Mineral industry of Europe

[3] Before World War II, the economy of Europe remained largely on coal as its source of primary energy with very little of the diversification into oil and gas that had already occurred in the United States.

[5] The continent itself is rich in natural resources, and minerals, which are use in every-day life such as construction materials for infrastructure, building, roads, production of steel, cars, computers, medicines and fertilisers.

[9] Of those, Sweden is one of the European Union's leading ore and metal-producing countries and the Swedish mining industry is in a period of strong growth.

In Ancient Rome, mining for gold and copper in Spain, Cyprus and eastern Europe and tin in Cornwall were important.

[15] Underground mining required significantly more energy than surface operations because of the need for ventilation and pumps, and the longer haulage distances involved.

[16] The European metals and minerals mining sector employs more than 200,000 people directly in the extraction and beneficiation processes and numerous jobs are depending on it, the turnover of Europe alone is €13 billion Euros.

[27] According to the magazine Tekniikka ja Talous, Finland has overtaken Sweden to become one of the largest producer of gold in Europe, which is located in Kittilä and is owned by the Canadian company Agnico Eagle, will be expanded out and, as a result, its production will increase to 6,000 kilograms per year.