The main types of natural resources. Mineral resources, their distribution, the largest deposits and countries distinguished by the reserves of the main types of mineral resources. Types of mineral resources

Mineral resources are minerals that form naturally in the earth's crust. They may be of organic or inorganic origin.

Over two thousand minerals have been identified, and most of them contain inorganic compounds formed by various combinations of the eight elements (O, Si, Al, Fe, Ca, Na, K, and Mg) that make up 98.5% of the Earth's crust. The world industry depends on about 80 known minerals.

A mineral deposit is an accumulation of solid, liquid or gaseous minerals in or above the earth's crust. Mineral resources are non-renewable and exhaustible natural resources and can also have metallic (eg iron, copper and aluminum) as well as non-metallic properties (eg salt, gypsum, clay, sand, phosphates).

Minerals are valuable. This is an extremely important raw material for many basic sectors of the economy, which are the main resource for development. The management of mineral resources should be closely integrated with the overall development strategy, and the exploitation of minerals should be guided by long-term goals and perspectives.

Minerals provide society with all the necessary materials, as well as roads, cars, computers, fertilizers, etc. Demand for minerals is increasing worldwide as population grows, and the extraction of the Earth's mineral resources is accelerating and there are environmental consequences.

Mineral Resource Classification

Energy (combustible) mineral resources (coal, oil and natural gas)	Non-energy mineral resources
	Metal properties	Non-metallic properties
	Precious metals (gold, silver and platinum)	Building materials and stones (sandstone, limestone, marble)
	Ferrous metals (iron ore, manganese)	Other non-metallic mineral resources (salt, sulfur, potash, asbestos)
	Non-ferrous metals (nickel, copper, tin, aluminum, lead, chromium)
	Ferroalloys (iron alloys with chromium, silicon, manganese, titanium, etc.)

Mineral resources map of the world

The role of mineral resources

Mineral resources play an important role in the economic development of the countries of the world. There are regions rich in minerals, but unable to extract them. Other regions that extract resources have the opportunity to grow economically and receive a number of advantages. The significance of mineral resources can be explained as follows:

1. Industrial development

If mineral resources can be extracted and used, the industry in which they are used will develop or expand. Petrol, diesel fuel, iron, coal, etc. needed for industry.

2. Employment of the population

The presence of mineral resources creates jobs for the population. They allow skilled and unskilled workers to have employment opportunities.

3. Development of agriculture

Some mineral resources serve as the basis for the production of modern agricultural equipment, machinery, fertilizers, etc. They can be used for the modernization and commercialization of agriculture, which help develop the agricultural sector of the economy.

4. Energy source

There are various energy sources such as gasoline, diesel, natural gas, etc. They can provide the necessary energy to industry and settlements.

5. Development of own independence

The development of the mineral resource industry allows creating more jobs with high quality products, as well as the independence of individual regions and even countries.

6. And much more

Mineral resources are a source of foreign currency, allow you to earn money on the development of transport and communications, increase exports, supplies of building materials, etc.

Mineral resources of the oceans

The oceans cover 70% of the planet's surface and are involved in a huge number of different geological processes responsible for the formation and concentration of mineral resources, as well as being a repository for many of them. Consequently, the oceans contain a huge amount of resources that are currently the basic needs of mankind. Resources are currently mined from the sea or areas that used to be within it.

Chemical analyzes have shown that sea water contains about 3.5% dissolved solids and more than sixty identified chemical elements. The extraction of dissolved elements, as well as the extraction of solid minerals, is almost always economically costly, since the geographical location of the object (transportation), technological limitations (the depth of ocean basins) and the process of extracting the necessary elements are taken into account.

Today, the main mineral resources obtained from the oceans are:

• Salt;
• Potassium;
• Magnesium;
• Sand and gravel;
• Limestone and gypsum;
• Ferromanganese nodules;
• Phosphorite;
• Metallic precipitation associated with volcanism and vents on the ocean floor;
• Gold, tin, titanium and diamond;
• Fresh water.

The extraction of many mineral resources from the depths of the oceans is too costly. However, population growth and the depletion of readily available terrestrial resources will undoubtedly lead to greater exploitation of ancient deposits and increased extraction directly from the waters of the oceans and ocean basins.

Extraction of mineral resources

The purpose of the extraction of mineral resources is to obtain minerals. Modern mining processes include prospecting for minerals, analysis of potential profits, method selection, direct extraction and processing of resources, and final land reclamation upon completion of work.

Mining operations typically create negative environmental impacts, both during and after mining operations. Consequently, most of the world's countries have adopted regulations aimed at reducing harmful effects. Occupational safety has long been a priority, and modern methods have significantly reduced the number of accidents.

Features of mineral resources

The first and most basic characteristic of all minerals is that they occur naturally. Minerals are not produced under the influence of human activity. However, some minerals, such as diamonds, can be manufactured by humans (these are called synthesized diamonds). However, these man-made diamonds are classified as minerals because they meet their main five characteristics.

In addition to being formed by natural processes, mineral solids are stable under room temperature. This means that all solid minerals that are found on the surface of the Earth do not change in shape at normal temperature and pressure. This characteristic excludes water in its liquid state, but includes its solid form - ice - as a mineral.

Minerals are also represented by the chemical composition or structure of atoms. The atoms that are contained in minerals are arranged in a certain order.

All minerals have a fixed or variable chemical composition. Most minerals are made up of compounds or various combinations of oxygen, aluminum, silicon, sodium, potassium, iron, chlorine, and magnesium.

The formation of minerals is a continuous process, however, it is very long (the level of resource consumption exceeds the rate of formation) and requires the presence of many factors. Therefore, mineral resources are non-renewable and exhaustible.

The distribution of mineral resources is uneven throughout the world. This is due to geological processes and the history of the formation of the earth's crust.

Problems of using mineral resources

mining industry

1. Dust generated during the mining process is harmful to health and causes lung diseases.

2. The extraction of certain toxic or radioactive minerals threatens human life.

3. The explosion of dynamite in mining is very risky, as the gases released are extremely poisonous.

4. Underground mining is more dangerous than surface mining because there is a high probability of accidents due to landslides, flooding, insufficient ventilation, etc.

Rapid depletion of minerals

Increasing demand for mineral resources is forcing more and more minerals to be mined. As a result, the demand for energy increases and more waste is generated.

Destruction of soil and vegetation

The soil is the most valuable. Mining contributes to the complete destruction of soil and vegetation. In addition, after extraction (obtaining minerals), all waste is dumped on the ground, which also entails degradation.

Environmental problems

The use of mineral resources has led to many environmental problems, including:

1. Transformation of productive lands into mountainous and industrial areas.

2. The mining of minerals and the extraction process are among the main sources of air, water and soil pollution.

3. Mining includes huge consumption of energy resources such as coal, oil, natural gas, etc., which in turn are non-renewable energy sources.

Rational use of mineral resources

It is no secret that the reserves of mineral resources on Earth are rapidly declining, so it is necessary to rationally use the existing gifts of nature. People can save mineral resources by using renewable resources. For example, by using hydroelectric power and solar energy as an energy source, minerals such as coal can be conserved. Mineral resources can also be saved through recycling. good example is scrap metal recycling. In addition, the use of new technological mining methods and the training of miners conserves mineral resources and saves people's lives.

Unlike other natural resources, mineral resources are non-renewable and are unevenly distributed across the planet. They take thousands of years to form. One important way to conserve some minerals is to replace scarce resources with abundant ones. Minerals, which require a large amount of energy, must be processed.

The extraction of mineral resources has an adverse impact on the environment, including destroying the habitats of many living organisms, polluting the soil, air and water. These negative consequences can be minimized by preserving the mineral resource base. Minerals have an increasing influence on international relations. In those countries where mineral resources have been discovered, their economies have improved significantly. For example, oil-producing countries in Africa (UAE, Nigeria, etc.) are considered rich because of the profits received from oil and its products.

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Mineral resources

Mineral resources are called minerals, extracted from the bowels. In turn, minerals are understood as natural mineral substances of the earth's crust, which, at a certain level of technological development, can be extracted with a positive economic effect and used in the national economy in their natural form or after preliminary processing. The scale of the use of mineral resources is constantly growing. While in the Middle Ages only 18 chemical elements were extracted from the earth's crust, at present this number has increased to more than 80. Since 1950, mining has increased 3 times. Every year, more than 100 billion tons of various mineral raw materials and fuel are extracted from the bowels of the Earth. The modern economy uses about 200 types of mineral raw materials. When using mineral resources, it must be taken into account that almost all of them are classified as non-renewable. In addition, the stocks of their individual species are far from being the same. For example, the general geological reserves of coal in the world are estimated at 14.8 trillion. tons, and oil - 400 billion tons. However, it is necessary to take into account the ever-growing needs of mankind.

Types of mineral resources

There is no single generally accepted classification. However, the following division is often used: fuel (combustible), metallic (ore) and non-metallic (non-metallic) minerals. On the basis of this classification, a map of mineral resources was built in the educational atlas. The distribution of minerals in the earth's crust is subject to geological laws.

Fuel (combustible) minerals are found primarily in coal (there are 3.6 thousand of them and they occupy 15% of the land) and oil and gas (more than 600 have been explored, 450 are being developed) basins, which are of sedimentary origin, accompany the cover of ancient platforms and their internal and edge deflections. The main part of the world's coal resources falls on Asia, North America and Europe and lies in the 10 largest coal basins located on the territory of Russia, the USA, Germany. The main oil and gas resources are concentrated in Asia, North America, and Africa. Among the richest basins are the basins of the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Mexico, and the West Siberian. Sometimes this group is called "fuel and energy" and then, in addition to coal, oil and gas, it includes uranium, which is fuel for nuclear power plants. Otherwise, uranium ores are included in the following group.

Ore (metallic) minerals usually accompany foundations and ledges (shields) of ancient platforms, as well as folded areas. In such areas, they often form huge ore (metallogenic) belts, for example, the Alpine-Himalayan, Pacific. Countries located within such belts usually have favorable conditions for the development of the mining industry. Within this group, there are ferrous, alloying and refractory metals (ores of iron, manganese, chromium, nickel, cobalt, tungsten, etc.), non-ferrous metals (ores of aluminum, copper, lead, zinc, mercury, etc.), noble metals ( gold, silver, platinoids). Large reserves of iron ore are concentrated in the USA and China. India, Russia. Recently, some countries of Asia (India), Africa (Liberia, Guinea, Algeria), Latin America (Brazil) have been added to them. Large reserves of aluminum raw materials (bauxites) are found in France, Italy, India, Suriname, the USA, the states of West Africa, the countries of the Caribbean, and Russia. Copper ores are concentrated in Zambia, Zaire, Chile, the USA, Canada, and lead-zinc - in the USA, Canada, Australia.

In addition, non-metallic minerals are almost ubiquitous. Within this group, chemical and agronomic raw materials (potassium salts, phosphorites, apatites, etc.), technical raw materials (diamonds, asbestos, graphite, etc.), fluxes and refractories, cement raw materials, etc. are distinguished.

Territorial combinations of minerals are most advantageous for economic development. The scientific concept of such combinations, developed by geographers, has a great practical value, especially in the formation of large territorial-industrial complexes.

Currently, the search for minerals is carried out in two ways. If there is a poorly explored territory, then the study area expands and due to this there is an increase in explored minerals. This method prevails in the Asian part of Russia, Canada, Australia, Brazil. In the second case, deeper deposits are being studied. This is due to the long-term development of the territory and the strong development of deposits located close to the surface. This path is typical for the countries of foreign Europe, for the European part of Russia, for Ukraine, the USA.

Many scientists of the world talk about the movement of society towards a system of recycling of resources, when waste will become the main raw material in the economy. At the present stage, many developed countries use deep utilization of industrial and household waste. First of all, these are the states of Western Europe, the USA and, especially, Japan.

When characterizing mineral resources in the world economy, one should also note their regional and geographical dispersion. In terms of the size of the general geological resources of iron ore, the leading place is occupied by the CIS countries (110 billion tons), the countries of foreign Asia are in the second place (68), the third and fourth are shared by Africa and Latin America (60 billion tons each), the fifth place belongs to North America (50), sixth - Australia (25) and seventh - foreign Europe (20 billion tons). Among the CIS countries, Russia and Ukraine stand out in this indicator, among the countries of foreign Asia - China (40) and India (20); in Latin America - Brazil (50), and in North America - the USA and Canada have approximately equal iron ore reserves (25 billion tons)

Differences in natural natural placement resources of different types of ore raw materials by groups of countries are also of particular interest. For example, in the economically developed countries of the West, there is a clear preponderance in the resources of platinum, vanadium, chromites, gold, manganese, lead, zinc, tungsten, and in developing countries, the reserves of cobalt, bauxite, tin, nickel, and copper are much richer.

The world forecast resources of iron ore are about 600 billion tons, and the explored reserves are 260 billion tons. The estimated resource supply of the world economy with this type of raw material for the production of ferrous metals is estimated at 250 years.

Of the raw materials for the production of non-ferrous metals, bauxites are in the first place. Their probable reserves are estimated at 50 billion tons, including 20 billion tons of explored reserves. The largest bauxite deposits are concentrated in Australia, Brazil, Venezuela and Jamaica. The extraction of bauxite reaches up to 80 million tons per year, so that the current reserves should be enough for 250 years. In Russia, bauxite reserves are relatively small.

The geological reserves of copper ores in the world are estimated at 860 million tons, of which 645 million tons are explored (India, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Congo, USA, Russia, Canada). With the current volume of production and its growth - 8 million tons per year - explored reserves copper ore enough for almost 80-85 years.

In total world production (production) - a different picture: coal accounts for about 30%, and oil and gas - more than 67%.

Reliable world oil reserves are determined at 13 billion tons (total explored - 250-300 billion tons), natural gas - at 141 trillion. m 3 At the same time, the countries that are members of the economic association OPEC, including Iraq, account for about 77% of the world's oil reserves and 41% of the world's natural gas reserves. Moreover, the assessments of the prospective use of oil by "optimists" and "pessimists" are strikingly different. According to the forecasts of the "optimists", the world's oil reserves should be enough for 2-3 centuries, while the "pessimists" believe that the available oil reserves can meet the needs of civilization only for 30-50 years. With a more realistic assessment, the security of current oil production with proven reserves is determined in the whole world at 45 years.

Estimates are also given for other fossil fuels. Natural gas reserves should be enough for about 100 years, and coal - for 600 years. Although other estimates are not excluded.

In addition to the indicator of the size of production of energy resources, the efficiency of their use has become an important, if not the most important indicator. There are some developments here as well. First, the geography of the use of energy resources is changing. Thus, the share of developing countries in the world consumption of various types of energy is increasing: from 6.7% in 1960, it approached 30% in 2013. However, the resource situation in the countries of the developing world is unequal. Most of these countries do not have large oil reserves of their own and continue to depend on oil imports. In the least developed countries, a significant part of the domestic demand for energy resources is still covered by firewood and other types of biomass used as fuel (straw, manure).

Finishing the extremely brief description of the world situation of energy resources, it is important to learn an indisputable truth: the time of extensive use of limited energy resources has irrevocably gone. The era of intensive use of energy resources has come, which is accompanied by an increase in energy efficiency.

Table 4

Distribution of the world's proven oil resources by major regions

Table 5

Top ten countries by proven oil resources

Table 6

Distribution of the world's proven coal resources by major regions

Table 7

Structure of energy consumption by types of primary fuel (in %)

Despite a certain danger (Chernobyl, Fokushima in Japan), the share of nuclear energy as an important energy source is growing. In the forecast of the global energy balance structure by 2030, the share of nuclear power plants will reach 30%, oil and gas 30%, coal 30%, and solar hydropower will account for 10%. In this regard, the export of uranium to MR is increasing, which can be seen from the data in Table 8.

Table 8

World proven reserves and main suppliers of uranium

Produced uranium reserves in the world as of 01.01.09 (t)	The main suppliers of uranium to the world market
Kazakhstan		Kazakhstan
Australia
Uzbekistan

Table 9

Forecast of world uranium production

Kazakhstan

According to statistics and signed contracts, the world economy attaches great importance to natural gas as an energy carrier. The world distribution of gas is characterized by extreme unevenness, and most importantly, the most industrialized countries of Western Europe, as well as major powers - China and India - are deprived of its reserves. Below we name the top ten countries in the world in terms of explored natural gas resources.

Table 10

Finally, hydropower potential does not refer to mineral resources (minerals). However, it is the same natural gift as mineral resources.

Now the world's hydropower potential reaches almost 10 trillion. kWh, but only 21% of this potential is used. The degree of development of hydropower opportunities is especially high in Western and Central Europe(70%), in North America and Russia it is lower (respectively 30 and 20%)

Ministry of General and Professional

education of the Russian Federation

Secondary school No. 175

Mineral resources of Russia

abstract

Completed:

Student 10 "a" class

Pechnikov N. L.

Supervisor :

Rodina N.A.

Novosibirsk 2001

Introduction…………………………………………………………….3

1. Classification of mineral resources……………………. 5

2. Fuel and energy resources…………………………… 8

3. Metal ore mineral resources……………………..15

4. Non-metallic mineral resources……………………22

5. Assessment of the mineral resource base of Russia………………. 23

6. Opportunities and problems of development of mineral resources in Russia……………………………………………………………………………………………………24

Conclusion……………………………………………………….26

Literature…………………………………………………… 27

Application………………………………………………………28

Introduction.

Mineral raw materials are the material basis for the development of energy, industrial and agricultural industries. Therefore, the problem of providing society with mineral raw materials and fuel has become one of the most important global problems modernity.

For a long time, mankind has been drawing in huge quantities of mineral raw materials from a common pantry - the earth's bowels. As a result, a significant part of the rich ores and deposits occurring directly at the surface of the Earth or on the ground great depths ah, already exhausted. Today you have to pay much more for each new ton than yesterday, and tomorrow you will have to pay even more. Society faces a serious and urgent task of careful and rational use of the planet's mineral wealth.

In this regard, we can consider the example of bauxite - the most important strategic raw material. Bauxites are a source of alumina (alumina) - a product from which aluminum metal is recovered. The world's bauxite resources are very small compared to their consumption. Therefore, the possibility of obtaining alumina from non-bauxite raw materials deserves serious attention. Thus, the main non-bauxite sources of alumina are nepheline and alunite, however, in this case, the cost of alumina is quite high.

Already the first steps of man were associated with the use of various types of mineral raw materials. Our distant ancestors for the first time consciously paid attention to native copper and gold. Copper was smelted from carbonate ore in the territory of modern Turkey for 7 thousand years BC. Mineral raw materials acquired especially great importance in the 20th century. Its exceptional strategic role manifested itself during the years of the first and second world wars. Gradually, the number of elements used increased. So in ancient times, a person was content with only 18 chemical elements, in the 18th century - 29, in the middle of the 20th century. - 80. Nowadays, such industries as nuclear energy, electronics, lasers, astronautics, computer technology, etc. are developing with great acceleration. This required the use of almost all elements of the periodic table in technology. At all times, scientific and technological progress has had a decisive influence on the involvement of new types of mineral raw materials and the completeness of its use.

Therefore, taking into account the ever-increasing needs of society for mineral raw materials and their exhaustibility, it will be relevant to assess the mineral resources of Russia. For this I consider it necessary:

Consider various classifications and types of natural resources,

Give an assessment of the mineral resource base of Russia,

To show the possibilities and problems of the development of mineral resources in Russia.

1. Classification of mineral resources.

Under natural resources it is customary to understand the bodies and forces of nature that are used or can be used by people.

All mineral resources can be classified according to various features. So, for example, according to the nature of industrial and sectoral use, minerals are conventionally divided into a number of groups. These are fuel and energy raw materials, ferrous and non-ferrous, noble, rare and rare earth metals, chemical and agrochemical raw materials, technical and refractory raw materials, building materials, precious and ornamental stones, underground waters and mineral mud.

Fuel and energy raw materials include oil, natural gas, hard and brown coal, oil shale and nuclear fuel (uranium and thorium). These are the main sources of energy for most types of transport, thermal and nuclear power plants, blast furnaces, etc. All of them except nuclear fuel are used in the chemical industry.

Great importance in the world economy of metals, primarily ferrous. This group includes iron and iron alloys (steel, cast iron, ferroalloys), which form the basis for the development of modern engineering and construction.

The group of non-ferrous metals includes copper, lead, zinc, aluminum, titanium, chromium, nickel, cobalt, magnesium, tin. Copper is the second most important metal. Its main production is electrical wires. Lead is widely used in the production of antiknock additives to improve the quality of gasoline.

Of the noble metals, platinum, gold, and silver are of the greatest importance; smaller - platinum group metals (palladium, iridium, rhodium, ruthenium, osmium). The metals of this group have a beautiful appearance in products; hence their name - "noble" comes from.

The group of rare earth metals includes yttrium, lanthanum and lanthanides (a family of 14 chemical elements with atomic number 85-71). Yttrium is used as an alloying addition to many alloys used in radio engineering. Lanthanum oxide is used in optical glasses and is a laser material.

The most important representatives of chemical and agrochemical raw materials are sulfur, salts, phosphorites and apatites, fluorspar. Now in the world more than 120 mil. tons of artificial fertilizers. Sulfuric acid is also made from sulfur. From rock salt (sodium chloride) caustic soda, soda, bleach and hydrochloric acid are obtained.

Technical and refractory raw materials are graphite, piezoquartz, asbestos, magnesite, mica, technical diamonds, clays, etc.

Many rocks are used as building materials or as raw materials for making building materials. Graphite has a high melting point, so it is used in foundry.

Among precious stones, diamonds are the most important. Diamond is the hardest, most transparent substance in nature. In addition to diamonds, ruby, emerald, sapphire, etc. are first-rate gemstones.

Many rocks and minerals that have a beautiful color and can be polished are ornamental stones. They make vases, caskets and jewelry.

Groundwater is of great industrial importance - geothermal and mineralized. Salt, iodine, bromine are obtained from them, the heat of groundwater is used by greenhouses, power plants, etc.

Academician A. G. Betekhtin distinguished the following classes of solid minerals: native elements, sulfur compounds (sulfides), halogen compounds, oxides and hydrates of oxides, salts of oxygen acids.

As native elements, there are gold, silver, copper, platinum, graphite, diamonds, sulfur, etc. Sulfides (Latin "sulphur" - sulfur) include compounds of various elements with sulfur or salts of hydrosulfide acid. Among them, minerals that are ores of lead (galena), zinc (sphalerite), copper (chalcopyrite), and others are of great importance. Halides (Greek "hals" - salt) are salts of holoid-hydrogen acids HCI and HF. Among them, the most common are chloride and fluorine compounds: NaCI (halite), KCI (sylvin) and fluorspar.

About 17% of the weight of the earth's crust are minerals, represented by oxides and hydrates of oxides. These are compounds of various elements with oxygen and a hydroxide group (OH). These include, for example, quartz, cassiterite (tin stone), corundum (alumina), uranit, etc.

An extensive group of minerals are salts of oxygen acids. These are carbonates, sulfates, phosphates, silskats, etc. According to scientists, about 1/3 of all minerals known in nature and about 3/4 of the weight of the earth's crust are silicates (Latin "silicium" - silicon).

Various minerals usually form stable natural associations called rocks. These are mineral aggregates of a certain composition and structure, formed as a result of the manifestation of certain geological processes. Depending on the conditions of origin, rocks are divided into igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic.

Igneous rocks are formed as a result of solidification of molten lava at a depth (intrusive) or on the earth's surface (effusive rocks). Their most important components are oxides - silica and alumina.

Sedimentary rocks are formed due to the redeposition of the destruction products of igneous (as well as metamorphic and sedimentary) rocks. Chemical and biochemical sedimentary rocks include bauxites, laterites, phosphorites, brown iron ore, etc.

Metamorphic rocks arise as a result of a qualitative change in igneous and sedimentary rocks under the influence of high pressure and temperatures. So, as clay sinks to a depth, compacting, they turn into clay shales, and quartz sands and sandstones into quartzites. Limestones turn into marbles. Metamorphic rocks contain many valuable minerals - iron, copper, lead, zinc, gold, tin, tungsten, etc.

According to the degree of exploration and study, mineral reserves are divided into four categories - A, B, C1, C2. Category A reserves have been explored and explored in detail, B and C1 have been explored with relatively less detail. С2 - preliminary estimated. In addition, probable reserves are allocated for the evaluation of new deposits, basins and promising areas. Explored and probable reserves are combined into common in-place reserves.

Russia is fully provided with all types of mineral raw materials and, in terms of their explored reserves, occupies a leading position among the largest countries in the world.

More than half of the world's reserves of coal and peat, 1/3 of oil and gas, 2/5 of iron ores, 2/5 of potash salts, 1/4 of phosphorites and apatites, 1/15 of hydropower resources and half of the world's timber reserves are concentrated in Russia.

2. Fuel and energy resources

main feature fuel and energy resources - their uneven distribution across the country. They are mainly concentrated in the eastern and northern zones of Russia (over 90% of their total reserves).

These regions contain the country's largest explored and probable oil and gas reserves. The total promising area for these species in the West Siberian and Timan-Pechora provinces is 1.5 and 0.6 million km2, respectively. Significant predicted gas reserves have been identified in the west of Yakutia. The largest but poorly explored coal basins are located here: Tunguska (total geological reserves of 2.34 trillion tons), Lena (1.65 trillion tons), Kuznetsk (725 billion tons), Kansk-Achinsk (600 billion tons .), Taimyr (234 billion tons), Pechora (214 billion tons), South Yakutsk (23 billion tons), Irkutsk (78 billion tons), Ulugkhemsky (18 billion tons), Gusino-Ozerskoye field (4.4 billion tons), Kharanorskoye field (2.1 billion tons), Bureinsky basin (15 billion tons), Upper Suydgunsky basin (2.2 billion tons), Suchansky basin (1.7 billion tons). On Sakhalin, the total geological reserves of coal amount to 12 billion tons, in the Magadan region - 103 billion tons, in the Kamchatka region - 19.9 billion tons.

In the European zone, in addition to the Pechora basin, coal resources are located in the Rostov region (eastern wing of the Donets basin), in the Moscow region with geological reserves of 19.9 billion tons, in the Kizelovsky, Chelyabinsk and South Ural basins - over 5 billion tons. Coals are distinguished by a wide variety of composition and properties. Almost 35% of all Russian reserves are represented by lignite (see Appendix).

In terms of the efficiency of coal mining, two basins stand out sharply against the all-Russian background: Kansk-Achinsk and Kuznetsk.

Coal industry is a real mirror of the introduction of market mechanisms in specific industries. Much has been written and said about her. Many are trying to put it on a par with metallurgy, agriculture, banking and others. Others refer to the experience of other countries: now France has switched to nuclear energy, we must, they say, keep up. More spears have been broken around the coal industry in the last year than on any other occasion.

Unprofitable mines should be closed. Only cheap coal will be in demand on the market. The most important thing is that the coal miners, unlike other industries, have already had a specific plan for restructuring the industry and transferring it to a commercial footing for four years now. Unpromising and dangerous mines are being closed according to a clear plan and schedule: for example, since 1994, 74 coal mining enterprises have already been closed, and about 60 more will share their fate by 2005. A third of the miners have already been forced to change jobs. It is important to note that all this is not happening spontaneously, but in accordance with the industry restructuring program.

Restructuring is, first of all, the creation of new, competitive coal mining enterprises and the technical re-equipment of promising existing ones. This, and the solution of the most acute social problems - the employment of laid-off miners, the creation of new, including non-core industries: agricultural, processing, construction, repair, woodworking, furniture, clothing and many others. This is the creation of normal living conditions in poorly developed coal regions - from the construction of housing, schools and boiler houses to the construction of heating mains.

Russia will always need coal. Our distances, stretched communications, cold winters will never allow us to be limited to any one type of energy. Let's say hydroelectric power stations depend on natural accidents - droughts, floods, excessive cold weather. Nuclear power plants are potentially dangerous, and after the Chernobyl disaster, anti-nuclear sentiments have not weakened in society. Nuclear energy is unprofitable in sparsely populated regions, and there are 60% of them in Russia. New alternative types of energy will not soon find mass application. And coal is a universal fuel: it can be used in any climate, at power plants of various capacities, up to individual boilers. With modern methods of burning coal, nature suffers minimally, and environmentally friendly boiler houses are already being built, in particular, in Kuzbass. Coal is also the most valuable raw material for the chemical industry.

Available coal reserves in Russia are quite comparable to American or Australian ones, we have high-quality coal deposits, the demand for which is very high both domestically and on world markets. An acute shortage of funds hinders the restructuring of the industry.

And yet today it is clear that the achievement of profitability of coal enterprises is possible, and in a short time. A number of coal cuts, including small ones, whose construction began in Primorye and Siberia, provide cheap coal. If we manage to complete the restructuring, in five to seven years our coal industry will be no less profitable and efficient than the Australian or Colombian ones. This will make it possible not only to provide our energy and public utilities cheap fuel, but also to establish large-scale coal exports.

Now Russia exports over 10% of coal, the construction of a coal terminal in the new port of Ust-Luga has been launched, which will significantly increase this figure. We can and should use our Far Eastern ports for export, but huge railway tariffs prevent us from doing so. There are also alternative developments: coal, like oil and gas, can be transported through pipelines. By building coal pipelines, American coal miners forced the railroads to drastically lower the price of coal transportation. With our lengthy and congested communications, such a solution should bring great benefit- it is difficult to increase freight traffic along the Trans-Siberian Railway, building another, parallel road for coal transportation is very expensive and time-consuming. The Belovo-Novosibirsk coal pipeline is already in operation, and one would like to hope that this is only the first sign.

Coal will remain one of the foundations of our energy industry, but in order to successfully complete the process of restructuring and commercialization of the coal industry, a targeted state policy is needed, and not fire measures in acute social conflicts in the coal regions. Reforming any industry requires money, and coal requires a lot of money. Without powerful financial injections, it would not have been possible to close the mines of Germany and Great Britain, France and Belgium. Without large-scale investments, there would be no successful development of the coal industry in the USA, China, Australia, South Africa and Colombia. But spontaneously, "by gravity" no investments come; first, a state concept for the development of a promising industry is developed, a clear legislative framework is laid down, and then capital investments are attracted. Existence is very important state structure planning and implementing these projects. In those countries where this is not done, even the richest deposits of minerals lie in vain, neither industry nor agriculture develops. It is senseless to rely on spontaneous market regulation of the economy. The state power is obliged not only to make fundamental decisions on the ways of economic development, but also to contribute to the strengthening of structures and institutions that provide optimal conditions for economic development. It is especially important in transition period keep the industry under control. And this means that it is unacceptable to take it apart into unrelated enterprises, at least until the very conditions mentioned above are created. Only further preservation of the unity and balance of enterprises in the coal industry will ensure crisis-free economic development, which is especially important for the coal industry - one of the most complex in our difficult economy.

Oil and gas industry.

Oil and gas fields are located mainly in Western Siberia, the Volga region, the Urals, the Komi Republic and North Caucasus. Oil industry today it is a large national economic complex that lives and develops according to its own laws.

What does oil mean today for the national economy of the country?

1. Raw materials for petrochemicals in the production of synthetic rubber, alcohols, polyethylene, polypropylene, a wide range of various plastics and finished products from them, artificial fabrics;

2. source for the production of motor fuels (gasoline, kerosene, diesel and jet fuels), oils and lubricants, as well as boiler and furnace fuel (fuel oil), building materials (bitumen, tar, asphalt);

3. raw material for obtaining a number of protein preparations used as additives in livestock feed to stimulate its growth.

Oil is our national wealth, the source of the country's power, the foundation of its economy.

Currently, the oil industry of the Russian Federation ranks 3rd in the world. In 1993, 350 million tons of oil and gas condensate were produced. In terms of production, we are second only to Saudi Arabia and the United States.

The oil complex of Russia includes 148 thou. oil wells, 48.3 thousand km. main oil pipelines, 28 oil refineries with a total capacity of more than 300 million tons / year of oil, as well as a large number of other production facilities (see Appendix).

About 900,000 workers are employed at the enterprises of the oil industry and its service industries, including about 20,000 people in the field of science and scientific services.

The fuel and energy balance (FEB) is the ratio between the extraction, production and consumption of fuel and energy resources. All types of fuel and energy when calculating the structure of the fuel and energy unit are converted into conventional units - tons of conventional fuel - using their calorific value and conditional coefficients.

Per recent decades fundamental changes took place in the structure of the fuel industry associated with a decrease in the share of the coal industry and the growth of industries for the extraction and processing of oil and gas. If in 1940 they accounted for 20.5%, then in 1984 - 75.3% of the total production of mineral fuel. Now natural gas and open pit coal are coming to the fore. The consumption of oil for energy purposes will be reduced, on the contrary, its use as a chemical raw material will expand. Currently, oil and gas account for 74% of the fuel and energy balance in the structure, while the share of oil is declining, while the share of gas is growing and amounts to approximately 41%. The share of coal is 20%, the remaining 6% is electricity.

Table 1: Changes in the structure of mineral fuel production in the USSR (in % of the total).

In 1987 oil production with gas condensate in the Russian Federation amounted to 569.5 million tons, or 91% of the total production of the former USSR. Over 100 summer history During the development of the Russian oil industry, almost 13 billion tons of oil were produced and about 40% of this production was obtained over the past 10 years.

However, in recent years there has been an intensive decline in oil production. From 1988 to 1993 annual production has decreased by more than 210 million tons. The industry is in a state of deep crisis. This is due to a whole range of factors, the coincidence of which intensified their negative effect.

The highly productive reserves of large fields have largely been depleted, and large deposits are undergoing an intensive decline in oil production. Almost the entire stock of oil wells has been transferred from free flow to artificial lift. The mass commissioning of small, low-productive deposits began. These factors caused a sharp increase in the industry's needs for material and financial resources for its development, the allocation of which was reduced in the conditions of the economic and political crisis of the USSR and Russia.

The destruction of economic ties with Azerbaijan and Ukraine had a particularly negative impact, on the territory of which the majority of the factories of the former USSR for the production of oilfield equipment and oil country tubular goods were located.

More than three hundred oil and gas fields have been discovered in the West Siberian region. The largest oil fields are located in the middle reaches of the Ob River. These include: Samotlorskoe, Fedorovskoe, Zapadno-Surgutskoe, Megionskoe, Sovetsko-Sosninskoe, Cheremshanskoe and others. Western Siberia contains almost 2/3 of the country's oil reserves.

Table 2: Distribution of oil refining by economic regions of Russia (% of total)

Oil fields in Western Siberia have an exceptional concentration of reserves. This explains the high efficiency of exploration work. The cost of preparing 1 ton of oil in Western Siberia is 2.3 times lower than in Tataria, 5.5 times lower than in Bashkiria, 3.5 times lower than in Komi, and 8 times lower than in North Caucasus.

As for gas, 68% of industrial (cat. A+B+C1) and 72% of Russia's potential natural gas reserves are concentrated in Western Siberia. The Northern gas-bearing province of Western Siberia is unique. It covers an area of ​​520 thousand sq. The largest deposits are located here - Urenoiskoye, Yamburgskoye, Medvezhye and Tazovskoye.

In addition, large gas fields include Orenburg (Ural), Arkhangelsk. Along with gas, they contain valuable components: sulfur and gas condensate. The Vuktyl gas field has been explored on the territory of the Komi Republic.

The most significant deposits of natural gas in the North Caucasus - "Dagestan Lights" (Dagestan); Severo-Stavropolskoye and Pelagiadinskoye (Stavropol Territory); Leningrad, Maykop, Minsk and Berezanskoe (Krasnodar Territory).

For 27 years (1965 - 1992) there have been changes in the fuel and energy base of Russia. Along with the expansion of its borders, the remoteness of resources from consumers has increased, their production has risen in price. The average depth of oil wells has increased by 2 times, coal mines - by 1.5 times. The cost of extracting Tyumen oil increased by more than 3 times, gas - by 2.5 times, Kuznetsk coal - by 1.25 times. Despite this, 1 ton of standard fuel in Siberia costs 2 times cheaper than in other regions of the country.

3. Metal ore mineral resources

Iron ores are divided into a number of types: brown iron ore, red iron ore, magnetic iron ore (magnetic ores), etc. The economic assessment of iron ore deposits is determined by the qualitative characteristics of the ore: the specific gravity of iron and other elements in it, and enrichment. The iron content in rich ores ranges from 45-70%, and in poor ones - 25-42%. Useful impurities include: nickel, manganese, vanadium, etc., harmful - phosphorus and sulfur.

Almost 40% of the world's iron ore reserves are concentrated in Russia. The total balance reserves are about 65 billion tons, including 45 billion tons of industrial categories (A+B+C1). Almost 30 billion tons (43%) are represented by ores containing on average more than 50% iron, which can be used without enrichment, and 15 billion tons (30%) are ores suitable for enrichment according to simple schemes.

Of the explored reserves of iron ore, the European part of Russia accounts for 88%, and the eastern part - 12%. A large iron ore basin is the Kursk Magnetic Anomaly (KMA), where 60% of the country's total balance ores are concentrated. KMA covers mainly the territory of the Kursk and Belgorod regions. The thickness of the layers reaches 40-60 m, and in some areas - 350 m. Ores occurring at a considerable depth contain 55-62% iron. The balance reserves of KMA iron ores (cat. A + B + C1) are estimated at 43 billion tons, including 26 billion tons with an iron content of up to 60%, ferruginous quartz with an iron content of up to 40% - 17 billion. t.

Three iron ore deposits are located on the territory of the Northern economic region - Kovdorskoye, Olenegorskoye (Murmansk region) and Kostomukshinskoye (Karelia). The ores of the Kovdor deposit are characterized by an iron content of about 32% and high content phosphorus (3%). Ores are well enriched with the release of apatite. The ores of the Olenegorsk deposit contain 33% iron, as well as manganese, titanium and aluminum, which occur at a shallow depth and have a thick layer (from 30 to 300 m.). The Kostomukshinskoye field is being developed jointly with Finland. The iron ores of the Kola Peninsula and Karelia serve as the raw material base for the Cherepovets Metallurgical Plant.

The iron ore resources of the Ural region are represented in four groups of deposits - Tagilo-Kuvshirskaya, Kachaonarskaya, Baksalskaya, Orsko-Khalilovskaya.

The Tagilo-Kuvshinskaya group includes the deposits of the Blagodat, Vysokaya and Lebyazhey mountains. The content of iron in ores is 32-55%. It serves as a raw material base for the Nizhne-Tagilbsky plant. The deposit is operated by open and underground methods.

The Kachkonar group of deposits is located on the eastern slope of the Ural Mountains (Sverdlovsk region). The ores are titanium-magnesium, poor in iron content (17%), but easily reversible. They contain vanadium and a small percentage of harmful impurities, and serve as the raw material base for the Nizhny Tagil Combine and the Chusovoy Plant.

The box group of iron ores is located on the slope of the Ural Mountains (Chelyabinsk region). The iron content in brown iron ore is 32-45%. The ore contains manganese and very few harmful impurities. They are supplied to the Chelyabinsk, Satkinsk and Achinsk metallurgical plants.

The Orsko-Khalilovskaya group of deposits is located on the eastern slope of the Ural Mountains (Orenburg region). Ores contain nickel, cobalt, chromium. The iron content is 35-55%. They serve as a raw material base for the Orsk-Khalilovsky metallurgical plant.

In the Northern Urals, iron ores are concentrated in the Northern and Bogoslovskaya groups of deposits. Ores of the Northern group (Sverdlovsk region) are represented by magnetic iron ore with an iron content of 40-50%. These groups have small reserves of iron ore.

In Siberia, the explored reserves of iron ore are small (7.4% of the total Russian reserves). In Western Siberia, they are concentrated in two regions - Gornaya Shoria and Gorny Altai.

The iron ores of Gornaya Shoria (Kemerovo region) are the raw material base of the Kuznetsk Metallurgical Plant (KMK). The average iron content in them is 42-53%. The main deposits of Mountain Shoria are Temirtau, Tashtagol, Odrabash, Shalymskoye, Sheregenskoye, Tashelginskoye.

In Gorny Altai (Altai Territory), iron ore is concentrated in three deposits - Beloretsky, Insky and Kholzunsky. Ores in terms of iron content are poor (30-42%) and are not currently exploited.

The world's largest iron ore basin, the West Siberian, has been discovered on the territory of the West Siberian Plain. The area of ​​the basin is about 260 thousand sq. Geological reserves are estimated at 956 billion tons.

The most effective for development in the basin is the Bakcharsaoye field (Tomsk region). It covers an area of ​​16,000 sq. The ore horizon of the deposit is 20-70 m and lies at a depth of 160-200 m. Ores contain up to 46% iron, as well as impurities of phosphorus and vanadium.

The predicted reserves of iron ore are estimated here at 110 billion tons. A rich part of the eastern section of the deposit with an area of ​​4 thousand square meters can be recommended for priority development. The thickness of the ore horizons is 25-40 m, the iron content is 30-46%, the reserves of conditioned ores are 3 billion tons.

The predicted reserves of the Bakcharskoye field are 2 times higher than the known reserves in the country. If we compare this field with the most exploited or planned for exploitation field in Siberia, then it will replace more than four hundred such fields.

In Eastern Siberia, the largest deposits of iron ore are the Abakan, Teyskoye, Irbinskoye, Krasrokamenskoye and Angara-Pitsky basins in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, the Angara-Ilimsk basin and the Neryudinskoye deposit in the Irkutsk region, and the Berezovskoye deposit in the Chita region.

The Abakan deposit has magnetic ores. The average iron content in them is 45%. The ore is supplied to KMK. The Teyskoye deposit has ores with an average iron content of 37%. The Irbinsk deposit concentrates iron ores, the average iron content in which reaches 46-50%. The Angara-Ilimsk iron ore basin is partially exploited. The ore is mined at the Korshuovskoye deposit and delivered to the West Siberian Metallurgical Plant. The average content of iron in ores is 30-40%, but they are well enriched. The Angara-Pitsky basin has iron ore reserves of 1.6 billion tons. The iron content in ores is 32-38%. They require sophisticated enrichment methods.

The predicted iron ore reserves of the Far East are estimated at 3 billion tons. They are concentrated mainly in the Aldan basin. Among the deposits, the Taiga, Pionerskoye and Sivaglinskoye are the richest. Taiga is the largest deposit, its reserves are estimated at 1.3 billion tons. Ores contain an average of 46% iron, and in some layers - more than 60%. The Pionerskoye deposit has poorer ores, with an average iron content of 40%. Ores with an average iron content of 58% occur in the Sivaglinskoye deposit, and up to 72% in some layers.

Of great interest are the ferruginous quartzites of the Charo-Tokkinskoye deposit and the Olekminsky deposit with predicted reserves of more than 6 billion tons, but they have not yet been explored enough.

Non-ferrous metallurgy stands out as one of the most labour-intensive, capital-intensive and energy-intensive industries. In the cost structure, the cost of raw materials exceeds 50%. To get 1 ton of nickel, it is necessary to extract and process almost 200 tons of ore, 1 ton of tin - over 300 tons, 1 ton of tungsten and molybdenum - 1000 tons of ore.

In terms of copper reserves and Russia, the Ural (60% of copper ore mining) and East Siberian (40%) economic regions stand out. There are also small reserves of these resources in the North Caucasus and in the Altai Territory.

One of the most common types of copper ore deposits is copper pyrite. In addition to copper, they contain sulfur, zinc, gold, silver, cobalt and other components. Ores of this type occur in the Urals. The main deposits on the territory of the Urals are Degtyarskoye, Kirovogradskoye, Krasnouralskoye (Sverdlovsk region), Karabashskoye (Chelyabinsk region), Gayskoye and Blyavinskoye (Orenburg region), Uchalirskoye and Buribaevskoye (Bashkiria). Among them, the Ganskoe deposit stands out, in the ores of which the copper content reaches 10%.

Another type of copper ore deposits is cuprous sandstones. The main deposit of this type is Udokanskoye (Chita region). On the territory of Russia there are also copper-nickel ores. They are mined in the Norilsk, Talnakh and Oktyabrsk deposits (Krasnoyarsk Territory).

Lead-zinc ores are usually found in nature along with copper and silver. Sometimes these ores contain bismuth, selenium, tellurium and other metals. Therefore, lead-zinc ores are called polymetallic. The ores of most deposits contain zinc, which contains 1.5-2 times more than lead.

The processing of polymetallic ores is extremely complex. The first stage is enrichment (separation from waste rock). The second is the isolation of individual metals (zinc, lead, silver, copper, etc.). The third stage is the smelting of the corresponding metal.

On the territory of Russia, large reserves of zinc and lead have been identified and explored. They are concentrated in the Kemerovo region (Salair group), in the Chita region (Nerchinsk group), in Primorsky Krai (Dalnogorsk group).

In the western part of the Yenisei Ridge, a polymetallic province was discovered with a deposit of a new genetic type, previously unknown either in Russia or abroad. Polymetallic deposits are confined to Precambrian carbonate rocks.

One of the largest in the world is the Gorevsky polymetallic deposit (Krasnoyarsk Territory). The ore bodies of the deposit are deposits with a thickness of 5 to 30 m. The main useful components in the ores are lead and zinc. The average content of lead in the Gorevsky ores is 4 times higher than the average content of lead in the ores of the deposits exploited in the country. Industrial interest is also contained in the ores of silver and other rare metals. The ores of this deposit are of the vein-disseminated type with individual areas of massive ores. Gorevsky ores are well enriched from conditioned concentrates, while extracting up to 96% of lead and 85% of zinc. The hydrological conditions of the deposit are extremely difficult due to the location of most of them under the Angara bed.

On the basis of the Gorevsky deposit, which has no equal in terms of lead reserves, the creation of a large mining and processing enterprise began. The development of the deposit will allow a 3-fold increase in the production of lead in the country, which will have a significant impact on overcoming the lag in the production and industrial processing of lead in Russia compared to the United States.

The amount of one-time capital investments required for the development of the Gorevsky deposit (taking into account the costs of hydraulic facilities) should be 1.5 times higher than for other lead-zinc deposits in the country planned for operation. However, due to the large scale of the mine's production operations and favorable technical and economic indicators of ore processing, the development of the Gorevskoye deposit is expected to be profitable. Production costs per 1 rub. finished release marketable products Gorevsky Mining and Processing Plant will be 2.5 times lower than the industry average. Return on investment - 2.5 years.

Another major polymetallic deposit in Eastern Siberia is the Kyzyl-Tashtyg and Ozernoye, which contain rich deposits of zinc. The ore reserves of three deposits determine the expediency of building a large modern lead-zinc plant in the south of the Krasnoyarsk Territory (Achinsk or Abakan) or the Irkutsk Region (Taishet or Zima).

During the construction of this plant, the reduced costs per 1 ton of metal, taking into account mining, enrichment and metallurgical processing, will, according to calculations, be 2.3 times lower than the average for the industry.

The highly promising Kholodinskoye deposit of polymetallic ores, and in particular those containing zinc and lead. According to preliminary data, it is 3 times larger than the Gorevskoye field in terms of reserves. Due to the fact that the Kholodinskoye field is located near Lake Baikal, it can only be developed on a waste-free basis. technological scheme, economic justification which has not yet been fulfilled.

The Ozernoe deposit of polymetallic ores is promising for industrial development. In terms of reserves and degree of ore dressing, it is inferior to the Gorevsky and Kholodinsky deposits, but is located in more favorable natural and economic conditions. According to the composition of the ores, the deposit is predominantly zinc (zinc in it is 8 times more than lead). It has been explored in detail and put into operation.

Good conditions for the exploitation of polymetallic ores are available in the Chita region. A mining and processing plant is being built here on the basis of the Novo-Shirokinsky deposit, and work continues to expand the mineral resource base of the Nerchensky GOK, which has been operating for more than 250 years.

Three types of raw materials are used to produce aluminum: bauxite, nepheline and alunite. The main one is bauxites. The content of alumina in bauxites is 40-70%.

Bauxite deposits are located in the Sverdlovsk region (Severouralskoye) and in the Chelyabinsk region (South-Uralskoye), in Bashkiria (Suleyskoye), in the Leningrad (Tikhvinskoye) and Arkhangelsk (North-Onega) regions, in the Komi (Timanskoye), Kemerovo region (Vaganskoye , Tyukhtinskoye and Smaznevskoye), in the Krasnoyarsk Territory (Chadobetskoye and Boksonskoye).

From nephelines (along with alumina) cement, soda and potash are produced. The largest deposits are located in Murmansk region(Khibiny), in the Kemerovo region (Kiya-Shaltyrskoye), in the Krasnoyarsk Territory (Goryachegorskoye, Tuluyulskoye and Kurgusulskoye).

Gold occurs in the form of quartz-gold veins and in placers. Quartz-gold-bearing veins are common in the Urals, in the Altai Territory, in Gornaya Shoria, in the Irkutsk Region, in Yakutia, and in the Magadan Region.

4. Non-metallic mineral raw materials

The raw materials from which phosphate fertilizers are produced are apatites and phosphorites. Their balance reserves in Russia exceed 8 billion tons.

The world's largest Khibiny apatite deposit with balance reserves of 2.7 billion tons is located in the Murmansk region. Nepheline is mined along with apatite.

Phosphorite deposits are mainly concentrated in the European zone. Among them, the Vyatka-Kama (Kirov region) stand out with balance reserves of 1.6 billion tons. In addition, there are phosphorite deposits in the Moscow (Egorievsk), Kursk (Shchigrovskoye), Bryansk (Polpinsk) regions, in the Krasnoyarsk Territory (Telekskoye) , in the Irkutsk region (Vostochno-Sayanskoe).

Potassium salts are concentrated in the Upper Kama basin (Perm region). Its balance reserves are estimated at 21.7 billion tons.

Sulfur, sulfur pyrites are used to produce sulfuric acid. Native sulfur is available in the Kuibyshev region, in Dagestan and the Khabarovsk Territory. Sulfur pyrite is widespread in the Urals.

The reserves of table salt in Russia are huge. Its largest deposits are located in Perm (Verzhne-Kamskoye), Orenburg (Iletskoye), Astrakhan (Baskunchakskoye and Eltonskoye), Irkutsk (Usolskoye) regions, Altai Territory (Kulundinskoye, Kuchukskoye), Yakutia (Olekminskoye).

Mica deposits are concentrated mainly in the Northern zone of the country - Mansky and Aldan regions (Yakutia). There are also mica reserves in Karelia and the Murmansk region.

Industrial stocks of asbestos are concentrated in the Urals - Bazhenovskoye (Sverdlovsk region) and Kiembaevskoe (Orenburg region) deposits. Unique Molodezhnoye asbestos deposit (Buryatia).

Diamond reserves are located in Yakutia (MIR, Aikhad, Udachnaya), Perm (Visherskoye) and Arkhangelsk regions.

5. Assessment of the mineral resource base of Russia

The economic-geographical assessment of natural resources is one of the most important problems in economic and social geography. It is a complex concept that includes three types of estimates of natural resources.

First, it includes the quantification of individual resources, such as coal reserves in tons, gas or wood reserves in cubic meters. Quantification is absolute and depends on the degree of exploration of the resource. It is large, grows with an increase in the exploration of the resource and decreases as it is exploited.

Secondly, it is customary to consider the assessment of natural resources from a technological, technical and historical point of view. This approach takes into account the state of exploration of resources, including their suitability for various economic purposes, the degree of exploration, availability.

Third, it includes the cost of resources. To date, large reserves of minerals have been identified, explored and preliminary estimated, the potential value of which is about 30 billion dollars. Of these, 32.2% is gas, 23.3% coal and oil shale, 15.7% oil, 14.7% non-metallic raw materials, 6.8% ferrous metals, 6.8% non-ferrous and rare metals and 1% for gold, platinum, silver and diamonds.

A significantly higher indicator (140.2 trillion rubles) is estimated for the forecast potential. Its structure is dominated by: solid fuel (79.5%), followed by gas (6.9%) and oil (6.5%). For other types of minerals - 7.2%.

6. Opportunities and problems of development of mineral resources in Russia

Today, as in past centuries, mineral resources remain an indispensable material basis for the development of society. But in recent decades, a number of objective trends have emerged that reduce the effectiveness of the development of the mineral resource complex. The 20th century is characterized by an unprecedented increase in population and world social production. This led to a significant increase in the scale of consumption of mineral raw materials and its extraction, which reached 20 billion tons per year in the whole world. At the same time, the main volume of production falls on non-metallic raw materials (building materials, fertilizers, etc.).

In this regard, there has been a trend towards the depletion of the most easily accessible and the richest deposits minerals occurring at already developed relatively shallow depths. The society faced a real threat of a shortage of mineral resources in the future. This prompted a number of scientists to highlight the factor of the absolute physical limitation of minerals in the bowels of the globe. In fact, we are talking about relative limitation. It depends on the real possibility of using resources based on the results of geological exploration, the scientific and technical base of the extractive industries, the level of prices for mineral raw materials, and the state of international relations.

The relative depletion of surface reserves of mineral raw materials predetermined the increase in deep prospecting and production, the deterioration of mining and geological conditions, access to areas more difficult to develop, in particular in the waters of the seas and oceans, as well as the involvement of raw materials in the circulation. the worst quality and new types of raw materials. This caused an increase in the cost of geological exploration and mining, as well as a significant increase in prices for them.

Mankind would not have been able to achieve such success in the development of the mineral resource complex if it had not relied on the achievements of scientific and technological progress. Under the new conditions, a further increase in the reserves of mineral raw materials, all the more, cannot be ensured without the development of new methods of prospecting and exploration of minerals, their extraction, enrichment and processing. Development of great depths, non-traditional types of raw materials, ocean floor, permafrost zone, etc. require new technical and technological solutions. Exploration, mining, processing, transportation and consumption of mineral raw materials are associated with large losses and environmental pollution. The reduction of the negative impact of these factors on nature also depends on the active introduction into practice of the achievements of the scientific and technological revolution.

Environmental problems are increasingly attracting people's attention. Oil spills into the sea can cause great damage to nature. It is estimated, for example, that 6-10 mil. tons of oil. The oil film, covering the surface of the sea, delays solar radiation. And this leads to chemical poisoning and the death of marine organisms. The cause of the oil spill is the collapse of tankers and the drilling of offshore wells.

When coal is transported by rail, a huge amount of coal dust and crumbs are carried by the wind. Harmful impurities are carried away into the atmosphere when coal and oil products are burned. In this case, sulfuric anhydride, combining with the pores of water, forms sulfuric acid. It falls in the form of acid rain and damages the soil, making it sterile.

Conclusion

Based on the foregoing, we can conclude that Russia is enormously resource-supplied with all sorts of great variety of mineral resources.

To increase the production and profitability of processing mineral resources, it is necessary to use modern tools and technologies.

For the successful development of the country's economy, a competent and expedient policy is needed to bring these resources to the target and rational use and the need to maintain their ecological balance.

For 300 years (in 2000 there was a jubilee) “ore prospecting and mining” in Russia has been the concern of the state. current times- not the best in the history of the Russian state geological service. Despite financial difficulties, new deposits are being opened up for subsoil explorers.

Literature

1. Economic geography of Russia, tutorial in 3 parts, ed. Dr. Econ. Sciences V. M. Krashennikova, Moscow, RTA, 1996

2. "Economic potential of the customs territory of Russia", reference material, Moscow, RTA, 1997

3. "Economic Geography of Russia", textbook, ed. Vityakhina, Moscow, RTA, 1999

4. "Russian Statistical Yearbook", periodical reference publication, M., Goskomstat of Russia.

5. "Geographical Atlas of the World", Moscow, "ROSMEN", 1998

6. Dinkov V. A. "Oil industry yesterday, today, tomorrow", Moscow, VNIIOENG, 1988

7. Sudo M. M. “Pantry Lands”, Moscow, “Knowledge”, 1987

8. Grebtsov V. E. " a brief description of economic regions of Russia.

Most types of mineral raw materials are represented by ores, consisting of minerals, i.e. inorganic substances of natural origin. However, some important types of minerals, in particular energy raw materials, are of organic origin (fossil coals, oil, peat, oil shale and natural gas). They are attached to mineral raw materials conditionally. In recent years, hydromineral raw materials, highly mineralized underground waters (buried brines), have become increasingly important.

The value of individual types of mineral raw materials is determined depending on the area of ​​their application (for energy production, in machine and instrument making, in the production of consumer goods), as well as on how rare they are.

The mineral raw materials necessary to ensure the defense industry and the uninterrupted functioning of its raw material base are sometimes called strategic. The United States constantly maintains a certain stock (state reserve) of strategic materials, and more than half of the demand for 22 types of mineral raw materials has to be met through imports. Chromium, tin, zinc, tungsten, yttrium, manganese, platinum and platinoids, as well as bauxites (aluminum ores) occupy an important place among imported materials.

In 1987, the USSR imported only four types of mineral raw materials: bauxite, barite, bismuth concentrate and lumpy fluorite. Later, he began to import ilmenite (titanium ore), niobium and partly tantalum concentrates, as well as ferroniobium. Russia switched to importing finished pipes made of niobium steel for gas, oil and product pipelines. After the collapse of the USSR, Russia lost most of the deposits of chromites, manganese, titanium, lead, uranium, partly copper, zinc, molybdenum and some other metals and is now forced to import all these types of raw materials. As in the United States, in Russia there is a state reserve of scarce minerals.

FUEL MINERALS

Most of the world's energy comes from burning fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas. In nuclear power, fuel elements (fuel elements) of industrial reactors at nuclear power plants consist of uranium fuel rods.

Coal

is an important national natural resource primarily due to its energy value. Among the world's leading powers, only Japan does not have large coal reserves. Although coal is the most common type of energy resource, there are vast areas on our planet where there are no coal deposits. Coals differ in calorific value: it is the lowest for brown coal (lignite) and the highest for anthracite (solid shiny black coal). World coal production is 4.7 billion tons per year (1995). However, in all countries in recent years there has been a tendency to reduce its production, as it gives way to other types of energy raw materials - oil and gas. In a number of countries, coal mining becomes unprofitable due to the development of the richest and relatively shallow seams. Many old mines are closed as unprofitable. China leads the world in coal production, followed by the United States, Australia and Russia. A significant amount of coal is mined in Germany, Poland, South Africa, India, Ukraine and Kazakhstan.

North America.

Fossil coal is the most important and most abundant source of energy in the United States. The country has the world's largest industrial coal reserves (of all types), which are estimated at 444.8 billion tons, the total reserves in the country exceed 1.13 trillion. tons, predicted resources - 3.6 trillion. The largest supplier of coal is Kentucky, followed by Wyoming and West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Texas (mainly lignite), Virginia, Ohio, Indiana and Montana. Approximately half of the reserves of high-grade coal are concentrated in the Eastern (or Appalachian) province, stretching from north to south from northwestern Pennsylvania to northern Alabama. These high quality Carboniferous coals are used to generate electricity and produce metallurgical coke for iron and steel smelting. To the east of this coal belt in Pennsylvania is a coal basin with an area of ​​approx. 1300 sq. km, which accounts for almost all anthracite production in the country.

The largest coal reserves are located in the north of the Central Plains and in the Rocky Mountains. In the Powder River coal basin (Wyoming), coal seams with a thickness of approx. 30 m are mined in an open way by giant dragline excavators, while in the eastern regions of the country even thin (about 60 cm) seams are often available for excavation only by underground. North Dakota lignite is the largest coal gasifier in the country.

Reserves of brown and hard (sub-bituminous) coals of the Upper Cretaceous and Tertiary age in the western regions of North Dakota and South Dakota, as well as in the eastern regions of Montana and Wyoming, many times exceed the amount of coal mined so far in the United States. Large reserves of Cretaceous hard (bituminous) coals are found in the intermountain sedimentary basins of the Rocky Mountains province (in the states of Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah). Further south, the coal basin continues within the states of Arizona and New Mexico. Small coal deposits are being developed in the states of Washington and California. Almost 1.5 million tons of coal is mined annually in Alaska. The reserves of coal in the United States at the current rate of its consumption should be enough for several hundred years.

A potential source of energy is methane contained in coal seams; its reserves in the US are estimated at more than 11 trillion. m 3.

Canada's coal deposits are concentrated mainly in the eastern and western provinces, where approx. 64 million tons of bituminous and 11 million tons of brown coal per year. Deposits of high-quality coals of coal age are found in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, younger coals are not so High Quality- within the northward coal-bearing basins of the Great Plains and the Rocky Mountains in Saskatchewan and Alberta. High quality Lower Cretaceous coals occur in western Alberta and British Columbia. They are being intensively developed due to the growing demand for coking coal from smelters located on the Pacific coast of the country.

South America.

In the rest of the Western Hemisphere, industrial coal deposits are small. The leading producer of coal in South America is Colombia, where it is mined mainly from the giant El Serrejon coal mine. Colombia is followed by Brazil, Chile, Argentina and Venezuela with very small coal reserves.

Asia.

The largest reserves of fossil coal are concentrated in China, where this type of energy raw material accounts for 76% of the fuel consumed. Shared Resources coal in China exceed 986 billion tons, about half of them are in Shaanxi and Inner Mongolia. There are also large reserves in the provinces of Anhui, Guizhou, Shinxi and in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. From total The 1.3 billion tons of coal mined in China in 1995, about half comes from 60,000 small coal mines and open pits of local importance, the other half from large state-owned mines, such as the powerful Antaibao open pit in Shaanxi province (Fig. 1 ), where up to 15 million tons of raw (unenriched) coal is mined annually.

Important coal-producing countries in Asia are India (278 million tons per year), North Korea (50 million tons), Turkey (53.2 million tons), Thailand (19.3 million tons).

CIS.

In Russia, coal combustion produces half as much energy as oil and gas combustion. However, coal continues to play an important role in the energy sector. In 1995, over 260 million tons of coal were used as fuel for thermal power plants and in the steel industry. Approximately 2/3 of fossil coals in Russia are bituminous, and 1/3 are brown. The largest coal basins in Russia: Kuznetsk (largest in terms of production), Tunguska, Taimyr, Lena, Irkutsk, South Yakutsk, Minusinsk, Bureinsky, Pechorsky, Karaganda. The Chelyabinsk and Kizelovsky basins in the Urals, the Suchansky in the Far East, and a number of small deposits in Transbaikalia are also of great industrial importance. The Donetsk coal basin with high-quality coking coal and anthracite only partially enters the territory of the Rostov region of the Russian Federation, and is mainly located in Ukraine.

Lensky, Kansk-Achinsk, Tunguska, Kuznetsk, Taymyrsky, Moscow region stand out among the brown coal basins.

In Ukraine, in addition to the Donbass, there is the Lvov-Volyn coal basin, in Kazakhstan - a large Ekibastuz coal deposit and the Turgai brown coal basin, in Uzbekistan - the Angren deposit of brown coal.

Europe.

Coal mining in Central and Western Europe in 1995 was 1/9 of the world. The high quality coal mined in the British Isles is mostly Carboniferous in age. Most of the coal deposits are located in south Wales, in the west and north of England and in the south of Scotland. Within continental Europe, coal is mined in about 20 countries, mainly in Ukraine and Russia. Of the coal mined in Germany, about 1/3 is high-quality coking coal from the Ruhr Basin (Westphalia); in Thuringia and Saxony, and to a lesser extent in Bavaria, brown coal is mainly mined. Industrial reserves of hard coal in the Upper Silesian coal basin in southern Poland are second only to those of the Ruhr basin. The Czech Republic also has industrial reserves of hard (bituminous) and brown coals.

Africa

quite poor in fossil coal deposits. Only in South Africa (mainly in the south and southeast of the Transvaal) coal mined in significant quantities (about 202 million tons per year) and in a small amount - in Zimbabwe (4.9 million tons per year).

Australia

is one of the world's largest coal producers, whose exports to the Pacific Rim countries are constantly growing. Coal mining here exceeds 277 million tons per year (80% bituminous, 20% brown coal). Queensland (Bowen Coal Basin) produces the most coal, followed by New South Wales (Hunter Valley, West and South Coastal), Western Australia (Banbury) and Tasmania (Fingal). In addition, coal is mined in South Australia (Lee Creek) and Victoria (Latrobe Valley coal basin).

Oil and gas.

conditions of education.

Oil and gas bearing sedimentary basins are usually associated with certain geological structures. Almost all large oil deposits are confined to geosynclines - areas of the earth's crust that have experienced subsidence for a long time, as a result of which especially thick sedimentary strata have accumulated there. Sedimentation under such conditions occurred synchronously with tectonic subsidence; therefore, the seas that flooded the lower relief elements were shallow, and even with a total sediment thickness of more than 6 km, oil-bearing deposits are composed of shallow-water facies.

Oil and gas occur in rocks of various ages, from Cambrian to Pliocene. Sometimes oil is also extracted from Precambrian rocks, but it is believed that its penetration into these rocks is secondary. The most ancient oil deposits, confined to Paleozoic rocks, have been established mainly in the territory North America. This can probably be explained by the fact that here the most intensive searches were carried out in rocks of this particular age.

Most of the oil fields are dispersed over six regions of the world and are confined to inland depressions and continental margins: 1) Persian Gulf - North Africa; 2) Gulf of Mexico - Caribbean Sea (including coastal areas of Mexico, USA, Colombia, Venezuela and Trinidad Island); 3) the islands of the Malay Archipelago and New Guinea; 4) Western Siberia; 5) northern Alaska; 6) the North Sea (mainly the Norwegian and British sectors); 7) Sakhalin Island with adjacent shelf areas.

Stocks.

World oil reserves are more than 132.7 billion tons (1995). Of these, 74% are in Asia, including the Middle East (more than 66%). The largest oil reserves are (in descending order): Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, UAE, Kuwait, Iran, Venezuela, Mexico, Libya, China, USA, Nigeria, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Norway.

The volume of world oil production is approx. 3.1 billion tons (1995), i.e. almost 8.5 million tons per day. Production is carried out by 95 countries, with more than 77% of crude oil production coming from 15 of them, including Saudi Arabia (12.8%), the United States (10.4%), Russia (9.7%), Iran (5.8%). %), Mexico (4.8%), China (4.7%), Norway (4.4%), Venezuela (4.3%), United Kingdom (4.1%), United Arab Emirates (3.4 %), Kuwait (3.3%), Nigeria (3.2%), Canada (2.8%), Indonesia (2.4%), Iraq (1.0%).

North America.

In the USA in 1995 ca. 88% of all oil production came from Texas (24%), Alaska (23%), Louisiana (14%), California (13%), Oklahoma (4%), Wyoming (3.5%), New Mexico (3 .0%), Kansas (2%) and North Dakota (1.4%).

The largest area is occupied by the oil and gas province of the Rocky Mountains (the states of Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, the northwestern part of New Mexico, Utah, Arizona and Nevada). Its productive strata range in age from Mississippian (Lower Carboniferous) to Cretaceous. Among the largest fields are Bell Creek in southeastern Montana, Salt Creek and the Elk Basin in Wyoming, Rangely in western Colorado, and the San Juan oil and gas region in northwestern New Mexico.

Commercial oil production in the Pacific geosynclinal province is concentrated in California and northern Alaska, where one of the largest oil and gas fields in the world, Prudhoe Bay, is located. In the future, as this field is depleted, the development of oil deposits may move to the Arctic Fauna Reserve, where oil resources are estimated at almost 1.5 billion tons. The main oil and gas region of California - the San Joaquin Valley - includes such major fields as Sunset Midway, Kettleman Hills and Coalinga. Large deposits are located in the Los Angeles basin (Santa Fe Springs, Long Beach, Wilmington), the Vertura and Santa Maria deposits are of lesser importance. Most of California's oil is associated with Miocene and Pliocene deposits.

Canada produces 89.9 million tons of oil annually, mainly in the province of Alberta. In addition, oil and gas fields are being developed in British Columbia (primarily gas), Saskatchewan and southwestern Manitoba (the northern extension of the Williston Basin).

In Mexico, the main deposits of oil and gas are located on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico in the areas of Tampico, Poza Rica de Hidalgo and Minatitlán.

South America.

The largest oil and gas basin in this part of the world, Maracaibo, is located within Venezuela and Colombia. Venezuela is the leading oil producer in South America. Brazil is in second place, Argentina is third, and Colombia is fourth. Oil is also produced in Ecuador, Peru and Trinidad and Tobago.

Europe and CIS countries.

The extraction of oil and natural gas played a very important role in the economy of the USSR, which was one of the largest producers and exporters of oil. In 1987 almost 128,000 oil wells were operating in the USSR. In 1995, oil production in Russia amounted to 306.7 million tons. Most of the newly developed fields (94) are located in Western Siberia. There are also large deposits in the North Caucasus, in the Volga-Ural region, Eastern Siberia and the countries of Central Asia. One of the world's largest oil and gas basins is located in Azerbaijan in the Baku region.

The discovery in the early 1970s of large deposits of oil and gas in the North Sea brought the UK to the second place in Europe in terms of oil production, and Norway to the third. Romania is one of the countries where oil extraction from hand-dug wells began as early as 1857 (two years earlier than in the USA). Its main South Carpathian oil fields have been largely depleted, and in 1995 only 6.6 million tons were produced in the country. The total oil production in Denmark, Yugoslavia, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Albania and Spain in the same year amounted to 18.4 million tons

Near East.

The main oil producers in this region are Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait. In Oman, Qatar and Syria, more than 266 thousand tons of oil are produced per day (1995). The main oil fields in Iran and Iraq are located along the eastern periphery of the Mesopotamian lowland (the largest of them are south of the city of Bosra), and in Saudi Arabia - on the coast and shelf of the Persian Gulf.

South and East Asia.

The leading oil producer here is China, where daily production is approx. 407.6 thousand tons (1995). The largest deposits are Daqing in Heilongjiang province (about 40% of China's total production), Shengli in Hebei province (23%) and Liaohe in Liaoning province (about 8%). Oil and gas basins are also widespread in the central and western regions of China.

India is the second largest oil and gas producer in the region. Their main reserves are concentrated in sedimentary basins framing the Precambrian shield. Oil production in Indonesia began in 1893 (Sumatra) and reached an industrial scale in 1901. At present, Indonesia produces 207.6 thousand tons of oil per day (1995), as well as a large amount of natural gas. Oil is produced in Pakistan, Myanmar, Japan, Thailand and Malaysia.

Africa.

Nigeria and Libya produce the largest amount of oil, and the deposits of Algeria and Egypt are also significant.

Bituminous sands and oil shale.

During the energy crisis of the 1970s, searches were made for alternative energy sources that could replace oil. In Canada, for example, tar sands (oil sands, in which heavy oils, bitumen and asphalt remain after volatilization of light fractions) have been developed by open pit mining. In Russia, there is a similar deposit on Timan (Yaritskoye). Large reserves of oil shale are concentrated in the USA (in the west of Colorado and in other areas). The largest oil shale deposit is in Estonia. In Russia, oil shale is found in the Leningrad, Pskov and Kostroma regions, the Volga region, and the Irkutsk coal basin.

FERROUS METAL ORES

Iron.

The main iron-bearing minerals are hematite, magnetite, limonite, chamosite, thuringite and siderite. Deposits of iron ore are classified as industrial with a metal content of at least several tens of millions of tons and a shallow occurrence of ore bodies (so that open-pit mining can be carried out). In large deposits, the iron content amounts to hundreds of millions of tons.

The total world production of iron ore exceeds 1 billion tons (1995). Most of the ore (in million tons) is mined in China (250), Brazil (185), Australia (more than 140), Russia (78), USA and India (60 each) and Ukraine (45). On a significant scale, iron ore is also mined in Canada, South Africa, Sweden, Venezuela, Liberia and France. The total world resources of raw (unenriched) ore exceed 1400 billion tons, industrial - more than 360 billion tons.

IN THE USA the largest number iron ore is mined in the Lake Superior region, the main share of which comes from the deposit of ferruginous quartzites (taconites) in the Mesabi region (Minnesota); in second place is Michigan, where ore pellets are produced. Smaller quantities of iron ore are mined in the states of California, Wisconsin and Missouri.

In Russia, the total reserves of iron ores amount to 101 billion tons, with 59% of the reserves concentrated in the European part, and 41% - to the east of the Urals. Significant mining is carried out in Ukraine in the area of ​​the Krivoy Rog iron ore basin. Australia occupies the first place in the world in terms of exports of commercial iron ore (143 million tons). The total ore reserves there reach 28 billion tons. Mining is carried out mainly (90%) in the Hammersley region (Pilbara district, Western Australia). In second place is Brazil (131 million tons), which has exceptionally rich deposits, many of which are concentrated in the Minas Gerais iron ore basin.

The world leader in the smelting of crude steel in 1988 was the USSR (180.4 million tons), from 1991 to 1996 Japan ranked first (101 million tons), followed by the USA and China (93 million tons each) and Russia (51 million tons).

Manganese

used in the production of alloyed steel and cast iron, as well as an alloying additive to alloys to give them strength, toughness and hardness. Most of the world's industrial reserves of manganese ores are in Ukraine (42.2%), South Africa (19.9%), Kazakhstan (7.3%), Gabon (4.7%), Australia (3.5%), China (2.8%) and Russia (2.7%). A significant amount of manganese is produced in Brazil and India.

Chromium

- one of the main components of stainless heat-resistant, acid-resistant steel and an important ingredient in corrosion-resistant and heat-resistant superalloys. Of the 15.3 billion tons of estimated reserves of high-grade chromite ores, 79% are in South Africa, where mining in 1995 amounted to 5.1 million tons, Kazakhstan (2.4 million tons), India (1.2 million tons) and Turkey (0.8 million tons). A fairly large chromium deposit is located in Armenia. Russia is developing a small field in the Urals.

Vanadium

- the rarest representative of ferrous metals. The main field of application of vanadium is the production of fine cast irons and steels. The addition of vanadium provides high performance titanium alloys for the aerospace industry. It is also widely used as a catalyst in the production of sulfuric acid. In nature, vanadium is found in the composition of titanomagnetite ores, rarely in phosphorites, as well as in uranium-bearing sandstones and siltstones, where its concentration does not exceed 2%. The main vanadium ore minerals in such deposits are carnotite and vanadium muscovite-roscoelite. Significant amounts of vanadium are sometimes also present in bauxites, heavy oils, brown coals, bituminous shales and sands. Vanadium is usually obtained as a by-product during the extraction of the main components of mineral raw materials (for example, from titanium slag during the processing of titanium magnetite concentrates, or from ash from burning oil, coal, etc.).

The main producers of vanadium are South Africa, the USA, Russia (mainly the Urals) and Finland. South Africa, Australia and Russia are leaders in recorded vanadium reserves.

ORES OF NON-FERROUS METALS

Aluminum.

Bauxite, the main raw material of the aluminum industry. Bauxites are processed into alumina, and then aluminum is obtained from the cryolite-alumina melt. Bauxites are distributed mainly in the humid tropics and subtropics, where processes of deep chemical weathering of rocks take place.

Guinea (42% of world reserves), Australia (18.5%), Brazil (6.3%), Jamaica (4.7%), Cameroon (3.8%) and India (2.8%) have the largest bauxite reserves. ). In terms of the scale of production (42.6 million tons in 1995), Australia occupies the first place (the main producing regions are Western Australia, northern Queensland and the Northern Territory).

In the US, bauxite is mined open-pit in Alabama, Arkansas, and Georgia; the total volume is 35 thousand tons per year.

In Russia, bauxites are mined in the Urals, Timan and in the Leningrad region.

Magnesium

relatively recently began to be used in industry. During the Second World War, a significant part of the received magnesium went to the manufacture of incendiary shells, bombs, flares and other ammunition. In peacetime main area its applications are the production of light alloys based on magnesium and aluminum (magnaline, duralumin). Magnesium-aluminum alloys - cast (4-13% magnesium) and wrought (1-7% magnesium) - in terms of their physical properties are excellent for producing shaped castings and forged parts in various branches of machine and instrument making. World production magnesium (in thousand tons) in 1935 was 1.8, in 1943 - 238, in 1988 - 364. In addition, in 1995, approx. 5 million tons of magnesium compounds.

Stocks of raw materials suitable for the production of magnesium and its numerous compounds are practically unlimited and confined to many regions of the globe. Magnesium-containing dolomite and evaporites (carnallite, bischofite, kainite, etc.) are widely distributed in nature. The established world reserves of magnesite are estimated at 12 billion tons, of brucite - at several million tons. Magnesium compounds in natural brines can contain billions of tons of this metal.

About 41% of the world's production of magnesium metal and 12% of its compounds comes from the United States (1995). Major producers of metallic magnesium are Turkey and North Korea, magnesium compounds are Russia, China, North Korea, Turkey, Austria and Greece. Inexhaustible reserves of magnesian salts are contained in the brine of the Kara-Bogaz-Gol Bay. Magnesium metal in the USA is produced in the states of Texas, Utah and Washington, magnesium oxide and its other compounds are obtained from sea water (in California, Delaware, Florida and Texas), underground brines (in Michigan), and also by processing olivine (in North Carolina and Washington).

Copper

- the most valuable and one of the most common non-ferrous metals. The largest consumer of copper, the electrical industry, uses copper for power cables, telephone and telegraph wires, as well as in generators, electric motors, and switches. Copper is widely used in the automotive and construction industries, and is also used in the production of brass, bronze, and copper-nickel alloys.

The most important raw materials for copper production are chalcopyrite and bornite (copper and iron sulfides), chalcocite (copper sulfide), as well as native copper. Oxidized copper ores consist primarily of malachite (copper carbonate). The mined copper ore is often enriched on site, then the ore concentrate is sent to the copper smelter and further - to refining to obtain pure red copper. The cheapest and most common way of processing many copper ores is hydrometallurgical: liquid extraction and electrolytic refining of blister copper.

Copper deposits are distributed mainly in five regions of the world: the Rocky Mountains of the USA; the Precambrian (Canadian) shield within the state of Michigan (USA) and the provinces of Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba (Canada); on the western slopes of the Andes, especially in Chile and Peru; on the Central African Plateau - in the copper belt of Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as in Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Armenia. The main copper producers (1995) are Chile (2.5 million tons), USA (1.89 million tons), Canada (730 thousand tons), Indonesia (460 thousand tons), Peru (405 thousand tons) , Australia (394 thousand tons), Poland (384 thousand tons), Zambia (342 thousand tons), Russia (330 thousand tons).

In the US, copper ores are mined mainly in Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Michigan and Montana. The largest mine, Bingham Canyon (Utah), produces and processes 77,000 tons of copper ore per day.

Copper mining is the main mining industry in Chile, where approximately 22% of its world reserves are concentrated. Most copper ore is mined at the Chuquicamata deposit. The world's largest undeveloped copper ore body Escondida (with ore reserves of 1.8 billion tons at a copper content of 1.59%) was discovered in 1981 in the Atacama Desert in the north of the country.

Lead

it is mainly used in the manufacture of car batteries and lead tetraethylate gasoline additives (the use of toxic lead additives has recently been reduced due to restrictions on the use of leaded gasoline). About a quarter of the mined lead is used for the needs of construction, communications, the electrical and electronic industries, for the manufacture of ammunition, dyes (white lead, red lead, etc.), lead glass and crystal, and ceramic glazes. In addition, lead is used in ceramic production, for the manufacture of typographic fonts, in anti-friction alloys, as ballast weights or weights, and pipes and containers for radioactive materials are made from it. Lead is the main material for shielding against ionizing radiation. Most lead is recyclable (excluding glass and ceramic products, chemicals and pigments). Therefore, the demand for lead can be covered to a large extent through the processing of scrap metal.

The main ore mineral of lead is galena (lead luster), which is lead sulfide; it often also contains an admixture of silver, which is recovered along the way. Galena is usually associated with sphalerite, an ore mineral of zinc, and often with chalcopyrite, an ore mineral of copper, forming polymetallic ores.

Lead ores are mined in 48 countries; leading producers are Australia (16% of world production, 1995), China (16%), USA (15%), Peru (9%) and Canada (8%), significant production is also carried out in Kazakhstan, Russia, Mexico, Sweden, South Africa and Morocco. In the United States, the main producer of lead ore is the state of Missouri, where in the valley of the river. Mississippi 8 mines account for 89% of the nation's total lead production (1995). Other mining areas are the states of Colorado, Idaho and Montana. In Alaska, lead reserves are associated with zinc, silver, and copper ores. Most of Canada's developed lead deposits are in British Columbia.

In Australia, lead is always associated with zinc. The main deposits are Mount Isa (Queensland) and Broken Hill (New South Wales).

Large lead-zinc deposits are found in Kazakhstan (Rudny Altai, Kazakh Uplands), Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Azerbaijan. The main deposits of lead in Russia are concentrated in Altai, Transbaikalia, Primorye, Yakutia, the Yenisei and the North Caucasus.

Zinc

It is widely used for galvanizing - applying electroplated coatings that prevent rusting of the surface of steel and iron sheets, pipes, wires, metal meshes, shaped connecting parts of pipelines, as well as for the production of brass and other alloys. Zinc compounds serve as pigments, phosphors, etc.

The main mineral of zinc ores, sphalerite (zinc sulfide), is often associated with galena or chalcopyrite. Canada occupies the first place in the world in terms of production (16.5% of world production, 1113 thousand tons, 1995) and zinc reserves. In addition, significant zinc reserves are concentrated in China (13.5%), Australia (13%), Peru (10%), USA (10%), Ireland (about 3%). Zinc is mined in 50 countries. In Russia, zinc is extracted from copper pyrite deposits in the Urals, as well as from polymetallic deposits in the mountains of Southern Siberia and Primorye. Large reserves of zinc are concentrated in Rudny Altai (Eastern Kazakhstan - Leninogorsk, etc.), which accounts for more than 50% of zinc production in the CIS countries. Zinc is also mined in Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan (Almalyk deposit) and Tajikistan.

In the US, Tennessee is the leading zinc producer (55%), followed by New York and Missouri. Other significant zinc producers are Colorado, Montana, Idaho, and Alaska. The development of the large Red Dog deposit in Alaska is very promising. In Canada, the most important zinc mines are in British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba and the Northwest Territories.

Nickel.

About 64% of all nickel produced in the world is used to obtain nickel steel, which is used to make tools, machine tools, armor plates and plates, stainless steel utensils and other products; 16% of nickel is spent on electroplating (nickel plating) of steel, brass, copper and zinc; 9% for superalloys for turbines, aircraft mounts, turbochargers, etc. Nickel is used in minting coins (for example, the American nickel contains 25% nickel and 75% copper).

In primary ores, nickel is present in compounds with sulfur and arsenic, and in secondary deposits (weathering crusts, laterites) it forms disseminated dissemination of aqueous nickel silicates. Half of the world's nickel production comes from Russia and Canada, with large-scale mining also taking place in Australia, Indonesia, New Caledonia, South Africa, Cuba, China, the Dominican Republic and Colombia. In Russia, which ranks first in the extraction of nickel ores (22% of world production), the main part of the ore is extracted from copper-nickel sulfide deposits in the Norilsk region (Taimyr) and partly in the Pechenga region (Kola Peninsula); a silicate-nickel deposit is also being developed in the Urals. Canada, which previously produced 80% of the world's nickel at the expense of one of the largest copper-nickel deposits in Sudbury (prov. Ontario), is now inferior to Russia in terms of production. Nickel deposits are also being developed in Canada in Manitoba, British Columbia and other areas.

There are no nickel ore deposits in the US, and nickel is recovered as a by-product from a single copper refinery and is also produced from scrap metal.

Cobalt

forms the basis of exceptionally high strength alloys (superalloys) for industrial and aviation gas turbine engines, as well as for the manufacture of powerful permanent magnets. World cobalt reserves are estimated at about 10.3 million tons. Most of it is mined in the Congo (DRC) and Zambia, much less in Canada, Australia, Kazakhstan, Russia (in the Urals), and Ukraine. The United States does not produce cobalt, although its non-industrial reserves (1.4 million tons) are found in Minnesota (0.9 million tons), California, Idaho, Missouri, Montana, Oregon and Alaska.

Tin

used for the manufacture of white (tinned) tin. Due to its non-toxicity, this sheet (steel coated with a thin film of tin) is ideal for food storage. In the US, 25% of tin is used to make cans. Other uses for tin are soldering, making putties, tin foil, bronze, babbits, and other alloys.

The main (until recently, the only) tin ore mineral is cassiterite (tin stone), which occurs mainly in quartz veins associated with granites, as well as in alluvial placers.

Almost half of the world's tin production comes from alluvial deposits. South-East Asia- a belt with a length of 1600 km and a width of up to 190 km from Bank Island (Indonesia) to the extreme southeast of China. The world's largest tin producers are China (61 thousand tons in 1995), Indonesia (44 thousand tons), Malaysia (39 thousand tons), Bolivia (20 thousand tons), Brazil (15 thousand tons) and Russia (12 thousand tons). Significant mining also takes place in Australia, Canada, the Congo (DRC) and the UK.

Molybdenum

It is mainly used in the production of alloyed steels for machine tools, oil and gas, chemical and electrical industries and transport engineering, as well as for the production of armor plates and armor-piercing projectiles. The main ore mineral of molybdenum is molybdenite (molybdenum sulfide). This soft black mineral with a bright metallic luster is often associated with copper sulfides (chalcopyrite, etc.) or wolframite, less often cassiterite.

The first place in the world in the production of molybdenum is occupied by the United States, where its production in 1995 increased to 59 thousand tons (1992 - 49 thousand tons). Primary molybdenum is mined in Colorado (at the world's largest Henderson mine) and Idaho; in addition, molybdenum is recovered as a by-product in Arizona, California, Montana, and Utah. The second place in production is shared by Chile and China (18 thousand tons each), the third place is occupied by Canada (11 thousand tons). These three countries account for 88% of the world's molybdenum production.

In Russia, molybdenum ores are mined in Transbaikalia, Kuznetsk Alatau and in the North Caucasus. Small copper-molybdenum deposits are found in Kazakhstan and Armenia.

Tungsten

is part of superhard wear-resistant tool alloys, mainly in the form of carbide. It is used in the filaments of electric lamps. The main ore metals are wolframite and scheelite. 42% of the world's tungsten reserves (mainly wolframite) are concentrated in China. The second place in the production of tungsten (in the form of scheelite) is occupied by Russia (4.4 thousand tons in 1995). The main deposits are located in the Caucasus, Transbaikalia and Chukotka. There are also large deposits in Canada, the USA, Germany, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. There is one tungsten mine operating in the United States in California.

Bismuth

used for the production of low-melting alloys. Liquid bismuth serves as a coolant in nuclear reactors. Bismuth compounds are used in medicine, optics, electrical engineering, textile and other industries. Bismuth is obtained mainly as a by-product of lead smelting. Bismuth minerals (its sulfide bismuth, native bismuth, bismuth sulfosalts) are also present in the ores of copper, molybdenum, silver, nickel and cobalt, and in some uranium deposits. Only in Bolivia is bismuth mined directly from bismuth ore. Significant reserves of bismuth ore have been discovered in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

The world leaders in the production of bismuth (1995) are Peru (1000 tons), Mexico (900 tons), China (700 tons), Japan (175 tons), Canada (126 tons). Bismuth is extracted in significant quantities from polymetallic ores in Australia. In the US, bismuth is produced at only one lead refinery in Omaha, Nebraska.

Antimony.

The main field of application of antimony is flame retardants (anti-igniters) - compounds (mainly in the form of oxide Sb 2 O 3) that reduce the combustibility of wood, fabrics and other materials. Antimony is also used in the chemical industry, in semiconductors, in the manufacture of ceramics and glass, and as a lead hardener in car batteries. The main ore mineral is antimonite (stibnite), an antimony sulfide, very often associated with cinnabar (mercury sulfide), sometimes with wolframite (ferberite).

World reserves of antimony, estimated at 6 million tons, are concentrated mainly in China (52% of world reserves), as well as in Bolivia, Kyrgyzstan and Thailand (4.5% each), South Africa and Mexico. In the US, antimony deposits are found in Idaho, Nevada, Montana, and Alaska. In Russia, industrial deposits of antimony are known in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Krasnoyarsk Territory and Transbaikalia.

Mercury

- the only metal and mineral that is liquid at ordinary temperatures (hardens at -38.9 ° C). The most famous area of ​​​​application is thermometers, barometers, pressure gauges and other instruments. Mercury is used in electrical equipment - mercury gas-discharge light sources: mercury lamps, fluorescent lamps, as well as for the manufacture of dyes, in dentistry, etc.

The only ore mineral of mercury is cinnabar (bright red mercury sulfide), after its oxidative roasting in a distillation plant, mercury vapor condenses. Mercury and especially its vapors are very toxic. To obtain mercury, a less harmful hydrometallurgical method is also used: cinnabar is transferred to a solution of sodium sulfide, after which mercury is reduced to metal by aluminum.

In 1995, the world production of mercury was 3049 tons, and the identified resources of mercury were estimated at 675 thousand tons (mainly in Spain, Italy, Yugoslavia, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine and Russia). The largest mercury producers are Spain (1497 tons), China (550 tons), Algeria (290 tons), Mexico (280 tons). The main source of mercury is the Almaden deposit in southern Spain, which has been known for almost 2000 years. In 1986, large reserves were additionally explored there. In the United States, cinnabar is mined at one mine in Nevada, and some mercury is recovered as a by-product from gold mining in Nevada and Utah. The Khaidarkan and Chauvay deposits have been developed in Kyrgyzstan for a long time. In Russia, there are small deposits in Chukotka, Kamchatka and Altai.

PRECIOUS METALS AND THEIR ORES

Gold.

The total volume of gold mining in the world is 2200 tons (1995). The first place in the world in gold mining is occupied by South Africa (522 tons), the second - by the USA (329 tons, 1995). The oldest and deepest gold mine in the US is Homestake in the Black Hills (South Dakota); gold has been mined there for over a hundred years. In 1988, US gold production peaked. The main mining areas are concentrated in Nevada, California, Montana and South Carolina. Modern extraction methods (immanirovanie) make it cost-effective to extract gold from numerous poor and poor deposits. Some gold mines in Nevada are profitable even when the gold content in the ore is no more than 0.9 g/t. Throughout the history of the United States, gold has been mined at 420 primary (vein) mines in the west of the country, at 12 mines from large alluvial deposits (almost all in Alaska) and from small placers in Alaska and the western states.

Since gold is virtually uncorrodible and highly valued, it lasts forever. To date, at least 90% of the gold mined over the historical period has come down in the form of ingots, coins, jewelry and art objects. As a result of the annual world production of this metal, its total amount increases by less than 2%.

Silver,

Like gold, it belongs to precious metals. However, its price compared to the price of gold until recently was 1:16, and in 1995 it was reduced to 1:76. About 1/3 of the silver received in the USA goes to film and photographic materials (mainly film and photographic paper), 1/4 is used in electrical engineering and radio electronics, 1/10 is spent on minting coins and making jewelry, on electroplating (silvering ).

Approximately 2/3 of the world's silver resources are associated with polymetallic copper, lead and zinc ores. Silver is extracted mainly along the way from galena (lead sulfide). The deposits are predominantly veined. The largest silver producers are Mexico (2323 tons, 1995), Peru (1910 tons), USA (1550 tons), Canada (1207 tons) and Chile (1042 tons). In the US, 77% of silver is mined in Nevada (37% of production), Idaho (21%), Montana (12%) and Arizona (7%).

Platinum group metals (platinum and platinoids).

Platinum is the rarest and most expensive precious metal. Its refractoriness (melting point 1772 ° C), high strength, resistance to corrosion and oxidation, high thermal conductivity are used. Most wide application platinum is found in automotive catalytic converters (which contribute to the afterburning of fuel in order to remove harmful impurities from exhaust gases), as well as in platinum-rhenium catalysts in petrochemistry, in the oxidation of ammonia, and so on. Serves for the manufacture of crucibles and other laboratory glassware, spinnerets, etc. Almost the entire volume of platinum production falls on South Africa (167.2 tons, 1995), Russia (21 tons) and Canada (16.5 tons). In the United States, in 1987, the development of a deposit in Stillwater (Montana) began, where 3.1 tons of platinum metals were obtained, with platinum itself - 0.8 tons, the rest - palladium (the cheapest and most widely used of the platinoids). In terms of reserves and production of palladium, Russia is the leader (the main mining area is the vicinity of Norilsk). Platinum is also mined in the Urals.

RARE METAL ORES

Niobium and tantalum.

Niobium is used mainly in the form of ferroniobium in the steel industry (mainly for the production of high-strength low-alloy and partly high-alloy steels), as well as in its pure form and as part of alloys with nickel (in rocket science). Low-alloy steels are especially necessary for the production of large-diameter pipes, which are used to build gas, oil and product pipelines. The largest producer of niobium raw materials is Brazil (82% of world production, 1995). Canada is in second place. Both of these countries produce pyrochlore concentrates. Pyrochlore ores are also mined in Russia, Zambia and some other countries. Columbite concentrates are incidentally obtained from the development of tin-bearing weathering crusts in northern Nigeria.

Tantalum is rare in nature. It is used mainly in electronics (for microminiature electrolytic capacitors), and in the form of carbide - in the composition of superhard alloys for metal-cutting tools. Most of its world reserves are concentrated in Australia (21%), Brazil (13%), Egypt (10%), Thailand (9%), China (8%). Canada (with its richest field in the world, Bernick Lake in southeastern Manitoba) and Mozambique also have significant reserves; small industrial deposits are available in East Kazakhstan. The main ore minerals of tantalum are tantalite, microlite, vodzhinite and loparite (the latter is found only in Russia). The production of niobium and tantalum concentrates in Russia is focused on Kola Peninsula, in Transbaikalia and Eastern Sayan. Industrial pyrochlore deposits are also known in the Aldan, and columbite (tantalum-niobium) deposits in the Northern Baikal region, southeastern Tuva and Eastern Sayan. The largest deposit of niobium and rare earths was discovered in the north of Yakutia.

Rare earth metals and yttrium.

The rare earth metals (elements) include lanthanums and lanthanides (a family of 14 chemically similar elements - from cerium to lutetium). This category also includes yttrium and scandium, metals that are most often found in nature along with lanthanides and are close to them in chemical properties. Rare-earth metals are used in the form of mixtures and individually as alloying additives in steels and alloys, for the manufacture of magnetic materials, special glasses, and so on. In recent years, the demand for individual rare earth elements, as well as for yttrium (in particular, as a phosphor for color television), has been constantly growing.

The main ore minerals of rare earths are monazite and bastnäsite, in Russia – loparite. The most well-known mineral of yttrium is xenotime. About 45% of the world's reserves of rare earth elements (about 43 million tons) are concentrated in China; the world's largest bastnäsite deposit with complex rare earth and iron ore- Bayan-Obo (in Inner Mongolia). The United States is in second place in terms of lanthanide reserves - 25% of world production comes from the Mountain Pas deposit in California. Other known bastnasite ore deposits are found in northern Vietnam and Afghanistan. Monazite from coastal-marine placers (black sands) is mined in Australia, India, Malaysia, USA (along with titanium and zirconium minerals). A by-product in the processing of monazite concentrates is thorium, the content of which in some monazites reaches 10%. Rare earths are also mined in Brazil. In Russia, the main source of obtaining rare earths (mainly cerium, i.e. light, lanthanides) is loparite ores of the unique Lovozero deposit (Kola Peninsula). There is an industrial deposit of yttrium and yttrium rare earths (heavy lanthanides) in Kyrgyzstan.

Cesium

is a rare alkali metal. It has the lowest ionization potential, i.e. It gives off electrons more easily than all other metals, as a result of which cesium plasma is the lowest temperature. Cesium is superior to other metals in light sensitivity. Cesium and its compounds have numerous applications: in photocells and photomultipliers, spectrophotometers, thermionic and electron-optical converters, as a seed in plasma generators, in gas lasers, in infrared (thermal) radiation detectors, as a gas absorber in vacuum devices, etc. d. The use of cesium in thermionic energy converters and in ionic reactive rocket engines of the future, as well as in solar cells, electric batteries and ferromagnetic materials.

Canada is the leader in the extraction of cesium ore (pollucite). The Bernick Lake deposit (southeastern Manitoba) contains 70% of the world's cesium reserves. Pollucite is also mined in Namibia and Zimbabwe. In Russia, its deposits are located on the Kola Peninsula, in the Eastern Sayan and Transbaikalia. Pollucite deposits are distinguished in Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Italy (Elba Island).

TRACE ELEMENTS

The elements of this vast group, as a rule, do not form their own minerals and are present as isomorphic impurities in minerals of more common elements. In addition to the four elements discussed below, these include rubidium, cadmium, indium, scandium, rhenium, selenium and tellurium.

Hafnium.

Due to its very large capture cross section for slow (thermal) neutrons, hafnium is better than any other metal for making control rods for nuclear reactors. This is the only metal from which such rods are made for ship reactors. In the US, almost 60% of hafnium consumes nuclear energy(for the production of control rods and protective screens of reactors). Hafnium alloys are used for the manufacture of gas turbine engines in aerospace systems, thermionic energy converters, etc. Hafnium fluoride fibers are used in fiber optics. Hafnium carbide is a component of superhard alloys for metal-cutting tools (together with tantalum, tungsten, and niobium carbides), and cubic hafnium and zirconium dioxides are the starting materials for growing cubic zirconia crystals used in laser technology and as artificial jewelry stones.

Hafnium together with zirconium is contained (in a ratio of ~1:50, sometimes up to 1:30 - 1:35) in zircon, which is mined from coastal-marine titanium-zirconium placers. World hafnium reserves are estimated at 460 thousand tons, of which 38% is concentrated in Australia, 17% in the USA (mainly in Florida), 15% in South Africa, 8% in India and 4% in Sri Lanka. The former USSR had 13% of the world's reserves. At present, the largest (albeit very depleted) alluvial deposit in the CIS is located in Ukraine, and other, smaller placers are in Kazakhstan.

Gallium.

The main consumer of gallium is the electronic (semiconductor) industry, which uses gallium arsenide in a wide range - from transistors to integrated circuits. The possibility of using gallium in photovoltaic (solar) cells and in optical lasers is considered. Gallium is concentrated in aluminum minerals and in low-temperature sphalerites. Gallium is obtained mainly as a by-product from the processing of bauxites into alumina and partly from the smelting of zinc from certain sphalerite ores. World production of gallium (as a primary product) is growing rapidly. In 1986 it was estimated at 35 tons, and in 1996 approx. 63 tons. Gallium is produced in Australia, Russia, Japan and Kazakhstan, as well as in the USA, France, Germany. The world reserves of gallium contained in bauxites are more than 15 thousand tons.

Germanium.

The largest consumer of germanium is infrared optics used in computers, night vision devices, missile guidance systems and sights, research and mapping of the earth's surface from satellites. Germanium is also used in optical fiber systems (additives of germanium tetrafluoride in glass fibers) and in electronic semiconductor diodes.

In nature, germanium occurs in the form of minor impurities in the ores of some non-ferrous metals (in particular, zinc) and in germanium-coal deposits. Congo (DRC) has rich deposits of germanium sulfides (germanite, rennyrite). Most of the world reserves of germanium are concentrated in zinc ores (Canada, China, Australia). The reserves of germanium in the United States are estimated at 450 tons. It lies mainly in the deposits of zinc sulfide (sphalerite) ores in central Tennessee, as well as in the development zone of oxide iron ores in the old Apex copper mine (Utah). In Kazakhstan, sphalerites of a number of polymetallic deposits of Rudny Altai are enriched with germanium. In Russia, germanium is extracted mainly from ash from the combustion of coals from the germanium-coal deposits of Primorye and Sakhalin, in Uzbekistan - from the ash of coals from the Angren deposit, and in Ukraine - from the processing of Donbass coals into metallurgical coke.

Thallium

extracted as a by-product in the smelting of other non-ferrous metals, mainly zinc and partly lead. Thallium compounds are used as components of materials for optical, luminescent and photoelectric devices. It is part of acid-resistant and bearing alloys with tin and lead. High concentrations thallium are distinguished by pyrites from low-temperature deposits. In the US, thallium reserves are approx. 32 tons - approximately 80% of the world (1996), but it is not mined. The following regions have the largest thallium resources concentrated in zinc ores: Europe - 23%, Asia - 17%, Canada - 16%, Africa - 12%, Australia and Oceania - 12%, South America - 7%.

RADIOACTIVE METALS AND THEIR ORES

Uranus.

The processing of 1 kg of uranium makes it possible to produce as much energy as burning 15 tons of coal. Uranium ores serve as raw materials for obtaining other radioactive elements, such as radium and polonium, and various isotopes, including light isotopes of uranium. The main minerals of uranium ores are uranium resin uranit (nasturan) and carnotite (a yellow uranium-vanadium mineral that forms dissemination of small grains in sandstones).

Most of the U.S. uranium reserves are found in coarse and fine pitchblende carnotite sandstones mined in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. In Utah there is a large deposit of uranium pitch (Marysvale). In the USA in 1995 the total volume of uranium production was 2360 tons (in 1980 - 20 thousand tons). Almost 22% of electricity in the United States is generated by nuclear power plants, which operate 110 nuclear reactors, which is much higher than the corresponding figures in other countries. For example, in the USSR in 1987 there were 56 operating reactors and 28 at the design stage. The leading place in the world in terms of consumption of nuclear energy is occupied by France, where nuclear power plants generate approx. 76% electricity (1995).

The largest explored uranium reserves (1995) are Australia (about 466 thousand tons, more than 20% of world reserves), Kazakhstan (18%), Canada (12%), Uzbekistan (7.5%), Brazil and Niger (7 %), South Africa (6.5%), USA (5%), Namibia (3%), Ukraine (3%), India (approx. 2%). A large deposit of uranite Shinkolobwe is located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. China (the provinces of Guangdong and Jiangxi), Germany and the Czech Republic also have significant reserves.

After the recent discovery of rich uranium deposits in Canada, this country ranked first in the world in terms of uranium reserves. In Russia, industrial uranium reserves are concentrated mainly within the Streltsovskaya caldera in Eastern Transbaikalia. A large deposit has recently been explored in Buryatia.

Thorium

used for alloying alloys and is a potential source of nuclear fuel - light isotope uranium-233. The only source of thorium is yellow translucent grains of monazite (cerium phosphate) containing up to 10% thorium and found in coastal marine and alluvial deposits. Placer deposits of monazite are known in Australia, India and Malaysia. "Black" sands, saturated with monazite in association with rutile, ilmenite and zircon, are common on the eastern and western (more than 75% of the production) coasts of Australia. In India, monazite deposits are concentrated along the southwestern coast (Travancore). In Malaysia, monazite is mined from alluvial tin placers. The United States has small reserves of thorium in offshore monazite deposits in Florida.

NON-METALLIC MINERALS

AGRONOMICAL AND MINING CHEMICAL RAW MATERIALS

The main mineral fertilizers are nitrates (nitrates), potassium salts and phosphates.

Nitrates.

Nitrogen compounds are also used in the manufacture of explosives. Until the end of the First World War and in the first post-war years, the monopoly position in the nitrate market belonged to Chile. In this country, in the inland arid valleys of the Andean Coast Ranges, huge reserves of "caliche" - Chilean saltpeter (natural sodium nitrate) are concentrated. Later, the production of artificial nitrates using atmospheric nitrogen was widely developed. The United States, where the technology for producing anhydrous ammonia containing 82.2% nitrogen, ranks first in the world in its production (60% of production falls on the share of Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas). The possibilities for extracting nitrogen from the atmosphere are unlimited, and the necessary hydrogen is obtained mainly from natural gas and by gasification of solid and liquid fuels.

potassium salts.

The main minerals of potassium salts are sylvin (potassium chloride) and carnallite (potassium and magnesium chloride). Sylvin is usually present in association with rock salt, a halite within sylvinite, a rock that forms potash salt deposits and is mined.

Before the First World War, the production of potash salts was a German monopoly, where their extraction in the Stasfurt region began in 1861. Similar deposits were discovered and developed in the salt-bearing basins of western Texas and eastern New Mexico (USA), in Alsace (France), Poland, and the environs Solikamsk in the Cis-Urals (Russia), the Ebro river basin (Spain) and Saskatchewan (Canada). The first place in the production of potash salts in 1995 was occupied by Canada (9 million tons), followed by Germany (3.3 million tons), Russia and Belarus (2.8 million tons each), the USA (1.48 million tons). tons), Israel (1.33 million tons), Jordan (1.07 million tons).

In recent years, most of the potash salts in the United States have been mined in southwestern New Mexico. At a deposit in Utah, potash salts are obtained by underground dissolution (leaching) from deep-lying folded seams. In California, potassium borate salts and table salt are mined from underground brines using various crystallization techniques. The remaining potassium salt resources are concentrated in Montana, South Dakota, and central Michigan.

In Russia, the extraction of potash salts has long been carried out in the Solikamsk region, in addition, promising areas have been identified in the Caspian and Baikal regions. Large deposits are being developed in Belarus, Western Ukraine, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

Phosphates.

Industrial deposits of phosphates are represented by phosphorites and apatite ores. Most of the world's phosphate resources are concentrated in widespread marine phosphorite sediments. The identified resources, including non-industrial ones, are estimated at billions of tons of phosphorus. In 1995, over 34% of world phosphate production came from the USA, followed by Morocco (15.3%), China (15%), Russia (6.6%), Tunisia (5.6%) and Jordan (3.7%). ). In Russia, the main raw material for the production of phosphate fertilizers and phosphorus is apatite mined in the Khibiny on the Kola Peninsula.

Salt

mined in over 100 countries. Its largest producer is the USA. Almost half of the produced table salt is used in the chemical industry, mainly in the production of chlorine and caustic soda, 1/4 is spent on preventing icing of roads. In addition, it is widely used in leather and Food Industry and is an important food product for humans and animals.

Table salt is obtained from rock salt deposits and by evaporation (natural and artificial) of water from salt lakes, sea water or underground brines. The world's salt resources are practically inexhaustible. Almost every country has either rock salt deposits or salt water evaporation plants. A colossal source of table salt is the World Ocean itself. In the United States, resources of rock and table salt in natural brines are concentrated in the northeastern and western regions, as well as on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. salt lakes and production capacity for evaporation of brines are close to densely populated areas in the western USA.

In Russia, salt is mined at a number of deposits in the Caspian Sea (Lakes Elton and Baskunchak), Cis-Urals, Eastern Siberia, in the central and northwestern regions of the European part, both from rock salt deposits and from salt lakes and salt domes. There are large deposits of rock salt in the Ukraine and Belarus. Large industrial salt reserves are concentrated in the lakes of Kazakhstan and the Kara-Bogaz-Gol Bay in Turkmenistan.

The first place in the production of table salt is occupied by the USA (21% in 1995), followed by China (14%), Canada and Germany (6% each). Significant salt production (over 5 million tons per year) is carried out in France, Great Britain, Australia, Poland, Ukraine, Mexico, Brazil and India.

Sulfur.

Most of it (60–75%) is used to produce sulfuric acid, which is necessary for the production of phosphate and other mineral fertilizers. In addition, it is used as an insecticide and disinfectant in the production of organic and inorganic chemicals, in oil refining, in the production of pure metals, and in many other industries. In nature, sulfur occurs in its native form as a soft yellow mineral, as well as in compounds with iron and basic non-ferrous metals (sulfides) or with alkaline elements and alkaline earth metals (sulfates). In coals and oil, sulfur is found in the form of various complex compounds. organic compounds, and in natural gas - in the form of gaseous hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S).

World resources of sulfur in evaporites (salt deposits), products of volcanic eruptions, as well as associated with natural gas, oil, tar sands and heavy metal sulfides, reach 3.5 billion tons. Sulfur resources in calcium sulfates - gypsum and anhydrite - are practically not limited. About 600 billion tons of sulfur is contained in fossil coals and oil shale, but technical and cost-effective methods for its extraction have not yet been developed.

The US is the world's leading producer of sulfur. 30% of sulfur is extracted by the Frasch method, which consists in injecting steam or hot water into the formation through wells. In this case, sulfur is melted underground and rises to the surface with compressed air using an airlift. In the same way, native sulfur deposits associated with salt domes and sedimentary deposits are being developed, including in the deep-water zone of the Gulf of Mexico far from the coast of Texas and Louisiana. In addition, sulfur is obtained in the United States from oil refining, natural gas processing, and many coke plants. Sulphuric acid It is produced as a by-product during the roasting and smelting of ores of copper, lead, molybdenum and zinc.

INDUSTRIAL MINERALS

Diamonds.

The most famous of the gemstones, diamonds also play an important role in industry due to their exceptionally high hardness. Industrial diamonds are used primarily as abrasives for grinding and polishing, and for drilling in hard rock. They reinforce the metal-cutting tool. Of the natural diamonds, only a small part (by weight) is jewelry, the rest are technical crystals of non-jewelry quality (board and carbonado). Bort and carbonado (black diamonds) are dense cryptocrystalline or granular aggregates. Technical diamonds are also obtained artificially. Only synthetic diamonds are produced in the USA. natural diamonds found in Arkansas and Colorado, but their extraction is not economically viable.

Typically, diamonds are found in tubular bodies - explosion pipes (diatremes) composed of volcanic rock - kimberlite. However, a significant part of diamonds is mined from alluvial alluvial deposits formed as a result of erosion of kimberlite pipes. About 90% of the world production of natural industrial diamonds in 1993 came from five countries: Australia (44.3%), Congo (DRC, 16.2%), Botswana (12.2%), Russia (9.3%) and South Africa (7.2%).

World diamond production in 1993 amounted to 107.9 million carats (the mass unit of precious stones carat is 200 mg); including 91.2 million carats (84.5%) of technical diamonds, 16.7 million carats (15.5%) of jewelry diamonds. In Australia and the Congo (DRC), the share of gem diamonds is only 4-5%, in Russia - approx. 20%, in Botswana - 24-25%, South Africa - more than 35%, in Angola and the Central African Republic - 50-60%, in Namibia - 100%. In Russia, diamonds are mined mainly in Yakutia (Sakha); diamonds are found in placers in the Urals. Large diamond deposits have been discovered in Arkhangelsk region(root and placers).

Mica.

Two types of natural mica are of industrial importance: muscovite and phlogopite. Mica is valued for its very perfect cleavage, transparency, and above all for its high thermal and electrical insulating properties. Sheet mica is used in the electrical industry as a dielectric for capacitors and as an insulating material. The world's leading producer of sheet mica is India, where 6,000 tons of sheet muscovite were mined in 1995 (with a world production of 7,000 tons). Large deposits of sheet mica are known in Brazil and Madagascar. In Russia, sheet muscovite from pegmatites is mined mainly in the Mamsko-Chuysky district of the Irkutsk region and in the Karelian-Kola region. Muscovite pegmatites are also known in the Eastern Sayan (along the Biryusa River). Phlogopite is mined on the Kola Peninsula, Aldan and in the Baikal region. The largest deposit of phlogopite has been explored in Taimyr.

Scrap (ground waste from the production of sheet mica and other mica products) and fine-flake mica are used for the manufacture of mineral paints, soft roofing materials, rubber products, in particular tires, as a heat insulator in steam boilers, for paper polishing, when drilling oil wells, etc. Natural fine-flake mica is found in granites, pegmatites, gneisses, metamorphic schists, and clay deposits. The US is the world leader in the production of mica scrap and fine flake mica, with 60% of production coming from North Carolina (pegmatites). Large reserves of fine-flake muscovite are contained in the gneisses of Northern Kazakhstan.

Optical quartz and piezo quartz.

Quartz is the second most common in the earth's crust after feldspars, but its pure defect-free crystals (colorless transparent - rock crystal; dark, almost black, translucent or opaque - morion) are extremely rare. Meanwhile, it is precisely such quartz that plays an important role in optical devices (rock crystal) and in modern means communications, radio engineering, electronics, hydroacoustics, flaw detection, in quartz watches and many other devices that use the piezoelectric properties of quartz (piezoelectric quartz - rock crystal and morion). The most important application of piezoelectric quartz is frequency filters and frequency stabilizers in electronic devices, microphones, etc.

The main supplier of natural piezoquartz (rock crystal) is Brazil. In the United States, high-quality rock crystals are mined in Arkansas, which is widely used in jewelry. Quartz with defects is also mined there, unsuitable for electronics, but used to grow artificial piezoquartz crystals. In 1995, 500 tons of such quartz were mined in the USA and 300 tons of synthetic quartz crystals were produced on its basis.

In Russia, rock crystals are mined in the Southern and Subpolar Urals and Aldan. In Ukraine, mainly morion is mined from pegmatites of the Volyn Upland. Rock crystal deposits are being developed in Kazakhstan.

PERSPECTIVE SOURCES OF MINERAL RAW MATERIALS AND NEW MATERIALS

Mineral resources are not renewable, so it is necessary to constantly search for new deposits. The importance of the seas and oceans as sources of oil, sulfur, sodium chloride and magnesium is increasing; their production is usually carried out in the shelf zone. In the future, there is the question of the development of the deep-sea zone. A technology has been developed for the extraction of ore iron-manganese nodules from the ocean floor. They also include cobalt, nickel, copper and a number of other metals.

Large-scale development of deep-sea minerals has not yet begun due to economic risk and the unresolved issue of legal status such deposits. The agreement on the law of the sea, which regulates the development of mineral resources of the seabed, was not signed by the United States and several other states.

Ceramic and semiconductor materials are promising substitutes for natural mineral raw materials. Metals, ceramics and polymers are used as matrix and reinforcing components to strengthen various composite materials. Plastics, or polymers, are the most widely used material in the US (more than steel, copper and aluminum combined). The raw materials for the production of plastics are products of petrochemical synthesis. However, coal can also be used as a raw material instead of oil.

Ceramics are inorganic non-metallic materials densified by heat treatment and sintering. The usual constituents of ceramic materials are silicon and aluminum oxide (alumina), but they can also consist of boron and silicon carbides, silicon nitride, oxides of beryllium, magnesium, and some heavy metals (for example, zirconium, copper). Ceramic materials are valued for their thermal, wear and corrosion resistance, electrical, magnetic and optical properties (optical fiberglass is also a ceramic material).

Research continues to search for promising materials suitable for use in electronic, optical and magnetic devices. So, for example, semiconductors are gallium arsenide, silicon, germanium and some polymers. The use of gallium, indium, yttrium, selenium, tellurium, thallium and zirconium is promising.

Literature:

Bykhover N.A. Economics of minerals, tt. 1–3. M., 1967–1971
Mineral resources of the world. M., 1997