880 MINERALS YEARBOOK, 1978-79 
 
er of primary nickel in Eastern Europe. 
Nickel consumption increased from 9,000 
tons in 1974 to about 11,000 tons in 1978. 
 Over 70% of the GDR's nickel requirementS are imported, mostly from the
U.S.S.R. Hüttenwerk St.. Egidien is the country's main nickel smelter.
It is situated close to (llauchau, about 30 kilometers west of Karl-Marx-Stadt,
and has a capacity of over 1,200 tons annually. The plant was built after
World War II and smelts ore from the nearby Kuchschnappel surface mines in
60-ton furnaces capable of treating at least 100 tons of ore per day. 
 Another, smelter, Hüttenwerk Aue, is situated about 35 kilometers
southwest
of Karl-Marx-Stadt and produces electrolytic nickel and nickel anodes. A
third nickel smelter is HUttenwerk Oberschlema; its products include nickel
cubes, pellets, and salts. A fourth source of domestic nickel is, thought
to be. Hüttenwerk Müldenhutten at Halsbrücke,
about 25 kilometers
northeast of Karl-Marx-Stadt, just north of Freiberg~ The GDR's Kuchschnappel
nickel deposits are almost depleted, but in 1978 a new surface mine was reported
to have started operations near Freiberg. 
 Silver.—Production of silver in the GDR, down slightly since the
start
of the current 5-year plan, has been estimated to average 
1.6 million troy ounces annually in the first 
4 years of the plan. Because of increasing mining costs and diminishing domestic
deposits, most of the GDR's silver requirements are met through imports,
coming mostly from the United Kingdom. According to some reports, annual
silver consumption had increased to over 16 million troy ounces. 
 Silver is produced in the GDR as a byproduct of other nonferrous operations.
It is believed that almost all domestic production comes from the VEB Buntmetall
leadzinc-silver complex at Freiberg. About 25% of the GDR's domestic silver
is reprocessed from secondary materials. 
 Tin.—In 1978 and 1979, tin mine output and metal production both
went
up owing to the start of operations in 1977 of a new mine and ore-processing
plant at Altenberg and a new tin smelter at Freiberg. Tin and copper are
the only significant metallic minerals mined in the GDR. Reportedly, tin
production is to be raised 45% by 1980 over that of 1976, primarily through
improvement of mining and production technologies. 
 Consumption of refined tin has risen 
steadily for the past ' 5 years to the current estimated level of 3,000 tons
per year.' Most of the domestic tin deficiency is made up through imports
of tinpiate from the U.S.S.R. Zinnhütte Freiberg, which is part
of the
Albert Funk Mining and Metallurgical Complex, uses tin concentrates from
the Altenberg, Sadisdorf, and Ehrenfriedersdorf mines, together with 200
to 300 tons of imported concentrate. The older roaster and reverberatory
furnaces of the plant use the Saiger (liquation) process for tin production
assaying 99.6% to 99.8% tin and 0.03% arsenic, with some copper, lead, bismuth,
and iron. 
 
NONMETALS 
 
 Barite and. Fluorite.—Estimated production of barite and fluorspar
increased slightly in 1978 and 1979 and provided for domestic demand and
some export. In 1978, barite was exported to Poland, and fluorspar was exported
to Poland, Austria, and Norway. Barite and fluorite occur in the GDR as veins,
fissure fillings, and replacement deposits in the Thuringian Forest and the
Harz Mountains. Both minerals are processed at the Lengenfeld ~1uorite and
barite plant in the southern part of the country. 
 Cement.—Production ' of cement continued to rise in 1978 and 1979.
Cement imports, coming mostly from the U.S.S.R. with some from Poland, decreased
slightly, while exports to Hungary and Yugoslavia increased during the 2-year
period. The Karsdorf cement works, the largest in the GDR, began full production
of new sulfateresistant cement in 1978. In 1978, the GDR firm VEB Schermaschinenbau-Kombinat
Ernst Thalmann (SKET) in Magdeburg was reportedly seeking licenses in the
United States for its dry-process cement production method and the manufacture
of equipment for cement clinker production. The process and equipment were
developed by the engineering enterprise Zementanlagenbau in Donau. Licenses
for the dry-process cement method and equipment have already been sold to
Western European engineering firms. 
 It was reported that the cement works at Donau built a crusher in 1979 that
is able to pulverize 160 tons of clinker per hour. The new crusher is 70
tons lighter and more energy efficient than existing ones, and plans are
to export the crusher to Cuba, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, and Syria. 
 Chalk.—The GDR is self-sufficient in chalk and exports much of
its
domestic production. Chalk continues to be mined on Rugen Island, Europe's
largest chalk depos