Czechoslovakia Table of Contents
Czechoslovakia has significant quantities of coal and lignite. Hard coal suitable for extraction is found in the Ostrava coalfields and near Kladno, Plzen (Pilsen), Kosice, and Trutnov. Brown coal and lignite deposits are located around Chomutov and Most, in the Sokolov field near Karlovy Vary, at Teplice, at Ceske Budejovice, and near Modry Kamen and Handlova in Slovakia. Reserves of oil and natural gas are rather small.
Iron ore continues to be mined in the Slovenske Rudohorie (Slovak Ore Mountains) and near Prague and Plzen, but reserves have nearly been exhausted. There are also deposits of copper and manganese ores in the Slovenske Rudohorie. Lead and zinc ores are found at Kutna Hora and Pribram in central Bohemia, but in insignificant quantities. There are small amounts of mercury, antimony, and tin in the Krusne Hory (Ore Mountains), which also contain substantial uranium deposits. Additional mineral resources include salt in Slovakia, graphite near Ceske Budejovice, and kaolin near Plzen and Karlovy Vary.
In the 1980s, agricultural land constituted just under 55 percent of the country's total land area, and most of this land was suitable for tillage. The soil is relatively fertile in the lowlands but less productive in the mountainous regions. About one-third of the country's territory is forested. Czechoslovakia's forests have serious environmental problems, primarily as a result of "acid rain" pollution from coal-fired power stations. In the 1980s, the authorities acknowledged the seriousness of the problem, and the Eighth Five-Year Plan (1986- 90) allocated funding to combat the pollution.
Data as of August 1987