ABSTRACT
Mineral processing and metal production are some of the most important industrial activities for economic development. The countries in economic transition have introduced various incentives to promote mineral processing and metal production. These countries have often lower levels of environmental regulations enabling the mineral processing and metal production industries to operate with small investments in environmental control. This chapter reviews the current state of economic input and environmental performance for a selected range of countries in economic transition to determine the role of industrial activities in their economic and sustainable development.
