THE SITARJEVEC LEAD AND BARITE MINE IN LITIJA NEAR LJUBLJANA,, SLOVENIA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP83-00415R010500100007-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 13
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 7, 2012
• Sequence Number: 7
• Publication Date: February 6, 1952
• Content Type: REPORT

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/08/07: CIA-RDP83-00415RO10500100007-6
50X1-HUM
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/08/07: CIA-RDP83-00415RO10500100007-6
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/08/07: CIA-RDP83-00415RO10500100007-6
.Y9.ca13Ai
a. S. OFFIGIAtB OR
THE SITARJEVEC LEAD AND BAhhITE MINE IN LITIJA NEAR LJUBLJANA, SLOVENIA
Lead ore is being mined in extraordinarily difficult and unbearable
conditions in the Sitarjevec Mine, for the main pits are directly beneath
the Sava River, so water constantly drips on the miners working in them.
Accidents occur frequently. In l950~,,. there were eight fatalities. If
the pumps stop working, a half hour stoppage would be sufficient to drown
the men working at the face of the main mine.
To date, the lead ore has been shipped by rail to "iezica, where it has
been mostly used to make water pipes.
At the beginning of December 1950, a group, which was working on drilling
new pits, discovered. a very rich vein of lead ore near Zavrstnik near Litija.
A well known geologist estimated the vein contains one to la million tons of
rich lead ore. The directorate of the mine immediately informed the Main
Directorate for the Ministry of Mines in Ljubljana, which appointed a commission
under the leadership of geology Prof Alojza hernik. After a 3-day inspect Nn,
the commission submitted a report to the General Directorate in Belgrade, which
called for the construction of an installation at the Sitarjevec Aine, where
ore could be collected and cleaned without being shipped to Mezica for this
purpose. The project was approved. At the beginning of January this year,
preparatory work was to begin on the construction of this installation provided
there was no snow. It is planned to collect, break up, and. clean the lead ore
right at the mine by the beginning of the year, thus decreasing the expenses of
transport to Mezica, for only clean ore will be shipped there which will be
ready for melting and processing.
Barite is also mined at the Sitarjevec Mine. This barite is necessary
for the domestic chemical industry for the production of dyes.
The opening of the new vein of ore increases the capacity of the Sitarjevec
Mine from six carloads a day to eight to ten carloads. The mine produces two
to three carloads of barite per day; there are no prospects of opening new
veins of barite.
Rx..
U. S. OFFICIALS OIL
H ENCLOSURE T
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/08/07: CIA-RDP83-00415RO10500100007-6
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/08/07: CIA-RDP83-00415RO10500100007-6
U. S, OFFICIALS O iL1
Josko Mojstrovec is administrative director, Engr Mitja Burlin is technical
director, and Borut Prrstl is political leader of the Sitarjevec Mine. The mine
employs 468 miners, 17 technical and administrative personnel, and has six
administrations and directorates. It was working in two P-hour shifts up to
October 1950, but is now working in three 6-hour shifts because of the difficulty
of the work.
About 100 prisoners, sentenced to hard labor for over 10 yeats, have been
working in the mine for over a year. These prisoners are scheduled to be used
for the most dangerous work.
The pumps are constantly breaking down because they are obsolete and because
they are in constant use. Spare parts are late in arriving or do not arrive at
all so the miners fend for themselves as best they can. They often collect
contributions among themselves on paydays and try to buy spare parts in other
cities wherever they may be available.
The Sitarjevec Mine has its own mess. At the end of October, this mess was
still working well and feeding the miners with the required number of calories
called for to maintain manpower classified as doing heavy work. The food had
deteriorated in quantity and quality by November and December, so that the
miners had to report for medical aid. Dr Miroslav Lukez
is sending the ill to rest homes for 7-day vacations, from which
they return better fed and in condition to work in the pits. Almost 60 percent
of the miners are tuberculous; no penicillin is availa''ble.
Prisoners who report for medical attention are either not brought before
the doctor but taken care of a medical attendant, who sends them off with some
pill,.or are accused of being saboteurs in which case they know what is awaiting
them. Consequently, they do not seek medical attention but keep on working
until they drop. They sleep in a barracks, built by the German occupation
troops to accommodate 60 persons, which is guarded by 12 militiamen.
S, OFFICIALS ONLY
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/08/07: CIA-RDP83-00415RO10500100007-6
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/08/07: CIA-RDP83-00415RO10500100007-6
U. S. OFFICIALS ONLY
LAYING A CONCRETE FOUNDATION IN THE NORTFERN HARBOR OF SPLIT
Laying a concrete foundation as a base for concrete base and wall blocks
is involving some technical difficulty which the Split City Construction
Enterprise is scarcely overcoming. The coastal wall of the northern harbor
of Split is built on a concrete foundation, whose thickness varies from one
to 4 meters depending on the contour of the sea bottom. The foundation is
6j meters wide at the crown; the fore part has a gradient of 1:5; and the
rear is vertical. The foundation is levelled at 9 meters below the mean
sea level. The coast road is 100 meters from the natural coastline and is
parallel to it. Consequently, underwater cons truction and concreting has
to be done far from the source of materials.
The first work on the concrete foundation was done before sufficient
experience had been acquired, because this type of work had only been done
once before on the Yugoslav coast. This was when conditions were completely
different and foreign specialists were available, who are not available today.
Yugoslav technical personnel had had no previous experience in this type of
work.
The present work on the concrete foundation is divided into two phases.
During the first phase, the foundation is to be laid across excavated clay
31, to L meters thick which requires a small number of forms of large cubature.
The second phase is to be characterized by the use of a large number of forms
of small culbature. In this proportionately longer part of the work, the
foundation is to have a thickness of one to 12 meters.
S. o~JRMoNLr
-3-
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/08/07: CIA-RDP83-00415RO10500100007-6
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/08/07: CIA-RDP83-00415R010500100007-6
. .-R
0. S. OFFICIALS ONLY
There is no general ferry, possibly because the great depth of the water
and the considerable distance between the natural coastline and the road make
the construction of a ferry uneconomical and i*practical. Instead of a ferry,
there is a barge equipped with a mixer and tower used for contraction (used as
a crane] Yugoslav planners did not anticipate equipping the barge with four
anchor winches at the time it was built so it is very unsui table today. Work
has begun on fitting it with four anchors and three winches for hoisting and
transferring forms. (Anchor winches will make it possible to hold the barge
in a stable position while concreting is being done. This is important because
of the strong currents in the basin of the northern harbor).
A wooden form on the principle of forms used for laying monolithic concrete
sea walls was first utilized for the foundation. The vertical beams of the
form, 13x16 centimeters in thickness, were about one meter apart; three
horizontal beams, 21x23 centimeters in thickness, were placed on each side.
The form was e s e with boards 48 millimeters thick. The form was not brought
up to sea level and fixed there, but was brought up to a height of 4 meters,
which is as much as the maximum height of the foundation in the first phase.
Since this form was first laid on the bottom without any kind of anchorings,
the concreting was done under very difficult conditions. When the concrete
was poured so it did not come up even on all sides, it made the side where
the concrete was heaviest tend to move the form from its original position.
Although this work was constantly supervised by divers, all the care exercised
was in vain; 4 months of work were lost without any progress being made.
Then, two Italian technicians .rrived and took over.
The form was then laid solidly. To prevent th
rizontal beams
from breaking when the form was moved, they were reinforced by steel cables
by which the form was hoisted. The form was ballasted even more than was
necessary for its sinking.
So OFFICIALS ONLY
e
50X1-HUM
50X1-HUM
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/08/07: CIA-RDP83-00415R010500100007-6
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/08/07: CIA-RDP83-00415RO10500100007-6
rr Utriui~ .S ot1t
In the second phase, the form was made of wood and iron. The vertical beams
were of wood, 13x16 centimeters in thickness, as those used in the first phase.
Instead of horizontal beams, iron supports 200 square meters in cross section,
were utilized. The sheathing of the form consisted of boards 1R square meters
in cross-sectional area. This method eliminated the possibility of the
horizontal beams breaking. The form itself was thus made heavier and stronger
and it was possible for the work to progress further. The original form was
utilized 13 times when work was first begun, but did not last long enough to
even finish the first part of the foundation. The new form is now fitted with
special rings for hoisting, with a special winch for tightening its opposite
sides, etc according to the practice of Italian technicians.
Ho4is the work of laying, transferring, and fixing the form done?
The finished form is filled with stone so it will sink. It is first put
into position with a crane. The form is kept open by a cross piece on top
to keep it from folding up when it is being lifted. When the form is laid on
the bottom, the cross niece is removed so it will not be in the way of concreting
and levelling. Getting the form set in the right direction and at the right
depth has presented a great deal of difficulty to Yugoslav workers, for it had
to be done in the middle of the sea without a single guiding point. Work with
the crane was very inconvenient because of its inconvenient height. The cables
to which the form was tied tended to go askew so they compressed the form and
made it difficult to separate the form from the concrete. The form was
separated from the concrete from the sides and pulled along the bottom to a
new position. Work on this was very slow, inaccurate, and uneconomical because
the form was being constantly damaged and becoming unusable from being dragged
along the uneven bottom of the sea. Because of lack of a small crane, a
30-ton crane was utilized. This crane was consequently constantly tied up with
this work and could not be utilized for other jobs, whereas a smaller crane
could very well have done the job.
With the arrival of the Italian technicians, a barge was set up from
which the work of concreting and transferring the form is done. The barge is
equipped with three winches (two serve for lifting the two free ends of the
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/08/07: CIA-RDP83-00415RO10500100007-6
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/08/07: CIA-RDP83-00415RO10500100007-6
i F- CA f
S, OFFICIALS ONLY
form, and the third for lifting the other two corners). The form is pulled
by the barge with the help of anchor winches to the selected position and put
in position within centimeters of the point desired. The new form is equipped
with four rings on the corners, the cables for lifting have special hooks on
the ends, so the work of tying the form has been decreased from a matter of hours
to a matter of minutes. The diver formerly had to take a great deal of time to
get the form into position every time it was moved, because he had to tie it with
steel cables which he tied around the horizontal beams and hooked with clips.
A steel cable is used to encircle the new form. This cable extends from a
small winch (mounted on the sheathing of the form) to the lining of the form to
cable
which it is tied. In the process of winding the line on the winch, the diver
pulls together the outer sheathing and the inner lining and encircles the form
with the cable. To prevent the cable from being concieted, special concrete
rings, scrap "salonite" [trade name) tubing, or iron encasement are used on
the cable.
The concreting of the foundation is done from the barge by a contraction
system. Installations are brought to the barge by sea, loaded on the barge
immediately, while the "tucenac" [hard rock and cement are brought by another
barge. The arrival of the Italian technicians has made it possible to decrease
work hours 35 percent, and decrease the expenses of laying a meter of concrete
20 percent.
ENTERPRISES FOR JOINT ACTIVITY IN IMPORT AND EXPORT OF PRODUCTS OF
ASSOCIATED PRODUCERS
After the recent reorganization, most of the operational activities
connected with foreign trade were transferred to the jurisdiction of the
people's republics (the Main Administrations for Import and Export). P
DIALS ONLY
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/08/07: CIA-RDP83-00415RO10500100007-6
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/08/07: CIA-RDP83-00415R010500100007-6
yt it
S, OFFICIALS ONLY
These newly established enterprises for joint import and export retain the
names of the former import and export agencies, because of the connections and
goodwill the latter had established abroad. The new enterprises do not have
planned quotas they must fulfill because they are not independently responsible
for such quotas. They do have materials plans which consist of the parts of the
whole plan for which individual member enterprises have been made responsible.
Export and import is done through an administrative council composed of one
representative from each member enterprise. The only exception is the
"Jugometal" Enterprise which has only two member enterprises; it has an
administrative council of 15 members and an executive council of six members.
Where the number of member enterprises is large, making the number of representative
large and the administrative council unwieldy, an executive council of three to
five members is selected from among the members of the administrative council.
The jurisdiction of the administrative council is determined by almost unanimou
agreement of the member enterprises. The jurisdiction of the executive council
is determined by laws on the organization and activity of such councils in
individual enterprises. The jurisdiction of the administrative council is
analagous to that of the worker's council in an enterprise, except for some
broader functions which hgve been added, such as ruling on the acceptance of
new members, ruling on contributions, and ruling on stoppage of work.
It is compulsory for administrative councils to hold regular meetings every
3 months, and for executive councils to hold meetings once a month. Resolutions
passed at meetings become law if over half the members are present and if the
majority voted for them. Resolutions passed are binding for all member
enterprises regardless of the way their representatives looted.
The question of financing the enterprises for joint import and export
is one of the most difficult problems facing these enterprises; it has not yet
been solved. Financing is now done by the same method as it was done previously,
fig( `X
ONLY
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/08/07: CIA-RDP83-00415R010500100007-6
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/08/07: CIA-RDP83-00415R010500100007-6
S. OFFICIALS ONLY
fulfillment of import and export materials plans and exchange credits plans, and
control and general supervision of foreign trade activity are under the jurisdictio]
of the federal Ministry of Foreign Trade.
The carrying out of foreign trade activity is completely decentralized to
producers. Producers bf)ene or more production branches have made agreements
among themselves to establish enterprises for joint import and export. In
August and September 1950, the following enterprises or agencies for joint
activity in import and export were established:
The "Centroprom" (Central Trade),
The "Agroprodukt" (Agricultural Products) for the sale of agricultural food
products,
The "Jugodrvo" (Yugoslav Wood) for the export of wood,
The "Jugolek" ( Yugoslav Medicines) for the sale of medicinal herbs,
The "Hempro" (Chemical Products} for the import and export of chemical products
The "Tehnopromet" (Technical Trade) for the import and export of metals,
metal products, and other technical material,
The "Jugometal" (Yugoslav Metal) for the import and export of ores and metals,
The "Centrotekstil" (Central Textiles) for the import and export of textiles,
and hides, q
The"Jugoelektro" (Yugoslav Electric) for the impottand export of electro-
technical materials,
The "Jugoauto" (Yugoslav Automobile) for the import and export of motor
vehicles and parts,
The "Jugotehna" (Yugoslav Technical) for the import and export of tools
and other technical materials,
The "Invest-Import" for the import of equipment,
The "Jugofolklor" (Yugoslav Folklore) for the sale of domestic handicraft
and art work, and
The "Rundap" Import and Export Mining Enterprise.
Lip nil, V
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/08/07: CIA-RDP83-00415R010500100007-6
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/08/07: CIA-RDP83-00415RO10500100007-6
It is planned to finance these
enterprises in the future from contributions from member enterprises and
margins.
To cover operating expenses for personnel and materials, enterprises for
joint import and export draw up advance accounts of income and outgo, which
the administrative council approves.
Each member enterprise is entitled to give notice of withdrawal from the
joint enterprise on 1 April or 1 October each year. The terminal period is
3 months.
To date, the following irregular tendencies have been noted in these
enterprises:
1. Certain members are not complying with agreements they made upon
joining. Although they agreed not to act independently or over the heads
of the joint enterprise, some of them are making individual contracts abroad.
2. A considerable number of member enterprises have representatives
abroad, which is not in the interest of the national economy as a whole.
3. Mutual cooperation among member enterprises and the joint enterprise
is not what it should be. Some member enterprises are showing particularism
and self interest for themselves and their republics.
4. The qualitative compostion of administrative councils does not always
rise to the responsibilities involved. Sometimes the rulings of administrative
councils are irregular and have to be abolished.
6. Some enterprises for joint import and export are not adequately
organized. or staffed to take care of their responsibilities.
OFFICIALS ONLY
DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS OF ENTERPRISES OF ASSOCIATED PRODUCERS
The "Centrotekstil" Enterpriseg4s an enterprise of associated producers
of textiles and footwear.(for joint import and export It imports and exports
141 -~ tlN( V
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/08/07: CIA-RDP83-00415RO10500100007-6
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/08/07: CIA-RDP83-00415RO10500100007-6
n
~- S ONLY
raw materials for textiles, semifinished goods, finished goods, furnishings, and
auxiliary material, as well as raw and fine hides. This enterprise was
established by the General Directorate for Textiles, Hides, Footwear, and
Hemp of Serbia; the Main Directorate for the Provincial Industries of the
Vojvodina, the General Directorate for Textiles and Hides of Croatia, the
General Directorate for Hides and Textiles of Slovenia, the General Directorate
for Textiles and Hides of Macedonia, and the General Directorate for Textiles
and Hides of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The "Centrotekstil" Enterprise is administered by an administrative
council composed of a representative from each member"organization. These
representatives are the commercial directors of each directorate, except for
the representative of the General Directorate for Hides and Textiles of
Slovenia, who is a general engineer and also president of the administrative
council. The president of the administrative council has two substitutes. The
administrative council meets once a month, but the director of the enterprise
is in constant touch by telephone with the president of the administrative
council. The director is obliged to call the president at least once a week,
usually on Fridays. At each meeting of the administrative council, its
next meeting is scheduled so members will be well prepared for the subsequent
meeting. Minutes are kept of each meeting and forwarded to the Ministry for
Foreign Trade.
To acquaint members of the administrative council with the foreign trade
situation, the enterprise's coordinating group compiles and forwards to the
council every 7 to 10 days a report on opportunities in the foreign market.
Members of the administrative council also receive regular surveyslevery 10
days, which contain statistics on the standing of each item exported or
imported as it relates to the half-year plan, balances for the past 10 days
and total balances to date, payments for the past ten days and total
payments to date, imports for the past 10 days and total imports to date,
and information on goods en route.
The "Centrotekstil" Enterprise has some problems which make its work
difficult, such as the method by which financing should be done. Although
financing through contributions made by member enterprises may not be the
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/08/07: CIA-RDP83-00415RO10500100007-6
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/08/07: CIA-RDP83-00415RO10500100007-6
best method, it is better than financing by using margins. Member producers
thus feel the enterprise is their own and are stimulated to a greater degree
of interest in it. What sources shall be used to pay contributions to the
"Centrotekstil" Enterprise, since the present structure and normal administrative
and sales expenses of member enterprises make it impossible for contributions
to be paid out of these expenses?
A separate problem is posed by the question of how to assure continuity
in the work of members of the administrative council. It often happens that
representatives at council meetings are frequently changed. Sometimes,
personnel who are not satisfactorily instructed are sent as representatives
and therefore cannot actually participate in the council's work and the
passing of rulings.
II
% or r*IMR MY
The "Jugometal" Enterprise for Joint Import and Export is an enterprise
composed of associated producers of ores and metals.
administered by an administrative council, made up of
all mining enterprises, and an executive council made
The enterprise is
representatives a?om
of the former federal General Directorate for Metallurgy
General Directorate for Ferrous Metallurgy.
The "Jugometal" Enterprise has not yet achieved the
member producers which had been expected. The executive
of the main directors
v,rrv,ti-
and the federal
cooperation with
has not been made up of representatives
The "Jugometal" Enterprise purchases goods from
meeting an average of once a month, but
of member producers, who are members of
latter has met only once up to May.
mining enterprises and
then sells them abroad. It does not have any plan of its own, but only
concludes sales and purchase agreements with its member producers on the
sale of ores. Consequently, member enterprises are not directly interested
in export activities and the proper operation of the enterprise.
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/08/07: CIA-RDP83-00415RO10500100007-6
 Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/08/07: CIA-RDP83-00415RO10500100007-6
IF .
the mining products which they sell
to the "Jugometal" Enterprise are sold at exceedingly low prices (below
actual production costs) and. do not change. Hence the establishment of
better prices on the foreign markets is no stimulant to member enterprises.
The existing Foundation for Making rrices Uniform acts as a special
deterrent, for all positive differences in prices are put into the
foundation and all negative differences are paid out of itt
The administrative council of the "Jugometal" 2interprise has shown
little interest or activity because it could not further its work on
account of the dynamic quality of its activities. The members of the
executive council, the main directors'lof the directorates (director of
copper, director of zinc, etc) have the rank of assistant ministers and
have been too occupied with their work in the directorates to have time
to spare for the operation of the "Jugometal" Enterprise.
Financing is another problem which has not been solved. The problem
of credits has not been solved because the present laws on credits make
it impossible for any enterprise, which is not responsible for a plan,
to get credit from the People's Bank. The enterprise can dispose of
resources from the accounts of member enterprises only with the approval
of state agencies. All this hinders the work of the enterprise.
After the reorganization of the federal General Directorate for
Ferrous Metallurgy, representatives of the republic directorates, mostly
commercial directors, were brought into the administrative council of
the "Jugometal" Enterprise, so it is now functioning a little better.
'
UN S , or!
t^A^^ 1 Y
r
-12-
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/08/07: CIA-RDP83-00415RO10500100007-6