Qala-el-Nahl deposit, near the Ethiopian border, Sudan

Qala-el-Nahl, in Sudan near the Ethiopian border, was a chrysotile deposit that the sources describe being explored, not worked as a mine.^1,2 In July 1937 Asbestos, the industry's trade journal, reported that deposits of chrysotile asbestos "have recently been investigated in the Qala'en Nahl district, some 400 miles from Port Sudan on the Kassala branch of the Sudan Government Railroad."³ The U.S. Bureau of Mines' Minerals Yearbook, in its chapter published in 1980, reported that Johns-Manville had been awarded two asbestos exploration concessions in Sudan, of which "only one, in Qala-el-Nahl near the Ethiopian border is believed to have commercial possibilities."^1,4 Its partners, the yearbook said, were "the Sudan Textile Industry (Sudanese Government-owned) and the Gulf International Group of Kuwait," and "it is hoped that a $120 million facility yielding 100,000 tons per year will result," with the Sudanese Government getting 49% of the profits.¹ The Minerals Yearbook for 1982, citing Mining Magazine, said that "a small deposit of chrysotile was found at Qala en Nahal that contained fibers in lengths up to 7 centimeters," and that "several thousand tons of 5% ore had been estimated."²

The documents describe this as a deposit or prospect: they report exploration or describe the deposit, not mining for sale.⁴

Location

Year by year

Every statement about this mine in the documents, in each document's own words, by the year it is about.

1937

• Exploration: “Chrysotile deposits recently investigated in the Qala'en Nahl district, some 400 miles from Port Sudan”, p. 16³

1978

• Exploration: “Only one, in Qala-el-Nahl near the Ethiopian border is believed to have commercial possibilities” (Johns-Manville Corp.), p. 12¹
• Mill: “a $120 million facility yielding 100,000 tons per year”, p. 12¹
• Ownership: “Other partners in the venture are the Sudan Textile Industry (Sudanese Government-owned) and the Gulf International Group of Kuwait” (Johns-Manville Corp.; Sudan Textile Industry; Gulf International Group of Kuwait), p. 12¹

1980

• Exploration: “Johns-Manville Corporation was awarded two asbestos exploration concessions. Only one, in Qala-el-Nahl near the Ethiopian border, is believed to have commercial possibilities” (Johns-Manville Corporation; Sudan Textile Industry; Gulf International Group of Kuwait), as reported by U.S. Bureau of Mines, p. 38⁴

1982

• Reserves: “A small deposit of chrysotile was found at Qala en Nahal that contained fibers in lengths up to 7 centimeters”, as reported by Mining Magazine, p. 7²
• Fiber: “A small deposit of chrysotile”, as reported by Mining Magazine, p. 7²
• Reserves: “Several thousand tons of 5% ore had been estimated”, as reported by Mining Magazine, p. 7²

Other names

Documents call this mine “Qala-el-Nahl”, “Qala en Nahal”.

See also

• Johns-Manville Corp.: the company's history, documents, people, products and plants
• All asbestos mines

References

1. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1978–79 (January 1, 1980), p. 12.
2. Minerals Yearbook: Asbestos Chapters, 1982 (January 1, 1983), p. 7.
3. Asbestos Magazine, 1937, July 1937 (July 1, 1937), p. 16.
4. Asbestos Magazine, 1981, January 1981 (January 1, 1981), p. 38.