Natural Resources
Scotland has a large abundance of natural resources from fertile land, suitable for agriculture, to oil and gas. In terms of mineral resources, Scotland produces coal, zinc, iron, oil shale. The coal seams beneath central Scotland, in particular in Ayrshire and Fife contributed significantly to the industrialisation of Scotland during the 19th century. The mining of coal - once a major employer in Scotland has declined in importance since the later half of the 20th century, due to cheaper foreign coal and the exhaustion of many seams. The last deep-coal mine was at Longannet on the Firth of Forth. It closed in 2002. A modest amount of opencast coal mining continues.
Read more about this topic: Economy Of Scotland
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