Mining in Austria

The extraction of mineral raw materials makes a substantive contribution to regional added value in Austria. The raw materials industry provides the basis to generate about 25% of Austria’s GDP. Compared internationally, Austria has a remarkable production of some raw materials like magnesite or tungsten.

Minerals in the property of the landowner account for about two-thirds of domestic production and thus make up the largest share, followed by minerals free for mining and state-owned minerals. In the field of aggregates (construction raw materials) like sand and gravel, Austria is considered self-sufficient. Regarding metals and fossil fuels, Austria depends largely on imports.

A longstanding mining history has been preserved not only in names of towns and villages, but also in the common language (proverbs) and ancient mining traditions.

The Austrian Mining Yearbook (PDF, 57 MB) (Montan-Handbuch), published annually in German, illustrates major key figures of Austrian mining and also highlights the importance and the capacity of the extractive and raw material processing industries.

More details on Austria’s mineral resources production can be found by following the links to “aggregates, mineral fuels, industrial minerals and metals”.