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Asbestos
The exploitation of asbestos in Cyprus began systematically in 1904 by the Cyprus Asbestos Company and continued until 1988 and then ceased because of the bias for the use of asbestos products in the international market. The ore body that has been exploited is found in the Troodos mountain, in the north of Kato Amiantos village in the Limassol District.
Surface mining methods were applied for the asbestos recovery especially that of the open benches using heavy duty high capacity mechanical equipment for the excavation, loading and transportation of the ore. The annual recovery of ore often exceeded 5 millions tones and the ratio of the excavated ore to the final product was about 150:1. The treatment plant was near the mine and the treatment method which was applied was that of crushing and classification of the ore including pneumatic classification for the production of asbestos fibers concentrate.
After the mining operation ceased, the State faced serious environmental problems. Because of the lack of environmental legislation, during the mining operation period no restoration took place and the enormous dumps of waste which were created, presented serious problems of stability.
In 1995 the restoration work began, aiming for the stabilisation of the waste dumps and the reforestation of the area. The advancement of the work is satisfactory and forecasts show that it will be completed around 2030.
The cost of the above restoration work is covered by the mining and quarrying royalties’ income.
In the photographs below you may see the development of the restoration work.
In the file below you may find the asbestos exports from 1926.
 Asbestos Exports 1926-1988.pdf (Μέγεθος Αρχείου: 11 KB)
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