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Mineral resources of Poland> Rock raw materials and others> Dolomites
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Dolomites

Dolomites are widely used in the glass and ceramic industries, as a flux for smelting iron and steel, and in the production of fireproof raw materials and cement. Moreover, they are also used in agriculture as the raw material for the production of calcium-magnesium mineral fertilizers. Dolomites are also used in a construction industry and a road construction as the building and crushed stones. These uses are discussed in the section on Dimension and crushed stones.

The pure dolomite deposits occur in southern Poland, in the areas of the Silesian and Lower Silesian regions – Dolnośląskie and Śląskie Voivodeships. Raw materials from these deposits are characterized by the best quality and match economic criteria of a flux for smelting iron and steel. The deposits are of a stratified type and Devonian or Triassic in age, as for examples those from Brudzowice and Ząbkowice Będzińskie. The only one deposit documented in Małopolskie Voivodeship (Żelatowa) was entirely classified to dolomites for the construction and road industries.

The second type of dolomite deposits forms lenses within metamorphic schists. These dolomites are usable as a raw material for the ceramic industry, construction industry and road construction. They occur in the Lower Silesian region. The biggest of these deposits (Ołdrzychowice-Romanowo) is situated at Rędziny in the vicinities of Jelenia Góra and in the area of the Kłodzko Basin. It is placed in the chapter devoted to Dimension and crushed stones as the raw material is the basic component for the production of building grits.

The dolomite deposits occurrence is presented on the map.

The Table 1 shows resources and the state of development and exploration of the dolomite deposits.

Anticipated economic resources amounted to 501.87 million tonnes in 2018 and decreased by 25.25 million tonnes (4.79%) in comparison with the previous year. That was the result of the reclassifying the resources of Żelatowa deposit (-22.11 million tonnes), the exploitation and losses.

Anticipated economic resources of exploited deposits amounted to 207.77 million tonnes in 2018 and accounted for 41.40% of total anticipated economic resources. The resources covered by the detailed exploration (categories A+B, C1) were equal 343.86 million tonnes (68.51% of total anticipated economic resources). Such resources within exploited deposits accounted for 98.18% of anticipated economic resources (203.98 million tonnes).

Economic resources of dolomites increased by 1.39 million tonnes and were equal 131.19 million tonnes. These resources accounted only for 26.14% of total anticipated economic resources. The resources growth was the result of the new deposit development plans approved for Rędziny and Ząbkowice Będzińskie I deposits.

The output of dolomites was equal 3,147.15 thousand tonnes in 2018, increasing by 122.45 thousand tonnes (4.05%) in relation to the previous year. The significant output growth was recorded for Brudzowice deposit (by 277.98 thousand tonnes – 23.73%), in the case of Chruszczobród 2 deposit the output increased more than 10 times – from the level of 8.22 thousand tonnes to 88.29 thousand tonnes. In Ząbkowice Będzińskie and Rędziny deposits there were the output drops recorded: - by 42.29 thousand tonnes (2.89%) and by 28.37 thousand tonnes (13.04%), respectively.

The figure given below shows changes in domestic resources and production of dolomite in Poland in the years 1989-2018.

Prepared by: Marcin Tymiński