Malta - the extractive industry

Abstract

All mining and quarrying activities in the Maltese Islands fall within the classification of NACE code 14. This is due to the absence of other minerals that could be quarried or mined. Quarrying in Malta is dominated by the extraction of hard stone from coralline limestone resources, for use in aggregates, and the extraction of soft stone from globigerina limestone resources, for use in the construction industry. Other types of economic activities that exist in the same field are the operation of gravel and sand pits and, on a much smaller scale, the production of sea salt. The extraction of other existing minerals such as clays or phosphates is not considered economically and environmentally feasible. In the Labour Force Survey (LFS), conducted by the National Statistics Office (NSO), mining and quarrying are listed as separate economic activities from construction, thus corresponding to the NACE classification of economic activities. The Central Bank of Malta Annual Report for 2005 lists mining and quarrying as a totally separate economy from construction. However, due to the small nature of the quarrying industry, at times, for statistical purposes, it is included with the construction sector. The social partners also tend to view the quarrying industry as forming part of the construction sector.