Romania is one of the few countries in Europe that possesses natural resources of titanium and zirconium. During the communist regime, Romania had a secret industry that extracted and processed titanium and zirconium for military and nuclear purposes. The ore was extracted from the coastal sands of Grindu Chituc and the Merisani and Glogova quarries. Titanium was used in the aviation industry, while zirconium was used for manufacturing capsules that store radioactive uranium, i.e., nuclear fuel for the Cernavodă power plant. Romania was the sixth country in the world, after the United States, the Soviet Union, China, Japan, and France, capable of producing zirconium for nuclear power plants
