Who Owned Georgia English.pdf

BATTLE FOR THE MINING INDUSTRYDuring the Soviet period, a wide range of minerals weremined in Georgia, including copper, coal and high-grademanganese ore. When the Soviet Union collapsed, so didGeorgia’s mineral production. Today there are basically threemining enterprises in Georgia - Chiaturmanganese for ore,Madneuli for gold and copper, and the Tkhibuli coal mines. In2004, the reform government of Mikheil Saakashvili launcheda new wave of privatizing state property, which it announcedwould be “maximally impartial and transparent,” unlike thethe previous administration’s. However, in the mining sector,“maximally” did not prove to be the case.Manganese was first extracted from Chiatura in 1879. Thegrowth of world demand for the metal was a boon for localproducers, who managed to fend off foreign companies in theearly years of production. But by the turn of the century, French,British and German companies dominated the Chiatura mines,with the Germans in firm control of operations until the outbreakof WWI, when German companies were banned from Chiatura.When the Soviets arrived, Chiartura was an essential contributorto the steelwork of the Soviet Union. 345 It’s deposits remain oneof the largest in Europe today.In 1993, the Georgian government established JSCChiaturmanganese for privatization, however, attempts tosuccessfully privatize the company failed throughout the decade.In December 2004, the Ministry of Economic Development ofGeorgia announced a tender for the purchase of the assets of JSCChiaturmanganese and the hydro power plant, LLC VartsikheHPP Cascade. Five parties applied: Interpipe (Ukraine),Moravia-Georgia (Czech Republic), Kaz-chrome (Kazakhstan),Evrazholding (Russia) and Decometal (Austria; owner of thecontrol stock in Zestaponi Ferroalloys Plant). The deadline forproposals was January 10, 2005. 346345 Aggressive State Property Privatization Policy. Green Alternative Report p. 23http://www.greenalt.org/webmill/data/file/publications/Privatizeba-Eng4.pdfAccessed on 04/12/2012346 Ibid p. 1885