690 EUROPE: A GEOGRAPHICAL SURVEY THE MINERALS OF THE PENINSULA The most important mineral deposits of the peninsula occur around the edges of the plateau, where it is joined by the folded mountains. They are thus frequently close to tide-water, and well situated for ex- port. This is fortunate, for the lack of capital and domestic industries has caused many of the deposits to be exploited by foreign capital for the purpose of supplying foreign industry. This system has the ad- vantage of utilizing many resources which would otherwise lie idle, but it has at least two major disadvantages. It results in the exploitation and frequently the exhaustion of those deposits lying near the coast, • but entirely neglects the interior deposits. Furthermore, under this sys- tem production depends upon conditions in foreign markets, and fluc- tuates widely from year to year. Spain ranks moderately high among the European powers in the production of numerous minerals. It occupies first place in the mining of such metals as copper, lead and mercury; sixth place in the mining of iron ore, and ninth place in the production of coal. Mercury is pro- duced chiefly in the famous Almaden mine of south central Spain, al- though smaller deposits occur in other regions. The principal lead mines are located in the south, between the Sierra Nevada and the Sierra Morena. Copper comes from the Httelva district of southwestern Spain, and wolfram is mined in, Portugal and western Spain. Most of the coal and iron ore come from the mountains bordering the north- ern and southern edges of the plateau, although sizable deposits are to TABLE 145 MINING AND METALLURGICAL PRODUCTION IN SPAIN (U. S. Department of Commerce) Product 1913 I925~I929 1930 Coal and lignite, 1000 met. tons .............. 4.I2Q3 6.QS8 7*6^0 Iron ore loco met. tons ................... 0,862 4.,q8i «? 180 Pig iron, 1000 met. tons ..................... A2% S82 CQC Steel, looo met. tons ........................ 2^8 72^ 860 Copper (mine production), met. tons .......... eg , 626 10.000 Lead (smelter production), met. tons .......... 198,829 I-ld., l6l 123,263 Zinc (smelter production), met. tons .......... 6.00^ I4..6I& 10.607 Mercury, met. tons ....................... 1 .24.6 2.007 661 Superphosphates, met. tons .................. 185,860 8*56, 811 000 , 667 Cement, 1000 met. tons ............... CT2 I .A27 i .8^0