FRANCE MINERALS YEARBOOK—1988  627of 70,000 tpy. Since the closing
of the older Penarroya SA plant at Viviez and the Preussag Harlingerode works,
VM dominated the domestic market, and the supply and demand of zinc in Europe
was in balance. 
 
Industrial Minerals 
 
 Barite.—The Bertholene Mine, also owned by Ste. des Produits Chimiques
de Vivez SPCV, had reserves redelineated, extending the life another 5 years,
to approximately 1993. SPCV opened a second barite mine, an underground facility
at Privezac, in the Vivez area, only 19 miles from the processing plant.
This new mine has an ore grade of 65% to 70% Ba504, similar to the existing
mine and that of another mine, scheduled to open in 1990. 
 The country's major producer, KaliChemie AG's subsidiary, Barytine de Chaillac
SA, produced 80,000 tpy from the Argenton Mine and processed the ore at the
Chaillac flotation plant. Because the barite production from France was not
generally used in petroleum well drilling production, sales were not affected
by the recent slump in that industry. 
 
 Cement. —Forty-four operating grinding mills and operating plants
were managed by only 10 companies in 1986. Since the production level of
29 million tons in 1980, output dropped to 22.6 million tons in 1986. The
recent restructuring of the industry led to the use of more energy efficient
dry and semidry processes. Sales by Ciments Lafarge France and Société
des Ciments Francais constituted 73% of the market. Ciments Lafarge produced
in excess of 24 million tons in 1988 and made a number of improvements to
plants. For example, a bag facility was added at the Contes plant and grinding
operation in Brest was revamped. Numerous planned modernization objectives
were defmed for the next few years. 
 
 Fertilizer Materials.—Norsk Hydro 
A/S planned restructuring of its French subsidiary, renamed Norsk Hydro Azote,
and its 10 major manufacturing operations. Norsk Hydro Azote intended to
retain complex fertilizer production, but close old, outdated facilities.
The 250,000-tpy ammonia plant at Pierrefitte and three plants at Ambares
producing nitric, phosphoric, and sulfuric acids were to be closed. Other
important facilities were at Le Havre, Rouen, and Montoir where the company's
primary products were urea, complex fertilizers, and ammonium nitrate. 
 CdF Chimie, the state-owned chemicals group, was renamed Orkem and given
a "last-chance" injection of capital to turn around the group's
uneconomic
performance. At yearend, company profits were $477 million; all four divisions
returned a profit. Thermoplastics demand, for example, had increased 8% to
10% for the third consecutive year, and production could not keep up with
demand. The fertilizer division was profitable despite the downturn in use
and competition from imports. However, Orem planned to continue development
of its specialties products. A new acrylic acid reactor at the Carling plant
was expanded to 160,000 tpy, with further expansion to 
220,000 tpy in 1990. 
 French agriculture was the largest consumer of fertilizer in Europe; 97%
was in the form of nitrogen and nitrogen compounds. The importation from
Eastern Europe and developing countries prompted antidumping measures by
the EC in 1987. France imposed national quotas on nitrogen imports, banned
fertilizers from the U.S.S.R. and Czechoslovakia, and limited other Eastern
bloc imports on a countryby-country basis. Spanish nitrogen compound imports
were cut almost in half to 33,000 tpy, resulting in court action from Spanish
producers against the restrictions. 
 
 Fluorspar.—Société Industrielle du Centre,
based in
Chaillac, planned to increase plant capacity by the addition 
of a flotation unit processing ores from the Le Burg Mine. Of the 40,000
tpy crude ore produced, approximately 25,000 tons of metallurgical spar was
produced with 80°lo to 90% grade for use in the steel industry. By
the
end of 1988, the new flotation plant was to produce a 12,000- to 15,000-tpy
acidgrade fluorspar. The larger Pechiney Group's Ste. Generale de Recherches
et d'Exploitions Minières (Sogerem) controlled 90% of French production.
A 45,000-tpy acidspar plant was closed in mid-1987. To compensate for this
loss in acid, the Montroc Mine was to increase production to 175,000 tpy,
with an additional 75,000 tons of acidspar production. The end use of the
production was to be a 50-50 split between the chemical and aluminum industries.

 
 Gypsum.—France was one of the largest producers of gypsum in Europe.
Two-thirds of the production was from the Paris Basin. Four companies produced
approximately 95% of the output and in recent years had reported increased
sales to other European countries. The largest producer was SA de Materiel
de Construction with 2.2 million tons of the 5 million tons total for the
country. The largest mine operated was the 1 .3-million-tpy underground mine
at Taverny. 
 
 Magnesia.—Pechiney Electrometallurgie increased production to
30,000
tpy electrofused magnesia used in the manufacture of high-quality magnesiagraphite
refractory bricks for lining electric furnaces and steelworks. Eighty percent
of the product was exported to European and Asian markets. 
 
 Potash.—At 400,000 tpy production, France was Europe's second
largest
producer and largest importer of potash. The two mines of Marie-Louise and
Amelie were the only remaining operations after the closure of the Theodore
Mine in 1986. However, the Morie-Louise Mine was expected to be closed in
5 years, owing to the rational-