Ore minerals of the world. Ore minerals: what they are, how they are mined, examples. Types of iron ores and their main characteristics

This article is dedicated to the mineral resources of the Earth. In particular, we will talk about the main types of minerals that are distinguished by geological science....

From Masterweb

10.04.2018 12:00

More on early stages During his development, Homo sapiens actively used the resources that nature provided him. At first it was what was in sight - water, wood, stones. Later, people began to increasingly ask themselves the question: what useful things could be hidden underground? And the depths of our planet presented him with many pleasant surprises.

This article is dedicated to the mineral resources of the Earth. In particular, we will talk about the main types of minerals that are distinguished by modern geological science. Where are they mined, and in what sectors of the economy are they used? And what types of minerals are considered the most valuable and in demand today?

Mineral wealth of the Earth

In the depths of our planet lie hundreds, if not thousands various types mineral. Some of them are harder than steel (like diamonds), while others crumble and crumble from the slightest blow ( shining example– kaolin). Certain types of mined minerals are in a liquid (oil) or gaseous (natural gas) state of aggregation. Their development is carried out using a system of special wells.

Minerals in the earth's crust can be in the form of placers, nests, layers, lenses or veins. Clusters of several deposits often form entire basins, provinces, and ore fields. Development and production mineral resources deals with a separate branch of science and technology called mining.

What types of minerals do scientists identify today? We will talk about this in more detail in the next section of our article.

Types of minerals

The genesis of certain mineral substances and compounds can be completely different. For example, the origin of many ores is associated with magmatic processes occurring in the depths earth's crust. But oil was formed from the remains of plants and animals that died millions of years ago. Therefore, it is quite logical to distinguish two types of minerals:

• Organic.
• Inorganic.

There are a number of other classifications. Yes, according to state of aggregation solid, liquid and gaseous minerals are distinguished, according to the conditions of occurrence in the earth's crust - strata, veins, etc. The following types of minerals are also distinguished according to their origin and formation conditions:

• Endogenous (formed at great depths in the earth's crust).
• Exogenous (formed on the surface of the lithosphere - at the bottom of lakes, swamps, seas or oceans).
• Metamorphic (substances formed under the influence of ultra-high temperatures and pressure).

There is another, generalized classification. Thus, according to it, the most important types of minerals are fuel (or combustible), ore (metal) and non-metallic. Sometimes raw materials for the construction industry are classified as a separate subclass. We will dwell on these 3 types of minerals in more detail.

Fossil fuels

Combustible (or fuel) minerals are a type of mineral resource characterized by the property of combustion. And they are used mainly as a source of thermal energy. The main types of fuel minerals include oil, natural gas, hard and brown coal, peat, anthracite and oil shale.

The combustion of all the above types of fuel releases a large number of energy. This is facilitated by carbon, which is contained in all, without exception, combustible minerals. It is impossible to imagine the life of a modern city without oil, from which gasoline is obtained, or without gas, which is used to heat many residential buildings. Coal is widely used in heavy industry, in particular in thermal power engineering and ferrous metallurgy.

Metal ores

Metals are present in many things we use every day: cars, laptops, mobile phones, household appliances and even in the most ordinary light bulbs. Moreover, most often these are not pure metals, but alloys created artificially by man. Thus, widely used steel is an alloy of iron with carbon and some other elements (for example, manganese). But the very first stage in the production process of any metal or alloy is the extraction of the necessary ore raw materials.

There are five main types of ore minerals. This:

• Ferrous metals (iron, chromium, manganese).
• Non-ferrous metals (copper, aluminum, nickel).
• Rare metals (tungsten, molybdenum, tin).
• Radioactive compounds (radium, uranium).
• Noble metals (gold, silver, platinum).

The greatest significance for humanity is modern stage Its development is represented by iron ores (as the basis for the production of various alloys), as well as aluminum and copper-nickel ores. In particular, the presence in the depths of the country of large deposits of non-ferrous metals largely contributes to its technical progress. After all, they are widely used in electrical engineering, aircraft manufacturing, astronautics and the production of high-precision instruments.

Non-metallic minerals

Nonmetallic mineral raw materials are a type of minerals that do not contain metals and are used primarily in the construction industry. In total, this group contains about 100 names of rocks and minerals. And the current volumes of extraction of non-metallic mineral resources are quite large.

There is no single and generally accepted classification of non-metallic minerals. Here it is customary to highlight:

• Mining raw materials (asbestos, graphite, talc).
• Chemical raw materials (potassium salt, native sulfur, phosphorites).
• Building materials (limestone, sand, marble, granite, sandstone, tuff, clay and others).
• Piezo-optical raw materials (Iceland spar, quartz, optical fluorite).
• Precious and semi-precious stones (labradorite, sapphire, ruby, amethyst, opal and others).

Geography of the planet's mineral resources

The distribution of certain minerals on the surface of our planet is associated, first of all, with the geological structure of the territory. Thus, on the shields of ancient platforms there are numerous deposits of ferrous and non-ferrous metals. But significant deposits of oil, gas, coal, and salt are confined to the zones of marginal and foothill troughs. Non-metallic minerals are dispersed everywhere: both within folded (mountain) areas and within platform areas.

On geographic maps, deposits of mineral resources are indicated with special graphic symbols and signs. Moreover, each mineral has its own designation (see photo below). So, for example, coal is designated by a filled square, salt by an empty square, iron ore by a black equilateral triangle, and so on.

Oil and gas

If you list the types of minerals that are used by humans today, the number will go into hundreds, or even thousands. The mineral resource potential of the earth's interior is simply amazing! But few would argue with the fact that the most important types of minerals, as of the first quarter of the 21st century, are oil and natural gas.

Oil is often called black gold, thereby emphasizing the importance and value of this resource. This fuel is in demand all over the world, and some countries replenish their budgets well from its sales. Petroleum is the most important mineral resource for North Africa and South-West Asia. Leading the world in total reserves of this mineral Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Iran, Iraq and Canada.

Oil production brings enormous profits to countries. Oil is extracted from the depths of the Earth in three main ways:

• Mechanical.
• Fountain.
• Slantsev.

The most common is the mechanical (or pumping) extraction method. To do this, wells are drilled, after which the oil is pumped out using powerful compressor equipment. It is worth noting that black gold is mined not only on land, but also at sea. For this purpose, special floating platforms are installed on the water.

Gas deposits are often discovered near oil deposits. Together they often form entire oil and gas bearing areas and provinces, occupying significant areas. Natural gas means a mixture of several gases (methane, propane, butane and some others), which is formed in the thickness of the earth’s crust as a result of anaerobic decomposition of organic substances. It is extracted from the bowels of the planet using wells, the depth of which can reach several kilometers.

Coal

Fossil coal is one of the most abundant mineral resources in the world. Its deposits have been found on all continents of the Earth. But the following countries have the largest coal deposits: the USA, China, Russia, India and Australia.

Depending on the carbon content, there are three main types of this mineral:

• Brown coal (up to 65-70% carbon).
• Hard coal (75-95%).
• Anthracite (more than 95%).

The color of coal varies from brown to dark gray and black.

Coal is extracted from the bowels of the planet in two main ways:

1. Closed.
2. Open.

The closed (or mine) mining method is used at significant depths of coal seams (over 100 meters). For this purpose, mines or adits are built. The main advantage of this mining method is environmental friendliness. Coal mines cause much less harm to the environment than quarries or open pit mines. At the same time, mining is extremely dangerous to the health and life of workers.

The open-pit (or quarry) mining method is used in cases where coal seams are located as close as possible to the surface of the earth. In this case, the upper layer of the earth's crust (including soil) is opened and direct development of the field begins. The rock is crushed using special machines (draglines and crushers) and transported to the surface. Among the advantages open method coal mining - efficiency and relative safety. However, quarries “eat up” huge areas of land and cause enormous harm to the environment. Plus, coal extracted in this way usually contains a large number of different impurities.

Iron ore

Iron ores are natural mineral formations with an iron (Fe) content of 10% to 75%. In total, two hundred minerals are known to contain iron. But the most important of them are magnetites and hematites. Ores with an iron content of up to 45% are considered poor and require additional enrichment.

Iron ore serves as the main raw material for ferrous metallurgy. The main part of it goes to the production of cast iron and rolled steel. The largest suppliers of iron ore to the world market are India, China, Ukraine, Russia, Brazil, Kazakhstan and Australia. These countries account for over 80% of global production.

The extraction of this mineral is carried out in mines and quarries (less often in mines). High-grade ores are immediately sent to open-hearth and converter shops for steel smelting. Poor ores with low iron content need beneficiation. This process is carried out at special mining and processing plants (GOKs). First, the ore extracted from the bowels of the earth is crushed, and then the resulting mass is sent to a magnetic separator, which “pulls” iron particles out of it. After this, the enriched ore is sintered into small pellets (8-15 mm in diameter) and sent to metallurgical plants.

Global iron ore production is growing rapidly. If in 2001 about 1 billion tons of this raw material were extracted, then in 2010 this figure already amounted to 2.4 billion tons. True, some highly developed countries are gradually reducing their consumption of iron ore and moving to recycling the scrap metal they already have.

Gold

There is probably no person on Earth who has not heard the word “Klondike”. This region of Alaska has become a household name for a place full of precious treasures. At the end of the 19th century, colossal deposits of gold were discovered here. And thousands of adventurers went to a wild and distant land in search of him. A lucky few managed to get there and find a priceless yellow treasure.

Gold is still the most valuable metal on Earth today. Most often it is used in the jewelry industry and as an investment object. Gold bars are considered the most reliable way to save your savings. In addition, the noble metal is also used in microelectronics, dentistry and the food industry.

Throughout history, humanity has extracted about 160 thousand tons of gold from the earth. In monetary terms, this is an amount equal to approximately 8 trillion US dollars. The leaders in gold mining in the world are the following countries: China, Russia, Australia, USA, South Africa, Peru, Canada. Today there are 37 gold mining companies operating in the Russian Federation. They are located in Buryatia, Amur and Irkutsk regions, Transbaikalia, Krasnoyarsk Territory, the Republic of Tyva and some other regions of the country.

Diamonds

Diamond is a natural mineral, a form of carbon. It is characterized by extremely high hardness and thermal conductivity. A cut diamond is commonly called a diamond. Enough already for a long time it is the most expensive and valuable decoration. True, the price of diamonds is largely due to the extremely high degree of monopolization of this market in the global economy.

In addition to jewelry, diamonds have found their use in electronics, aerospace and nuclear industries. Due to the exceptional hardness of the mineral, it is used in the production of heavy-duty drills and cutters.

Diamonds are Africa's most important mineral resource. At least some of its countries. Thus, every second diamond in the world is mined in four countries of the “dark continent”. These are Namibia, Botswana, South Africa and Tanzania. Other large importers of the most durable mineral are India, Russia, Angola, and Canada.

On the territory of Russia, the first diamond was found by the serf Pavel Popov in the Perm province. For such a valuable find he was granted freedom. Subsequently, large kimberlite pipes were discovered in Yakutia, as well as significant deposits in the Krasnoyarsk Territory and the Arkhangelsk Region.

Rock salt

When talking about the most popular minerals, one cannot fail to mention salt. The value of this mineral and food product unusually large. In ancient times, salt often served as money of account. It is vital for everyone to the human body. Salt deficiency is accompanied by weakness, headaches and nausea.

The chemical formula of this mineral is NaCl (sodium chloride). In nature it occurs in the form of colorless transparent crystals. Kitchen salt is obtained in several ways. Actually, rock salt is mined using the mine method. The mineral is also obtained by boiling liquid brine solutions.

In total, about 200 million tons of salt are mined in the world per year. The largest producers of this product are countries such as the USA, China, India, Canada, France, Germany, Russia, Ukraine, Chile. The oldest saltworks were discovered by archaeologists on the Black Sea coast (modern Bulgaria). Scientists have found that salt began to be mined here in the sixth millennium BC.

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General characteristics of minerals

First of all, minerals are rocks and minerals that are used in the economy of countries.

According to their physical condition, they can be:

• solid - coal, salt, ore, marble, etc.;
• liquid – oil, mineral waters;
• gaseous - flammable gas, helium, methane.

When their use is taken as a basis, then they distinguish:

• combustibles - coal, oil, peat;
• ore – rock ores, including metal;
• non-metallic – gravel, clay, sand, etc.

A separate group is represented by precious and ornamental stones.

Minerals were formed in different ways and are igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic in origin, the distribution of which in the earth’s interior follows certain patterns.

Folded areas are usually characterized by igneous, i.e. ore minerals. This circumstance is due to the fact that they are formed from magma and hot aqueous solutions released from it.

Magma rises from the bowels of the earth through cracks in the earth's crust and freezes in them at different depths.

Also, ore minerals can be formed from erupted magma-lava, which cools relatively quickly. Magma is introduced, as a rule, during a period of active tectonic movements, so ore minerals are associated with folded regions of the planet.

Ores can also form on platform plains, but in this case they are confined to the lower tier of the platform. On platforms, ore minerals are associated with shields, i.e. with the platform foundation reaching the surface or in those places where the sedimentary cover is not very thick and the foundation comes close to the surface.

An example of such a deposit is the Kursk magnetic anomaly in Russia and the Krivoy Rog basin in Ukraine.

Note 1

In general, ore is a mineral aggregate from which metal or metal compounds can be extracted technologically.

Metal ores are associated with areas of active mountain formation, but the presence of mountains does not mean the presence of rich deposits. A third of Europe, for example, is occupied by mountains, but there are very few large ore deposits.

Based on the area of ​​application, ore minerals are divided into groups - ferrous metal ores, non-ferrous metal ores, precious metal ores and radioactive metals.

An ore mineral such as iron ore is the basis for the production of ferrous metals - cast iron, steel, rolled products. The largest reserves of iron ore are concentrated in the USA, India, China, Brazil, and Canada.

There are separate large deposits in Kazakhstan, France, Sweden, Ukraine, Venezuela, Peru, Chile, Australia, Liberia, Malaysia, and North African countries.

In Russia, large reserves of iron ore, in addition to KMA, are in the Urals, the Kola Peninsula, Karelia, and Siberia.

Ferrous metal ores

Among ferrous metal ores, the most popular and used in industry are iron ores.

Minerals such as hematite, magnetite, limonite, siderite, chamosite and thuringite are the main iron-containing rocks.

Iron ore production in the world exceeds 1 billion tons. The largest producer of iron ore is China, producing 250 million tons, while Russia produces 78 million tons. The USA and India produce 60 million tons each, Ukraine – 45 million tons.

Iron ore mining in the United States is carried out in the Lake Superior region and in the state of Michigan.

In Russia, the largest iron ore basin is the KMA, the deposits of which are estimated at 200-210 billion tons or 50% of planetary reserves. The deposit covers the Kursk, Belgorod, and Oryol regions.

For the production of alloy steel and cast iron, manganese is used as an alloying additive to give them strength and hardness.

The world's industrial reserves of manganese ores are concentrated in Ukraine - 42.2%. There are manganese ores in Kazakhstan, South Africa, Gabon, Australia, China, and Russia.

Large amounts of manganese are also produced in Brazil and India.

In order for steel not to rust, to be heat-resistant and acid-resistant, chromium is needed, one of the main components of ferrous metal ores.

Experts suggest that out of the world reserves of this ore, 15.3 billion tons of high-grade chromite ore are in South Africa - 79%. Chromium is found in small quantities in Kazakhstan, India, Turkey, and a fairly large deposit of this ore is located in Armenia. A small deposit is being developed in Russia in the Urals.

Note 2

The rarest of the ferrous metals is vanadium. It is used to produce grade iron and grade steel. Vanadium is very important for the aerospace industry because its addition provides the high performance of titanium alloys.

When producing sulfuric acid, vanadium is used as a catalyst. It is not found in its pure form, and vanadium is found in titanomagnetite ores and is sometimes found in phosphorites, uranium-bearing sandstones and siltstones. True, its concentration is no more than 2%.

Sometimes even significant amounts of vanadium can be found in bauxite, brown coal, tar shale and sand. When extracting the main components from mineral raw materials, vanadium is obtained as a by-product.

According to the recorded reserves of this ore, the leaders are South Africa, Australia and Russia, and its main producers are South Africa, the USA, Russia, and Finland.

Non-ferrous metal ores

Non-ferrous metals are represented by two groups:

1. lightweight, these include aluminum, magnesium, titanium;
2. heavy ones are copper, zinc, lead, nickel, cobalt.

Of all the non-ferrous metals, aluminum is the most abundant in the earth's crust.

Among him physical properties such as low density, high thermal conductivity, ductility, electrical conductivity, corrosion resistance. This metal lends itself well to forging, stamping, rolling, and drawing. It can be easily cooked.

The starting material for aluminum metal is alumina, which is obtained by processing bauxite and nepheline ores.

There are bauxite reserves in Guinea, Brazil, Australia, and Russia ranks 9th in them.

Russian bauxite reserves are concentrated in the Belgorod and Sverdlovsk regions, as well as in the Komi Republic. Russian bauxite is not High Quality. Nepheline ores occur on the Kola Peninsula. Russia ranks 6th in the world in alumina production. All alumina is produced from domestic raw materials.

Titan, discovered in 1791. It distinctive characteristics– high strength and corrosion resistance. For industry, the main type of titanium ores are coastal-sea placers. Such large placers are known in Russia, Australia, India, Brazil, New Zealand, Malaysia, and Sri Lanka.

Placer deposits of titanium are complex and contain zirconium.

Light non-ferrous metals include magnesium, which has been used in industry relatively recently. During the war years, most of it was used for the production of incendiary shells, bombs, and flares.

Raw materials for the production of magnesium are confined to many areas of the planet. Magnesium is found in dolomite, carnallite, bischofite, kainite and other rocks that are widespread in nature.

The United States accounts for about 41% of world production of magnesium metal and 12% of its compounds.

In addition to the United States, Türkiye and the DPRK are major producers of magnesium metal. Manufacturers of magnesium compounds are Russia, China, North Korea, Austria, Greece, Turkey.

Among the heavy non-ferrous metals, copper stands out, which is a plastic element of a golden-pink hue, which in the open air is covered with an oxygen film.

A distinctive feature of copper is its high antibacterial properties. In alloys with nickel, tin, gold, zinc it is used in industry.

After Chile and the United States, Russia ranks third in the world in terms of copper reserves.

In addition to native copper, the raw materials for its production are chalcopyrite and bornite. Copper deposits are widespread in the USA - the Rocky Mountains, in the Canadian Shield and the provinces of Quebec, Ontario in Canada, in Chile and Peru, in the copper belt of Zambia, DRC, in Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Armenia.

The main and largest producers of this metal are Chile and the USA, as well as Canada, Indonesia, Peru, Australia, Poland, Zambia, and Russia.

Zinc was first obtained from calamine, essentially zinc carbonate ZnCO2. Today, zinc is obtained from sulfide ores, the most important of which are zinc blende and marmatite.

Zinc ores are mined in Canada, the USA, Russia, Australia, Mexico, central Africa, Kazakhstan, Japan and other countries.

Large producers of zinc ore are Japan and the USA, and they are also its major importers.

Nickel, known since ancient times, when added to steel increases its toughness, elasticity, and anti-corrosion properties.

Cobalt metal was first obtained in 1735. Today it is used to produce superhard alloys.

The raw material for lead is its main ore mineral galena. Lead ores are mined in many countries, and its leading producers are Australia, China, Peru, and Canada.

Lead mining is carried out in Kazakhstan, Russia, Mexico, Sweden, South Africa, and Morocco. Large deposits There is lead in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Azerbaijan.

In Russia, lead deposits are concentrated in Altai, Transbaikalia, Yakutia, Primorye, and the North Caucasus.

• Non-metallic minerals, non-metallic minerals are non-metallic minerals used in industry and construction in their natural form or as raw materials. Non-metallic minerals can refer to minerals or rocks. Oil, coal, other fossil fuels (fossil fuels), and groundwater (fossil hydrominerals) are excluded from this definition. Materials such as sand, pebbles, crushed stone, gravel, sandstone, clay, chalk, etc. can be considered both as non-metallic minerals and as a special category - common minerals.

  Over the past decades, non-metallic minerals have far surpassed metal ores in terms of production volumes and the cost of raw materials used.

  In terms of technological and economic development, non-metallic minerals have their own specifics that distinguish this group from metallic minerals. One of these differences is strong influence the composition and properties of raw materials both on the technology of its processing and on the final product, which requires, when assessing deposits, an assessment of the applicability of this particular type of mineral, taking into account its specific properties (for example, thermolite-containing talc as opposed to steatite talc). The second difference between many non-metallic minerals is, on the one hand, the use of the same type of raw material in many sectors of the economy, on the other hand, the interchangeability of many types of raw materials (as a filler, the same talc can be replaced with barite or kaolin).

Diamonds, the hardest natural material, are mined in Russia

Minerals are Russia's main wealth. The well-being of the people and the solution to many economic issues depend on this area. Natural resources provide both the country’s internal needs for raw materials and the ability to supply them to other countries.

Russia has the most powerful potential of mineral resources in the world, which allows it to occupy a leading place on the planet in terms of explored reserves of the most important minerals. Reserves natural resources distributed very unevenly throughout the country. Most of them are concentrated in Siberia, the main storehouse of the country.

Russia is a leading country in terms of reserves of coal, iron ore, potassium salts and phosphates. In addition, it is common knowledge that our country has many oil fields. Oil and natural gas are the basis of the country's fuel and energy balance. Oil and gas fields are concentrated in 37 constituent entities of the Russian Federation. The largest oil reserves are concentrated in the central part of Western Siberia.

Russia is also the world leader in iron ore mining. The world's largest iron ore deposits are located in the Kursk Magnetic Anomaly (KMA) region. Just three KMA iron ore mines provide almost half of the total volume of ore mined in Russia. There are smaller iron ore deposits on the Kola Peninsula, Karelia, the Urals, the Angara region, South Yakutia and other areas.

Russia has reserves of various non-ferrous and rare metals. In the north of the Russian Plain and in the mountains of southern Siberia there are deposits of titanomagnetite ores and bauxite. Copper ores are concentrated in the North Caucasus, Middle and Southern Urals, in Eastern Siberia. Copper-nickel ores are mined in the Norilsk ore basin.

Gold is mined in the depths of Yakutia, Kolyma, Chukotka, and the mountains of Southern Siberia. Our country is also rich in sulfur, mica, asbestos, graphite, and various precious, semi-precious and ornamental stones. Table salt is mined in the Caspian region, the Urals, the Altai Territory and the Baikal region. Diamonds are also mined in Russia - the hardest natural material.

Did you know that diamonds and coal have the same chemical formula and are the same in chemical composition? In addition, they vary from colorless to dark gray. In Russia, diamonds were first discovered in the Middle Urals, then in Yakutia and later in the Arkhangelsk region. Precious and semiprecious stones The Urals are famous. Here you can find emeralds, malachites, jasper, aquamarines, rhinestone, alexandrite, topazes and amethysts.

Russia supplies the world market with 30-40% of produced gas, more than 2/3 of oil, 90% of copper and tin, 65% of zinc, and almost all the raw materials for the production of phosphate and potash fertilizers.

Minerals of Russia

Russia is one of the largest powers in the world in terms of total natural resource potential. It is especially rich in minerals. Among the countries of the world, Russia is the leader in reserves of fuel and energy resources.

The mineral resources complex of the Russian Federation provides about 33% of GDP and 60% of federal budget revenues.

Russia receives more than half of its foreign exchange earnings through the export of primary mineral raw materials, primarily oil and natural gas. The Russian Federation contains a significant portion of the world's proven reserves of the most important types of minerals (diamonds, nickel, natural gas, palladium, oil, coal, gold and silver). The population of Russia is only 2.6% of the total population of the Earth, but our country provides more than half of the world's production of palladium, a quarter of nickel, natural gas and diamonds, over 10% of oil and platinum.

Mining and processing of mineral resources forms the basis of the economy of all the most prosperous constituent entities of the Russian Federation. In many peripheral regions of Russia, mining enterprises are city-forming enterprises and, including service organizations, provide up to 75% of jobs. Oil, natural gas, coal, ferrous, non-ferrous and precious metals, diamonds provide a stable socio-economic situation in the regions of the north of the European part of Russia, the Urals, Western Siberia, Kuzbass, the Norilsk mining hub, Eastern Siberia and the Far East.

The distribution of mineral resources throughout the country is associated with the characteristics and differences in tectonic processes and the conditions for the formation of minerals in previous geological eras.

Ore minerals are confined to the mountains and ancient shields. In foothill troughs and on platform troughs, and sometimes in intermountain depressions, there are deposits of sedimentary rocks - oil and gas. The position of coal deposits is approximately the same, but coal and oil rarely occur together. Our country ranks one of the first in the world in terms of reserves of many minerals (and first in terms of natural gas reserves).

The cover of the ancient platform on the East European Plain contains various minerals of sedimentary origin.

Limestone, glass and construction sands, chalk, gypsum and other mineral resources are mined in the Central Russian and Volga Uplands. Coal and oil are mined in the Pechora River basin (Komi Republic). There are brown coals in the Moscow region (west and south of Moscow) and other minerals (including phosphorites).

Iron ore deposits are confined to the crystalline foundation of ancient platforms.

Their reserves are especially large in the area of ​​the Kursk magnetic anomaly, where high-quality ore is mined in quarries (Mikhailovo deposit, Belgorod group of deposits). A variety of ores are confined to the Baltic Shield on the Kola Peninsula (in the Khibiny Mountains). These are deposits of iron ore (in the Murmansk region - Olenegorskoye and Kovdorskoye, and in Karelia - Kostomuksha), copper-nickel ores (in the Murmansk region - Monchegorskoye). There are also deposits of non-metallic minerals - apatite-nepheline ores (Khibinskoe near Kirovsk).

The Urals still remains one of the important iron ore regions of Russia, although its reserves have already been severely depleted (Kachkanarskaya, Vysokogorskaya, Goroblagodatskaya groups of deposits in the Middle Urals, as well as Magnitogorsk, Khalilovskoye, Novo-Bakalskoye in the Southern Urals, etc.).

Siberia and the Far East are rich in iron ores (Abakanskoye, Nizhneangarskoye, Rudnogorskoye, Korshunovskoye deposits, as well as deposits in the Neryungri region in the south of Yakutia, in the Zeya River basin in Far East and etc.).

Copper ore deposits are concentrated mainly in the Urals (Krasnoturinskoye, Krasnouralskoye, Sibaevskoye, Blavinskoye, etc.) and, as noted earlier, on the Kola Peninsula (copper-nickel ores), as well as in the mountains of southern Siberia (Udokan), etc.

In the area of ​​development of deposits of copper-nickel ores, as well as cobalt, platinum and other metals in the north of Eastern Siberia, a large city of the Arctic grew - Norilsk.

IN Lately(after the collapse of the USSR) in different regions of Russia it is necessary to begin the development of deposits of manganese, titanium-zirconium and chromium ores, the concentrates of which were previously completely imported from Georgia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan.

Siberia and the Far East are regions of the Russian Federation exceptionally rich in ore and non-metallic minerals.

The granite intrusions of the Aldan Shield are associated with reserves of gold (placer deposits in the basins of the Vitim, Aldan, Yenisei, and Kolyma rivers) and iron ores, mica, asbestos and a number of rare metals.

Industrial diamond mining has been organized in Yakutia. Tin ores are represented in the Yana Highlands (Verkhoyansk), in the area of ​​Pevek, Omsukchan (on the Kolyma Highlands), in the Far East (Dalnegorsk).

Polymetallic ores (Dalnegorskoe, Nerchinsk deposits, etc.), copper-lead-zinc ores (in Rudny Altai), etc. are widely represented. Deposits of non-ferrous metals are also presented in Caucasus mountains– Sadonskoye lead-pink deposit (Republic of North Ossetia) and tungsten-molybdenum deposit in Tyrnyauz (Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria). Of the deposits and areas of distribution of raw materials for the chemical industry (non-metallic), it should be noted: Kingiseppskoye in the Leningrad region and Vyatsko-Kamaskoye in Kirov region(phosphorites), in lakes Elton, Baskunchak and Kulundinskoye, as well as in Usolye-Sibirskoye (table salt), Verkhnekamskoye deposit - Solikamsk, Berezniki (potassium salt) and many others.

In the south of Western Siberia there are large reserves of coal.

The vast Kuznetsk coal basin is located in the spurs of the Kuznetsk Alatau. It is this pool that is currently the most used in Russia.

Russia also owns the southeastern part of Donetsk coal basin(most of which is located on the territory of Ukraine) and coal mining is carried out there (Rostov region).

In the northeast of the European part of the country there is the Pechora coal basin (Vorkuta, Inta - Komi Republic). There are huge reserves of coal on the Central Siberian Plateau (Tunguska Basin) and in Yakutia (Lena Basin), but these deposits are practically not used due to difficult natural and climatic conditions and poor development of the territory.

These are promising deposits. Many coal deposits are being developed in Siberia and the Far East (South Yakutskoye - in Yakutia, Uglegorskoye - on Sakhalin, Partizanskoye - near Vladivostok, Urgalskoye - on the Bureya River, Cheremkhovskoye - near Irkutsk, etc.). Coal deposits in the Urals (Kizelovskoye) have not yet lost their importance, although brown coal is still represented here to a greater extent (deposits - Karpinskoye, Kopeiskoye, etc.). The largest, most famous and currently developed brown coal deposit is the Kansko-Achinskoye deposit in the Krasnoyarsk Territory.

Since the last century, oil has been extracted in the North Caucasus (Grozny and Maikop oil and gas regions - the Republics of Chechnya and Adygea).

These fields are closely connected with the oil-bearing basins of the northern part of the Caspian region in Kazakhstan, as well as on the Absheron Peninsula in Azerbaijan.

In the 1940s, oil and gas fields of the Volga region and the Urals began to be developed (Romashkinskoye, Arlanskoye, Tuymazinskoye, Buguruslanskoye, Ishimbayskoye, Mukhanovskoye, etc.), and then the fields of the Timan-Pechora oil and gas province in the northeast of European Russia (oil fields - Usinskoye , Pashninskoye, gas condensate – Voyvozhskoye, Vuktylskoye).

And only in the 60s, the fields of the West Siberian Basin, which is now the largest oil and gas production region in Russia, began to be rapidly developed.

In the north of Western Siberia (Yamalo-Nenets autonomous region) the largest gas fields in Russia are concentrated (Yamburgskoye, Urengoyskoye, Medvezhye, Balakhninskoye, Kharasaveyskoye, etc.), and in the middle part of the West Siberian region (Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug) - oil fields (Samotlorskoye, Megionskoye, Ust-Balykskoye, Surgutskoye and others Place of Birth). From here, oil and gas are supplied through pipelines to other regions of Russia, neighboring countries, as well as to European countries.

There is also oil in Yakutia, and it is being extracted on Sakhalin Island. It should be noted the discovery of the first industrial accumulation of hydrocarbons in the Khabarovsk Territory (Adnikanovo field). For the Far East, with its chronic shortage of energy resources, this event is very important.

The volume of proven mineral reserves in Russia is estimated at $10 trillion, and undiscovered resources - at least $200 trillion.

According to this indicator, Russia is approximately 4 times ahead of the United States.

Until now, it was generally accepted that all or almost all of Russia’s mineral resources are located in the Urals, the Far East and Siberia, and European part country, especially its North-West region, is a poor region in this regard. But the North-Western region is also a unique territory in terms of mineral resources.

In recent years, new deposits have been discovered in the Russian Federation: natural gas on the shelf Barents Sea(Shtokman), gas condensate - on the shelf of the Kara Sea (Leningradskoye), oil - on the shelf of the Pechora Bay.

The first diamond deposits associated with kimberlite pipes were found first near St. Petersburg and only 10–15 years later in the Arkhangelsk region (the famous Lomonosov pipes).

In addition, large reserves of non-metallic minerals exist in the North-West (especially in Karelia and the north of the Leningrad region). Large reserves of uranium ores have been found in the Kursk-Ladoga crater.

In the field of mining, the following problems can be identified.

The country's mineral resource base has a relatively low investment attractiveness due to the unfavorable geographical and economic location of many mineral deposits and the relatively low quality of mineral raw materials, its low competitiveness in modern economic conditions.

Therefore, it is necessary to implement an effective policy aimed at the rational use of the mineral resource base. For these purposes, the “Energy Strategy of Russia for the period until 2020” was developed, which reflects the state policy on the main issues of development of the fuel and energy complex, its raw materials (primarily oil and gas) component.

In the Russian Federation, the problem of replenishing reserves at mining enterprises in the main mining regions of the country has sharply worsened.

According to the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation, for the period from 1994 to 1999, the replenishment of reserves extracted from the subsoil with their increases amounted to 73% for oil, 47% for gas, 33% for copper, 57% for zinc, and 41% for lead.

Over 70% reserves oil companies is on the verge of profitability.

If ten years ago the share of oil reserves with a well flow rate of 25 tons/day involved in the development was 55%, now this share is made up of reserves with a well flow rate of up to 10 tons/day, and the oil reserves of highly productive fields, providing about 60% of production, have been depleted by more than than 50%.

The share of reserves with depletion over 80% exceeds 25%, and the share with a water cut of 70% makes up over a third of developed reserves. Hard-to-recover reserves continue to grow, the share of which has already reached 55-60% of those being developed.

The development of coal raw materials is carried out at a pace that does not correspond to their potential.

The development of coal production and growth in coal consumption must occur in a rational combination with the production and consumption of other energy resources, taking into account the reserves of each of them, their distribution throughout the country, the cost of production and transportation to the consumer, etc.

Large mining and processing plants (GOK), which form the basis of the Russian iron ore industry - Lebedinsky, Mikhailovsky, Stoilensky, Kachkanarsky, Kostomushsky, Kovdorsky - are provided with reserves for 25-35 years or more.

The underground mines of Siberia and the Kursk Magnetic Anomaly are sufficiently supplied with reserves.

Minerals in Russia

At the same time, a number of iron ore enterprises have unfavorable raw material bases. Thus, at the Olenegorsk mining and processing plant, the main quarry - Olenegorsky - is provided with reserves for only 15 years, Kirovogorsky - for 20 years.

In 12-13 years, the rich ores in the quarries of the Mikhailovsky and Stoilensky mining and processing plants will be completely mined.

After the collapse of the USSR, Russia was left with virtually no industrial deposits of manganese ores.

Their explored reserves amount to 146 million tons; production on an industrial scale is not carried out. The largest known deposit, Usinskoye in the Kemerovo region, with reserves of 98.5 million tons of poor, difficult-to-process carbonate ores, is classified as a reserve deposit; the remaining deposits are not planned for development. The predominant type of ore is difficult-to-process carbonate, which accounts for about 91% of balance reserves, the rest is easy-to-process oxide and oxidized ores.

Our country still ranks first in the world in terms of explored reserves and production of nickel.

In the early 90s, Russia accounted for 95% of proven reserves and 91% of nickel production in the CIS countries. Since the main type of nickel deposits is sulfide copper-nickel, many of the problems of developing the mineral resource base and nickel production indicated above for copper are also true for nickel, especially in the Norilsk region.

In order to expand the mineral resource base of nickel, it is necessary to strengthen geological exploration work in the areas of existing enterprises, as well as searches for deposits in promising areas of Karelia, Arkhangelsk, Voronezh, Irkutsk and Chita regions, as well as Buryatia.

As scientists predict, in the coming years the state of own production lead and zinc will further deteriorate.

In addition to the retirement of zinc mining capacity in the Ural copper-zinc deposits, reserves in developed lead-zinc deposits in other areas will decrease by 2010.

by 80-85%. An analysis of the state of the raw material bases of mining enterprises shows that by 2005, 11 mines in the regions of the North Caucasus, Western and Eastern Siberia were withdrawn from the number of operating mines. It remains relevant to carry out geological exploration work in the areas of existing enterprises for additional exploration of flanks and deep horizons at the exploited deposits of the Nerchinsky, Sadonsky, Altai Mining and Processing Plant, PA Dalpolimetal, as well as to identify new deposits of rich lead-zinc ores in these and other promising areas - Buryatia, Primorye , Krasnoyarsk Territory, Altai.

The demand for tin exceeds its production by almost a third, and the difference was previously covered by imports.

The current situation in the tin mining industry seems quite difficult. A number of enterprises are poorly supplied with proven reserves. These include enterprises developing reserves of tin primary and alluvial deposits in the Magadan region and the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, where a number of mining—enrichmentfactories.

The situation on the global tin market will become increasingly unfavorable for consumers in the future. The price of refined tin on the London Metal Exchange is constantly increasing. The further deterioration of the situation on the world market is explained by the fact that the countries that are the main consumers of tin (USA, Western European countries, Japan) do not have their own raw material resources, and its needs are forecast to increase.

It is estimated that tungsten mines have reserves for an average of 34 years, but for individual mines the duration of production ranges from 8 to 40 years.

At the same time, large reserves of low-grade ores in the Tyrnyauz and Inkur deposits account for 76% of all reserves of developed deposits. The supply of reserves for five mines with rich deposits and one with average quality ores is 8-14 years.

This means that in 10-15 years, reserves will be exhausted at half of the tungsten mining enterprises, and the remaining mines will develop mainly low-grade ores.

Russia, unfortunately, lags significantly behind the advanced industrial developed countries according to the level of consumption of tantalum, niobium, strontium and other rare, as well as rare earth metals.

In particular, in terms of consumption of niobium and rare earths, our country lags behind the United States by 4 and 6 times, respectively. Meanwhile, Russia has a fairly large raw material base of rare and rare earth metals, but it is poorly developed. In recent years, rare earth and tantalum production has practically ceased, and niobium production has been reduced by 70% compared to 1990. At the same time, of those produced by Lovozersky plant(Murmansk region) of tantalum and niobium concentrates, more than half of the metallic niobium and all the tantalum were produced at factories in Estonia and Kazakhstan.

Crisis state Russian economy is manifested in the ongoing decline in production and domestic consumption of almost all strategic types of raw materials and primary products from them.

Oil and coal production, steel production, production of aluminum, nickel, lead, zinc, other non-ferrous and precious metals, diamonds, phosphate and potash fertilizers decreased in the 90s to a critical level (by 30-60%), and rare and rare earth minerals by 90-100%. The situation is also aggravated by the extremely insufficient, and for most types of raw materials, the complete absence of new mining capacities and the catastrophic curtailment of geological exploration work.

Russia lags behind other developed countries in terms of consumption of mineral resources per capita.

Thus, in per capita consumption of the most important minerals - copper, lead, zinc, tin - Russia ranks 9-11th in the world, in molybdenum, nickel, aluminum, zirconium and tantalum - 4-6th place, in phosphate concentrate and fluorspar, respectively, are 7th and 6th in the world.

But it is precisely these indicators that characterize the level economic development countries, and the end result - national independence and authority of the state in the international arena.

When developing a strategy for the development of the mineral resource base, the time factor should be taken into account as a determining factor.

The experience of developing Russian territories shows that preparing a resource base in volumes that are profitable for industrial development requires 10-15 years, subject to the concentration of significant funds. Modern resource base even in developed areas it is characterized complex structure, and under the current tax system, at least 50% of prepared reserves turn out to be unprofitable for industrial development.

It’s sad, but we have to admit that the state has withdrawn itself from both the development of the mineral resource base and the management of the fuel and energy complex, which leads to the development of negative processes throughout the economy.

Thus, the problem of the development of the fuel and energy complex and its mineral resource base is one of the most important for the Russian economy, on the solution of which both the country’s development prospects and its national security depend.

ORE DEPOSITS

Rocks surrounding a deposit or included in it, containing no metal (useful mineral) at all or containing it, but in an amount insufficient for industrial processing, are called waste rock.

The boundary between ore and non-metallic minerals is arbitrary.

Many minerals that were previously used immediately after extraction are now subject to complex processing to extract all the useful components from them. Sometimes a mineral, such as limestone, is not processed; sometimes it is used as a chemical raw material. Therefore, now the term “ore” is losing its original meaning. It is also applied to many non-metallic minerals. In this sense, we will continue to use the concept of “ore”.

To select a development system and technology from the characteristics characterizing the deposit, greatest influence are influenced by its shape (morphology), size and conditions of occurrence.

Based on their shape, ore bodies can be divided into three groups:

isometric, i.e.

i.e. equally developed in all three directions in space;

columnar, i.e. elongated in one direction;

vein type - elongated in two directions.

The first type of isometric ore bodies includes rods and nests. Often they have an irregular shape, but all three dimensions in space are more or less equal. Rods differ from nests in their large sizes, measured in tens and hundreds of meters.

A typical nest-shaped deposit is the Khaidarkan mercury deposit (Central Asia).

Many primary diamond deposits have a columnar shape. In South Africa, diamond tubes extend several kilometers deep with transverse dimensions measuring hundreds of meters.

In the Krivoy Rog basin, ore bodies with a length exceeding the thickness by more than six times are classified as columnar.

Lentils and lenses represent transitional forms from the first to the third group.

A typical representative of this type of ore bodies are the Ural copper-pyrite deposits. The lens-shaped Rio Tinto copper pyrite deposit (Spain) consists of lenses with a length of 300 to 1700 m and a thickness of up to 100 - 250 m.

Ore bodies of the third group - sheet and vein - are limited by more or less parallel planes (surfaces) and have a thickness that varies within relatively small limits.

The veins are often irregular in shape and have variable thickness.

Ore deposits of the same group, which differ from the layers in a less consistent shape and thickness, are called sheet-like.

There are also more complex forms of ore bodies - saddle-shaped, dome-shaped, etc.

In most cases, a deposit is represented not by one, but by several ore bodies.

These co-occurring ore bodies are separated from one another by waste rock; sometimes they intersect, join together and separate again. In this case, one ore body is the main one, and the rest are its branches.

Deposits are often disturbed by faults and shifts; they are bent, crushed, or fragmented, as a result of which their development becomes more complicated.

The more irregular the deposit is in shape, the more tectonic disturbances it has, the more difficult its development, the greater the loss of ore it occurs.

In addition to the shape of the deposit, an important feature is the nature of its contact with the host rocks.

In some cases, the contact is sharply expressed, and the ore body is clearly separated from the host rocks. In other cases, the transition from ore to gangue occurs gradually, and the boundaries of commercial mineralization can only be determined by sampling.

Development of deposits with distinct contacts is usually easier. Sometimes the presence of mineralization in the host rocks, on the contrary, has a beneficial effect on development, since the ore during mining is clogged not with empty rocks, but with ore-bearing rocks.

Depending on the nature of the distribution of ore minerals, they are distinguished: solid ores, consisting of ore minerals mixed with a certain amount of rock, and usually having sharp boundaries with the host rocks; disseminated ores are relatively rare inclusions of ore minerals in an ore rock, usually having distinct boundaries with the host rock.

In many deposits both types of ores occur; Usually in the middle part of the ore body the ores are continuous, and at the periphery they are disseminated. In the Leninogorsk lead-zinc mines, continuous sulfide ores, as they approach the contact of the recumbent side, gradually become poorer and turn into hornfels disseminated ores. At the Degtyar copper deposit, solid copper-pyrite ore ores in places transform into disseminated lead ores.

Some deposits of Krivbass in their central part or on one side are represented by continuous rich ores, which are gradually replaced in the direction of the lying side by disseminated ores and then by weakly ferruginous side rocks.

One of the main factors determining the choice of system is the angle of incidence.

Based on the angle of incidence, deposits are divided into horizontal and gently dipping with an angle of incidence from 0 to 25°; inclined with an incidence angle from 25 to 45° and steeply inclined with an incidence angle of more than 45°. This division is associated with a significant change in development conditions and the use of different methods of mining and ore delivery at different angles of incidence.

The thickness of an orebody is measured as the distance between the hanging wall and the footwall of the deposit.

If this distance is measured along the normal, then the power is called true, but if it is measured vertically or horizontally, then the power is called vertical and horizontal, respectively. Vertical thickness is used for gently dipping ore bodies, horizontal thickness for steeply dipping ones.

In a stock-shaped deposit, the thickness is considered to be the smaller of its horizontal dimensions.

The larger horizontal dimension is called the rod length. Sometimes the power of a rod is considered to be its vertical dimension, and the horizontal power is called its width. The latter is appropriate when the rod (array) has significant dimensions horizontally and relatively small dimensions vertically.

The thickness of ore bodies can change along strike and with depth gradually or abruptly, naturally or randomly.

Inconstancy of thickness is typical for ore deposits. Sudden changes in power make development difficult.

For deposits with variable thickness of ore bodies, the extreme limits of its fluctuations are indicated, as well as the average thickness for individual sections of the deposit.

Based on their thickness, ore bodies can be divided into five groups.

Very thin, less than 0.6 m thick, during the development of which the mining excavation is accompanied by the blasting of the host rocks.

Safety rules allow a minimum width of the treatment space of 0.6 m, and a height (if the ore bodies are gently sloping) of 0.8 m.

Thin - with a thickness of 0.6 to 2 m, during the development of which the production excavation can be carried out without blasting the host rocks, but carrying out horizontal development workings in most cases requires their blasting.

Average thickness - from 2 to 5 m. The upper limit of thickness corresponds to the maximum length of the simplest type of support during a mining excavation - spacers, racks.

The development of medium-thickness deposits can be carried out without blasting the host rocks, both during production excavation and during development workings.

Thick - from 5 to 20 m, the excavation in which, with a steep drop, can be carried out along the strike to the full thickness.

Very thick - more than 20 - 25 m. Mining in these ore bodies is usually carried out across the strike.

The depth of the deposit also largely determines the choice of development method.

Depth is indicated from the surface vertically to the upper and lower boundaries of the deposit. The distance between the lower and upper boundaries of the deposit vertically or along the slope of the formation determines the depth of its distribution.

Deposits with a depth of more than 800 m are considered deep. At this depth, peculiar manifestations of rock pressure begin, expressed in the shooting of rocks and rock bursts.

The ore area of ​​a deposit is the area of ​​its horizontal section.

The depth of occurrence and distribution of the deposit, the ore area, the length along the strike, as well as the angle of incidence, may be different in different areas of the deposit.

Therefore, different development systems are often used in separate areas of the same field.

Of all the physical and mechanical properties of ores and host rocks, strength and stability have the greatest influence on the choice of development system and mining technology.

The strength of rocks, determined by the combination of many of their physical and mechanical properties (hardness, viscosity, fracturing, layering, the presence of foreign inclusions and interlayers), affects the choice of mining system, machines and tools used in mining, the productivity of mining machines and the productivity of miners , on the consumption of materials and the cost of production.

For the first time, the classification of rocks by “strength coefficient” was created by the famous Russian scientist prof.

MM. Protodyakonov (senior). It is still widely used in domestic practice and literature.

Indicators of rock stability that would make it possible to determine the amount of permissible exposure have not yet been established. Therefore, when choosing a development system, a method for maintaining mined-out space and the area of ​​permissible exposure, approximate characteristics of rocks in terms of their stability are used.

Based on their stability, ores and host rocks can be divided into the following five groups.

Very unstable - they do not allow the roof and sides of the mine to be exposed at all without fastening and, as a rule, require the use of advanced support.

Minerals

When developing ore deposits, such rocks (quicksand, loose and loose rocks saturated with water) are very rare.

Unstable - allow a slight exposure of the roof, but require strong support after the excavation.

Medium stability - they allow the roof to be exposed over a relatively large area, but with prolonged exposure they require maintenance.

Stable - allow very significant exposure of the roof and sides and need to be maintained only in certain places.

Very stable - they allow a huge exposure both from below and from the sides and can stand for a long time without collapsing, without support.

Breeds of this group are less common than the two previous groups. Rocks of the 3rd and 4th groups are most common during the development of ore deposits.

The lumpiness of broken ore (the size of the pieces obtained during breaking) is characterized by its granulometric composition, i.e.

e. quantitative ratio of pieces of different sizes in total mass broken ore. The size of irregularly shaped pieces is usually expressed as the average size in three mutually perpendicular directions.

There are different gradations of lumpiness. The following gradation is the simplest and most convenient.

Ore fines - from ore dust to pieces with transverse dimensions of 100 mm. When developing vein deposits, ore is sometimes sorted and waste rock is removed from it; in this case, a special gradation is distinguished - unsorted fines with piece sizes less than 50 mm.

Medium size ore - from 100 to 300 mm.

The ore is coarse - from 300 to 600 mm.

The ore is very coarse - more than 600 mm.

The lumpiness of ore during breaking depends, on the one hand, on the physical and mechanical properties of the ore in the massif, in particular on its structure, and on the other hand, on the breaking method used, the diameter of blast holes and wells, their location, type of explosive, blasting method and etc.

A qualified piece of ore is a piece with the maximum allowable size that can be released from a mined block for loading into haulage vessels.

During underground mining of ore deposits, it ranges on average from 300 to 600 mm and sometimes reaches 1000 mm.

The size of the standard piece has a great influence on the choice of equipment for all production processes of mining, delivery, loading, and transportation.

Pieces of ore exceeding standard sizes are usually called oversized.

The weight amount of oversized pieces in the total mass of broken ore, expressed as a percentage, is called the oversized yield.

Ore deposits, compared to coal deposits, have a number of features arising from their geological origin.

They significantly influence the content and technological solutions when developing an ore deposit.

The main features are:

high strength and abrasiveness of ores, most of which have a strength coefficient of 8 - 12, and stronger ones - 15 - 20.

This necessitates the use of explosive breaking in underground work in most cases associated with drilling and charging holes and wells;

variety of sizes and variability of ore body occurrence elements, which significantly influences the adoption of technological decisions, stripping and preparation schemes, as well as the choice of development systems;

variability in the content of useful components and the mineralogical composition of ores over the volume of the deposit, which necessitates averaging the quality of the ore mass coming from different blocks;

less destruction of broken ore when moving it by gravity along ore passes up to 100 m or more in length.

This influences the features of opening deposits and preparing blocks;

less reliable information about mining and geological conditions and the flow of technological processes, which complicates operational control of their implementation;

a wide range of stability of ores and host rocks, which predetermines a variety of technological solutions;

the ability of some ores to caking and spontaneous combustion, which limits the use of mining systems with storage of broken ore;

the high value of most ores, which determines more stringent requirements for the completeness and quality of mineral extraction;

the absence of methane emissions in most mines, which allows the use of open fire and normal equipment in underground conditions.

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Mineral reserves in Russia are large.

502: bad gateway

It ranks first in the world in iron ore reserves. Balance reserves of iron ore are estimated at 90-100 billion tons, forecast reserves are much higher. Most of proven reserves of iron ore are located in the European part of Russia.

The most important iron ore basin is the KMA (Kursk Magnetic Anomaly) basin.

Balance reserves of KMA (according to various sources) amount to 40-50 billion tons, most of which are concentrated in the Belgorod and Kursk regions.

In the European part of Kostomuksha, Kovdor and Olenegorsk there are iron ore deposits, the balance reserves of which are estimated at 4 billion Euros.

The iron ore of the Urals is concentrated in Goroglagodatsky, Kachkanar, Serov, Bakal Orsk-Khalilov and other areas.

The eastern regions account for more than 10 billion tons of balance reserves. The main iron deposit of Tashtagol ( Kemerovo region). Bakchar, South Kolpashevo (Tomsk). Abakansky, Nizhneangarsk, Teisko (Krasnoyarsk) Korshunov Rudnogorsk, Tagorskoe (Irkutsk region) Garinsky (Amur region). Kimkanskoye (Khabarovsk Territory), Aldan basin (Republic of Sakha).

Main roles manganese ore remained outside Russia (Ukraine, Georgia).

Ore deposits are located in the Urals (midnight mine) in Russia, Western Siberia (Usinsk deposit), and the Far East (Khingan).

IN Perm region(Saranovskoe deposit) there are chromite ores.

Ore non-ferrous metals contain significantly less useful component. Therefore, while the poorest iron ores contain at least 20% iron, copper ores with a copper content of 5% are considered rich.

To heavy Non-ferrous metals are usually called zinc, lead, nickel, chromium, tin, easily metals, aluminum, magnesium, titanium, alloying (used as additives for steel) - tungsten, molybdenum, vanadium.

group nobly metals - silver, gold, platinum.

Deposits of copper ore, which are located in the Urals (Krasnoural’sk, Kirovograd, Degtyarsk, Karabashsky Gaiskie, Blyavinskoe and other applications), in Eastern Siberia (Talnakh, Norilsk, Udokan deposits) in Murmansk region(Pechenga Monchetundra) for the North Caucasus (Urupskaya deposit).

Deposits of silver (polymetallic) ores in most cases are characterized by a complex composition.

In addition to zinc and lead, they contain copper, silver, tin, gold, etc.

The main polyethylene ores are concentrated in Eastern Siberia(Ozernoye, Khapcheranga, Kili, Garevskoye), in the Far East(Dalnegorskoye field), Western Siberia(Salair, Zmeinogorskoye field), on North Caucasus (Sadon deposit).

The raw materials for the production of nickel and cobalt are nickel (containing copper and nickel) and cobalt ore.

The main reserves of these ores are concentrated in Eastern Siberia (Talnakh, Oktyabrsky, Khova Aksinskaya-pole), the Urals (upper Ufalej, Khalilovsky and other deposits) on the Kola Peninsula (nickel). When it comes to nickel reserves, Russia ranks first in the world.

The main deposits of tin ore are associated with the Pacific ore belt and were located in the Far East (ESE-Khaya, Deputatskoye, Omsukchanskoye, Solntse, Hrustalnenskoe deposit) and partly in Transbaikalia (Hapcheranga, Sherlovaya Gor).

Ores, tungsten and molybdenum are found in the Northern Caucasus (Tyrnyauz), Eastern Siberia and the Far East (Dzhida, Davenda, Vostok-2).

Bauxite, nepholine and alunites are used as raw materials for aluminum production.

Aluminum ores are found in many areas, which form the basis for the aluminum industry. In European Russia, bauxite deposits have been discovered in Tikhvin, Leningrad), Arkhangelsk (Northern Onega), Belgorod (Vislovskoe) deposits in the Komi Republic (bauxite region of southeastern Timan). In the Murmansk region there are Nepheline deposits in the Khibiny Mountains. In the Urals there are bauxite dumps in the Sverdlovsk region (Krasnaya Shapochka, Cheremukhovskoye). There are deposits of bauxite and non-cellulose; In western and eastern Siberia (diaries of Salairsky, Kiya-, Shaltyrsky, Nizhneangarsk, Bokson, Goryachegorsky).

The role of titanium and magnesium ores was determined in the Urals, Siberia and the Komi Republic.

Silver is limited to areas where polymetallic ores occur.

The main gold reserves are concentrated in the Republic of Sakha (Aldane Ust-Nera box, Kular), in the Magadan region (Kolyma region), Chukotka in Eastern Siberia (Krasnoyarsk Territory, Irkutsk and Chita regions).

The main sources of platinum are associated with deposits of copper-nickel ores (Norilsk, Murmansk region).

group mining and chemical resources includes phosphate ores, potassium and ordinary salts, sulfur and others, which form the raw material base of the chemical industry.

Phosphate ores - apatite and phosphorite, which are raw materials for the production of phosphate fertilizers. The higher reserves of apatite concentrate in the Khibiny Mountains are phosphates located in central region(Egoryevskoye), Volga-VYATKA (Vyatko-Kama field), Middle Black regions of Siberia and the Far East.

Russia ranks first in the world in terms of potassium salt reserves.

Kornennaya potassium deposits (Solikamsk, Berezniki), located in the region and Permian salt deposits in addition to the above in Orenburg (Sol-Iletsk fields), Astrakhan (ie Elton Baskunchak), Western and Eastern Siberia (Mikhailovskoye, Usol-Siberian deposits) .

Russia has large and varied resources mineral construction materials that are the basis for the development of the building materials industry and the construction industry.

Almost all natural Construction Materials available in all economic regions.

Thus, Russia's mineral resource potential is very impressive. The cost of research into some types of minerals in Russia is estimated at 20-30 trillion.

U.S. dollar. Forecast estimates are 140 trillion. dollars. According to calculations, reserves of coal, iron ore, potassium salts and phosphorus raw materials in Russia are guaranteed for two or three centuries.

Introduction

Over the past 200 years, the demand for metals has increased so much that already in the 21st century, the ore reserves of some metals, especially strategically important for industry, may be exhausted.

Some metals, such as gold, are often found in their pure form, but most are smelted from ore. Ore is a mineral formation containing any metal or several metals in concentrations at which their extraction is economically feasible. Sometimes these may be non-metallic minerals.

Gold was perhaps the first metal to attract attention primitive people its beauty and brilliance. There is evidence that copper began to be obtained from malachite (a low-melting green mineral) about 7,000 years ago.

Although commercial oil production first began in the second half of the nineteenth century, for centuries oil was extracted by people who lived in different parts of the world where oil seeped to the surface. In Russia, the first written mention of oil production appeared in the sixteenth century. Travelers described how tribes living along the banks of the Ukhta River in the northern Timan-Pechora region collected oil from the surface of the river and used it for medicinal purposes and as oils and lubricants. Oil collected from the Ukhta River was first transported to Moscow in 1597.

In 1702, Tsar Peter the Great issued a decree establishing the first regular Russian newspaper Vedomosti. The first issue of the newspaper published an article about how oil was discovered on the Sok River in the Volga region, and later issues contained information about oil shows in other regions of Russia. In 1745, Fyodor Pryadunov received permission to begin oil production from the bottom of the Ukhta River. Pryadunov also built a primitive oil refinery and supplied some products to Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Coal mining began almost simultaneously with oil mining, although coal has also been known to people since time immemorial.

Ore minerals

Many ores were formed when magma (molten mass of the deep zones of the Earth) cooled. As it cools, the minerals crystallize (harden) in a certain order. Some heavy minerals, such as chromite (chrome ore), separate and settle at the bottom of the magma, where they are deposited in a separate layer. Feldspar, quartz and mica then form rocks such as granite.

The concentration of the remaining liquid increases. Part of it is pressed into cracks in the rock, forming large deposits in them - pegmatites. Other substances are deposited in the voids of the surrounding rock. Finally, only liquids called hydrothermal solutions remain. These solutions, often rich in liquid elements, can flow over long distances, forming the so-called when solidified. veins.

Secondary deposits of minerals are formed under the influence of rivers, seas and wind, which together destroy soils and rocks, sometimes transport them over considerable distances and deposit them, usually in river deltas or relief depressions. Particles of minerals are concentrated here, which then, when cemented, turn into sedimentary rocks such as sandstone.

Sometimes iron accumulates among these rocks, coming there from the water and forming iron ores. In the tropics intense rains destroy rocks containing aluminosilicates, exerting a chemical effect on them. The silicates they wash away form rocks rich in bauxite ( aluminum ores). Acid rain dissolve other metals, which are then deposited again in upper layers lithosphere, sometimes exposed on the surface.

Metal detecting was once a matter of chance. But in our time, scientific methods and modern search technology are used in geological exploration. Geological maps are compiled, often using satellite photographs. Geologists, deciphering these maps and photographs, obtain the necessary information about the rocks and their structure. Sometimes chemical substances, contained in soil, water and plants, give clues about the location of minerals. Geophysical methods are used for the same purposes. By measuring even the weakest electromagnetic and gravitational response signals from rocks using special instruments, scientists can determine the content of ore deposits in rocks.

Having discovered a deposit, prospectors drill holes to determine the size and quality of ore deposits and determine the economic feasibility of their development.

There are three ways to mine ore deposits, "Where the ore comes to the surface or is located close to it, it is mined using the open pit method. When the ore is found at the bottom of a river or lake, mining is done using dredges. And the most expensive type of mining - construction of underground mines.

Currently, about 80 metals are used in industry. Some of them are quite common, but many are rare. Copper, for example, makes up 0.007% of the earth's crust, tin - 0.004%, lead - 0.0016%, uranium - 0.0004%, silver -0.000001% and gold - just 0.0000005%.

The once rich deposits will be exhausted too quickly. It won't be long before many metals will become rare and expensive. Therefore, in our time, the task of recycling metal scrap is urgent.

According to experts, already half of the iron and a third of the aluminum used by industry are obtained from scrap. Recycling and use reduce pollution environment and save the energy needed to smelt metals from ores and purify them. To obtain a ton of aluminum from scrap requires only a twentieth of the energy that is expended to smelt the ore and process the same amount.