The geological history of Karelia is reflected in the unique and diverse relief of the region. The ancient mountains managed to keep their footprints in the stone firmament of the earth's surface. The Republic is generous not only with forests and rivers; its bowels abound with many minerals, the fame of which has been known since time immemorial. Back in 1690, iron ore was searched and mined here. And during the time of Peter the Great, the first factories were established in the region to process the surrounding ores. Today, geologists have already studied about 40 types of minerals of Karelia and taken into account more than two thousand of their deposits and occurrences. So, what minerals are there in Karelia?
Ore Minerals
The storehouse of natural resources contains fertile land. Active mining of more than 15 types of minerals. According to the latest data, the region’s interest is steadily growing, and now several dozen investors are ready to invest in the development and extraction of mineral resources.
So, the iron deposits of Karelia are divided into three significant groups:
- Ferruginous quartzites. According to estimates, there are deposits of about one billion tons of iron in the Kostomuksha deposit alone.
- Hematite ores. They are spread out on the territory somewhat randomly, approximately 40 deposits are revealed. But for industrial production, the amount of iron reserves in them is small.
- Lake and swamp. The volume of these deposits accounts for tens of thousands of tons of iron.
Also in Karelia, sites have been discovered that hide under themselves deposits of titanomagnetite ores. To date, three deposits have been studied in the areas of Loukhsky, Kondopoga and Pudozh.
Non-metallic minerals
The republic’s mineral resources include rich non-metallic deposits. The most promising are the following deposits:
- Pyrites. It is used to form sulfuric acid. To date, several large deposits have been discovered in the region.
- Stone building materials. Their reserves are represented by granite, marble, diabase and other stone.
- Quartz. Its deposits are spread throughout the territory of Karelia, and the most significant deposits are concentrated in its northern part.
- Shungite. This is a carbon-containing substance that is used to establish a sample of noble metals and as a fuel.
- Muscovite mica. The material is widely used in electronic products and electronics.
Volcanic deposits that are widely used in the steel industry should be added to the extracted minerals in Karelia.
Other minerals
The crust of Karelia was formed as a result of the movement of glaciers and volcanic activity. This caused the region to have significant deposits of clay and sand. Exploration has revealed the presence of uranium-vanadium and chromium ores. According to the calculations, the volumes of the former account for 40 thousand tons, and for the latter, 150 million tons.
Mineral resources of the Republic of Karelia in small amounts include zinc, nickel and tin. You can also find reserves of precious stones: agate, amethyst, white white rock, a variety of garnet and rose quartz. The prospectivity of diamond mining was revealed: geologists predict to find about 200 tons.
Of particular importance is the extraction of diatomite and peat deposits. Diatomite is actively used in the production of liquid glass, silicate brick and other products.
In all likelihood, the varieties and volumes of minerals that are mined in Karelia cannot be compared with any region of Russia.
Noble metals
The countless riches of the Karelian subsoil in recent years have attracted increasing attention. According to geologists, there are gold manifestations in almost every area. To date, more than 200 gold-bearing manifestations have been recorded. The promising deposits include Prionezhsky, Segezha, Kostamuksha, Belomorsk and Suoyarv districts. A relatively large field is Lobash, which is compared with the Swedish Aitik field. In addition to gold reserves estimated at 5 tons, it contains deposits of silver and copper.
The manifestations of placer gold are also noted in the republic. In the valleys of the Shoba, Vyg, Page and Kumbuks rivers, prospectors can try their luck by sifting sand. There are assumptions that once the monks of the Danilovsky monastery in this way mined precious metal and minted their coin.
It should be noted that over decades of research, scientists in Karelia have discovered several platinoid deposits, but serious mining has never been done. Recently, a new deposit of platinum, palladium and gold was discovered in the Kondopoga region, whose precious metals content is estimated at 6.6 million ounces.
According to the researchers, the “country of a thousand lakes” is promising for almost all types of mining.
First discoveries
The first mineral deposits of Karelia were discovered only through their exit to the surface of the earth, where they could be easily visually diagnosed. They include deposits of muscovite mica, the development of which began back in the 15th century. In the same way, building materials, multiple deposits of lake iron ores, and minor vein deposits of copper were discovered.
The discovery of Karelian gold began when one peasant found a quartz vein on the bank of the Nizhny Vyg river. After 5 years, ore was mined at that place, which was then smelted into copper at the Olonets factories. And in 1744, gold was discovered in a sample of this ore. Shortly afterwards, his prey began.
After aeromagnetic surveys were introduced into the practice of geological exploration in the 40s of the last century, places of iron ore formations were discovered in the region in a short time. And in the 70s, the use of a complex of geochemical and geophysical research methods led to the discovery of numerous mineral deposits: molybdenum, nickel, tin, chromium, vanadium and noble metals.
Major deposits
Due to limited funding, a significant part of the deposits in the territory has not yet been established or not fully explored.
The main mineral deposits of Karelia:
- Kostomuksha iron ore deposit. Ores are ferruginous quartzites. The volume of explored ore reserves is 1,156 million tons.
- Pudozhgorsk deposit of titanomagnetite ores. It is represented by three industrial sites. A large deposit has been known since the 30s of the last century. Estimation of proven reserves revealed 315 million tons of titanomagnetite ore. The concentration of platinum and palladium to 0.51 g / t, gold 0.21%, copper 0.13%.
- Aganozero chromium ore deposit . In terms of basic parameters, this is the largest field in Russia, where the identified reserves are 8.39 million tons (C2) + 209.1 million tons (P1). Ores are massive varieties.
- Northern Ladoga is a polymetallic ore deposit . It is represented by two main deposits and ore occurrences of tin and tungsten: Pitkäranta and Ketitel. There is a mining of building stone and quartz-feldspar raw materials.
Pudozh Megaproject
Over 6 billion tons of unique mineral deposits are hidden in the territory of the Medvezhyegorsk and Pudozh regions. Rich deposits of iron-titanium-vanadium and chromium-nickel-platinum ore, chromium ores, as well as nickel-bearing serpentinite.
The Pudozh megaproject involves geological exploration, exploration and industrial development of deposits, as well as the organization of a number of large-scale industrial enterprises on their basis. The project is feasible through the construction of transport and energy infrastructure.
Not without problems
in Karelia, mining is associated with a number of difficulties. First of all, these are the environmental consequences of using quarries. We are talking about air and water pollution, which subsequently affects the problem of soil fertility. And because of the working production companies, near which there are villages, residents suffer from constant noise. At a meeting of the parliamentary working group, decisions were made to eliminate these problems.
Mining enterprises still face difficulties such as a financing gap, a geopolitical crisis and rising costs. To survive, companies constantly need to introduce various innovations and meet the short-term expectations of their investors.
Future prospects
The mining complex is considered the most promising area of economic development in the region. Karelian stone continues to be in demand and competitive. Soon, the production of the rare building stone of gabbro diabase will begin, the project of which will be under the control of the government.
It should be noted that the extraction of stone minerals of Karelia, marble and granite in particular, has been going on for a long time. People have always appreciated stone. He was widely used in the construction of palaces, temples, other structures, as well as for decorating houses and covering floors.
Today Karelia is recognized as the leading resource base of the state for the extraction of natural stone, which is the object of investments by Russian and foreign investments.