Natural gas is imported from Russia by pipeline. Lignite is mined locally in small quantities and is burned to generate electricity. About half of the electricity produced comes from hydroelectric power stations on Alpine rivers and on the Danube. A nuclear power station built near Vienna was protested, and, after a national referendum in 1978, it was not used. Production of metallic minerals is significant, and Austria mines iron ore, lead, zinc, copper, and magnesite.
Iron ore is mined in the southern area of the country.
Magnesite is an important export. Austrian industry is in general characterized by a number of small specialized enterprises, many of them state-owned. The iron and steel industry is important and produces enough for the country's needs and for export. The major plants are at Linz and in the south near the iron ore deposits. There is also a sizable aluminum industry that processes primarily imported aluminum, which is economically feasible because of the abundance of inexpensive hydroelectric power.