Industry in the Czechoslovak Republic
The Central Association of Czechoslovak Industry prepared a survey of economic life in the Czechoslovak Republic. It is based on pre-war data, as fresh data are not yet available, and besides, present conditions are still far from normal. The figures cited are invariably taken from official sources and will be of interest to all those who plan commercial dealings with this new Republic.
Starting with mineral resources we come first to iron ore, the foundation of modern industry. The annual production is 2,200,000 metric tons, but most of the ore is not of high grade and contains phosphorus. The home production cannot supply the needs of the iron industry, and there was imported annually about 300,000 tons of high grade ore from Sweden and Norway, and about 100,000 tons from Styria and Bosnia. In the district of Příbram there are ancient lead and silver mines, pretty well exhausted by now, with annual production of 200,000 tons of ore. In central Bohemia are two stamp mills for crushing gold bearing quartz, and there is another mill in Slovakia; from 300 to 400 kilograms of gold are recovered annually. Other metals are found only in insignificant quantities; the only other mineral of importance is uranium and radium found in northern Bohemia near Jáchymov (Joachimsthal). From 1.8 to 3 grams of radium are extracted annually.
Coal, the second basic element of modern industrial life, is mined extensively in the Czechoslovak Republic. There is the so-called stone coal, or soft coal of good quality, worked in Bohemia around Kladno, Pilsen and Trutnov (Trautenau), in Moravia around Rosice and Ostrava, and particularly in the Teschen district, between Karvin and Teschen. The total production of this coal in the Czechoslovak Republic averaged 15,000,000 tons annually. Only the Ostrava coal can be used for making coke, and three and half million tons of it was annually turned into two and a half million tons of coke. This was not sufficient for the needs of domestic industry, and about half a million tons was imported from Germany and Upper Silesia. The other kind of coal, known as brown coal or lignite, is found in great quantities in northern Bohemia and exported largely to Germany. This coal is also found in southern Moravia near Kyjov and in Slovakia near Handlova and Badin. The total production of brown coal in the Czechoslovak Republic was 26 million metric tons a year, and of this amount about 8.4 million tons were exported.
In Kbely in Slovakia is found the only mineral oil well of the Republic. The production is 5000 tons annually, far from sufficient for the needs of the country. In the Czechoslovak Republic there are also several graphite mines, producing annually 30,000 tons. In western Bohemia and especially in Moravia, there are large deposits of china clay and important factories for working it, and there is also fire clay of which large quantities are used by home industries and much also is exported, raw or partly manufactured. The production of coalin or china clay is 180,000 tons, and it is used both in the ceramic and in paper industry, giving employment to 3600 workers in 24 plants. In Slovakia 40,000 tons of magnesite is produced annually for the making of bricks for iron furnaces.
Among building stones the most important one is granite of fine quality of which a great deal is exported down the Elbe and Vltava rivers. Much limestone is quarried, some of it of the best quality for use in beet sugar mills; there is further some marble and various other building stones, from hard porphyry to soft sandstone, used locally. Salt works are found in Slovakia and the autonomous Rusin province of the Czechoslovak Republic, with a production of 60,000 tons of salt, about one fifth of the annual consumption.
Among mineral resources one ought to mention mineral waters in which the Republic is very rich. There are acid waters in Poděbrady, Luhačovice, Koryšnica, Žilina and Lipovec, alcalic waters in Bilina and Šaratice, largely exported. At these springs are established resorts with international reputation, such as Poděbrady with carbonic water, Luhačovice, Pištany, and cures in German part of Bohemia, Karlovy Vary (Karlsbad), Františkovy Lázně (Franzensbad), Mariánské Lázně (Marienbad) and Teplice.
