Basins of iron ore mining in the Urals. Arkhipova N.P., Yastrebov E.V. How the Ural Mountains were discovered

More than 75 large and small deposits of iron ore are known in the Urals, the total balance reserves of which as of 01.01.89 amounted to 14.8 billion tons, of which about 9.4 billion tons of explored reserves (categories A+B+C1) . Some of the discovered fields in the Urals have not yet been sufficiently explored and are not on the balance sheet.

The largest part of the explored reserves (7.1 billion tons) is represented by complex titanomagnetite ores, which are concentrated in 4 deposits, the largest of them are the deposits of the Kachkanar group with balance reserves of more than 11.5 billion tons. Magnetite, martite and semi-martite ores at The Urals are concentrated on 19 deposits. Their balance reserves are 1.4 billion tons. About 48 deposits are represented by brown iron ore with total balance reserves of 0.4 billion tons. Seven of these deposits with reserves of 0.32 billion tons are represented by complex iron-chromium-nickel brown iron ore. Two small deposits are represented by magnetite ferruginous quartzites and two by siderites, of which the Bakal deposit is the largest with reserves of more than 1 billion tons of siderite ores.

Most of the iron ore deposits in the Urals have been intensively exploited for a long time and have already been depleted to a large extent. Their remaining reserves are very limited.

Let us consider in more detail the most important iron ore regions and deposits of the Urals.

In the northern Urals, there is the Severo-Ivdelsky iron ore region, which includes deposits of the Northern and Languro-Samskaya groups, as well as the Maslovskoye deposit. These deposits served as the ore base of the Serov Metallurgical Plant, some of them were mined by the open method of the Polunochny and Marsyat mines. The deposits are represented by magnetites, martites and brown iron ore. The iron content varies widely, amounting to 45-50% for magnetite and martite ores and 32-40% for brown iron ore. Magnetic iron ore contains a significant amount (up to 1.40%) of sulfur. The phosphorus content does not exceed 0.2%. Magnetite ores were subjected to magnetic separation, and brown iron ore was washed. Small fractions of the concentrate were sent to the sinter plant of the Serov Metallurgical Plant, and the lumpy concentrate was sent directly to the blast furnace. Currently, these deposits are not being developed.

In the same place (in the Serovsky and Severouralsky districts of the Sverdlovsk region) is the Bogoslovskaya group of small deposits (it includes Auerbakhovsky, Vorontsovsky, Pokrovsky, Bayanovsky, Severo-Peschansky and other mines). deposits are also represented by magnetite ores, red and brown iron ore. The total reserves of these groups of deposits in the Northern Urals do not exceed 250 million tons.

The content of iron in the ores of deposits of the Bogoslovsky group also varies widely from 40 to 58% for magnetic iron ore and hematite ores and 32-40% for brown iron ore. In the ores, an increased content of copper is noted, and in the ore of the Auerbakhovsky deposit - chromium. The phosphorus content usually does not exceed 0.1%, but some of the ores have a high sulfur content (up to 3.8%). The ores of the Bogoslovsky group of deposits are mined mainly by the underground method (95%), two mines operate on their basis: Peschanskaya and Pervomaiskaya. The Severo-Peschansky GOK was put into operation with a capacity of 3.0 million tons of concentrate per year with an iron content of 49-52%, which is supplied to the Nizhny Tagil Iron and Steel Works and the Serov plant.

In the same region, a large Serov deposit of complex brown iron ore was discovered, containing chromium (1.5-2.0%) and nickel (about 0.5%), cobalt is present in small quantities. The reserves of ores in categories В+С1+С2 are estimated at 1 billion tons, including 940 million tons of legume-conglomerate ores and 60 million tons of ocher ores. Genetically, the deposit belongs to the deposits of the weathering crust. The cut-off iron content in legume-conglomerate ores is 24%, in ocherous ores 45-47%, the waste rock is aluminous (the SiO2:Al2O3 ratio is about 1).

The deposit is still poorly explored and studied, especially in relation to the technology of preparing ores for smelting and the smelting itself. The most probable and effective way of their enrichment is the pyrometallurgical method. This method lies in the fact that during the reduction roasting of the ore, a significant part of the iron passes into a metallic state. The subsequent magnetic separation of the burnt product makes it possible to obtain a concentrate containing 81.2-81.5% iron, including 77.3-79.7% metallic iron with a high degree of its extraction. About 75% of chromium goes into tailings, from which it can be extracted by other methods. Nickel by 77-82.5% passes into the concentrate. However, this technology is relatively expensive. There is still no final decision on the use of ores from this deposit.

The Alapaevskaya group of small deposits is located in the northeastern part of the Sverdlovsk region, representing the ore base of the Alapaevsky and Verkhne-Sinyachikhinsky metallurgical plants. Ores are represented by brown iron ore with an average iron content for various deposits in the range of 38-41%, pure in sulfur (0.02% on average). The phosphorus content does not exceed 0.1%. The waste rock is dominated by silica and alumina. The balance reserves of ores of this group amounted to about 58.6 million tons. At present, there is no mining of ores.

The Tagil-Kushvinsky iron ore region includes 11 relatively small deposits (Vysokogorskoye, Lebyazhinskoye, Goroblagodatskoye, etc.). The total balance reserves of ores in this region are about 1.09 billion tons. The deposits of this region are skarn-type deposits, represented mainly by magnetite and, to a lesser extent, semi-martite and martite ores. Brown iron ore have a slight distribution. The average iron content by ore types and deposits varies widely (from 32 to 55%).

Rich oxidized ores are used after crushing, screening, and clay and pebble ores are also washed. As a result of the enrichment of oxidized ores, lumpy open-hearth and blast-furnace ore, as well as fines for agglomeration, are obtained. Poor magnetite ores, characterized by a high sulfur content (0.4-1.8%), are enriched by dry and wet magnetic separation. The resulting concentrates are fed to the agglomeration. The chemical composition of ores and concentrates is presented in Appendix 1.

Both magnetite and rich martite ores are characterized by an increased content of manganese (0.24-2.0%) and alumina (2.3-6.0%). The ratio of silica to alumina content is less than two. High-mountain ores are characterized by an increased copper content (0.08-0.12%). The development of ores at the deposits of this region is carried out by open and underground methods.

The Volkovskoye deposit of complex iron-vanadium-copper and phosphorus ores is also located in the Tagil-Kushvinsky district. On average, they contain (in%): Fe 18.0; Cu 0.8; P2O5 5.57; V 0.26; SiO2 35.4; CaO 12.8; Al2O3 12.4. The deposit has been developed by the Krasnouralsk copper smelter since the early 1980s. The volume of production in 1990 amounted to 1428 thousand tons. The technological scheme for the enrichment of these ores at the processing plant of the plant is a direct selective flotation with the release of first copper and then apatite concentrates. From the tailings of apatite flotation, iron-vanadium concentrate is separated by magnetic separation.

Depending on the initial copper content and enrichment mode, the yield of copper flotation concentrate varies from 0.57 to 9.6% with a copper content of 5.05 to 20.83%. The extraction of copper is 52.3-96.2%.

The content of P2O5 in apatite concentrate varies within 30.6-37.6%, and its extraction is 59.8-73.4%. As a result of magnetic separation of apatite flotation tailings, a concentrate containing 59.0-61.6% iron is obtained, with its extraction of 55.1-75.4%. The content of V2O5 in the concentrate is 1.0-1.12% with an extraction of 65.3-79.2%. The yield of iron-vanadium concentrate is 15.30-27.10%.

The Kachkanar iron ore region is represented by two large deposits of complex titanium-magnetite ores: Gusevogorsky and Kachkanarsky proper. The balance reserves of ores of these deposits amount to 11.54 billion tons, of which 6.85 billion tons are explored. According to their genesis, these deposits belong to the igneous type. The ores are poor, disseminated, the iron content in them is 16-17%. The main iron ore minerals in them are magnetite and ilmenite. Hematite is present in small amounts. Ilmenite forms the finest inclusions in magnetite. The content of titanium dioxide in the ore is 1.0-1.3%. In addition to iron and titanium, the ores contain vanadium (about 0.14% V2O5). Positive is the high basicity (up to 0.6-0.7) of waste rock. The ores are pure in sulfur and phosphorus.

On the basis of the Gusevogorsk deposit, the Kachkanar mining and processing plant has been operating since 1963 with a crude ore capacity of 45 million tons. Ore is mined by an open pit method. The ore is easily enriched by magnetic separation to obtain a concentrate containing 62-63% iron and 0.60% V2O5. From the resulting concentrate, the plant produces sinter and pellets, which are sent to the Nizhny Tagil Iron and Steel Works for smelting vanadium pig iron. The slag generated during the oxygen-converter processing of this cast iron is used to produce ferrovanadium. According to this scheme, the complex use of iron ore raw materials mined at this deposit is carried out. The extraction of iron into the concentrate is about 66%, vanadium 75.5%. However, through extraction of vanadium into the final products - ferrovanadium and steel - is much lower (30-32%). Therefore, at present, another technology for the complex processing of these ores is being proposed and developed, including the production of metallized pellets and the smelting of steel directly from them. In this case, the losses of vanadium will decrease to 15-20%.

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In the Sverdlovsk region there is also the Pervouralsk deposit of titanomagnetites with balance reserves of 126 million tons. Genetically, it also belongs to the igneous type. The iron content in the original ore is 14-16%. The ore contains titanium and vanadium, pure in phosphorus (0.22%) and sulfur (0.21%). The development of the deposit is carried out by the Pervouralsk Mining Administration, which produces 3.5 million tons of raw ore per year. After enrichment by dry magnetic separation, a lump concentrate is obtained containing 35.7% iron, 3.6% TiO2 and 0.49% V2O5. The concentrate is delivered to the Chusovoy Metallurgical Plant.

The group of deposits (Kusinskoye, Kopanskoye, Medvedevskoye) of titanomagnetite ores with total balance reserves of about 170 million tons is located in the Kusinsky district of the Chelyabinsk region. Ores contain 36-45% iron, they contain titanium and vanadium. These deposits were intended for the smelting of vanadium pig iron at the Chusovoy Metallurgical Plant. Until recently, the Kusinskoye deposit was developed by the Zlatoust Mining Administration. The ore was enriched by wet magnetic separation. From the concentrate at the Kusinsky sintering plant, an agglomerate was obtained with an iron content of about 58%, titanium dioxide 5.0% and vanadium pentoxide 0.84%.

In connection with the development of the production of vanadium-containing pellets and sinter at the Kachkanarsky GOK, which are supplied to NTMK and the Chusovoy Metallurgical Plant, the operation of the Kusinsky deposit has been stopped, and the development of other deposits of this group is not envisaged in the foreseeable future.

The Bakal iron ore region is located 200 km from Chelyabinsk on the western slope of the southern Urals. Up to 20 iron ore deposits have been explored in the Bakal ore field with total balance reserves of about 1.06 billion tons, of which 669 million tons have been explored. These deposits are hydrothermal. The ore bodies of the Bakal deposits are in the form of sheet-like deposits of lenticular, nest-like and vein formations. The length of sheet-like deposits is up to 3 km, width up to 1 km, thickness up to 80 m. However, small ore bodies confined to faults predominate. The depth of occurrence of ore bodies is from 100 to 500 m. In the oxidation zone, which descends to a depth of 60-120 m from the surface of the ore body, siderites are turned into brown iron ore. Semi-oxidized siderites occur between these horizons. The main iron-bearing mineral of the siderite ores of the Bakal deposits is sideroplesite, which is an isomorphic mixture of carbonic salts of iron, magnesium, and manganese.

Bakal siderites are characterized by a relatively low iron content (30-35%), which, due to the removal of carbon dioxide during the dissociation of carbonates during their heating (during roasting or melting), increases to 44-48%, with an increased content of magnesium oxide, phosphorus purity. The sulfur content in them is extremely variable, changing without any regularity (from 0.03 to 1.0% and higher). Bakala siderites contain from 1.0 to 2.0% manganese oxide as a useful impurity. Brown iron ore contains about 50% iron, 0.1-0.2% sulfur, 0.02-0.03% phosphorus. The reserves of brown iron ore amounted to about 50 million tons and are practically exhausted by now.

The Bakal deposits are the main ore base of the Chelyabinsk Iron and Steel Works, the Satninsky and Ashinsky plants. The deposits are developed by open and underground methods by the Bakal Mining Administration. The bulk of the mined ore (about 4.5 million tons) is siderite. The mined ore is crushed, sorted with the separation of lump fraction (60-10 mm) and fines (10-0 mm). The lumpy fraction of brown iron ore is sent to the blast-furnace smelting. Lumpy siderite is fired in shaft furnaces. Burnt siderite, having magnetic properties, is subjected to magnetic separation. The resulting concentrate is supplied to the indicated plants of the Urals, the Karaganda Metallurgical Plant and other enterprises. A mixture of small fractions of siderite and brown iron ore is agglomerated at a local sinter plant. The agglomerate goes to the blast furnace shop of Mechel JSC. The chemical composition of the ore from the deposits of the Bakalsky district and the products of their preparation is presented in Appendix 1.

The Akhtenskoye deposit is located in the Kusinsky district of the Chelyabinsk region and is an additional base for the Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant. Its reserves are about 50 million tons. Ores are represented by brown iron ore and siderite. They are similar in quality to Bakal ores. Only brown iron ore is mined with an iron content of about 43% with 0.07% sulfur and 0.06% phosphorus.

The Techenskoye deposit of magnetite ores with explored reserves of about 60 million tons is located 60 km from the Chelyabinsk Metallurgical Plant and is its additional ore base. It belongs to the type of skarn deposits. The average content of iron in the ore is 35.4%, sulfur - 1.17%, phosphorus - 0.07%. Enrichment of these ores by wet magnetic separation during grinding to 0.2-0 mm makes it possible to obtain a concentrate with an iron content of up to 55%. The deposit is currently not being developed.

The Magnitogorsk deposit belongs to the type of skarn deposits. The ores of the magnetic mountain are the ore base of the Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works. They are represented by two main varieties: sulfide (or primary) and oxidized. In addition to these two types of primary ores, a small amount of alluvial ores and brown iron ore were isolated at the deposit. In sulfide ores, the main iron ore minerals are magnetite and pyrite (the sulfur content in them is up to 4%). Oxidized and alluvial ores are represented by martite, and brown iron ore by limonite. The iron content in ores varies widely: 38-60% for magnetite (sulfide) and 52-58% for martite ores. The content of phosphorus in Magnitogorsk ores does not exceed 0.1%, averaging 0.04-0.05%. The waste rock of these ores is characterized by increased basicity, which is about 0.3 for oxidized ores and 0.5 for sulfide ones.

Rich oxidized ores (with an iron content above 48%) are subjected to crushing and sorting. Poor oxidized and alluvial ores are enriched by the gravitational method (washing, jigging) using magnetic separation. For rich sulfide ores, dry magnetic separation is used; for poor sulfide ores - dry and wet magnetic separation. The chemical composition of the original ores and concentrates is presented in Appendix 1. Fine concentrates of oxidized and alluvial ores and all concentrates of sulfide ores are subjected to agglomeration at 4 sintering plants MMK.

At present, the balance reserves of ores of Mount Magnitnaya, which has been intensively developed since 1932, are largely exhausted and as of 01.01.89 amounted to 85 million tons, which leads to a gradual reduction in production. To compensate for this reduction, the development of the small Maly Kuibas field, located in close proximity to the city of Magnitogorsk, has begun. magnetite and hematite ores with iron content 40-60% and phosphorus 0.03-0.06%. Magnetite ores contain 1.8-2.0% sulfur, and hematite - 0.07%. When enriched, a concentrate containing 65% iron is obtained. Development is carried out in an open way. The total balance reserves of the deposits of the Magnitogorsk iron ore region at the beginning of development were about 0.45 billion tons.

The Zigazino-Komarovsky iron ore region is located in the Beloretsk region of Bashkortostan and is a group of 19 small deposits of brown iron ore (dense brown, ocher-brown and ocher-clayey) and, in part, siderite ores of sedimentary origin. The total balance reserves of ores of these deposits, which are the iron ore base of the Beloretsk Metallurgical Combine, amount (as of 01.01.89) to 80.2 million tons. The volume of extraction is about 0.5 million tons of ore per year. The average iron content in the mined ore is 41-43%. The ores are pure in terms of sulfur content (0.03%) and phosphorus (0.06-0.07%). Lump brown iron ore is mainly developed; to prepare for smelting, they are subjected to crushing, washing and sorting at the Tukanskaya and Zapadno-Maigashlinskaya crushing and processing plants. The content of iron in washed ore is 47.0-47.5%.

The Orsko-Khalilovsky iron ore region includes 6 deposits of brown iron ore of sedimentary origin containing nickel (0.4-0.7%) and chromium (1.60-2.5%). As of January 1, 1989, the total balance reserves of ores from the deposits of the region amounted to 312.2 million tons, the largest of them are the Akkermanovskoye and Novo-Kievskoye deposits. The average iron content in the deposits varies within 31.5-39.5%. Ores contain 0.03-0.06% sulfur and 0.15-0.26% phosphorus.

The ores of this region are the raw material base of JSC "Nosta" (Orsk-Khalilovsky metallurgical plant), which was designed for the production of naturally alloyed metal. According to the initial project, Novo-Kyiv ore with an iron content of 38-39%, mined by an open pit, should be crushed and sorted with the separation of lumpy blast-furnace ore with a particle size of 120-6 mm and fines 6-0 mm for agglomeration. Akkermanovskaya ore, which is also mined by an open method, the iron content of which is 31.5-32.5%, must be prepared according to a more complex scheme, including crushing it to a fineness of 75-0 mm and screening into classes 75-10 and 10-0 mm. The first class (with an iron content of 38%) is a finished product for blast-furnace smelting, and fines 10-0 mm were intended for roasting magnetic enrichment to obtain a concentrate (45.5% iron). The resulting concentrate, together with the fines of the Novo-Kyiv ore, must be agglomerated at the sinter plant of the plant.

However, this scheme was not implemented. At present, only the Novo-Kievskoye deposit is being exploited, the lumpy ore of which is supplied for the smelting of naturally alloyed pig iron at one of the OKHMK blast furnaces. The rest of the pig iron production at the plant is based on imported raw materials.

Having considered the characteristics of the main deposits of the Urals, we note that for the development of ferrous metallurgy in this region, in addition to local iron ores, iron ore materials are used, imported from other regions of the country, in particular from the mining and processing plants of the KMA, the north-west of the country and Kazakhstan.

Along with ferrous metals, ores of non-ferrous, rare and precious metals play a huge role in the development of the economy of the Urals.

The copper deposits of the Urals have long been known. They were formed from hot solutions rising along cracks from the depths of the earth, and can be traced along the entire eastern slope of the Ural Mountains from Vsevolodo-Blagodatsky in the north to Orsk in the south. The ore of most Ural copper deposits is represented by cuprous pyrites (pyrite ores) and contains a large amount of sulfur, as well as zinc, rare and noble metals. This contributes to the combination of copper-smelting production with the chemical industry and other branches of non-ferrous metallurgy. Among copper deposits, medium and small ones predominate. The ore usually occurs in the form of veins and small inclusions. There are also large deposits. The content of the base metal in the ore is variable - from traces to several percent. Occasionally there are ores with up to 30% copper. The presence of a large number of satellites in pyrite ores makes it possible to exploit poor deposits.

The most important copper ore regions (from north to south) are Krasnouralsky, Kirovogradsky, Sredneuralsky, Karabashsky, Orsko-Blyavinsky; outside the district - Uchalinsky and Sibai-Buribaevsky. Deposits in these areas are intensively developed. The most valuable of the currently known copper deposits of the Urals, Gaiskoye, was discovered only in 1949 near Orsk. Until 1960, five deposits were explored here, stretched into a chain in the form of lenses and layers. Ore bodies are located at different depths - from several tens to hundreds of meters. The average content of copper is from 3 to 11%, sulfur - 35-45%. In addition, Gai copper pyrite ores contain zinc, gold, lead, and cadmium. Part of the ore can be mined open-pit.

The history of the discovery of this deposit is interesting. The water of a small lake in the vicinity of Orsk has long been known to the local population for its healing properties. A hospital was built on its shore. But no one suspected that the lake water contained copper, until in 1933 the geologist I. L. Rudnitsky became interested in a bone he saw from a local peasant, which he found at the bottom of the lake. The bone was covered with a green coating of copper oxide. This led the geologist to the idea that copper ores were deposited somewhere in the lake area. However, the searches of the pre-war years did not find copper. Only in 1949, when drilling work was resumed in Gai, interrupted by the Great Patriotic War, the first ore deposit was found while deepening one of the old wells. It contained copper 4-5 times more than in other deposits of the Urals.
Together with copper, molybdenum is often found in contact deposits, and accumulations of dense patterned malachite, an excellent ornamental Ural stone, have formed in the oxidation zone. Malachite is found here both in the form of grains and large blocks. In 1836, a block of malachite weighing more than 300 tons was discovered at the Mednorudyanskoye deposit. It was used to decorate the famous Malachite Hall of the Winter Palace. Of the contact deposits, Turinskoye and Gumeshevskoye are being developed. At the latter, production was resumed at the end of the 50s after an 80-year break.
In addition to pyrites, contact copper deposits are known in the Urals: Turinskoye, Mednorudyanskoye and Gumeshevskoye. They were formed at the contact of igneous and sedimentary rocks. Copper deposits are represented by individual nests located at different depths and are mined underground. Ores of contact deposits contain, as a rule, a significant amount of copper and were early involved in commercial exploitation.

In the Krasnouralsk region, copper ores disseminated in gabbro were discovered (Volkovskoye deposit). These are poor ores with a copper content of up to 1%. But they have, in addition to copper, iron, vanadium and phosphorus. Small amounts of copper are found in the cuprous magnetites of the Northern and Middle Urals.

Upper Permian cupriferous sandstones are widespread in the Western Urals. Thousands of deposits of these ores are scattered in the strip from Solikamsk to Orenburg. Copper in them is presented in the form of oxide compounds. They contain an average of 2-3%, rarely up to 6% of the metal, lie shallow from the surface, give pure copper, suitable for use without special purification, and were widely developed in the early period of the development of the Ural metallurgy. All deposits of cuprous sandstones are small, the ores occur in thin layers, and have no commercial value yet.

Zinc, in the Urals, is found mainly in copper ores. Along with this, zinc ores have been discovered here in the form of typical polymetallic ores containing, in addition to zinc, lead.

The Urals are rich in nickel. Its main reserves are confined to the greenstone belt and intrusion zone of the eastern slope of the Ural Mountains. The Yuzhnouralsk nickel deposits, formed in the weathering zone of serpentines, are of the greatest importance. Large reserves, close to the surface occurrence under the cover of loose rocks, despite the low metal content, make their exploitation profitable. The second type of nickel ore deposits in the Urals occurs in the contact zone of serpentine rocks with limestones. The percentage of nickel in them is higher than in the former, but the concentration of the fossil is low. Such ores are common in the Middle Urals: Ufaleyskoe, Rezhevskoe, Aidyrliskoe, etc. The first two of them are being developed.

At present, in the southeast of the Orenburg region, in the zone of ultramafic intrusions, a nickel-rich deposit has been found, named after the river Buruktalskoe. The ore body contains, in addition to nickel, iron and cobalt, is shallow and available for open pit mining.

Ural is the main supplier of raw materials for the aluminum and magnesium industries of the Soviet Union. The best middle Devonian bauxites in our country are located in the Northern Urals. They have long been known to the local population, who considered them to be poor iron ores. Indeed, bauxites contain up to 20% iron in the form of oxides, giving the ore a red color. The largest geologist and crystallographer I. S. Fedorov, who worked here in the 90s of the last century, also did not suspect the presence of aluminum in them, calling these ores "wretched iron ore." They were rediscovered in the 1930s by the geologist N.A. Karzhavin. The first of the Sevsroural deposits received the poetic name "Little Red Riding Hood".

Ssneuralsky bauxites have few harmful impurities of silica, and the content of aluminum oxide reaches 10%. The thickness of the reservoir in some places reaches 15 m. The deposit is extended from the banks of the Vagran River to the north along the sixtieth meridian, often called the "silver" because of the presence of large accumulations of aluminum along it. The western flank of the bauxite strata comes to the surface and is mined to a depth of 20-30 m in an open pit. As the reservoir develops, open-pit mining is replaced by underground mining. The ore layer is included in heavily karst and watered limestones. At the place of deepening of the mines, the inflow of water increases. Every year, tens of millions of cubic meters of water are pumped to the surface from the North Ural bauxite mines. During the period from 1941 to 1958, more than 700 million cubic meters were pumped out of the mines. m of water - a whole lake. The main source of mine watering is rivers. Therefore, in the area of ​​mines, they have to be enclosed in concrete channels.

To the north and south of the North Ural bauxite deposits, reserves of Upper Devonian bauxite were found - Ivdelskoye. Boyuslovskoye, Ust-Utkinskoye, etc. However, they do not form such large accumulations of ore, and not all of them are of industrial importance.

Bauxite deposits of the Carboniferous age are located in the vicinity of Kamensk-Uralsky. The ore occurs in the form of lenses shallow from the surface. The most valuable deposits have been worked out, and since the mid-1950s, mining has been stopped here.

Metal minerals of the Urals (ferrous metal ores)

The Middle Urals is a whole pantry of various fossils. The surprising combination of minerals is due to the complex geological history that the Urals have endured.
During the intrusion of igneous rocks, sedimentary strata changed under the influence of high temperatures and pressures.

Thus, various minerals and many ores arose, which, under the influence of erosion and weathering of the mountains, turned out to be close to the surface or were exposed.

The basis of the Ural metallurgy is ferrous metal ores.
The most valuable of them are magnetic iron ore (magnetites). In the Middle Urals, there are deposits of magnetic iron ore in the region of Kushva, Nizhny Tagil, Pervouralsk, Kachkanar.

Metal minerals of the Urals (non-ferrous metal ores)

The Middle Urals is rich in ores of non-ferrous, noble and rare metals. Deposits of copper pyrite ore are located in Krasnouralsk, Kirovograd, Degtyarsk.

Copper ores formed during the introduction of granites are mined in Nizhny Tagil (Mednorudnyanskoye deposit), near Polevskoye (Gumeshevskoye deposit).

Complex copper ores are mined in Verkhnyaya Pyshma. There are many deposits of rare metals in the Middle Urals: gold (Berezovskoye deposit, the valleys of the Tura, Salda, Tagil rivers), platinum (the valleys of the Lobva, Kosya, Tagil rivers).

In the Urals, platinum nuggets weighing more than 10 kg were found. In Soviet times, aluminum ores - bauxites - were discovered in the Urals.

Non-metallic minerals of the Urals

The non-metallic minerals of the Urals are also diverse. Especially large deposits of refractory minerals - asbestos and talc. The Bazhenovskoye asbestos deposit is one of the largest in the world. Acid-resistant asbestos, valuable for the chemical industry, is being developed near Sysert. South of Sverdlovsk is the country's largest talc deposit Shabrovskoye. Refractory materials, such as talc, magnesite, dolomite, and micas, are an important group of minerals in the Urals for industry. Particularly interesting is asbestos, or, as it is called, "mountain flax", "stone tow". This stone can be used to make refractory yarn, fireproof ropes and fabrics, cardboard, bearing gaskets, insulating fireproof tiles, and facing products. The world's largest deposit of this mineral is located in the city of Asbest, Sverdlovsk Region.
A special group of minerals in the Urals are precious and colored stones of the Urals. Bright green emeralds, pale lilac amethysts, sparkling diamonds, golden topazes and changeable red-green alexandrites have long been the pride of the Urals. Valuable artistic stones are also famous - motley jasper, various marbles, green malachite, pink eagle, greenish-blue amazonite.
World-famous products made of stones, made by skilled Ural cutters. The mines of gems near the village of Murzinka, near the villages of Lipovka, Adui, in the Novoasbest region are famous. On the dumps you can collect samples of rock crystal, amethyst, morion. There are also alexandrite - a transparent stone of a dark green color, chrysolite of a golden-greenish color. You can also find topazes of bluish or pink colors, tourmalines with a variety of colors.

Minerals of the Urals (Non-metallic minerals)

Combustible minerals of the Urals

Oil and gas fields of the Timan-Pechora oil and gas province and the Volga-Ural oil and gas province, incl. gas condensate Orenburg field, located on the western slope and in the Urals, concentrating mainly in the Pechora, Perm-Bashkir and Tatar arches. The oil and gas potential is established in a wide stratigraphic range - from the Riphean to the Triassic inclusive, industrial accumulations are concentrated in the Eifelian-Triassic structural stage and are confined to several regional gas-oil-bearing, mainly carbonate, less often terrigenous strata of Devonian, Carboniferous and Permian age.
Stone and brown coals are widespread. Industrial coal content is associated with the Tournaisian-Early Visean (Kizel coal basin, Egorshino-Kamensky, Poltava-Bredinsky coal-bearing regions), Permian (Pechora coal basin), Upper Triassic-Lower Jurassic (Chelyabinsk lignite basin, Serovsky, Bulanash-Elkinsky coal-bearing regions), Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous (Sosva-Salekhard brown coal basins) and with Paleogene - Neogene (South Ural coal basin) deposits.

Yu.V.Volkov, I.V.Sokolov, A.A.Smirnov, Institute of Mining of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Despite the 300-year history of mining of mineral raw materials, the Urals remains the richest region, the cost of proven reserves of which, per unit area, is an order of magnitude higher than the average for Russia. However, with the disruption of traditional economic ties after the collapse of the USSR, negative economic and social trends are clearly manifested in the mining and metallurgical complexes of the Urals, requiring a change in the strategy of geological exploration, extraction and processing of mineral raw materials in order to ensure the mineral and raw material security of the region.

The mining and metallurgical industries are among the most important sectors of the economy of the Ural region. The mining and metallurgical complex of the Urals produces 40% of Russian pig iron and extracts up to 20% of iron ores. The main volume of ferrous metallurgy products (up to 85%) is accounted for by the enterprises of the Sverdlovsk and Chelyabinsk regions - these are Nizhne-Tagil (NTMK), Magnitogorsk (MMK), Chelyabinsk ("Mechel") metallurgical plants.

The balance reserves of 75 iron ore deposits in the Urals amount to 14.8 billion tons, incl. 9.3 billion tons of industrial categories A + B + C. The total availability of explored reserves at the achieved level of production, for example, in the Sverdlovsk region is about 150 years. The Ural region is the second in the country in terms of iron ore reserves after the Central one, and it contains 15% of the balance reserves of iron ore in Russia. The iron ore reserves of the region are mainly represented by titanium-magnetite ores of the Kachkanar type. The largest deposit of this type is Gusevogorskoe, in ores of which the average content of iron is 16.5%, vaniya - 0.15%, titanium - 1.25%. The development of this deposit is carried out by OJSC Kachkanar GOK "Vanadium", the availability of balance reserves of which is very high.

The Suroyamsk deposit (Chelyabinsk region) with reserves of 6 billion tons belongs to the same type. The iron content in the original ore is 14.5%. The ores of this deposit are easily enriched and fusible. Considering that the field is located shallow from the surface (average sedimentation is 8 m), the cost of opening it will be small. A preliminary feasibility study of the development of the Suroyamskoye deposit showed the possibility of its profitable development with a production capacity of the enterprise of 30-40 million tons. The annual net profit may amount to 60 million US dollars. The payback period for capital expenditures is 5-7 years.

However, the metallurgical complex of the Urals is experiencing an acute shortage of skarn (contact-metasomatic) magnetite and titanium-magnetite ores. To cover this deficit, the metallurgical plants of the Urals are currently focusing on the use of iron ore raw materials from the mining enterprises of the Center of Russia (KMA) and Kazakhstan. So, at present, up to 30% of raw materials for NTMK are supplied from Mikhailovsky GOK. MMK covers 90% of the need for raw materials with supplies from Sokolovsko-Sarbaisky GOK. OAO Mechel and OAO Nosta (Orenburg region) are in the same position. Already in 2004, 24.8 million tons of iron ore were delivered to the Urals from other regions (about 60% of the demand).

In addition, the ferrous metallurgy of the Urals is experiencing an acute shortage of manganese and chromite ores. Manganese ores were not developed in the Urals in the postwar years, although their reserves at six deposits of the Severopeschansky manganese basin in categories A + B1 + C2 are about 40 million tons. The Urals need for manganese ore is 500-600 thousand tons per year.

The only enterprise for the extraction of chromites in the Urals is OAO Saranovskaya Mine Rudnaya with a design capacity of 240 thousand tons per year. Due to its low chromium content and relatively high iron and silicon content, the ore is used to make refractories. The Urals demand for chromites for metallurgical production is 1 million tons and for refractories up to 500 thousand tons per year. There are currently no industrial reserves of chromite ores suitable for metallurgical production in the Urals. However, the forecast resources of chromites are estimated at 170 million tons.

Thus, the shortage of iron ore in the Ural region and the relatively high cost of imported raw materials predetermine the need to develop a local raw material base. Only its development on the basis of appropriate investments in geological exploration, involvement in the exploitation of already explored deposits, construction of new mining enterprises will make it possible to abandon imported raw materials (the cost of transportation of which sometimes exceeds the cost of extracting 1 ton of marketable ore), increase the stability of mining and metallurgical enterprises Urals and, consequently, to ensure the mineral and raw material security of the region. At the same time, it is necessary to realize that the solution of this problem goes beyond the limits of a single mining or metallurgical enterprise, and the results may affect the development of the mining and metallurgical complex of the Urals as a whole only in 20-25 years.

Given the high level of supply of the Ural region with titanium-magnetite ores, the main attention should be paid to the prospects for the development of the iron-ore base of skarn-magnetite ores and siderites, manganese ores and chromites.

Numerous deposits of skarn-magnetite ores are located in Ivdel-Serovsky, Tagil-Kushvinsky, Magnitogorsk, Chelyabinsk and other regions with balance reserves of 1.4 billion tons and predicted reserves of 1.6 billion tons. brown ironstones and siderites of the Bakalsky and other deposits of the Southern and Middle Urals.

Thus, the regions of the Middle and Northern Urals have great prospects for increasing the extraction of iron ore. The availability of reserves at the current level of production exceeds 100 years. The situation is worse in the Southern Urals, but even there there are large predictable reserves of skarn-magnetite ores - these are the Kruglogorskoye and Glubochenskoye deposits with reserves of 600 and 270 million tons, respectively.

The explored reserves of manganese and chromite ores are small in the Urals, but there are promising areas for their location. In the Sverdlovsk region, this is the Alapaevsky district, the forecast resources of which are estimated at 170 million tons of chromites. In addition to the Sverdlovsk region, the Rai-Iz deposits in the Subpolar Urals are the raw material base for chromite ores.

Another significant reserve for the growth of reserves is the involvement in the development of deep-seated areas of exploited fields. In this regard, a characteristic feature of most mining enterprises in the Urals is the need to switch from an open pit mining to an underground one.

Thus, the prospect of developing the raw material base of the Vysokogorsk Combine (VGOK) is associated with the construction of new iron ore mines. According to the development strategy of VGOK, already in 2006, the volume of production by the underground method will be up to 90% of the total for the plant. Prospects for the development of the raw materials base of the Magnezit plant are also associated with the transition to the development of the Satka magnesite deposit by underground mining. Bakalsky siderites are mined at the Sideritovaya mine, where the growth in production volumes is associated with the mine reaching its design capacity.

In this regard, the importance of underground geotechnology in the development of the local resource base is growing significantly.

Currently, there are 8 mines in the Urals for the development of deposits of ferrous metal ores by underground mining (Table 1).

The main share in the underground development of iron ore deposits belongs to VGOK, where the following deposits are mined:

Lebyazhinskoye - Exploitation mine (completion of work by 2013);

Vysokogorskoe - Magnetitovaya mine (to be completed by 2016);

Yestyuninskoye and Novo-Estyuninskoye - Yestyuninskaya mine (new construction with an output of 4.0 million tons / year, completion beyond 2025);

Goroblagodatskoye - Yuzhnaya mine (decrease in production capacity by 2025).

To maintain the production capacity of VGOK, it is important to increase the production capacity of the Yestyuninskaya mine, as the Magnetitovaya and Exploitation mines are being finalized.

To date, the reserves of the upper part of the Estyuninskoye deposit up to the height of + 130 m have been mined by the quarry. With the commissioning of the Yestyuninskaya mine, further development of the deposit is carried out underground. The production capacity until 2015 for the extraction of raw ore is 1200 thousand tons. The reserves of the deposit up to the mountains. -240 m were opened by three vertical shafts. A floor-chamber development system with pliable pillars is used. At present, reserves of the 1st stage are being finalized, the opening of the reserves of the 2nd stage is delayed due to insufficient funding.

In the Bogoslovsky RU, the main object of underground mining is the Peschanskoye deposit of magnetite iron ore mined by the Severopeschanskaya mine. The field of the Severopeschanskaya mine was opened by six

vertical shafts located in the lying side of the field. The central group of shafts was penetrated to the horizons -400 m and -480 m. The floor height is 80 m. -320 m. Cleaning operations at the Severopeschansky subsoil are practically completed and are being developed at the Upper deposit of the Yuzhnospeska subsoil. Two mining systems are used at the mine: forced-story caving with breaking into a squeezed medium by deep wells and vibratory ore tapping (about 80% of the ore mass is mined using this system) and sub-story caving with end-face ore tapping and delivery by self-propelled LHDs.

Development of the Satka magnesite deposit (Magnezitovaya mine) is envisaged using a development system with goaf backfilling. The Institute of Mining of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences considered and calculated various options for development systems that correspond to the mining-geological and mining-technical conditions of the deposit. As a result, it was found that two options provide the greatest efficiency: a sub-level-chamber mining system with hardening backfill and a room-and-pillar system with dry backfilling of goaf. The design capacity of the Magnezitovaya mine is expected to be reached by 2015 (2.4 million tons per year) and to fully replenish the retired capacities of the quarries.

The Sideritovaya mine mines the deep parts of the Novo-Bakalskaya and Severo-Shikhanskaya deposits. The field was opened by vertical shafts - two auxiliary and two ventilation, and one inclined shaft, passed at an angle of 3°. Development system - sublevel caving with end release. Delivery of ore - self-propelled machines, electric locomotives. Delivery to the surface - by an inclined conveyor with a length of 1000 m. Since 1979, a chamber mining system with portable equipment has also been used. The height of the chambers is 20-30 m. With a design capacity of the Sideritovaya mine of 2.5 million tons/year, 180 thousand tons were mined in 2004 due to lack of demand.

The Urals has significant resources of copper ores, accounting for 40% of the reserves of the Russian Federation. Within the Urals economic region, there are 45 copper ore deposits on the balance sheet. The total explored reserves of copper pyrite ores in the Urals are about 1.3 billion tons. 31.1% of copper reserves are located in the Republic of Bashkortostan, 37.8% in the Orenburg region, 21.1% in the Sverdlovsk region, and 10.0% in the Chelyabinsk region. The Ural copper-zinc industry produces about 10 million tons of copper and zinc ores per year.

According to the stage of development, three groups of copper pyrite deposits can be distinguished (Table 2):

Mined underground or open pit,

which account for 45% of copper reserves;

Prepared for development - 15%;

Deposits that are on the balance sheet in the State Reserves Committee of the Russian Federation - 40%.

According to the volume of reserves, copper pyrite deposits can be divided into three types:

Small - reserves up to 50 million tons of ore;

Medium - reserves from 50 to 100 million tons of ore;

Large - reserves of over 100 million tons of ore.

Currently, the volume of ore mining by the underground method is 77%. Underground geotechnology is developing three large deposits: Gayskoye, Uchalinskoye and Uzelginskoye, where chamber mining systems with hardening backfill are used and self-propelled equipment is used. The Oktyabrskoye and Vadimo-Aleksandrovskoye deposits are being mined using chamber mining systems with an open stope.

A number of new copper pyrite deposits have been explored in the Ural region: Novo-Uchalinskoye, Komsomolskoye, Podolskoye, Severo-Sibayskoye, Ozernoye, etc. Some of them are being designed for development.

Copper-smelting plants of the Urals (SUMZ, Kirovgrad and Karabash MPK, Svyatogor, Mednogorsk MSK) are provided with their own raw materials by only 40%, they mainly process imported copper concentrates and copper scrap. The Turinskaya concentrating plant is loaded with local ores at 60% of its capacity, Krasnouralskaya - at 10%, Sredneuralskaya completely works on imported raw materials. The development of the copper ore base is associated primarily with the expansion of production at the Gaisky (lower levels of the underground mine, involvement in open-pit mining of the Letnee and Autumn deposits) and Uchalinsky (underground mines Molodyozhny, Yubileyny, Sibaysky) GOKs.

The Urals is the main source of raw materials for the aluminum industry in Russia. Aluminum smelters in the Urals are supplied mainly with high-quality ores from the Severoural bauxite mines. Five deposits have been identified in the North Urals basin: Krasnaya Shapochka, Kalinskoye, Novo-Kalinskoye, Cheremukhovskoye and Sosvinskoye. All SUBR mines are characterized by high water cut. More than 80% of the deposits are mined in severe shock-hazardous conditions. The depth of mining operations has reached 1000-1200 m. The geomechanical situation is very difficult at the deposits. Explored reserves of bauxite to a depth of 2000 m are 460 million tons.

The most promising raw material base for alumina production is the Komi Republic. It is based on the Vo-rykva group of the Srednetimansky bauxite deposits with reserves of 265 million tons. The productivity of the Srednetimansky open pit mine is determined at 6.3 million tons, including the first stage - 3 million tons (commissioned in 2003. ). The main consumers are: Ural (1600 thousand tons), Bogoslovsky (620 thousand tons) aluminum plants and Boksitogorsk alumina plant (400 thousand tons).

The Ural region has significant natural potential for the development of precious metals mining. The predicted reserves of ore gold only in the Northern and Middle Urals (within the Sverdlovsk region) exceed the explored reserves by more than 5 times. It should be noted that the mined, explored and confirmed gold reserves only in gold-bearing pyrite deposits are at least 1000 tons. In the structure of the mineral resource base of precious metals in the Ural region, gold ore proper dominates in terms of reserves, and placer gold deposits dominate in terms of production. Thus, the needs of the gold mining enterprises of the Urals are currently satisfied mainly through the development of alluvial deposits.

The mineral resource base of the gold mining industry in the Urals, despite more than 250 years of history, is far from exhausted. The basis of explored reserves of primary gold deposits are new deposits: Vorontsovskoye, Svetlinskoye, Gagarskoye, Ma-minskoye. At the exploited deposits of Berezovsky, Kachkarsky, Chesnokovsky, industrial mineralization can be traced to depths of 1.0-1.2 km. Small deposits of the vein type are worked out in the upper part mainly by the artisanal method.

In the future, the mineral resource base of the gold mining industry of the Urals will be replenished by gold reserves of new promising types of mineralized zones, corvyetrivanie, gold-argillite and gold-jasperoid formations (as an example, the Svetlinskoye and Vorontsovskoye deposits).

At present, the Vorontsovsky GOK has been built on the basis of open-cast mining of the deposit. Reaching the design capacity of 5 tons allows to increase the annual gold production in the Sverdlovsk region by more than 2 times. At the same time, the activities of old mining enterprises that develop primary gold deposits by underground method (Berezovsky, Kachkarsky mines) are characterized by low technical and economic indicators. The task is to increase the efficiency of their development. Thus, the metallurgical plants of both ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy in the Urals feel an acute shortage of raw materials, which predetermines the need to develop a local raw material base. This will ensure the sustainable development of both the mining and metallurgical enterprises themselves and the mineral and raw material security of the region as a whole. If in the non-ferrous metallurgy old mining production facilities are being reconstructed and new ones are being built, in the ferrous metallurgy over the past 25 years not a single enterprise has been put into operation (the exception is the Magnezitovaya mine). Reserves of ferrous metallurgy, replenishing the redeemable reserves of skarn-magnetite ores, first of all, should be considered the balance reserves of the deep horizons of the Estyuninsky and Novo-Estyuninsky deposits, as well as the involvement in the development of the Severo-Goroblagatsky, Kruglogorsky and Glubochensky deposits in the development of the underground method.

LITERATURE:

1. Geological Survey and Development of the Mineral Resource Base, Ed. A.N. Krivtsova, N.D. Migacheva, G.V. Puchkin. - M. - 1993. - 618 p.

2. Sukhoruchenkov A.I. Iron ore base of ferrous metallurgy in Russia // Mining magazine, 2003. - No. 1 (0.

3. Fadeichev A.D. Iron ore base of the Urals, state and development prospects // Izv. universities. Mining magazine. - 1993. - No. 6.

4. Rapoport M.S. State and prospects for the development of the mineral resource base of the Urals // Izv. universities. Mining magazine. Ural mountain review. - 2000. - No. 3.