The Kti-Teberda tungsten deposit was explored in 1987, but is not developed due to the low content of tungsten trioxide in ores (average 0.366%) and the unfavorable situation of tungsten in the world market. Tungsten trioxide reserves are 89 thousand tons. Kti-Teberda field in 2011 was included in the List of Licensing Objects, but there were no applicants for a license. In connection with the rise in prices for tungsten, some companies showed interest in this object. Materials are being prepared to include this deposit in the List of Licensing Objects for 2015.
There are a number of occurrences of tungsten with an ore quality similar to the Kti-Teberda ores, which would be worth studying only if the explored object is brought into production.
In addition to associated gold mined from copper-pyrite ores, occurrences of ore gold with grades of 1-2 g/t, which are quite suitable for development using the heap leaching method, have been identified on the territory of the KChR. At the Lesnoye occurrence of ore gold, a revision retesting was carried out, as a result of which the forecast resources of the manifestation increased by 1.5 times, however, the subsoil user did not approve the reserves, did not comply with the conditions for using the subsoil, and in 2014 the Lesnoye occurrence was transferred to the unallocated fund. Berezovoe gold occurrence, located on the border with the Krasnodar Territory, was included in the licensing program for 2011, but the Berezovoi gold mine auction did not take place due to the lack of applications for participation in the auction. A license was obtained for the geological study of alluvial gold in the Kyafaro-Urupskaya area, where field work is currently being carried out.
Materials are being prepared to include the Krasnogorsk refractory clay deposit in the List of Licensing Objects for 2015.
Within the Bedensky massif of serpentinite, a number of sites have been studied by subsoil users for various types of applications: as a facing stone, as a raw material for building and decorative crushed stone of grade 1200, as a raw material for obtaining sorbents for water purification, forsterite refractories, tribotechnical lubricants. A project for the development of the Levoberezhnoye field has been drawn up and a project for the development of the Medvezhye field is being drawn up. The Tamskoye deposit is being developed.
A license was issued for the extraction of hematite as an iron oxide pigment at the Biychesyn-Bermamytskoye deposit. The extraction of raw materials has begun, but due to limited demand, it is carried out on a meager scale.
Additional exploration of the Marinskoye deposit of quartz-feldspar raw materials was carried out. As a result of the work, 480 thousand tons of raw materials were put on the balance sheet as reserves of kaolin-quartz-sericite metasomatites after granite-porphyry, suitable for the production of technical ceramics (porcelain stoneware, facade tiles and ceramic bricks). The detailed explored Kishkit feldspar deposit is being prepared for inclusion in the licensing program for 2015.
OJSC Nedra extracts cement raw materials (limestone, clay) at the Ust-Dzhegutinskoye deposit, produces coarse slurry and supplies it to CJSC Kavkazcement, meeting the needs of the cement plant in raw materials.
A geological study is underway with the subsequent development of the Podskalny site of cement raw materials (in the area of the village of Kurdzhinovo). If a positive result is obtained, it is planned to build a cement plant with a capacity of 2 million tons per year.
CJSC "Izvestnyak" on the basis of the Dzheganassky limestone deposit produces and supplies technological stone for the sugar industry to sugar factories in Stavropol, Kuban and KChR. Limestones are of high quality (CaCO 3 content - 96.75%).
At the expense of the federal budget in the territory of the KChR, in 2014, geochemical prospecting for non-ferrous metals was completed within the Kardoniki ore field, the unacceptably deep occurrence of the roof of the Paleozoic basement, established by drilling, made it irrational to further search for vein polymetallic mineralization in this territory and prospecting for small-sized muscovite in the Kuban is being carried out - Koltyubinskaya Square.
Currently, at the expense of the subsoil users' own funds, exploration work has been completed in the Dzhalga and Glubokoye areas for limestones for the production of microcalcite, geological exploration has begun to study basalts for the production of mineral fiber in the Karakent area.
The state of the mineral resource base of solid minerals in the territory of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic is shown in Table 5.2.1.
|
Table 5.2.1 Mineral resource base of solid minerals
| ||||||||||||||||
|
Karachaevo - Circassian Republic (as of 01/01/2015) |
||||||||||||||||
|
№ p/n |
Minerals |
Unit rev. |
Balance reserves |
Forecast resources |
Annual production from the bowels
|
Production losses |
||||||||||
|
Total |
including in distributed fund |
Total |
including in distributed fund |
|||||||||||||
|
Number of objects |
A+B+C 1 |
From 2 |
Number of objects |
A+B+C 1 |
From 2 |
R 1 |
R 2 |
R 3 |
R 1 |
R 2 |
||||||
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 |
16 |
|
|
1 |
coal |
million tons |
6 |
8,6 |
0,13 |
57,93 |
13,39 | |||||||||
|
2 |
tungsten (WO3) |
thousand tons |
1 |
89 |
20,9 |
250 | ||||||||||
|
3 |
mineral paints |
thousand tons |
1 |
1351 |
1 |
1351 |
0 | |||||||||
|
4 |
copper |
thousand tons |
6 |
785,7 |
232,1 |
4 |
743,8 |
231,4 |
700 |
7,6 |
1,7 |
|||||
|
5 |
zinc |
thousand tons |
6 |
446,8 |
89,2 |
4 |
352,3 |
88,3 |
4,8 |
1 |
||||||
|
6 |
ore gold |
kg |
4 |
1265 |
79907,3 |
3 |
0 |
79887,3 |
23 |
130 |
140 |
532,1 |
116,8 |
|||
|
7 |
alluvial gold |
kg |
1 |
128,4 |
1000 | |||||||||||
|
8 |
silver |
t |
6 |
30,2 |
1159,6 |
4 |
1159 |
9,0 |
1,9 |
|||||||
|
9 |
limestones for sakh. prom. |
thousand tons |
1 |
91242,7 |
157651 |
1 |
91242,7 |
157651 |
823,5 |
2,5 |
||||||
|
10 |
limestones for the production of microcalcite |
thousand tons |
2 |
19299,4 |
16703,5 |
2 |
19299,4 |
16703,5 | ||||||||
|
11 |
refractory clays |
thousand tons |
3 |
10686,9 |
72,3 |
17800 |
24300 | |||||||||
|
12 |
feldspar raw materials |
thousand tons |
2 |
12907,3 |
9438,2 | |||||||||||
|
13 |
cement raw material: limestone clay |
thousand tons |
2 |
315275 |
144331 |
2 |
315275 |
144331 |
614000 |
2176,4 |
9 |
|||||
|
14 |
facing raw materials |
thousand cubic meters m |
4 |
7778,3 |
2449 |
3 |
5512,8 |
61 |
1 |
|||||||
This is one of the most promising areas where the extraction of the precious metal is possible. Geologists have already been looking for gold here. The work was carried out at the expense of the federal budget. Most of the identified deposits turned out to be poor, and they were classified as off-balance (that is, the extraction of minerals was recognized as inexpedient).
But the Lower Datulankol deposit, as it turned out, is of industrial interest. Gold reserves in it are estimated at 23 tons with a content of 2.1 grams per ton. But when the boundaries of the federal Dautsky reserve were changed, this object fell into a specially protected area. Therefore, it is impossible to extract gold here.
However, there are other promising areas in the republic. For example, for investors, of undoubted interest is the Birch occurrence of ore gold, located on the border of Karachay-Cherkessia and the Krasnodar Territory. It is located on the watershed from which flows the Golden Key River, a tributary of the Beskes River, and the Hatsavita River. Recent studies have shown that a thick layer with gold deposits lies here.
This object remains poorly studied, so it will be included in the licensing program on the terms of entrepreneurial risk, the Rosnedra reported.
How much gold is contained in the bowels of the KChR is not exactly known. Experts are still arguing about the size of natural pantries. A few years ago, the figure was 500 tons. However, later experts came to the conclusion that gold reserves in the republic are much more modest.
The development of gold-bearing sites in the republic is not currently underway, although a license for their development has been issued to a subsoil user, - Yury Karnaukh, head of the subsoil use department for the KChR, told an RG correspondent. - Mining of gold and silver in the republic is carried out only in one place: at the copper deposit in the Urup region. But this is not a direct extraction of precious metals, but associated mining from copper pyrite ores. The work is carried out at the mines of the local mining and processing plant. One ton of copper ore from the Urup deposit contains 2.4 grams of gold and 37 grams of silver.
Mining has been going on since 1968. Currently, 450 kilograms of gold and 7.7 tons of silver are mined from the bowels together with ore per year. However, only 55 percent of precious metals are recovered during enrichment. The rest is thrown into the dump. Technologies for the extraction of solid minerals are constantly being improved. Experts do not exclude that in the near future there will be a way to cost-effectively recycle production waste. If such a method is found, then the Urupsky site will turn into a man-made deposit.
Placer gold was mined on many mountain rivers of the North Caucasus in the 30-40s of the last century. Mining was carried out by miners, using, as they said then, muscular strength. The most rich in gold were small mountain rivers of Karachay-Cherkessia: Beskes, Rozhkao, Vlasenchikha, Kizilchuk, Gilyach and some others. A nugget weighing almost a kilogram was found on the Vlasenchikha River. This is a record find, which has not yet been surpassed.
In total, from 1933 to 1950, 1286 kilograms of gold were extracted in the North Caucasus, of which 832 kilograms - in Karachay-Cherkessia. In 1950, the country's leadership decided to stop artisanal gold mining, since the accounting in artels was kept poorly and half of the gold was stolen. Purchase prices were reduced fourfold, which made non-commercial (mining) mining unprofitable. In 1952, the last mine in the village of Rozhkao was closed.
The steep mountainous relief of the Caucasus is unfavorable for the formation of placers. Therefore, small volumes of placer gold content do not necessarily indicate the insignificance of primary sources of gold in placers, - Yuri Karnaukh noted. - Primary deposits of ore gold can be large, but when they are washed away by rivers, gold enters steep watercourses and spreads without forming accumulations called placers. At the same time, gold particles quickly wear out, because gold is a soft metal.
No primary sources of the so-called ore gold with reserves allowing for the establishment of industrial production were found in the Caucasus. For investors, the ore was of interest only if the content of the yellow metal in it exceeded five grams per ton. There are no such sites in the NCFD. However, today, areas with a low content of useful components may also be of practical interest. Including the only deposit of indigenous gold "Lesnoye" in the KChR.
A quarter of a century ago, a technological revolution took place in gold mining, thanks to which it became possible to make a profit in the development of even poor deposits, - said Yury Karnaukh. - A cheap way to extract gold from ore was developed - the heap leaching method. The ore is crushed to the state of crushed stone, laid out in the form of long piles resembling railway embankments, and for a long time (for months) they are irrigated with solutions of special solvents or solutions of special bacteria circulating in a circle. Gold goes into solution, from which it is no longer difficult to extract. Since the technology is low-cost, it became possible to process rather poor ores, with a gold content of only 1-2 grams per ton.
But such ores, as it turned out, are in Karachay-Cherkessia. The first such object was the Lesnoye ore occurrence. Experts estimated its forecast resources at 20 tons with an average content of 1.6 grams per ton. It should be noted that gold deposits with reserves of more than five tons are classified as large. A license has been issued for the study and further development of this manifestation. The subsoil user carried out a retest of the previously passed workings. The gold content was determined more reliably than before - by assay. As a result, the estimated gold resources have been increased, and now they are estimated at 30 tons. However, the investor had difficulties in attracting financial resources to continue the study and development of the deposit. The work was suspended.
If exploration of the deposit is not started in 2013, the license may be prematurely terminated, the Rosnedra reported.
Geologists hope for good luck. This is the nature of their profession. And with luck, Karachay-Cherkessia will become a new gold-bearing province. There are prerequisites for this, - Yuri Karnaukh emphasized.
In the North Caucasian Federal District, in addition to Karachay-Cherkessia, gold deposits have been found in North Ossetia, Kabardino-Balkaria and Dagestan. In Kabardino-Balkaria, gold and silver are sought at the Kardan-Kusparta ore cluster, between the Musht and Malka rivers. There is no active mining anywhere. It is possible that only small artels work, but they prefer not to report on their activities.
Gold is also found in the Rostov region and Adygea. On the territory of the Krasnodar Territory, the possibilities of associated mining of small and fine gold during the development of deposits of sand and gravel mixtures have been identified. But these resources are extremely limited.
Geological exploration in the gold ore areas of southern Russia has been going on for many years. The search for the precious metal is carried out in potential gold-bearing areas in Dagestan, Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay-Cherkessia and North Ossetia.
By the way
According to the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation, three mineral deposits in Karachay-Cherkessia are among the strategically important. These are Urupskoe (copper and gold mining), Pskentskoe (uranium) and Khudesskoe (cobalt).
Karachay-Cherkess Republic
Formed on January 12, 1922 as the Karachay-Cherkess Autonomous Region. By the Law of the RSFSR of July 3, 1991, it was transformed into the Karachay-Cherkess Soviet Socialist Republic within the RSFSR. And since December 1992 it became the Karachay-Cherkess Republic. The administrative center is the city of Cherkessk (150 thousand people).
Legislature- People's Assembly (Parliament), elected on the basis of universal, equal and direct suffrage by secret ballot. The number of 73 people, the frequency of four years.
Executive authority- Government, consists of the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Ministers, ministers, chairmen of State committees and committees. The Prime Minister is appointed by the President of the Republic with the consent of the People's Assembly.
Square is - 14300 sq. km.
Population(for 2005) - 439.5 thousand people, Karachays - 38.5%, Russians 33.6%, Circassians 11.3%, Abazins 7.4% and Nogais 3.4%.
Population density (persons per 1 sq. km.) - 29.9 people. per 1 sq. km.
Geographic location and natural resources
Location on the geographical map of Russia:
located in the foothills of the North-Western Caucasus. In the west, the territory of the Republic borders on the Krasnodar Territory, in the north and northeast on the Stavropol Territory, in the east - on the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic. In the south, the border runs along the Main Caucasian Range with the Republic of Georgia and Abkhazia.
Climate: The climate is moderately warm, winters are short, summers are warm, long, and fairly humid. This part of the Western Caucasus has the greatest duration of sunshine (300 sunny days a year). The average temperature in January is 3.2 degrees, in July +20.6 degrees, the highest temperature is +39 degrees, the lowest is 29 degrees.
Dominant terrain: most of the territory of the republic is occupied by mountains (about 80%). In the northern part, the Front Ranges of the Greater Caucasus stretch. South, from the headwaters of the river. Malaya Laba is stretched by the Dividing and Lateral Ranges of the Greater Caucasus, reaching a height of up to 4000 m. On the border with Kabardino-Balkaria, there is the highest peak of the Caucasus - Elbrus. Passes - Marukhsky and Klukhorsky - stretched across the ridge to the Black Sea coast, and the Rocky and Pasture ridges stretch a little to the north.
River basins, lakes, reservoirs: The republic is rich in water resources. There are about 130 alpine lakes of glacial origin, many mountain waterfalls. 172 small and large rivers flow through the territory of the republic. Of these, the largest Kuban, r. Big and Small Zelenchuk, r. Urup, r. Laba. The system of the Great Stavropol Canal and the Cascade of Zelenchuk Hydroelectric Power Plants with a capacity of 460 thousand kilowatts has been built and is operating in the republic, which is a source of water supply for the Stavropol Territory. Only in the upper basin of the Kuban River, water energy reserves are estimated at 2 million kilowatts.
There are about 400 lakes in Karachay-Cherkessia. These are mainly cirque, moraine and tectonic lakes. Karachay-Cherkessia is rich in its various mineral springs: about 20 springs are concentrated in the Ullu-Khurzuk river basin. The most popular are the Jamagat narzans (link), not far from the town of Teberda, as well as the Krasnogorsk mineral springs.
Minerals: the subsoil of the republic contains a variety of minerals: copper pyrite and polymetallic ores, ore and loose gold, coal, barite, minium, granite and marble of various colors, feldspar raw materials, cement raw materials, limestone, refractory clays, chalk, building silicate sands, sandy - gravel mixture, refractory clays, expanded clay clays, brick-tile clays.
Animal world: deer, tour, chamois, roe deer, bear, squirrel, fox, muskrat, marten, mink, jackal, wolf, raccoon dog, hare hare, otter, forest cat, badger, lynx, gray partridge, pheasant, Caucasian black grouse, snowcock, Caucasian , griffon owl, ducks. In the republic, 1,360 thousand hectares are occupied by hunting grounds, including 400 thousand hectares covered with forests.
Vegetable world: The flora of the republic includes more than 1260 species of higher vascular plants, the basis of which are Caucasian species (235 endemics). There are relics of the Tertiary period, steppe and even desert elements. 24 species of flowering plants are listed in the Red Book of Russia. A significant part of the mountainous territory is occupied by deciduous and mixed forests, above which subalpine and alpine meadows are located, which are valuable mountain pastures.
The main forest-forming species: coniferous (pine, spruce, fir), hardwood (high and low oak, beech, hornbeam, ash, maple, elm, etc.), softwood (birch, aspen, gray alder, black alder, poplar, tree willow) and shrubs ( hazel, juniper, rhododendron). The total area of the forest fund is 432 thousand hectares, of which 416 thousand hectares are covered with forest. The forest cover of the territory is 30%.
Of the herbs in subalpine meadows, primrose, forget-me-not, anemone, kopeechnik, initial letter, scabiosa, and backache are abundant. Many subalpine meadows are rich in species.
Subalpine meadows are replaced by alpine ones, consisting of 3 types of vegetation: short grass meadows, open scree vegetation and rock vegetation. For screes, the most characteristic are: delphinium, lamb, saxifrage, valerian, etc.
Rocky vegetation occupies the upper limit of the distribution of vegetation in general. The most typical here are the cuff, violet, bell, etc. Even higher, on the peaks and crests of the ridges covered with snow and ice, soil and higher plants are absent. Of the plant organisms, only algae are found.
SYMBOLS OF KChR
State flag of the Karachay-Cherkess RepublicThe flag of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic is formed from three colors arranged in three horizontal stripes of equal width. Light blue - above - the personification of peace, bright and good intentions and tranquility, green - in the middle - the main color of nature, the color of youth and at the same time wisdom and restraint, a symbol of fertility, wealth and creation, red - below - a solemn color, a symbol of warmth and closeness between peoples. In the center of the green strip, in its entire width, there is a light circle (ring), in which the sun rising from behind the mountains with five wide double and six tonics and short rays.
State Emblem of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic
The emblem of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic has a round heraldic shape. The background is yellow, it symbolizes sunny Karachay-Cherkessia. In the center of the composition is a stylized silhouette of Elbrus, which means eternity, strength and greatness. It is superimposed on a blue circle, symbolizing the eternal sky and blue waters. On both sides there are branches and flowers of rhododendron - one of the highest mountain plants of Karachay-Cherkessia. These flowers are a symbol of peace, health, purity. The shape at the bottom resembles a bowl, which symbolizes hospitality. The bowl and the small circle go slightly beyond the boundaries of the large circle, which makes the coat of arms more attractive.
Constitution of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic
I would especially like to say about the Constitution of the KChR. It contains norms that give the inhabitants of the republic broad rights. The Republican Constitution enshrined a provision on local traditions and customs, which is absent in similar legal documents. Respect for elders, women, people of different religious beliefs is protected by the Constitution and Laws of the KChR, and mercy is sacred.
The governing bodies of power are formed taking into account national representation.
State anthem of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic
I am proud of the ancient Motherland!
The light of the snows of Elbrus is eternal
And holy is the pure stream of Kuban!
These steppes, these mountains
I - and the roots and support,
Karachay-Cherkessia is mine!
I am grateful to the Motherland
For all the years of my life
Among fraternal languages, native persons,
You are given by nature itself,
Cradle of my peoples
My cities, villages and villages!
You are the pearl of Russia!
Let under a peaceful blue sky
Your fate will always be good!
And live for centuries, dear,
Evil and bitterness without knowing
Karachay-Cherkessia is mine!
Music: A. Daurova
Lyrics: Y. Sozarukova
STATE AND USE OF THE MINERAL AND RAW MATERIAL BASE OF THE KARACHAYEV-CIRCASSIAN REPUBLIC
General information
The Karachay-Cherkess Republic is part of the Southern Federal District (SFD) of the Russian Federation
Territory: 14.3 thousand km2.
Population: 427.2 thousand people – 01.01.09
The administrative center is the city of Cherkessk (116.733 thousand people) (according to the materials of the site: http://www.*****/bgd/regl/b09_109/Main.htm)
Location map of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic President
Department of Subsoil Use in the Ministry of Property, Land Relations and Subsoil Use - Head of Department, KChR, 9.
Tel. (878-22)5-40-22,
Address: KChR, 3, Government House
Head of the Department for Subsoil Use in the KChR - , tel /, e-mail: *****@***ru; *****@***com KChR, 7
Sectoral structure of production in the Karachay-Cherkess Republic in 2009. (data in percent)
There are 4 cities and 11 urban-type settlements, 140 rural settlements in the republic. The leading sectors of the economy are agriculture and industry, which is dominated by mining and processing industries. The republic has a developed network of roads, a railway line reaches the Ust-Dzheguta station. Coniferous and mixed forests are widespread in the southwestern part of the territory. 80% of the area of the republic is occupied by mountains up to 4700m high. Almost the entire high-mountainous part of the republic is a protected area, in which there are many sports and resort facilities.
2. Condition and use of the mineral resource base
Limestones
SE "Teberda"
Mineral water
There is no data
There is no data
Fresh underground water
66.2 thousand m3/day
There is no data
There is no data
There is no data
Thermal water
5.32 thousand m3/day
There is no data
There is no data
There is no data
The main enterprises providing geological study and
reproduction of SMEs on the territory of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic
Company name
Supervisor
Phone, fax, e-mail
Main activity profile
FGUGP "Kavkazgidrogeologiya"
Stavropol region, Zheleznovodsk, pos. Inozemtsevo, st. Highway, 207
f 4-48-39, e-mail
Regional, prospecting and exploration hydrogeological works
369000 KChR, 09
f. (8782), e-mail: *****@***ru
Search and exploration of minerals
State Research and Production Enterprise "Hydrogeoecology"
369000 KCHR, 7a
Hydrogeological research and monitoring
Licensing activities . As of October 1, 2009, there were 41 valid licenses in the republic. Of these, by deposits: precious metals in total - 2, including 1 - for prospecting and appraisal work, 1 - for exploration and exploitation on the terms of entrepreneurial risk; other solid minerals in total - 19, including 1 - for prospecting and appraisal work, 7 - for exploration and exploitation under conditions of entrepreneurial risk, 11 - for exploitation; groundwater in total - 16, including fresh water in total - 7, all - for operation; mineral deposits in total - 9, of which 3 - for exploration and exploitation on the terms of entrepreneurial risk, 6 - for exploitation; other licenses - 3; others - 1.
3. Prospects for expanding the mineral resource base
It is possible to discover non-traditional types of minerals in the republic, which are raw materials for the production of mineral fibers, refractories, porcelain, high-strength crushed stone, facing stone, and abrasives. Manifestations of such minerals on the territory of the republic are known, but they require further geological and technological study and delineation. With the development of work on an in-depth study of the material composition, structural position and technological properties of the rocks of the region, it is quite likely that new types of deposits will be discovered.
Forecast fresh groundwater resources - 2.5 thousand m3 / day.
4. Main problems in the reproduction and use of SMEs and ways to solve them
Problems: 1. Lack of assessment of the resource potential of highly liquid (gold, silver) and scarce (lead, zinc, tungsten) minerals, fuel and energy and hydro-mineral raw materials.
2. Non-involvement in the exploitation of some explored deposits of copper and tungsten, as well as a number of solid minerals, such as refractory clays, feldspar raw materials and others that have investment prospects.
3. Lack of demand for high-quality fresh groundwater deposits.
4. Poor knowledge of endogenous (seismicity, volcanism) and exogenous (mudflows, landslides, etc.) dangerous geological processes.
Problem Solving Ways: 1. Evaluation of the possibility of using the technology of hydrometallurgical processing for the development of small copper pyrite deposits explored in the republic.
(regional work and for solid minerals).
Exploration objects
cost, million rubles
Prospecting for gold on Mariinskaya Square
Exploration work for kaolin clays in the Tarakul-Tube area
Monitoring of hydrogeodeformational, geophysical and gashydrogeochemical fields in seismically hazardous areas of the Southern Federal District
Conducting state monitoring of the state of the subsoil of the territory of the Southern Federal District in the years.
Identification of promising areas for non-ferrous metals and gold within the metallogenic zones of the North Caucasus according to geochemical data
Determination of the main conditions for the development of deposits of solid minerals of the unallocated subsoil fund of the Southern Federal District
The Federal Agency for Subsoil Use has announced a tender for geological exploration to search for gold at the Uchkulan ore field in Karachay-Cherkessia. How much gold is contained in the bowels of the KChR is not exactly known. A few years ago, the figure was 500 tons. However, later experts came to the conclusion that gold reserves in the republic are much more modest.
For investors, the Birch occurrence of ore gold, located on the border of Karachay-Cherkessia and the Krasnodar Territory, is also of undoubted interest. It is located on the watershed from which flows the Golden Key River, a tributary of the Beskes River, and the Hatsavita River. Recent studies have shown that a thick layer with gold deposits lies here.
This object remains poorly studied, so it will be included in the licensing program on the terms of entrepreneurial risk, the Rosnedra reported.
The lower Datulankol deposit, as it turned out, is also of industrial interest. Gold reserves in it are estimated at 23 tons with a content of 2.1 grams per ton. But when the boundaries of the federal Dautsky reserve were changed, this object fell into a specially protected area. Therefore, it is impossible to extract gold here.
The development of gold-bearing sites in the republic is not currently underway, although a license for their development has been issued to a subsoil user, - Yury Karnaukh, head of the subsoil use department for the KChR, told an RG correspondent. - Mining of gold and silver in the republic is carried out only in one place: at the copper deposit in the Urup region. But this is not a direct extraction of precious metals, but associated mining from copper pyrite ores. The work is carried out at the mines of the local mining and processing plant. One ton of copper ore from the Urup deposit contains 2.4 grams of gold and 37 grams of silver.
Mining has been going on since 1968. Currently, 450 kilograms of gold and 7.7 tons of silver are mined from the bowels together with ore per year. However, only 55 percent of precious metals are recovered during enrichment. The rest goes to waste. Technologies for the extraction of solid minerals are constantly being improved. Experts do not exclude that in the near future there will be a way to cost-effectively recycle production waste. If such a method is found, then the Urupsky site will turn into a man-made deposit.
Placer gold was mined on many mountain rivers of the North Caucasus in the 30-40s of the last century. Mining was carried out by miners, using, as they said then, muscular strength. The most rich in gold were small mountain rivers of Karachay-Cherkessia: Beskes, Rozhkao, Vlasenchikha, Kizilchuk, Gilyach and some others. A nugget weighing almost a kilogram was found on the Vlasenchikha River. This is a record find, which has not yet been surpassed.
In total, from 1933 to 1950, 1286 kilograms of gold were extracted in the North Caucasus, of which 832 kilograms - in Karachay-Cherkessia. In 1950, the country's leadership decided to stop artisanal gold mining, since the accounting in artels was kept poorly and half of the gold was stolen. Purchase prices were reduced fourfold, which made non-commercial (mining) mining unprofitable. In 1952, the last mine in the village of Rozhkao was closed.
The steep mountainous relief of the Caucasus is unfavorable for the formation of placers. Therefore, small volumes of placer gold content do not necessarily indicate the insignificance of primary sources of gold in placers, - Yuri Karnaukh noted. - Primary deposits of ore gold can be large, but when they are washed away by rivers, gold enters steep watercourses and spreads without forming accumulations called placers. At the same time, gold particles quickly wear out, because gold is a soft metal.
No primary sources of the so-called ore gold with reserves allowing for the establishment of industrial production were found in the Caucasus. For investors, the ore was of interest only if the content of the yellow metal in it exceeded five grams per ton. There are no such sites in the NCFD. However, today, areas with a low content of useful components may also be of practical interest. Including the only deposit of indigenous gold "Lesnoye" in the KChR.
A quarter of a century ago, a technological revolution took place in gold mining, thanks to which it became possible to make a profit in the development of even poor deposits, - said Yury Karnaukh. - A cheap way to extract gold from ore was developed - the heap leaching method. The ore is crushed to the state of crushed stone, laid out in the form of long piles resembling railway embankments, and for a long time (for months) they are irrigated with solutions of special solvents or solutions of special bacteria circulating in a circle. Gold goes into solution, from which it is no longer difficult to extract. Since the technology is low-cost, it became possible to process rather poor ores, with a gold content of only 1-2 grams per ton.
But such ores, as it turned out, are in Karachay-Cherkessia. The first such object was the Lesnoye ore occurrence. Experts estimated its forecast resources at 20 tons with an average content of 1.6 grams per ton. It should be noted that gold deposits with reserves of more than five tons are classified as large. A license has been issued for the study and further development of this manifestation.
The subsoil user carried out a retest of the previously passed workings. The gold content was determined more reliably than before - by assay. As a result, the estimated gold resources have been increased, and now they are estimated at 30 tons. However, the investor had difficulties in attracting financial resources to continue the study and development of the deposit. The work was suspended.
If exploration of the deposit is not started in 2013, the license may be prematurely terminated, the Rosnedra reported.
Geologists hope for good luck. This is the nature of their profession. And with luck, Karachay-Cherkessia will become a new gold-bearing province. There are prerequisites for this, - Yuri Karnaukh emphasized.
NoteIn the North Caucasian Federal District, in addition to Karachay-Cherkessia, gold deposits have been found in North Ossetia, Kabardino-Balkaria and Dagestan. In Kabardino-Balkaria, gold and silver are sought at the Kardan-Kusparta ore cluster, between the Musht and Malka rivers. There is no active mining anywhere. It is possible that only small artels work, but they prefer not to report on their activities.
Gold is also found in the Rostov region and Adygea. On the territory of the Krasnodar Territory, the possibilities of associated mining of small and fine gold during the development of deposits of sand and gravel mixtures have been identified. But these resources are extremely limited.
Geological exploration in the gold ore areas of southern Russia has been going on for many years. The search for the precious metal is carried out in potential gold-bearing areas in Dagestan, Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay-Cherkessia and North Ossetia.
By the way,According to the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation, three mineral deposits in Karachay-Cherkessia are among the strategically important. These are Urupskoe (copper and gold mining), Pskentskoe (uranium) and Khudesskoe (cobalt).
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