OREANDA-NEWS. February 14, 2011. The Prime Minister of Belarus Mikhail Myasnikovich instructed the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection and other stakeholders to take an integrated approach towards investment projects related to the development of mineral deposits in Belarus.

He made this statement in a session of the State Council for the Use of Mineral Resources on 9 February. The session highlighted the plan of integrated development of mineral deposits for 2011-2015.

The Belarusian Premier draw the attention of the participants to the instructions the President of Belarus gave at the Fourth All-Belarus People’s Congress. They contained an active approach to the development of mineral deposits in the country.

While analyzing the plan of integrated development of mineral deposits, the Prime Minister said: “The bulk of the plan provides no concrete projects on an integrated development of mineral resources.” The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection together with other stakeholders should work harder to fill up the plan with new projects, he stressed.

The Premier criticized the allegations that certain mineral deposits in Belarus were not economically viable. “It can be the truth, but we should consider these issues as a single set and work more vigorously with investors, including by means of accompanying projects,” he said. The Belarusian head of government cited the Okolovskoye iron ore deposit as an example. “The situation there is far from being bright, but let us take a different look at it: there is a number of companies offering some other ways of cooperation to improve the financial viability of the project,” Mikhail Myasnikovich stated.

Mikhail Myasnikovich emphasized the importance of projects of the kind. “We are deeply interested in diversifying our fuel and energy supplies through development of domestic mineral deposits. Top priority here is given to the development of brown coal, slate coal deposits and other areas able to ease the country’s energy reliance on one resource,” he concluded.

Belarus can dramatically increase the volume of mineral production by commissioning additional production capacities of mining companies, Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Vladimir Tsalko said in a session of the State Council for the Use of Mineral Resources.

In his words, a plan of integrated development of mineral resources in Belarus for 2011-2015 envisages that by 2015 the production of potassium salt is to increase by 15%, rock salt by 82%, dolomite by 11%, construction and cover stone by 54%. Apart from that, the production of glass raw material is to go up by 41%, natural construction materials by 58% and peat by 115%.

“These figures are not final. Mineral reserves allow for a manifold increase in the production of mineral resources if mining companies step up their manufacturing capacity,” Vladimir Tsalko stressed.

Vladimir Tsalko added that the plan contains a stepwise algorithm for the development of new mineral deposits, i.e. commissioning phases, preliminary and detailed exploration. The plan envisages putting deposits of brown coal, slate coal, construction and cover stone, potassium salt into commercial production.

The plan also contains the development of the Okolovskoye and Novoselkovskoye iron ore deposits, Brinevskoye gypsum deposit, Sitnitsa construction stone deposit, Ostrozhansky bentonitic clay deposit as well as other mineral deposits through investment and concession. Vladimir Tsalko stated that the information on investment projects can be found on the official websites of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection as well as the websites of other stakeholders.

The minister suggested considering a package of concession and investment proposals on the mineral deposit development in April this year.