Iron and coal

Half of Italy’s iron output comes from the island ofElba, one of the oldest geologic areas. Another important area of production is Cogne in the Alpine region ofValle d’Aosta; that deposit lies at 2,000 feet (610 meters) abovesea level. Little iron-bearing ore has been produced in Italy since 1984.Coal is found in small amounts principally inTuscany, but it is of inferior quality, and its exploitation has been almost negligible. The vast majority of Italy’s coal is imported, mostly fromRussia,South Africa, theUnited States, andChina.

Mineral production

During the late 20th century, production of almost all of Italy’s minerals steadily decreased, with the exception ofrock salt,petroleum, andnatural gas. In the early 1970s Italy was a major producer of pyrites (from the Tuscan Maremma),asbestos (from the Balangero mines nearTurin),fluorite (fluorspar; found inSicily and northern Italy), and salt. At the same time, it wasself-sufficient in aluminum (fromGargano in Puglia),sulfur (from Sicily), lead, andzinc (fromSardinia). By the beginning of the 1990s, however, it had lost all its world-ranking positions and was no longer self-sufficient in those resources.

Fuel deposits, too, were unable to keep pace with the spiraling demands of energy-hungry industries and domestic consumers. Although domestic production figures rose throughout the late 20th century, Italy remains a net energy importer. Small amounts of oil and natural gas used to be produced in the Po valley in the 1930s, and asphalt was produced inRagusa in Sicily. This exploitation was followed by further oil discoveries in theAbruzzo and richer amounts again in Ragusa and in nearbyGela. Natural gas is the most important natural resource in the peninsula, found mainly on the northern plain but also inBasilicata, Sicily, andPuglia.

Italy is one of the world’s leading producers ofpumice,pozzolana, andfeldspar. Another mineral resource for which Italy is well-known ismarble, especially the world-famous white marble from theCarrara andMassaquarries in Tuscany. However, the reputation of these exceptional stones is disproportionately large when compared with the percentage ofgross national product (GNP) accounted for by their exploitation.

Energy

Italy’s lack of energy resources undoubtedly hindered the process of industrialization on the peninsula, but the limited stocks of coal, oil, and natural gas led toinnovation in the development of new energy sources. It was the dearth of coal in the late 19th century that encouraged the pioneering ofhydroelectricity, and in 1885 Italy became one of the first countries to transmit hydroelectricity to a large urban center—fromTivoli toRome, along a 5,000-volt line. Rapid expansion of the sector developed in theAlps (with water passing efficiently over nonporous rocks) and also in the Apennines (with less efficient transport over porous rocks). Though uneven precipitation on the peninsula marred continuing growth in hydroelectricity, itcomprised a healthy slice of thecountry’s energyconsumption by 1920. In the aftermath ofWorld War II, more than half of Italy’selectric power was accounted for by hydroelectricity, but there was little room left for expansion, and the country was in need of energy to feed its rapid industrialization. By the 21st century,hydroelectric power, its output unable to keep pace with increasing demand, amounted to less than 20 percent of the country’s electricity production. This led to the development of thermal electricity generation fired by coal, natural gas, oil, nuclear power, andgeothermal energy.

In 1949 oil was discovered off Sicily, but supplies were limited, and Italy began to rely heavily on imported oil, mainly fromNorth Africa and theMiddle East. With oil in such short supply, Italy was, not surprisingly, at thevanguard of nuclear research, and by 1965 threenuclear power stations were operating on Italian soil; a fourth opened in 1981. Nonetheless, by 1987, nuclear power accounted for only 0.1 percent of Italy’s total electricity production, and a public referendum of the same year led to the decommissioning of all four plants. The issue was revisited in the early 21st century, and a proposal to dramatically increase Italy’s nuclear power capacity was presented by the government. In a referendum held in June 2011, just months after theFukushima disaster inJapan, the proposal was rejected. Italy remained a significant consumer of nuclear-generated power, with much of its imported electricity originating inFrance andSwitzerland.

Natural gas has been the most significant discovery. It was first found in the 1920s, and its most important exploitation was in the Po valley. Later exploration focused on offshore supplies along the Adriatic coast. Increased reliance on imports began in the 1970s, and by the beginning of the 21st century about three-fourths of Italy’s natural gas was imported, primarily fromAlgeria, Russia, and theNetherlands. There are about 19,000 miles (30,000 km) ofpipelines. The use of natural gas has risen at the expense of oil, which in the 1990s was the dominant energy source for electricity production in Italy. By the 21st century natural gas provided more than half of Italy’s total energy production. Overall, fossil fuelscomprised some 90 percent of Italy’s total energy consumption.