In Italy, a great variety of minerals. But the field many of them low on reserves, are scattered throughout the country, often occur inconvenient for development. Thus, in 1982 the country was completely stopped production of iron ore, including on the island of Elba, where iron is extracted Etruscans.
Considerably richer than Italy lead-zinc ores with an admixture of silver and other metals. These deposits are located in Sardinia and in the Eastern Alps. Region of Tuscany is rich in pyrite and mercury ore - cinnabar, on stocks of which Italy is the second largest in the world occur in the limestones of Sardinia antimony ore. Deposits of sulfur, known since Roman times, mainly concentrated in the area of Caltanissetta in Sicily. Nedra Italy rich in a variety of construction and finishing materials (marble, granite, tuff, etc.). Marble is mined in several places, but particularly in the area of Carrara. As stocks of other commodities in Italy is poor. Small quantities of anthracite is found in the Valle d'Aosta, in Tuscany colloidal lignite, peat and lignite torfoobraznye. In Central Italy and Liguria are small deposits of manganese. Bauxite, a long time is extracted from the karst depressions Apulia, now almost exhausted. On the island of Sicily has reserves of potash and rock salt, asphalt, bitumen.
Energy Resources of Italy meet the needs of the country's energy only 15%. In Sardinia, Tuscany, Umbria, Calabria there are deposits of lignite and low-grade coal. The limited oil reserves on the island of Sicily, Padanskoy plain and on the east coast of central Italy provide less than 2% of Italy's oil. It is very important for the country's economic deposits of natural gas Padanskoy plains and its submarine continuation - of the continental shelf of the Adriatic Sea. Natural gas found in North, Central and Southern Apennines and Sicily.
In the postwar years revealed a rather large (for Italy) oil resources - in Padanskoy lowlands, in a strip of Alpine foothills, as well as on the island of Sicily. Complementing them are bituminous shale, on the island of Sicily in the area of Ragusa, in San Valentino in Abruzzo-e Molise, as well as in the area of Frosinone (Lazio).