The West Angelas mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 110 kilometres North West of Newman.

Hope Downs mine iron ore mine in Western Australia

The Hope Downs mine is an iron ore mining complex located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. It comprises four large open-pit mines. The mines are co-owned by the Hancock Group and Rio Tinto, and the complex was named after Hope Hancock.

Brockman 4 mine Iron ore mine in Western Australia

The Brockman 4 mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 60 kilometres (37 mi) north-west of Tom Price. The mine, located near the existing Brockman mine, was opened in 2010. The mine is fully owned and operated by Rio Tinto Iron Ore, which owns many mines in the area. The mine is serviced by the Boolgeeda Airport.

Iron ore mining in Western Australia

Iron ore mining in Western Australia, in the 2018–19 financial year, accounted for 54 percent of the total value of the state's resource production, with a value of A$78.2 billion. The overall value of the minerals and petroleum industry in Western Australia was A$145 billion in 2018-19, a 26 percent increase on the previous financial year.

The world's largest producer of uranium is Kazakhstan, which in 2019 produced 43% of the world's mining output. Canada was the next largest producer with a 13% share, followed by Australia with 12%. Uranium has been mined in every continent except Antarctica.

Zinc mining

Zinc mining is the process by which mineral forms of the metal zinc are extracted from the earth through mining. A zinc mine is a mine that produces zinc minerals in ore as its primary product. Common co-products in zinc ores include minerals of lead and silver. Other mines may produce zinc minerals as a by-product of the production of ores containing more valuable minerals or metals, such as gold, silver or copper. Mined ore is processed, usually on site, to produce one or more metal-rich concentrates, then transported to a zinc smelter for production of zinc metal.

Mining in North Korea is important to the country's economy. North Korea is naturally abundant in metals such as magnesite, zinc, tungsten, and iron; with magnesite resources of 6 billion tonnes, particularly in the Hamgyeong-do and Jagang-do provinces. However, often these cannot be mined due to the acute shortage of electricity in the country, as well as the lack of proper tools to mine these materials and an antiquated industrial base. Coal, iron ore, limestone, and magnesite deposits are larger than other mineral commodities. Mining joint ventures with other countries include China, Canada, Egypt, and South Korea.

Mining industry of Guinea

The mining industry of Guinea was developed during colonial rule. The minerals extracted consisted of iron, gold, diamond, and bauxite. Guinea ranks first in the world in bauxite reserves and 6th in the extraction of high-grade bauxite, the aluminium ore. The mining industry and exports of mining products accounted for 17% of Guinea’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2010. Mining accounts for over 50% of its exports. The country accounts for 94% of Africa’s mining production of bauxite. The large mineral reserve, which has mostly remained untapped, is of immense interest for international firms.

References

  1. "Tianchi halts work on mine in DPRK over iron ore prices". ecns.cn. 2013. Retrieved 2013-06-10.
  2. 1 2 Jacob Bogle (13 August 2020). "History of the Musan Iron Mine". AccessDPRK. Retrieved 28 August 2020.