MINERALS IN ETHIOPIA

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19127, 23 September 1936, Page 5

MINERALS IN ETHIOPIA

WEALTH DOUBTED

POTENTIALITIES (W AREA

LONDON, Aug. 18

There is no authentic evidence to warrant the view that Ethiopia is a country of vast potential mineral wealth, the Imperial Institute reports in a bulletin.

Gold, it is said, is .the most important mineral produce so far developed, the annual output being some 22,000 ounces. Platinum was discovered last century near Ybclo, but the amount present was not enough to justify working the primary rock. Deposits of mica near Ilarrar, exploited by an American company, have scarcely as yet paid the cost of extraction. .High transport costs checked the post-war development of potash deposits in the Assal salt plain, which was discovered in 1911. Referring to oil deposits, the bulletin states that while oil accumulations are possiblo beneath the Afar Plain, the presence of recent eruptive rocks over a wide area suggests that oil-bearing Strata are likely to be limited. Coal has been proved at various localities, but only a "brown coal" and "lignite" are usable.