ABSTRACT
Agriculture provides a livelihood for 80 percent of Laos’s 3.2 million people, who live mainly in the Mekong Valley and southern Laos. The principal mineral produced is tin, although there is fair potential for other minerals. Laos sells all its tin and consumes nominal quantities of minerals. It is considered the least-developed country in old Indochina. Apart from tin Laos has deposits of lead-zinc, coal, iron ore, and sylvite-potash. Tin is mined at Nongsun in the Boneng district, which produces perhaps 100 tons of concentrates yearly. A Japanese concern, Mitsubishi Metal, at one time showed some interest in building a tin smelter. Shipping tin for export is not too troublesome because of its high unit value. Because of economic geography, mineral and industrial development in Laos is basically difficult. The key to mineral and industrial development in Laos is political stability and international assistance.
