Today we will talk about the minerals of the Irkutsk region. Consider the main deposits, and also discuss how this territory is generally rich. To get started, get to know this part of Russia closer.
Irkutsk region
The population of the region as of 2016 was approximately 2.5 million people. It is also important that the coefficient of natural and migration growth is negative. As for the economy, it must be said that the Irkutsk region occupies a leading position in the Trans-Urals. The population lives mainly due to the active sale of services. The industry is based on non-ferrous metallurgy, pulp and paper, timber, and woodworking industries, mechanical engineering, and the electric power industry. It is worth noting that the Irkutsk region is a region with an industrial type of economy. The Trans-Siberian Railway is the main transport artery of the region. An important place is occupied by road transport. Since this area is rich in rivers, water transport has reached a great development. Air traffic is also well developed.
Minerals
The territory of the region occupies the southern part of the Central Siberian plateau. Here is the Baikal and Primorsky ranges, Patomskoe and Stanovoye highlands. In the southwestern part are the mountains of the East Sayan. Also, the territory of the region is occupied by Lake Baikal.
Minerals of the Irkutsk region are represented by a great variety. It produces oil, coal, natural gas, gold, iron ore, rock salt, coal and lignite, clay, gypsum, kaolin, and mica. Coal in the Irkutsk region is mined from three main deposits, which we will mention below. At the same time, the mining industry accounts for only 11% of the entire industrial structure of the region. In the structure of the industry itself, three resources share the main place:
- gold in the Irkutsk region occupies about 47%;
- coal - 28%;
- iron ore (18%).
The forecasted oil production is 2.6 billion tons. Iron ore in the Irkutsk region is represented by insignificant deposits. Coal resources are represented in the floodplain-Cheremshansky, Pribaikalsky and Irkutsk regions. Most of all they are mined in the territory of the Mugunsky, Azeisky and Cheremkhovsky deposits in the Irkutsk basin.
general characteristics
The geography of the Irkutsk region allows the extraction of a wide variety of minerals. Marble of different colors is valuable. In the Irkutsk region, you can find it in almost any color. Before mica ceased to play a key role in the Slyudyansk deposit, it was marble that took its place. Irkutsk marble is lined with the walls of the Novosibirsk metro, as well as the Kharkov metro station called Proletarskaya and the Moscow metro station Ulitsa 1905 goda and Barrikadnaya.
Today, a lot of areas of application has marbled limestone. It is mined in the territory of the Irkutsk region of OJSC “Quarry Pass”.
There are also unused raw materials on this territory: refractory clays and phosphates. Just 3 km from the city there is an apatite deposit. According to forecasts, there are about 90 million tons. Such a deposit can be an excellent basis for the production of phosphate fertilizers. Today it belongs to the reserve and is located in the water protection zone.
4 km from Slyudyanka there is a rich deposit of refractory clays. It was opened only at the beginning of the last century, when the construction of the Circum-Baikal Railway began . Before the revolution, clay was mined here in order to produce refractory bricks, but in 1927 the field was closed.
Sukhoi Log
The deposit is the largest in terms of gold ore content in Russia. Incredibly, it alone accounts for 28% of all mineral resources in Russia. Recently, Sukhoi Log was evaluated (in the winter of 2016) and it was found out that reserves at the site are estimated at 1.53 thousand tons of silver and 2.7 thousand tons of gold. But here are their problems. So, huge reserves exist against the background of a low gold content in ore. It was this very long time that was the main and serious problem in the development of the field. More recently, in the winter of 2017, Sukhoi Log was transferred to SL Gold for development.
You can find the deposit in the Lensky gold ore district (central part). The distance from it to the regional center is 850 km. The nearest railway station is Taksimo.
The Sukhoi Log was discovered in 1961. Just at this time, the entire territory was actively explored. Many institutes (TsNIGRI, VNIIHT, MISiS, etc.) conducted research activities to search for ore. In the early summer of 1986, a whole range of work was carried out to prepare the studies. In 2007-2008, a comprehensive revaluation of reserves was carried out, the results of which we spoke above. In the early 1990s, Lenzoloto received a license.
Geological characteristics
Gold ores are interspersed with carbonates and sulfides. Based on the size, position, and conditions of the ore occurrence, the deposit itself is divided into 4 sections: Central, Sukholozhsky, North-Western and Western. The wealth of the latter has not yet been studied, since it is just beginning to be mastered. The most rich in ore is Sukholozhsky district, which contains about 88% of all rocks.
The thickness of the ore body varies from 15 m. It is represented by a reservoir-like deposit. The ore body has no natural boundaries or any outcrops to the surface. Sites of weak-ash-bearing rocks are found. Ores in chemical composition are not very different from the host rocks.
In 2006-2007, a laboratory study was conducted using photometric separation. The objective was a revaluation of reserves, repeatedly mentioned above. The main result of the study was that a pre-enrichment technology was proposed. This, in turn, greatly improves the quality of the product.
Slyudyanskoe deposit
Slyudyansk marble deposit is located near the southern part of Lake Baikal. It affects the northern spurs of the Khamar-Daban ridge. According to the administrative division, the Slyudyanskoye field is located in the Irkutsk region in the Slyudyansk region. The history of this place goes back to the 18th century. The first studies conducted by scientists on the wealth issues of the Slyudyansky district began in 1832. Three different rock complexes were established — Mesozoic, Paleozoic, and Archaean. Since basalts are poorly developed, the region is rich in mainly rocks of the Precambrian complex. The field is rich in phlogopite, lapis lazuli, granite pegmatites. The main wealth of the deposit is marble. It occupies 61% of the territory.
It is difficult to imagine minerals in the Irkutsk region without a “natural mineralogical museum”. This is the name the field in question received. Such fame was brought to him by the finds of crystals of amazing shapes and sizes. Many color varieties of minerals from this area got their own names.
What is remarkable about the deposit?
There is no better place for mineralogists and petrographs than the Slyudyanskoye field. The huge heights of the mountains that are close to Lake Baikal create a beautiful view. Deep canyons and gorges with sharp elevations create an excellent environment for such natural phenomena as rafts, mudflows, landslides, landslides, snow and stone avalanches.
Back in 1935, the talented mineralogist P. Kalinin created the very first summary of the minerals of Sludanka. Until today, it remains the only and very detailed. Links to this work can be found in many Russian and foreign thematic publications.
In the 50s of the last century, the development of the marble pass "Pass" on Slyudanka took place. To this day, the quarry operating there remains the main supplier of raw materials for cement production.
Malobystrinskoe deposits of lapis lazuli
The field got its name, as it is located near the Malaya Bystraya river, which is a small tributary of Irkut. The official opening date is considered to be 1851, and G. Permikin is the discoverer. The deposit has two lapis-bearing veins. They consist of convergent laminated lenses on which lapis lazuli nests are located. Lazuritiferous calciphyres reach 140 m in length. Lazurite mineralization is manifested in several forms:
- insignificant impregnations of lapis lazuli in marble rocks;
- streaks and crusts of azure in granite;
- nodules and nests in a silicate-carbonate shell.
Area problems
Despite the fact that the overall level of development of the region is quite high, there are significant problems. In the first, they relate very much to the level and life expectancy of the population. However, over the next 10-15 years it is planned to overcome the crisis thanks to the development and development of the Kovykta gas condensate field, which should raise the economy to a new level. The region has significant environmental problems that are associated with seismicity against the backdrop of a developed industry. Do not underestimate the environmental problems of Lake Baikal.
Summing up the article, I want to say that the minerals of the Irkutsk region are quite diverse. Despite the fact that the region is far from the peak of its economic development, it has great potential for development. However, great attention should be paid to the ecological situation, which is very deplorable in the region.