Minerals were among the most valuable exports of Cuba before the revolution of 1959. Production, however, has since declined. The minerals recovered in Cuba include nickel and copper ores, chromium, salt, cobalt, stone, crude petroleum, natural gas, and manganese. Nickel, chrome, copper, iron, and manganese deposits are the most important. Sulfur, cobalt, pyrites, gypsum, asbestos, petroleum, salt, sand, clay, and limestone reserves are also exploited. All subsurface deposits are the property of the Cuban government.

In the early 1970s, Cuba undertook a program of automation in its important sugar industry. The dairy and cattle industries were also streamlined. Other major manufactures include cement, steel, refined petroleum, rubber and tobacco products, processed food, textiles, clothing, footwear, chemicals, agricultural machinery, pharmaceuticals and fertilizer.

Commodity Review

Metals

Cobalt, in 2005, production of cobalt, which included ammoniacal liquor precipitate, oxide, and sulfide, increased by about 4.7% to 4,247 metric tons (t) from 4,055 t in 2004.

Copper, northern Orion Resources Inc. (Northern), through its subsidiary Minera Cobre S.A., held a 50% interest in the Mantua copper-gold deposit, which is located in Pinar del Rio Province about 240 km from Havana. Geominera S.A. held the remaining 50%. In early 2004, Northern had been in discussions with third parties (names not disclosed) regarding the sale of the Mantua project; however, according to company reports, no agreement to sell its interest in the project was reached during the year. In 2005, Northern reported that its ability to develop the copper phase of the project was dependent upon obtaining third-party financing, and that between 2001 and 2004, the Mantua project was consecutively under option by two different companies, International Barytex Resources Ltd. and Newport Explorations Ltd. As partial consideration for the option, the companies had respectively assumed the carrying costs of the project and had made a commitment to attempt to arrange the necessary financing, but reportedly neither was successful (Northern Orion Resources Inc., 2006, p. 29).

Nickel, in 2005, production of mined nickel (nickel content of nickel oxide, nickel-cobalt sulfide, and nickel-cobalt ammonium liquor) increased by about 2.5% to 73,753 t compared to 71,944 t in 2004. Production of nickel and cobalt came from three operations—two produced nickel oxide, and one produced the intermediate product nickel-cobalt sulfide. Cobalt and refined nickel were derived from the treatment of mixed sulfides from the Moa Nickel S.A. facilities. Moa Nickel was a mining and processing operation that was part of a vertically integrated joint-venture company between the Government of Cuba (50%) and Sherritt (50%). Mixed sulfides produced at Moa were shipped to Canada and then transported by rail to Sherritt’s refinery in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, to produce refined nickel and cobalt. In 2005, Sherritt continued with its plans to increase production of mixed sulfides at Moa Mine by 16,000 t/yr to a total of 49,000 t/yr. Basic engineering for the expansion was scheduled for completion by the end of the first quarter of 2006 and construction at the mine and processing facilities was expected to begin during the second quarter of 2006, with commissioning scheduled for mid-2008. Sherritt expected nickel and cobalt production in 2006 to be comparable with that of 2005 and mixed sulfide production to be maintained at approximately 33,000 t (Sherritt International Corp., 2006b, p. 17).

Industrial Minerals

Zeolite.―Cuba had three deposits from which it extracted zeolite. In 2005, Geominera Oriente planned to export about 10,000 t of zeolite to Brazil and about 10,000 t to Colombia (Ahora.cu, 2005§).

Mineral Fuels

In 2005, the U.S. Geological Survey announced the completion of an assessment on undiscovered natural gas and petroleum resources of the North Cuba Basin in northwestern Cuba. The study yielded average estimates for undiscovered resources of 4.6 billion barrels of petroleum; 9.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas (of which 8.6 trillion cubic feet were associated-dissolved gas and 1.2 trillion cubic feet were non-associated gas); and 0.9 billion barrels of natural gas liquids (U.S. Geological Survey, 2005).

Natural Gas, Cuba’s natural gas production was all associated gas. Sherritt supplied about 15% of all the electricity generated in Cuba from facilities located at Varadero, Boca de Jaruco, and Puerto Escondido through its minority interest in Energas S.A., a Cuban Government entity. The associated gas produced from the Varadero fields had been flared for many years, thus creating considerable air pollution owing to its hydrogen sulfide content. The previously flared gas is now being used by Sherritt to generate electricity. In 2004, Sherritt companies, International Barytex Resources Ltd. and Newport Explorations Ltd. As partial consideration for the option, the companies had respectively assumed the carrying costs of the project and had made a commitment to attempt to arrange the necessary financing, but reportedly neither was successful. In 2004, Sherritt began the construction of an 85-megawatt (MW) expansion at its Cuban facilities, which was expected to be commissioned in the first quarter of 2006. The electricity produced by Energas was supplied to a Cuban Government agency under long-term fixed price contracts and gas was supplied to Energas at no cost. Sherritt planned to increase electricity production capacity to 376 MW from the existing 311 MW upon completion of an additional 65-MW expansion, which was expected to be completed during the second quarter of 2007 (Sherritt International Corp., 2006a, p. 5).