Evaluation of exploiting barite, the critical raw material in Slovakia, and benefits of its mining

Abstract

Purpose. There are several deposits of critical raw materials in the Slovak Republic, but currently only one is mined. This is a barite deposit in Spiš, which shows an ever-lower volume of exploited raw material year-on-year. However, this area is rich in several confirmed barite veins, which represent potential strategic raw materials. The presented article analyzes in detail and describes the Jaklovce I. deposit, which is located in the Gelnica district in north-east of Slovakia. Despite the fact that Slovakia, as well as most EU countries, is dependent on imports of raw materials, the new deposits represent new potential. Determination of the economic value of these deposits creates a promising potential for the investor, but also, secondarily, a potential for the socio-economic development of regions, as well as for the state. Methods. Based on the evaluation of dynamic economic variables, the article predicts the benefits which mining in this deposit would bring, which are also supported by SWOT analysis of barite exploitation. Findings. According to the methods used during the financial evaluation of the single mined deposit of CRM in Slovakia, which was developed because of CRM criticality in EU, we showed, based on § 14 of the Mining Act no. 44/1988 Coll. the necessity of CRM mining from the view of regions, the state and investors. The present article summarizes impacts of exploiting the barite from Jaklovce I. deposit for the investor, as well as for the state, which is also underlined through SWOT analysis. Originality. This study attempts to point out that mining critical raw materials is economically suitable not only for the state, but also for investors. SWOT analysis also pinpoints most threats, opportunities and some forecasts which should be taken into account while designing the investment project. Practical implications.I nvestment project in mining area is one of the most critical and challenging decisions that experts have to make mainly based on geological, economical and geotechnical properties of the deposit, which are very specific. The same is true for the investment project which represents huge investments and rate of risk