Băița mine
{{Infobox mine
| name = Băița mine
| image =
| width =
| caption =
| pushpin_map = Romania
| pushpin_label =
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in Romania
| coordinates = {{Coord|46|28|48|N|22|37|42|E|type:landmark_region:RO_dim:3000|display=inline,title}}
| display =
| place = Nucet
| subdivision_type = Commune
| state/province = Bihor County
| country = Romania
| owner = CNU
| official website =
| acquisition year =
| products = Uranium
| financial year = 2008
| amount = 0.1 tonnes of uranium
| opening year = 1955
| closing year =
}}
The Băița mine is a large open pit mine in the northwest of Romania in Bihor County, close to Ștei, {{cvt|123|km}} southeast of Oradea and {{cvt|737|km}} northwest of the capital, Bucharest. Băița represents the largest uranium reserve in Romania having estimated reserves of 90 million tonnes of ore grading 0.5% uranium metal.{{cite web|url=http://www.ziua.net/display.php?id=5110&data=1998-04-01 |title=Minereul radioactiv din Apuseni a contribuit la bomba atomică sovietică|trans-title=The radioactive ore from the Apuseni Mountains contributed to the Soviet atomic bomb| first=Mariana|last= Gavrilă|date=2009-05-30 |website=www.ziua.net |language=ro |access-date=2009-05-30 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012140552/http://www.ziua.net/display.php?data=1998-04-01&id=5110 |archive-date=October 12, 2007 }}
The Băița mine uranium reserve represents the largest surface uranium deposit in the world.
History
Sovromcuarț was a SovRom (a Soviet-Romanian joint venture established on Romanian territory during the Soviet occupation of Romania) which started its operations in 1950 at the Băița mine, under a name that was meant to conceal the true object of its activity.
{{citation|first=Florian|last=Banu|title=Uraniu românesc pentru "marele frate"|trans-title=Romanian Uranium for the "Big Brother"|magazine= Dosarele Istoriei|volume= 9|year=2005|pages= 28–29|language=ro}}{{citation|first=Adrian|last=Cioroianu|author-link=Adrian Cioroianu|title=Pe umerii lui Marx. O introducere în istoria comunismului românesc|trans-title=On the Shoulders of Marx. An Incursion into the History of Romanian Communism|language=ro|publisher= Editura Curtea Veche|location= Bucharest|year= 2005|page=70|isbn=973-669-175-6}} Its initial workforce consisted of 15,000 political prisoners; after most of them died of radiation poisoning, they were replaced by local villagers, who were completely unaware of the fact that they were working with radioactive material.{{cite book |first1=Sergei|last1=Khrushchev|author1-link=Sergei Khrushchev| first2=Nikita|last2=Khrushchev|author2-link=Nikita Khrushchev |title=Memoirs of Nikita Khrushchev |publisher=Pennsylvania State University |location=University Park |year=2004|page=720 |isbn= 978-0-271-02332-8}} Almost two thousand miners were working day and night, in four shifts; there was no concern for labor safety or environmental protection.{{cite web|url=https://uraniumfilmfestival.org/en/film/berlin-2013-munich-2013-rio-2013/children-of-uranium|title=Children of Uranium|website=uraniumfilmfestival.org|publisher=International Uranium Film Festival|access-date=August 21, 2022}}