MINSK, 18 March (BelTA) – Mineral reserves for the production of building materials in Belarus will last for a long time, Deputy Head of the Industry Directorate of the Architecture and Construction Ministry Sergei Nikitin said, BelTA has learned.
“The building materials industry imports only about 15-17% of products, which ensures its smooth operation. We have everything in place to further increase the output of domestic materials. The existing structure of mineral reserves in Belarus allows providing the building materials industry with raw materials for a sufficiently long period. Construction sand, sand and gravel materials will last for up to a hundred years. Chalk, marls that are used in the cement industry will last for up to 50 years. Clay and dolomite will last for up to 200 years,” said Sergei Nikitin.
Today, the Republic of Belarus imports those minerals that are either not available in the country, or their quality is not good enough, he added. “Our biggest import is soda ash for the glass industry; it is followed by gypsum stone for cement production, feldspar, and small volumes of high-quality clear quartz sands and powdered dolomite,” he noted.
While working on import substitution, the Architecture and Construction Ministry closely collaborates with Belarusian enterprises: Research and Production Center for Geology, Geoservice, Belarusian National Technical University and Belarusian State Technological University. The main task is to develop extraction technologies to get raw materials of better quality.
“The building materials industry imports only about 15-17% of products, which ensures its smooth operation. We have everything in place to further increase the output of domestic materials. The existing structure of mineral reserves in Belarus allows providing the building materials industry with raw materials for a sufficiently long period. Construction sand, sand and gravel materials will last for up to a hundred years. Chalk, marls that are used in the cement industry will last for up to 50 years. Clay and dolomite will last for up to 200 years,” said Sergei Nikitin.
Today, the Republic of Belarus imports those minerals that are either not available in the country, or their quality is not good enough, he added. “Our biggest import is soda ash for the glass industry; it is followed by gypsum stone for cement production, feldspar, and small volumes of high-quality clear quartz sands and powdered dolomite,” he noted.
While working on import substitution, the Architecture and Construction Ministry closely collaborates with Belarusian enterprises: Research and Production Center for Geology, Geoservice, Belarusian National Technical University and Belarusian State Technological University. The main task is to develop extraction technologies to get raw materials of better quality.
