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Economic
minerals are valuable, finite and non-renewable natural
resources. Of the
four types of economic minerals found in nature - construction
minerals, industry minerals, metallic minerals, and energy
minerals - only construction minerals are available in the
Maltese Islands. Construction
minerals are vital to the local economy. They provide the
material needed for the construction of buildings and civil
engineering structures. In
the remote past, they also provided the material for the
erection of Malta’s famous temples which are now of world
heritage importance. Towns
and villages in Malta and Gozo emerged wherever a good supply
of construction minerals was locally available. Village
churches – the cultural centres in the past - were built
from stone excavated from the basement, charnel house or crypt
of the very church. In contrast, most rural areas remained
undeveloped due to a lack of readily available construction
resources.
Minerals
occupy a prominent place in the economic development of our
islands. Had it not been for these minerals, neither the
erection of the splendid fortified cities of the Islands nor
the post-war economic boom would have been possible. We owe it
largely to these minerals.
Although
the Maltese Islands are not endowed with all the requisite
mineral resources, they possess substantial competitive
resources for the extractive industry in the form of
aggregates and dimension stone.
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 Aggregates. Of the many different
minerals that can be used to produce aggregates,
limestone is the exclusive source found in Malta. It is
locally referred to as “hardstone” or “qawwi”
because it is relatively hard and is derived from two
formations, the Lower Coralline Limestone Formation and
the Upper Coralline Limestone Formation. Processing of
aggregate is achieved by crushing and grading to various
sizes and before it is used in construction, for both
building and civil engineering (roads) or as a main
constituent of concrete. Occasionally, large aggregates
one or more metres across are used in the construction
of sea-walls.
Dimension stone
is a generic term that covers the various natural stones used
for structural or decorative purposes in building. Among the
extremely diverse stones available, the one found in Malta is
limestone derived from the Lower Globigerina Limestone
Formation, locally known as “softstone” or “franka”.
The most important quarries are found in the central parts of
Malta, at Mqabba, while in Gozo these quarries are found in
the west, in the Dwejra area.
The present value of aggregate and dimension stone produced in
Malta and Gozo is estimated at approximately Lm 10 million per
annum. The extractive industry provides an adequate supply of
low-cost aggregate and stone for use in the construction of
roads, buildings and other civil engineering works. It
also provides some 500 jobs in about 60 softstone quarries and
some further 300 jobs in about 30 hardstone ones (MEPA
statistics).
The nature of this industry is such that output is largely
controlled by local demand. Opportunities for growth are
limited by the environmental impact, which in recent years is
raising concern to the community. Alternative non-traditional extractive methods which
contribute to a lesser environmental impact may also become a
possibility in the future.
Quarries
operations in Malta and Gozo were, up to 1992, under the
control of a Trade Licence. This rudimentary form of control
of minerals development rested heavily on the advice of the
Water Works Department which had the sole interest of ensuring
that quarries do not adversely affect the underlying aquifers.
The Department therefore imposed sanitary conditions and depth
limitations in quarries to ensure that galleries were not
affected. Operations
were also monitored by the Water Works Department to ensure
that these depths were not exceeded.
Such
a system left much to be desired. It had no concern on the
environment, archaeological heritage, general public,
landscape, etc. In
1992 things changed for the better. The Development Planning
Act came into force and the newly established Planning
Authority (PA) was empowered to prepare a structure plan for
the regulation, monitoring and control of land use, including
quarrying practice and activities. The plan relating to
quarries was completed in 2001 and approved in 2002 by the
Planning Authority Board after a series of public
consultations. The Minerals Subject Plan, as it is better
known, is expected to provide a regulated form of land-use
quarrying practice to the quarry industry for the next 10
years.
In
the meantime the Structure Plan for the Maltese Islands (1990)
provided the new policy context for mineral development for
about 10 years now and during that time considerable progress
was made in improving the little regulation of minerals
development that existed. The preparation of the Minerals
Subject Plan provides an opportunity to review the detailed
framework for minerals and to consider the strategic policies
that should be included in the Structure Plan Review.
A
large amount of detailed work was put into the preparation of
the Plan and it will undoubtedly provide an efficient
quarrying policy for the Maltese Islands for several years to
come. The 19 Policies of the Structure Plan concerning
minerals development were supplemented by no less than another
45 Policies covering issues of resources, development and
restoration.
With
the coming in force of the MRA, in 2001, the responsibilities
for functions relating to the extraction of mineral resources
became distinct from those relating to general land-use. On
one hand the PA [now Malta Environment and Planning Authority
(MEPA)] remained responsible for functions relating to land
use while the MRA became exclusively responsible for functions
relating to the extraction of mineral resources. Extractive
industry sites must now have Development Permit approval of
the MEPA as well as Quarry Licence of the MRA.
The
MRA Act addresses all issues related to mineral exploration
and development operations including licensing and approvals,
restoration and rehabilitation of sites. The Act seeks to
encourage an economically viable mineral extraction which
makes the best use of mineral resources in a way that is
compatible with the economic, social and environmental
objectives of the community.
Within the MRA, the Directorate for Minerals Resources (DMR)
is responsible for promoting and regulating the exploration
and development of Malta’s mineral resources.
DMR’s purpose is to facilitate the development of
mineral extractive industries that contribute substantially to
the wealth and well-being of all Maltese, while meeting
contemporary community expectations for social and
environmental outcomes. The core business of the Directorate
is to provide:
a consistent, transparent and secure tenement administration
regime for the extractive industries.
standards, monitoring and enforcement to ensure that
industry operations meet community expectations, licence
conditions and relevant obligations.
high quality geological information on Malta’s
mineral resources, and maintain the historical geological
database.
industry
specific facilitation and marketing services, to promote the
development of the extractive industries.
legislative, title and policy advice, and review
legislation and policy to ensure that the extractive industry
continues to provide a competitive environment for resource
development
on sound economic, social and environmental considerations.
The
importance of the extractive industry to the local economy
makes it necessary for DMR to support and sustain this
activity in an integrated overall Mineral Resources
Development Strategy that is guided by long-term national
development plans. However, it is also important for DMR to
ensure that the industry is regulated so that it takes into
account the range of social and environmental impacts as well
as the economic ones. |
