Main types of minerals. Mineral resources

Natural gas is a mixture of gases that is formed in the bowels of the earth during the decomposition of organic matter. It is a fossil fuel and is used as fuel and in chemical industry. Sometimes natural gas is also called “blue fuel” - this is the color of the flame formed when it is burned.

Natural gas can be found in the subsoil in a gaseous state in the form of separate accumulations or in the form of a gas cap of oil and gas fields. It can also be dissolved in oil or water.

Natural gas consists mainly of methane (up to 98%). In addition to him, the composition natural gas includes other hydrocarbon compounds (ethane, propane, butane), as well as hydrogen, hydrogen sulfide, nitrogen, helium and carbon dioxide. Natural gas itself is colorless and odorless. Since in high concentrations it is deadly to humans, substances that have a strong unpleasant odor are added to it.

Methane is widespread in space: third in abundance after hydrogen and helium. It is one of the components of planets and asteroids, but since it has no practical application, this part is not included in natural gas reserves. Due to the impossibility of extraction, the large amount of hydrocarbons contained in the earth's mantle is not taken into account.

Deposits of extracted natural gas are concentrated in the sedimentary shell of the earth's crust. It is believed that it is formed as a result of the decomposition of the remains of living organisms. Natural gas is formed at higher temperatures and pressures than oil, so it usually lies deeper (from one to several kilometers below the surface of the earth). The largest reserves of natural gas are found in Russia (Urengoy field), USA, and Canada.

In the depths, gas is located in microscopic voids called pores. They are connected by microscopic channels through which gas flows from pores with high pressure to pores with lower pressure. Natural gas is extracted from the depths of the earth using wells that are located evenly throughout the field. This creates a uniform drop in reservoir pressure in the reservoir. Before using gas, impurities must be removed from it, which is done at a special gas processing plant. The gas is then sent to consumers through special pipelines.

Minerals are parts of rocks and ores that are homogeneous in their composition and structure. These are chemical compounds formed as a result of certain geological processes. There are a huge number of minerals on Earth, so they are grouped into homogeneous groups according to chemical composition and physical properties. Most minerals are in a solid state, but sometimes they are liquid (for example, mercury) and even gaseous (carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide). Some minerals are transparent, others are translucent or do not transmit light at all.

Professionals can easily distinguish minerals by their color. Thus, cinnabar is red, and malachite is bright green, and some minerals come in different colors. Minerals also differ significantly in their shape. Crystalline minerals can have the shape of a cube, prism, or polyhedron. However, the vast majority of minerals can have various indeterminate forms.

Minerals differ significantly in hardness. To assess this parameter, the Mohs scale is used. It includes ten elements, each of which corresponds to a certain level of hardness: talc -1, gypsum - 2, calcite - 3, fluorite - 4, apatite - 5, orthoclase - 6, quartz - 7, topaz - 8, corundum -9, diamond - 10. Each subsequent mineral scratches all previous ones. To determine the hardness of another mineral, it is necessary to find out which of those included in the Mohs scale it scratches, and which one scratches itself.

The properties of minerals depend on their chemical composition, crystal structure - that is, the nature of the connection of the smallest particles (atoms) that make up the crystal. Depending on this parameter, calcites, quartz, feldspars, mica and other minerals are distinguished.

Calcite is one of the most common minerals. It is mostly colorless or milky white in color. Sometimes calcite is found, colored in various shades of gray, yellow, red, brown and black. If this mineral is exposed to hydrochloric acid, a rapid release of carbon dioxide will occur.
Calcite is formed in sea basins, and over time turns into rock - limestone or marble.

Quartz is also one of the most common minerals. Quartz crystals can reach enormous sizes and weigh up to 40 tons. The color of quartz is milky white or gray. Transparent quartz crystals are called rock crystal, purple ones are called amethyst, and black ones are called morion. Quartz is usually part of acidic igneous rocks - granites, granite pegmatites and others.

Feldspars make up approximately 50% by weight of all silicates that make up the earth's crust. They are the main constituent of most rocks, many metamorphic and some sedimentary rocks. Micas have a rather complex chemical composition and differ significantly in the set of elements, color and other properties.

Common minerals are found quite often on Earth and therefore are not particularly valuable types of minerals. They are used in various fields of industry and agriculture: for the production of mineral fertilizers, some chemical elements and compounds, in production building materials and other areas.

One of the most important minerals, along with fuels, are the so-called ore minerals. Ore is a rock that is large quantities contains certain elements or their compounds (substances). The most commonly used types of ores are iron, copper and nickel.

Iron ore is an ore that contains iron in such quantities and chemical compounds that its extraction is possible and economically profitable. The most important minerals are: magnetite, magnetite, titanomagnetite, hematite and others. Iron ores differ in mineral composition, iron content, useful and harmful impurities, conditions of formation and industrial properties.

Iron ores are divided into rich (more than 50% iron), ordinary (50-25%) and poor (less than 25% iron). Depending on the chemical composition, they are used for smelting cast iron. natural form or after enrichment. Iron ores used to make steel must contain certain substances in the required proportions. The quality of the resulting product depends on this. Some chemical elements (besides iron) can be extracted from the ore and used for other purposes.

Iron ore deposits are divided by origin. Usually there are 3 groups: magmatic, exogenous and metamorphogenic. They can be further divided into several groups. Magmatogenous are formed mainly when various compounds are exposed to high temperatures. Exogenous deposits arose in river valleys during the deposition of sediments and weathering of rocks. Metamorphogenic deposits are pre-existing sedimentary deposits that have been transformed under conditions of high pressure and temperature. The largest amount of iron ore is concentrated in Russia.

The Kursk magnetic anomaly is the most powerful iron ore basin in the world. Ore deposits on its territory are estimated at 200-210 billion tons, which is about 50% of the iron ore reserves on the planet. It is located mainly in the Kursk, Belgorod and Oryol regions.

Nickel ore is an ore containing the chemical element nickel in such quantities and chemical compounds that its extraction is not only possible, but also economically profitable. Typically these are deposits of sulfide (nickel content 1-2%) and silicate (nickel content 1-1.5%) ores. The most important include commonly occurring minerals: sulfides, hydrous silicates and nickel chlorites.

Copper ores are natural mineral formations in which the copper content is sufficient for the economic extraction of this metal. Of the many known copper-containing minerals, about 17 are used on an industrial scale: native copper, bornite, chalcopyrite (copper pyrite) and others. The following types of deposits are of industrial importance: copper pyrites, skarn copper-magenetite, copper-titanium magnetite and porphyry copper.

They lie among volcanic rocks of the ancient period. Numerous land and underwater volcanoes were active during this period. Volcanoes released sulfur dioxide gases and hot waters saturated with metals - iron, copper, zinc and others. Of these, ores consisting of sulfides of iron, copper and zinc, called pyrites, were deposited on the seabed and in the underlying rocks. The main mineral of pyrite ores is pyrite, or sulfur pyrite, which makes up the predominant part (50–90%) of the volume of pyrite ores.

Most of the mined nickel is used for the production of heat-resistant, structural, tool, stainless steels and alloys. A small part of nickel is spent on the production of nickel and copper-nickel rolled products, for the manufacture of wire, tapes, various equipment for industry, as well as in aviation, rocket science, in the production of equipment for nuclear power plants, and in the manufacture of radar instruments. In industry, nickel is alloyed with copper, zinc, aluminum, chromium and other metals.

Coal is the first mineral used by humans as fuel. It was only at the end of the last century that it was replaced by other energy sources, and until the 60s it remained the most used source of energy. However, even now it is actively used in the metallurgical industry in the smelting of cast iron. Coal, like other main energy carriers, is an organic substance that has changed over a long period of time and under the influence of various processes.

Coal differs in the ratio of its constituent elements. This ratio also determines the main parameter of mined coal - the amount of heat released during its combustion.

Coal is a sedimentary rock formed during the decomposition of plant remains (tree ferns, horsetails and mosses, as well as the first gymnosperms). The bulk of currently mined coals were formed approximately 300-350 million years ago.

There is also brown coal. This is a younger type of coal with a lower calorific value. It is used less frequently as fuel, and the main purpose of extraction is to obtain certain chemical compounds. Anthracite, which has the highest calorific value, is a particularly high-quality type of coal. However, it also has its drawback - it does not ignite well.

For the formation of coal, it is necessary to accumulate a large amount of plant mass, without access to oxygen. Such conditions were met in the ancient peat bogs. First, peat is formed, which then ends up under a layer of sediment and gradually, experiencing compression, turns into coal. The deeper the peat layers lie, the more High Quality it turns out coal. However, this does not mean that good coal necessarily lies at great depths: many of the layers that lay on top of it collapsed over time, and the coal layers ended up at a depth of about a kilometer.

Depending on the depth of occurrence, coal is mined open method, removing the top layer of earth above the layers, or mine (underground) - the construction of special underground passages (mines). Most often, high-quality coal is mined using the shaft method. Several coal deposits make up the coal basin. One of the largest such pools in the world, Kuznetsky, is located in Russia. Another large coal basin - Donbass - is located on the territory of Ukraine.

Oil is a flammable oily liquid of red-brown or black color with a specific odor. Oil is one of the most important minerals on Earth, as the most commonly used fuels are obtained from it. Typically, oil is formed together with another, no less important mineral resource - natural gas. Therefore, very often these two types of minerals are mined in the same place. Oil can lie at a depth of several tens of meters to 6 kilometers, but most often it is located at a depth of 1-3 km.

Oil consists of various hydrocarbons and compounds containing, in addition to carbon and hydrogen, oxygen, sulfur and nitrogen. Oil can vary significantly not only in composition, but also in color: from light brown, almost colorless, to dark brown, almost black.

The origin of this mineral has long caused much debate. Initially, scientists believed that oil was coal. early stage in a liquid state. Later, hypotheses were put forward about the formation of oil when water penetrating deep into the earth interacts with other substances. Only in the last century did scientists determine that oil is formed as a result of a complex and lengthy process of decomposition of organic matter deep underground.

Now almost all the oil produced in the world is extracted from the depths through so-called drilling wells. Previously, more primitive extraction methods were used: oil was collected from the surface of reservoirs, oil-containing rocks of sandstone or limestone were processed, and wells were built.

After extraction, oil is processed at special enterprises to obtain the necessary fuel (gasoline, diesel fuel and others). Oil is actively used not only to produce fuel, but also various elements used in the chemical industry.

Oil is a non-renewable mineral, meaning it is no longer formed. The need for large quantities of fuel in the modern world leads to huge scales of production. According to experts, oil reserves that are currently known and available for extraction should be depleted over the next 100 years. In the future, humanity will either have to look for new methods of production or obtain fuel in a different way. The largest oil reserves are concentrated in Saudi Arabia, Russia and the United States, which are the leaders in world oil production.

Certain types of minerals

Oil and gas

In terms of oil reserves, the Russian Federation ranks fifth, and gas reserves - 1st in the world (). The country's total forecast oil resources are estimated at 62.7 billion tons. Most of these resources are concentrated in the eastern and northern regions countries, as well as on the shelves of the Arctic and Far Eastern seas. IN beginning of XXI century, from 2152 oil fields discovered in Russia, less than half are involved in development, and the reserves of exploited fields are depleted by an average of 45%. However, the initial potential of Russia's oil resources has been realized by about a third, and in the eastern regions even by Russian shelf- by no more than 10%, so it is possible to discover new large reserves of liquid hydrocarbons, including in Western Siberia.

Oil and gas deposits are found in sedimentary rocks from the Vendian to the Neogene, but the greatest hydrocarbon resources are concentrated in the Paleozoic (Devonian, Carboniferous, Permian) and Mesozoic (Jurassic, Cretaceous) sediments. On the territory The Russian Federation distinguishes the following oil and gas provinces: West Siberian, Timan-Pechora, Volga-Ural, Caspian, North Caucasus-Mangyshlak, Yenisei-Anabar, Leno-Tunguska, Leno-Vilyui, Okhotsk and oil and gas regions: Baltic, Anadyr, East Kamchatka .

Oil shale

Basic Shale deposits are located in the European part of the Russian Federation. The most important in industrial relation is the St. Petersburg (formerly Leningrad) field, which is part of the Baltic shale basin. Oil shale deposits associated with Upper Jurassic rocks were also discovered in the Volga, Timan-Pechora and Vichegoda shale basins. In Siberia, shale formations of the Early Paleozoic were discovered in the basin of the city of Olenyok and in the Leno-Aldan region.

Peat

Carbonatite deposits - perovskite-titanomagnetite and apatite-magnetite deposits of the Baltic shield (Afrikanda, Kovdorsky) and the Siberian platform (Gulinsky massif). Skarn deposits are developed in the Urals (Vysokogorskoye, Goroblagodatskoye, North-Peschanskoye, etc.) and in the West. Siberia (Tashtagolskoye, Abakanskoye, etc.). Magnetite deposits of the magnesian-skarn formation are located mainly in areas of development of ancient shields and Precambrian folding. Such deposits are known in Kuznetsk Alatau (Teyskoe), in Gornaya Shoria (Sheregeshevskoe) and Yakutia (Taezhnoe). Volcanogenic hydrothermal deposits are widely developed, paragenetically connected with the ladders of the Siberian Platform (Angaro-Ilimsky iron ore basin, Angaro-Katsky, Seredneangarsky, Kansko-Taseevsky, Tungussky, Bakhtinsky and Ilimpesky iron ore regions). The largest deposits of this group are Korshunovskoye, Rudnogirskoye, Neryundinskoye and Tagarskoye. Ore bodies are impregnation zones, veins and sheet-like deposits. Volcanogenic-sedimentary deposits include the Tersinskaya group (Kuznetsk Alatau) and the Kholzunskoye deposit (Gorny Altai). Ocher oolitic ores from weathering crust deposits are represented in the deposits of the North. Urals (Elizavetinskoe, Serovskoe), South. Urals (Akkermanivskoe, Novokievskoe, Novopetropavlivskoe, etc.), to the North. Caucasus (Malkinskoye).

Manganese

Deposits of manganese ores in the territory. RFs are numerous, but small, predominantly of the carbonate type. The State Balance Sheet takes into account 14 deposits, the proven reserves of which amount to about 150 million tons - 2.7% of the world's reserves (). The quality of the ores is low. OK. 91% of reserves are of the carbonate type with low content and heavy dressing. The largest deposits are known in the Urals, Siberia and the Far East. The largest of them in the Urals are Yurkinskoe, Ekaterininskoe, Berezovskoe and others (carbonate ores), Novoberezovskoe, Polunochnoe (oxide ores). Rudy North Ural bass. characterized by a manganese content of approx. 21%. To the South In the Urals, numerous small deposits of oxidized manganese ores are associated with the volcanogenic-sedimentary formation of the Magnitogorsk synclinorium. The largest in Siberia is the Usinsk manganese deposit (Kemerovo region), which contains 65% of Russia's manganese ore reserves, ore mainly. carbonate. In addition, there are small accumulations of manganese on the Yenisei Ridge (Porozhinskoe deposit), Salair Ridge, Angara Ridge, and in the west. coast of the lake Baikal, in a number of regions of Siberia, Far East (group of the Lesser Khingan deposits), Irnimiyskoye deposit. in the Udskaya-Shantarsky district, in the North. Caucasus (Labinskoe). In Russia, the carbonate type of ore predominates with an average manganese content of 20% (more than 90% of Russian reserves). Oxide ores (with a content of 21%) make up 4.7%, oxidized (27% Mn) - 4.5%, mixed (16% Mn) - hundredths of a percent.

Tin

In terms of explored reserves of tin, the Russian Federation occupies one of the leading places in the world. In terms of tin resources, Russia ranks sixth among the countries of the world (after Brazil, China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand) - 7.6% of the world's resources (3.6 million tons). The basis of the mineral resource base of tin in Russia is made up of Mesozoic primary deposits of vein and stockwork ores (over 86% of explored reserves of the metal), reserves of alluvial deposits account for less than 14%. Almost 95% of all Russian reserves of explored deposits are concentrated in the Far Eastern region, including 41% in Yakutia, 20% each in the Khabarovsk Territory and the Magadan Region, 13% in the Primorsky Territory. Primary deposits of cassiterite-silicate (tourmaline and chlorite) geological-industrial type located in Yakutia are of leading industrial importance. Thus, the main deposits are associated with the Pacific ore belt and zones of Mesozoic activation in the East. Transbaikalia. The deposits are presented in the main cassiterite-sulfide and cassiterite-quartz ores. The largest deposits tin deposits are known in Yakutia (Deputatskoye, E.-Khaiskoye, Alis-Khaiskoye, Ilin-Taskaya, Burgochanskoye, Kesterskoye), in Chukotka (Iultinskoye, Valkumeyskoye, Pirkakaysky tin ore cluster), in the Khabarovsk Territory (Solnechnoye, Festivalnoye, Perevalnoye and other deposits . Komsomolsky ore district), in the Primorsky Territory (Khrustalnoye, Verkhneye, Arsenyevskoye, Levitskoye, Dubrovskoye), in Transbaikalia (Khapcheranginskoye, Sherlovogorskoye, Etikinskoye, etc.), in Karelia (Kitelskoye). There are tin-bearing placers in Yakutia and the Magadan region. The metal content in Russian ores is low - mainly 0.4-0.6%, while in the ores of Brazil, Bolivia, China - (1-1.5)%.

Polymetals

Silver

According to Russian sources, Russia ranks first in the world in terms of silver reserves. The main ones (73%) are concentrated in complex ores of deposits of non-ferrous metals and gold. Silver deposits themselves account for 27% of the reserves. Among the complex deposits, the largest amount of silver (23.2% of all its reserves) is characterized by copper-pyrite deposits (Gaiskoye, Uzelskoye, Podolskoye in the Urals, in the ores of which the silver content ranges from 4-5 to 10-30 g/t). The lead-zinc deposits of Gorevsky, Ozernoy, Kholodninsky in the East Siberian economic region, Nikolaevsky, Smirnovsky and Primorye contain 15.8% of silver reserves with an average content in ores of 43 g / t. 9.0-9.5% of reserves are contained in polymetallic deposits ores Novoshirokinskoye, Pokrovskoye, Vozdvizhenskoye in the Chita region, Rubtsovsk, Korbalikhinskoye in the Altai Territory, etc., sulfide copper-nickel deposits Oktyabrskoye, Talnakhskoye and Udokan deposits of cuprous sandstones. The silver content in this group of deposits ranges from 4.5 to 20 g/t. The actual silver deposits include 16 deposits, the ores of which have an average silver content exceeding 400 g/t. The main reserves of actual silver ores (about 98%) are located in the Okhotsk region. Chukotka and East Sikhote-Alin volcanic belts. All prom. deposits of silver ores are post-magmatic and belong to volcanic-hydrothermal formations. The deposit of the silver-gold formation is Khakanjinsk in the Okhotsk-Chukotka volcanic region. belt, silver-lead formation - Mangazeya group of silver-polymetallic deposits of Yakutia.

Platinoids

Russia, based on estimates from the US Geological Survey, accounts for 10.7% of the world's reserves of platinum group metals and 8.1% of platinum. In terms of predicted resources, Russia ranks third in the world - 6-10 thousand tons (after South Africa - 15-25 thousand tons, and the USA - 9-10 thousand tons; in the world total - 40-60 thousand tons). Platinum group metal (PGM) deposits are represented by late magmatic bedrock and placer types. The platinum belt of the Urals includes the late magmatic Nizhny Tagil deposit. Eluvial, deluvial and alluvial placers of platinum group metals are known. Among them are industrial Late Quaternary alluvial placers of the Urals (mostly already mined) are important. Platinum and platinum group metals are also recovered along the way from sulfide copper-nickel ores of magmatic deposits. IN Murmansk region The country's largest deposit of low-sulfide ores in terms of palladium and platinum reserves is located.

Antimony

In terms of antimony resources (8% of the world), Russia ranks third among the countries of the world (after China and Tajikistan). In terms of antimony reserves, the Russian Federation is ahead of all CIS countries. The antimony content in gold-stibium ores is high - up to 18-20% (in other countries from 1-1.5 to 5-10%). Antimony is localized mainly in vein-type hydrothermal deposits on the Yenisei Ridge (Razdolninskoye and Udereyskoye) and in Yakutia (Sarilah, Sentachanskoye).

Hydrothermal deposits of mercury ores are common in the North. Caucasus (Perevalnoye, Sakhalinskoye, Belokamenny, etc.), in Kuznetsk Alatau (Biloosipivskoye), in the Altai Mountains (Chagan-Uzunskoye, Aktashskoye), in Tuva (Chazadirskoye, Terlig-Khainskoye), in Chukotka (Zap.-Palyanskoye and Plamennoye) , on the Koryak Highlands (Tamvatneyskoye, Olyutorskoye, Lyapganaiskoye, etc.), on the Kamchatka Peninsula (Chempurinskoye, etc.), on the island. Sakhalin (Svetlovsky).

Ores of rare metals and elements

In the Russian Federation on the Kola Peninsula, in the foothills of the Caucasus, in the Urals, in Siberia and Far East There are known deposits, ore occurrences and zones of mineralization of various genetic types. A high tantalum content was noted in tantalum-bearing pegmatites of Eastern Siberia. According to various sources, the forecast beryllium resources in Russia amount to about a third of the world (that is, about 650 thousand tons), most of them are concentrated in Eastern Siberia (Buryatia, Khabarovsk Territory). Elevated concentrations of germanium occur in iron ores oh and coal. Russia ranks 2nd among countries in the world in terms of predicted niobium resources (after Brazil). Russia has a unique Tomtorskoye deposit, which accounts for about 58% of the total reserves of niobium pentoxide in the world. 100% of Russian tantalum is currently mined from loparite ores of the Lovozero deposit. More than 50% of Russian reserves of lithium, rubidium and cesium are concentrated in rare-metal pegmatites of the central part of the Kola Peninsula.

Mining chemical raw materials

Mining chemical raw materials of the Russian Federation are represented by deposits barite, phosphate ores, potassium, potassium-magnesium and rock salts, sodium sulfate and natural soda, native sulfur, boron ores, etc. Stratiform barite and barite-containing polymetallic deposits are located in the Polar Urals, in the West. Siberia, Khakassia. Prom. deposits of boron raw materials are represented by endogenous and exogenous types - for example, deposits in Primorye. The largest actual barite deposit in Russia is Khoylinskoye in the Polar Urals, 95 km south of Vorkuta. The total reserves of the deposit in 2000 reach 9.2 million tons. The BaSO 4 content in the ore is 85.44%. Barite ore bodies of the deposits are sheet deposits and lenses localized in the Middle and Upper Devonian flyschoid terrigenous-carbonate-siliceous strata. The main reserves of the Khoylinsky deposit are concentrated in three ore bodies: Western (average thickness 3.5 m), Central (6.4 m) and Eastern (15 m). The deposit can be developed by open-pit mining with virtually no opening.

Russia is rich potassium salts The main deposits are of the sulfate-free (chloride) type. Approximately 95% of confirmed reserves of potassium salts are found in one deposit - the Verkhnekamsk salt-bearing basin in the Perm region. The main potassium minerals are sylvite and carnallite. Potassium salts are mined at depths of 250-350 m using the mine method. The average K 2 O content in ores is significantly lower than in Canadian deposits, about 17%. There are also deposits associated with salt-dome structures (for example, Elton). The Nepa-Gazhensky potassium basin in the Irkutsk region is promising.

Potassium salt

Fluorite.

Sedimentary deposits rock salt There are plastic and lens ones (Usolskoye, Ziminskoye in Eastern Siberia). Among the lake deposits, the largest are Eltonskoye, Baskunchak in the Caspian region, Kuchukskoye Lake, about. Kulundinskoe, Ebeity and other lakes in the West. Siberia. Sources sulfur are indigenous deposits of native sulfur, hydrogen sulfide gases (Orenburg and Astrakhan deposits), sulfur oil, sulfur pyrite (pyrite) and polymetallic ores. In addition, sulfur is present in volcanogenic genera. D. East: in Kamchatka (Maletoivayamskoe) and in the Kuril Islands (Novy).

Non-metallic industrial raw materials

The subsoil of the Russian Federation is rich in various types of these raw materials (asbestos, graphite, mica, etc.). Place of Birth asbestos are represented by various genetic and mineralogical types, but a large industrial. Accumulations of chrysotile asbestos are important. To the number most means. deposits belong to Bazhenovskoye and Krasnouralskoye in the Urals, Kiembayskoye in the South. Urals, Aktovrak, Sayanskoe and Ilchirskoe in the Sayans and Molodezhnoe in Transbaikalia.

Nya graphite known in the Urals, in the East. Siberia and the D. East. The predominant part of the deposits belongs to the metamorphic and metamorphogenic type (Taiginskoe and others in the Urals, Noginskoe, Kureyskoe, Soyuznoe, etc. in Eastern Siberia and the Far East). Botogol deposit in the Eastern Sayan Mountains, confined to the nepheline massif. igneous. The largest deposits with crystalline ores are Taiginskoye in the Urals, Bezymyanoye in Irkutsk region, and with amorphous ones - Kureyskoye and Noginskoye in the Krasnoyarsk Territory.

The topic "Geography of the world's natural resources" is one of the central topics in the school geography course. What are natural resources? What types of them stand out, and how are they distributed across the planet? What factors determine geography? Read about this in the article.

What are natural resources?

The geography of the world's natural resources is extremely important for understanding the development of the world economy and the economies of individual states. This concept can be interpreted in different ways. In the broadest sense, this is the entire complex of natural benefits necessary for humans. In a narrow sense, natural resources mean a set of goods of natural origin that can serve as sources for production.

Natural resources are not just used in economic activity. Without them, in fact, the existence of human society as such is impossible. One of the most important and pressing problems of modern geographical science is the geography of the world's natural resources (10th grade of secondary school). Both geographers and economists study this issue.

Classification of the Earth's natural resources

The planet's natural resources are classified according to various criteria. Thus, they distinguish between exhaustible and inexhaustible resources, as well as partially renewable ones. According to the prospects for their use, natural resources are divided into industrial, agricultural, energy, recreational and tourist, etc.

According to genetic classification, natural resources include:

• mineral;
• land;
• aquatic;
• forest;
• biological (including resources of the World Ocean);
• energy;
• climatic;
• recreational.

Features of the planetary distribution of natural resources

What features does geography represent? How are they distributed across the planet?

It is immediately worth noting that the world's natural resources are distributed extremely unevenly between states. Thus, nature has endowed several countries (such as Russia, the USA or Australia) with a wide range of minerals. Others (for example, Japan or Moldova) have to be content with only two or three types of mineral raw materials.

As for consumption volumes, about 70% of the world's natural resources are used by the countries of the USA, Canada and Japan, where no more than nine percent of the world's population lives. But a group of developing countries, which account for about 60% of the world's population, consume only 15% of the planet's natural resources.

The geography of the world's natural resources is uneven not only in relation to minerals. In terms of forest, land, and water resources, countries and continents also differ greatly from each other. Thus, most of the planet's fresh water is concentrated in the glaciers of Antarctica and Greenland - regions with minimal population. At the same time, dozens of African states are experiencing acute

Such an uneven geography of the world's natural resources forces many countries to solve the problem of their shortage different ways. Some do this through active financing of geological exploration activities, others implement Newest technologies energy saving, reduce the material consumption of their production as much as possible.

World natural resources (mineral) and their distribution

Mineral raw materials are natural components (substances) that are used by humans in production or to generate electricity. Mineral resources are important for the economy of any state. Our planet's crust contains about two hundred minerals. 160 of them are actively mined by humans. Depending on the method and scope of use, mineral resources are divided into several types:

Perhaps the most important mineral resource today is oil. It is rightly called “black gold”; major wars were (and are still being) fought for it. Typically, oil occurs along with associated natural gas. The main regions for the extraction of these resources in the world are Alaska, Texas, the Middle East, and Mexico. Another fuel resource is coal (hard and brown). It is mined in many countries (more than 70).

Ore mineral resources include ores of ferrous, non-ferrous and precious metals. Geological deposits of these minerals often have a clear connection to the zones of crystalline shields - protrusions of the platform foundations.

Non-metallic mineral resources have completely different uses. Thus, granite and asbestos are used in the construction industry, potassium salts - in the production of fertilizers, graphite - in nuclear energy etc. The geography of the world's natural resources is presented in more detail below. The table includes a list of the most important and sought-after minerals.

Mineral resource	Leading countries in its production
	Saudi Arabia, Russia, China, USA, Iran
Coal	USA, Russia, India, China, Australia
Oil shale	China, USA, Estonia, Sweden, Germany
Iron ore	Russia, China, Ukraine, Brazil, India
Manganese ore	China, Australia, South Africa, Ukraine, Gabon
Copper ores	Chile, USA, Peru, Zambia, DR Congo
Uranium ores	Australia, Kazakhstan, Canada, Niger, Namibia
Nickel ores	Canada, Russia, Australia, Philippines, New Caledonia
	Australia, Brazil, India, China, Guinea
	USA, South Africa, Canada, Russia, Australia
	South Africa, Australia, Russia, Namibia, Botswana
Phosphorites	USA, Tunisia, Morocco, Senegal, Iraq
	France, Greece, Norway, Germany, Ukraine
Potassium salt	Russia, Ukraine, Canada, Belarus, China
Native sulfur	USA, Mexico, Iraq, Ukraine, Poland

Land resources and their geography

Land resources are one of the most important resources of the planet and of any country in the world. This concept refers to the part of the Earth's surface suitable for life, construction and agriculture. The world land fund is about 13 billion hectares of area. It includes:

Different countries have different land resources. Some have vast expanses of free land at their disposal (Russia, Ukraine), while others experience an acute shortage of free space (Japan, Denmark). Agricultural land is extremely unevenly distributed: about 60% of the world's arable land is in Eurasia, while Australia has only 3%.

Water resources and their geography

Water is the most abundant and most important mineral on Earth. It was in it that earthly life originated, and it is water that is necessary for every living organism. Under water resources planets include all surface as well as The groundwater that are used by humans or may be used in the future. Fresh water is especially in demand. It is used in everyday life, in production and in the agricultural sector. The maximum reserves of fresh river flow fall in Asia and Latin America, and the minimum in Australia and Africa. Moreover, on one third of the world's landmass the problem with fresh water is especially acute.

The richest countries in the world in terms of freshwater reserves include Brazil, Russia, Canada, China and the USA. But the five countries least supplied with fresh water look like this: Kuwait, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Jordan.

Forest resources and their geography

Forests are often called the “lungs” of our planet. And completely justified. After all, they play an important climate-forming, water-protection, and recreational role. Forest resources include forests themselves, as well as all their useful qualities - protective, recreational, medicinal, etc.

According to statistics, about 25% of the earth's land is covered by forests. The bulk of them are in the so-called “northern forest belt,” which includes countries such as Russia, Canada, the USA, Sweden, and Finland.

The table below shows the countries that are leaders in terms of forest cover in their territories:

	Percentage of area covered by forests
French Guiana
Mozambique

Biological resources of the planet

Biological resources are all plant and animal organisms that are used by humans for various purposes. Floristic resources are more in demand in the modern world. In total, there are about six thousand species of cultivated plants on the planet. However, only one hundred of them are widely distributed throughout the world. In addition to cultivated plants, people actively breed livestock and poultry, use strains of bacteria in agriculture and industry.

Biological resources are classified as renewable. Nevertheless, with their modern, sometimes predatory and ill-considered use, some of them are threatened with destruction.

Geography of the world's natural resources: environmental problems

Modern environmental management is characterized by a number of serious environmental problems. Active mining of minerals not only pollutes the atmosphere and soil, but also significantly alters the surface of our planet, changing some landscapes beyond recognition.

What words are associated with modern geography of world natural resources? Pollution, depletion, destruction... Unfortunately, it's true. Thousands of hectares of ancient forests disappear from the face of our planet every year. Poaching is destroying rare and endangered species of animals. Heavy industry pollutes soils with metals and other harmful substances.

There is an urgent need to change the concept of human behavior in the natural environment at a global level. Otherwise, the future of world civilization will not look very bright.

The phenomenon of the “resource curse”

“The paradox of abundance”, or “the curse of raw materials”, is the name of a phenomenon in economics that was first formulated in 1993 by Richard Auty. The essence of this phenomenon is as follows: states with significant natural resource potential, as a rule, are characterized by low economic growth and development. In turn, countries “poor” in natural resources achieve great economic success.

There are indeed a lot of examples confirming this conclusion in the modern world. People first started talking about the “resource curse” of countries back in the 80s of the last century. Some researchers already traced this trend in their works.

Economists identify several main reasons explaining this phenomenon:

• lack of desire on the part of the authorities to carry out effective and necessary reforms;
• development of corruption based on “easy money”;
• a decrease in the competitiveness of other sectors of the economy that are not so heavily dependent on natural resources.

Conclusion

The geography of the world's natural resources is extremely uneven. This applies to almost all of their types - mineral, energy, land, water, forest.

Some states own large reserves of mineral resources, but the mineral resource potential of other countries is significantly limited to just a few types. True, an exceptional supply of natural resources does not always guarantee a high standard of living or the development of the economy of a particular state. A striking example of this are countries such as Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and others. This phenomenon has even received its name in economics - the “resource curse.”

The world around us is filled with things and objects, without which it is impossible for humanity to exist. But in the bustle of everyday life, people rarely think about the fact that we owe all the benefits of modern life to natural resources.

Our achievements are breathtaking, aren't they? Man is the pinnacle of evolution, the most perfect creation on Earth! Now let’s think for a moment why we achieved all these benefits, what forces should we thank, what and to whom do people owe for all their benefits?

Having carefully looked at all the objects around us, many of us for the first time realize the simple truth that man is not the king of nature, but only one of its constituent parts.

Since people owe most modern goods natural resources extracted from the bowels of the Earth

Modern life on our planet is not possible without the use of natural resources. Some of them are more valuable, others less, and without some, humanity cannot exist at this stage of its development.

We use them to heat and light our homes and quickly get from one continent to another. Maintaining our health depends on others (for example, it can be mineral waters). The list of minerals valuable to humans is huge, but we can try to identify the ten most important natural elements, without which it is difficult to imagine the further development of our civilization.

1.Oil is the “black gold” of the Earth

It is not for nothing that it is called “black gold”, because with the development of the transport industry, the life of human society began to directly depend on its production and distribution. Scientists believe that oil is a product of the decomposition of organic residues. It consists of hydrocarbons. Not many people realize that oil is part of the most common and necessary things for us.

In addition to being the basis of fuel for most types of transport, it is widely used in medicine, perfumery and the chemical industry. For example, oil is used to produce polyethylene and various types of plastic. In medicine, oil is used to produce petroleum jelly and aspirin, which is essential in many cases. The most unexpected use oil for many of us will be that it is involved in the production of chewing gum. Solar batteries, which are indispensable in the space industry, are also produced with the addition of petroleum. It is difficult to imagine the modern textile industry without the production of nylon, which is also made from oil. The largest oil deposits are located in Russia, Mexico, Libya, Algeria, the USA, and Venezuela.

2. Natural gas is the source of heat on the planet

The significance of this mineral is difficult to overestimate. Most natural gas fields are closely related to oil deposits. Gas is used as an inexpensive fuel for heating homes and businesses. The value of natural gas lies in the fact that it is an environmentally friendly fuel. The chemical industry uses natural gas to produce plastics, alcohol, rubber, and acid. Natural gas deposits can reach hundreds of billions of cubic meters.

3. Coal - energy of light and heat

This is a combustible rock with high heat transfer during combustion and a carbon content of up to 98%. Coal is used as fuel for power plants and boiler houses, and metallurgy. This fossil mineral is also used in the chemical industry as a raw material for the manufacture of:

• plastics;
• medicines;
• spirits;
• various dyes.

4.Asphalt is a universal fossil resin

The role of this fossil resin in the development of the modern transport industry is invaluable. In addition, asphalt is used in the production of electrical equipment, rubber and various varnishes used for waterproofing. Widely used in the construction and chemical industries. Mined in France, Jordan, Israel, Russia.

5. Aluminum ore (bauxite, nepheline, alunite)

Bauxite- the main source of aluminum oxide. Mined in Russia and Australia.

Alunites– are used not only for the production of aluminum, but also in the production of sulfuric acid and fertilizers.

Nephelines– contain a large amount of aluminum. This mineral is used to create reliable alloys used in mechanical engineering.

6.Iron ores - the metallic heart of the Earth

They differ in iron content and chemical composition. Iron ore deposits are found in many countries around the world. Iron plays a significant role in the development of civilization. Iron ore is the main component for the production of cast iron. The following industries are in dire need of iron ore derivatives:

• metalworking and mechanical engineering;
• space and military industries;
• automotive and shipbuilding industries;
• light and food industries;

The leaders in iron ore production are Russia, China, and the USA.

In nature, it is found mainly in the form of nuggets (the largest was discovered in Australia and weighed about 70 kg). It also occurs in the form of placers. The main consumer of gold (after the jewelry industry) is the electronics industry (gold is widely used in microcircuits and various electronic components for computer technology). Gold is widely used in dentistry for the manufacture of dentures and crowns. Since gold practically does not oxidize and does not corrode, it is also used in the chemical industry. It is mined in South Africa, Australia, Russia, Canada.

8. Diamond is one of the hardest materials

It is widely used in jewelry (a cut diamond is called a diamond); in addition, due to its hardness, diamonds are used for processing metals, glass and stones. Diamonds are widely used in the instrument-making, electrical and electronic sectors of the national economy. Diamond chips are an excellent abrasive raw material for the production of grinding pastes and powders. Diamonds are mined in Africa (98%) and Russia.

9.Platinum is the most valuable precious metal

Widely used in the field of electrical engineering. It is also used in the jewelry industry and the space industry. Platinum is used to produce:

• special mirrors for laser technology;
• in the automotive industry for exhaust gas purification;
• for corrosion protection of submarine hulls;
• Surgical instruments are made from platinum and its alloys;
• high-precision glass instruments.

10. Uranium-radium ores - dangerous energy

They are of great importance in the modern world, as they are used as fuel in nuclear power plants. These ores are mined in South Africa, Russia, Congo and a number of other countries.

It’s scary to imagine what could happen if, at this stage of its development, humanity loses access to the listed natural resources. In addition, not all countries have equal access to the Earth's natural resources. Natural resource deposits are not evenly distributed. Often it is because of this circumstance that conflicts arise between states. In fact, the entire history of modern civilization is a constant struggle for the possession of valuable resources of the planet.

Most types of mineral raw materials are represented by ores consisting of minerals, i.e. inorganic substances 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 added to mineral raw materials conditionally. IN last years Hydromineral raw materials—highly mineralized groundwater (buried brines)—are becoming increasingly important.

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

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

In 1987, the USSR imported only four types of mineral raw materials: bauxite, barite, bismuth concentrate and lump fluorite. Later, he began to import ilmenite (titanium ore), niobium and partly tantalum concentrates, as well as ferroniobium. Russia has switched to importing finished niobium steel pipes for gas, oil and product pipelines. After the collapse of the USSR, Russia lost most of the deposits of chromite, 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, Russia has a state reserve of scarce mineral raw materials.

COMBUSTIBLE MINERAL RESOURCES

Most of the world's energy comes from burning fossil fuels - coal, oil and gas. In nuclear energy, fuel elements (fuel rods) 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 vary in calorific value: it is lowest in brown coal (lignite) and highest in anthracite (hard, 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 towards a decrease in its production, as it gives way to other types of energy raw materials - oil and gas. In a number of countries, coal mining is becoming unprofitable due to the development of the richest and relatively shallow seams. Many old mines are closed as unprofitable. China ranks first in coal production, followed by the USA, 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 reserves of coal (all types), which are estimated at 444.8 billion tons, the total reserves in the country exceed 1.13 trillion. t, forecast resources – 3.6 trillion. t. 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 high-grade coal reserves are concentrated in the Eastern (or Appalachian) Province, stretching north to south from northwestern Pennsylvania to northern Alabama. These high-quality coals from the Carboniferous period are used to generate electricity and produce metallurgical coke used in the smelting of iron and steel. To the east of this coal belt in Pennsylvania is a coal basin with an area of ​​ca. 1300 sq. km, which accounts for almost all of the anthracite production in the country.

The largest coal reserves are located in the northern Central Plains and the Rocky Mountains. In the Powder River Coal Basin (Wyoming), coal seams with a thickness of approx. 30 m are mined open-pit with giant dragline excavators, while in the eastern regions of the country even thin (approx. 60 cm) layers are often accessible for excavation only underground. The nation's largest coal gasification facility operates on North Dakota lignite coal.

Reserves of brown and hard (sub-bituminous) coals of 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, are many times greater than the amount of coal produced so far in the United States. Large reserves of hard (bituminous) coals of Cretaceous age are available 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 into Arizona and New Mexico. Small coal deposits are being developed in the states of Washington and California. Almost 1.5 million tons of coal are mined annually in Alaska. At current rates of consumption, US coal reserves should last for several hundred years.

A potential source of energy is methane contained in coal seams; Its reserves in the United States 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 coals per year. Deposits of high-quality coals of Carboniferous age are found in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, and younger coals of lesser quality are found within the continuing northward coal basins of the Great Plains and 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 metallurgical plants located on the Pacific coast of the country.

South America.

In the rest of the Western Hemisphere, commercial coal deposits are small. South America's leading coal producer is Colombia, where it is mined primarily from the giant El Cerrejon open-pit coal mine. Colombia is followed by Brazil, Chile, Argentina and Venezuela, which have 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 fuel consumed. The total coal resources in China exceed 986 billion tons, approximately half of which are located in Shaanxi and Inner Mongolia. Large reserves are also available in the provinces of Anhui, Guizhou, Shinxi and the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. Of the total 1.3 billion tons of coal mined in China in 1995, about half came from 60 thousand small coal mines and local mines, the other half from large state-owned mines, such as the powerful Antaibao mine in Shaanxi Province ( Fig. 1), where up to 15 million tons of raw (unenriched) coal are 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, the combustion of coal produces half as much energy as the combustion of oil and gas. 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 hard, and 1/3 are brown. The largest coal basins in Russia: Kuznetsk (the largest in terms of production volume), Tunguska, Taimyr, Lensky, Irkutsk, South Yakutsk, Minusinsk, Bureinsky, Pechora, Karaganda. The Chelyabinsk and Kizelovsky basins in the Urals, 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 coals and anthracite only partially extends into the territory of the Rostov region of the Russian Federation, and is mainly located in Ukraine.

Among the lignite basins, the Lensky, Kansko-Achinsky, Tungussky, Kuznetsky, Taimyrsky, and Podmoskovny are distinguished.

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

Europe.

Coal production in Central and Western Europe in 1995 was 1/9 of the world's. The high quality coal mined in the British Isles is predominantly Carboniferous in age. Most of the coal deposits are located in south Wales, the west and north of England and the south of Scotland. Within continental Europe, coal is mined in approximately 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 in the Ruhr basin. The Czech Republic also has industrial reserves of hard (bituminous) and brown coal.

Africa

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

Australia

is one of the world's largest coal producers, whose exports to the countries of the Pacific Basin are constantly growing. Coal production here exceeds 277 million tons per year (80% bituminous, 20% brown coal). The largest volume of coal production occurs in Queensland (Bowen coal basin), followed by New South Wales (Hunter Valley, Western and South Coast deposits), Western Australia (deposits in the vicinity of Bunbury) and Tasmania (Fingal deposit). In addition, coal is mined in South Australia (Lea Creek) and Victoria (Latrobe Valley coal basin).

Oil and gas.

Conditions of education.

Petroleum-bearing sedimentary basins are usually associated with specific geological structures. Almost all large oil deposits are confined to geosynclines - areas of the earth's crust that have undergone subsidence for a long time, as a result of which particularly 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, the oil-bearing deposits were composed of shallow-water facies.

Oil and gas occur in rocks of different ages– from Cambrian to Pliocene. Sometimes oil is 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, are located 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 across 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); 3) the islands of the Malay Archipelago and New Guinea; 4) Western Siberia; 5) northern Alaska; 6) North Sea (mainly Norwegian and British sectors); 7) Sakhalin Island with adjacent areas of the shelf.

Inventories.

World oil reserves amount to 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.

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%), USA (10.4%), Russia (9.7%), Iran (5.8 %), Mexico (4.8%), China (4.7%), Norway (4.4%), Venezuela (4.3%), Great Britain (4.1%), United 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 approx. 88% of all oil production occurred in 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.

Industrial 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 into the Arctic Faunal Reserve, where oil resources are estimated at almost 1.5 billion tons. The main oil and gas bearing region of California - the San Joaquin Valley - includes such large fields as like Sunset Midway, Kettleman Hills and Coalinga. Large deposits are located in the Los Angeles basin (Santa Fe Springs, Long Beach, Wilmington), and the Vertura and Santa Maria deposits are of lesser importance. Most of California's oil is associated with Miocene and Pliocene sediments.

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 (mainly gas), Saskatchewan and southwestern Manitoba (the northern extension of the Williston Basin).

In Mexico, the main oil and gas reserves are located on the Gulf Coast in the areas of Tampico, Poza Rica de Hidalgo and Minatitlan.

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. Second place belongs to Brazil, third to Argentina, and fourth to Colombia. Oil is also produced in Ecuador, Peru and Trinidad and Tobago.

Europe and CIS countries.

Oil and natural gas production 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 thousand oil wells operated 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 countries Central Asia. One of the world's largest oil and gas basins is located in Azerbaijan in the Baku region.

The discovery of large oil and gas deposits in the North Sea in the early 1970s made the UK the second largest oil producer in Europe and Norway third. Romania is one of the countries where oil production from hand-dug wells began in 1857 (two years earlier than in the United States). Its main South Carpathian oil fields have been largely depleted, and in 1995 the country produced only 6.6 million tons. 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 UAE and Kuwait. More than 266 thousand tons of oil per day are produced in Oman, Qatar and Syria (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 (approx. 40% of China's total production), Shengli in Hebei Province (23%) and Liaohe in Liaoning Province (approx. 8%). Oil and gas basins are also widespread in the central and western regions of China.

India ranks second in oil and gas production in this region. Their main reserves are concentrated in sedimentary basins framing the Precambrian shield. Oil production in Indonesia began in 1893 (Sumatra Island) and reached industrial scale in 1901. Currently, 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.

The largest quantities of oil are produced by Nigeria and Libya, and the deposits of Algeria and Egypt are also significant.

Tar sands and oil shale.

During the energy crisis of the 1970s, there was a search for alternative sources energy that could replace oil. In Canada, for example, tar sands (oil sands in which heavy oils, bitumen and asphalt remain after the volatilization of light fractions) were developed by open-pit mining. In Russia there is a similar deposit on Timan (Yaritskoye). Large reserves of oil shale are concentrated in the United States (in western Colorado and 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-containing minerals are hematite, magnetite, limonite, chamosite, thuringite and siderite. Iron ore deposits are classified as industrial when the metal content is at least several tens of millions of tons and the ore bodies are shallow (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). The most ore (in million tons) is mined in China (250), Brazil (185), Australia (more than 140), Russia (78), the USA and India (60 each) and Ukraine (45). Significant iron ore mining is also carried out in Canada, South Africa, Sweden, Venezuela, Liberia and France. The total world resources of raw (undressed) ore exceed 1,400 billion tons, industrial resources - more than 360 billion tons.

In the United States, the largest amount of iron ore is mined in the Lake Superior region, the bulk of which comes from the deposit of ferruginous quartzites (taconites) in the Mesabi region (Minnesota); in second place is pcs. Michigan, where ore pellets are produced. Iron ore is mined in smaller quantities in the states of California, Wisconsin and Missouri.

In Russia, total iron ore reserves amount to 101 billion tons, with 59% of reserves concentrated in the European part, and 41% east of the Urals. Significant mining is carried out in Ukraine in the region of the Krivoy Rog iron ore basin. Australia ranks first in the world in terms of export volume 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 crude steel production in 1988 was the USSR (180.4 million tons), from 1991 to 1996 Japan took first place (101 million tons), followed by the USA and China (93 million tons each) and Russia (51 million tons). million tons).

Manganese

used in the production of alloy steel and cast iron, and also 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%). Significant amounts of manganese are 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 production 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 deposit of chromium is located in Armenia. In Russia, a small deposit is being developed in the Urals.

Vanadium

– the rarest representative of ferrous metals. The main area of ​​application of vanadium is the production of high-grade cast iron and steel. The addition of vanadium ensures high performance of 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 titanomagnetite ores, rarely 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 also sometimes present in bauxite, heavy oils, brown coals, tar shale 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 titanomagnetite 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 the leaders in recorded vanadium reserves.

NON-FERROUS METALS ORES

Aluminum.

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

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

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

In Russia, bauxite is mined in the Urals, Timan and the Leningrad region.

Magnesium

relatively recently began to be used in industry. During World War II, much of the magnesium produced was used to make incendiary shells, bombs, flares, and other munitions. In peacetime, its main area of ​​application is the production of light alloys based on magnesium and aluminum (magnalin, duralumin). Magnesium-aluminum alloys - cast (4-13% magnesium) and wrought (1-7% magnesium) - due to their physical properties, are excellent for producing shaped castings and forged parts in various branches of mechanical and instrument engineering. 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.

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

About 41% of world production of magnesium metal and 12% of its compounds come from the USA (1995). Large producers of magnesium metal are Turkey and the DPRK, and magnesium compounds are Russia, China, the DPRK, Turkey, Austria and Greece. Inexhaustible reserves of magnesium 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 other magnesium 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), and native copper. Oxidized copper ores consist primarily of malachite (copper carbonate). Mined copper ore is often beneficiated on site, then the ore concentrate is sent to a copper smelter and further refined to produce pure red copper. The cheapest and most common method of processing many copper ores is hydrometallurgical: liquid extraction and electrolytic refining of blister copper.

Copper deposits are distributed primarily in five regions of the world: the US Rocky Mountains; 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. Major producers of copper (1995) - 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 United States, copper ores are mined mainly in Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Michigan and Montana. At the largest mine, Bingham Canyon (Utah), 77 thousand tons of copper ore are mined and processed per day.

Copper mining is Chile's main mining industry, containing approximately 22% of the world's reserves. Most of the 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 and a copper content of 1.59%), was discovered in 1981 in the Atacama Desert in the north of the country.

Lead

used mainly in the manufacture of car batteries and lead tetraethylate additives to gasoline (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 spent on the needs of construction, communications, electrical and electronic industries, for the production of ammunition, dyes (lead white, red lead, etc.), lead glass and crystal, and ceramic glazes. In addition, lead is used in ceramic production, for the production of typographic fonts, in anti-friction alloys, as ballast weights or weights, and it is used to make pipes and containers for radioactive materials. Lead is the main material for protection against ionizing radiation. Most lead can be reused (except for glass and ceramics, chemicals and pigments). Therefore, lead requirements can be met to a large extent by recycling 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, a zinc ore mineral, and often with chalcopyrite, a copper ore mineral, forming polymetallic ores.

Lead ore is 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 USA, the main producer of lead ore is the state of Missouri, where in the valley of the river. Mississippi's 8 mines account for 89% of the country's total lead production (1995). Other mining areas include Colorado, Idaho and Montana. In Alaska, lead reserves are associated with zinc, silver and copper ores. Most of the developed lead deposits in Canada are located in the province of British Columbia.

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

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

Zinc

widely used for galvanizing - applying galvanic coatings that protect the surfaces of steel and iron sheets, pipes, wires, metal meshes, shaped connecting parts of pipelines from rusting, 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 ranks first in the world in terms of production (16.5% of world production, 1113 thousand tons, 1995) and reserves of zinc. In addition, significant zinc reserves are concentrated in China (13.5%), Australia (13%), Peru (10%), USA (10%), Ireland (approx. 3%). Zinc mining is carried out 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 zinc reserves 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 United States, the leading state in zinc production is Tennessee (55%), followed by New York and Missouri. Other significant zinc producers are Colorado, Montana, Idaho and Alaska. The development of the large Red Dog field in Alaska is very promising. In Canada, the most important zinc mines are located in British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba and the Northwest Territories.

Nickel.

About 64% of all nickel produced in the world is used to produce nickel steel, which is used to make tools, machine tools, armor plates and plates, stainless steel cookware 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 coinage (for example, the American five-cent coin 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 scattered dissemination of hydrous nickel silicates. Half of the world's nickel production comes from Russia and Canada; large-scale mining is also carried out in Australia, Indonesia, New Caledonia, South Africa, Cuba, China, Dominican Republic and Colombia. In Russia, which ranks first in the production of nickel ores (22% of world production), the bulk 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 due to one of the largest copper-nickel deposits in Sudbury (Ontario), is now inferior to Russia in terms of production. In Canada, nickel deposits are also being developed in Manitoba, British Columbia and other areas.

There are no nickel ore deposits in the United States, and nickel is extracted as a by-product from the only plant for copper refining, and also produced from scrap (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 reserves of cobalt are estimated at approximately 10.3 million tons. Most of it is mined in Congo (DRC) and Zambia, much less in Canada, Australia, Kazakhstan, Russia (in the Urals), and Ukraine. Cobalt is not produced in the United States, 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 tin (steel coated with a thin film of tin) is ideal for food storage. In the USA, 25% of tin is used to make cans. Other uses of tin include fast solder, putty, tin foil, bronze, babbitt and other alloys.

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

Almost half of the world's tin production comes from placer deposits in Southeast Asia - a belt 1,600 km long and up to 190 km wide from Bank Island (Indonesia) to the extreme southeast of China. The world's largest producers of tin 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 is also carried out in Australia, Canada, Congo (DRC) and the UK.

Molybdenum

It is mainly used in the production of alloy steels for the machine tool industry, 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, and less commonly with 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 mine, Henderson) and Idaho; in addition, molybdenum is recovered as a by-product in Arizona, California, Montana and Utah. Second place in production is shared by Chile and China (18 thousand tons each), Canada takes third place (11 thousand tons). These three countries account for 88% of world molybdenum production.

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

Tungsten

is part of super-hard wear-resistant tool alloys, mainly in the form of carbide. Used in incandescent filaments of electric lamps. The main ore metals are wolframite and scheelite. 42% of the world's tungsten reserves (mostly 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 in California in the United States.

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, textiles and other industries. Bismuth is obtained mainly as a by-product from lead smelting. Bismuth minerals (its bismuthin sulfide, native bismuth, bismuth sulfosalts) are also present in 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 bismuth production (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 USA, bismuth is produced only at one lead refinery in Omaha (Nebraska).

Antimony.

The main area of ​​application of antimony is flame retardants (anti-ignition agents) - compositions (mainly in the form of Sb 2 O 3 oxide) that reduce the flammability 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 stibnite (stibnite), an antimony sulfide, very often associated with cinnabar (mercury sulfide), sometimes with wolframite (ferberite).

World antimony reserves, 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 United States, 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 (solidifies 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 production of dyes, in dentistry, etc.

The only ore mineral of mercury is cinnabar (mercury sulfide of bright red color), after its oxidative roasting in the distillation unit, condensation of mercury vapor occurs. 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 the mercury is reduced to metal by aluminum.

In 1995, global mercury production was 3049 tons, and identified mercury resources were estimated at 675 thousand tons (mainly in Spain, Italy, Yugoslavia, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine and Russia). The largest producers of mercury 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, known for almost 2000 years. In 1986, large reserves were additionally explored there. In the US, cinnabar is extracted from one mine in Nevada, and some mercury is recovered as a by-product of gold mining in Nevada and Utah. The Khaidarkan and Chauvay fields have been developed in Kyrgyzstan for a long time. In Russia there are small deposits in Chukotka, Kamchatka and Altai.

NOBLE METALS AND THEIR ORES

Gold.

The total volume of gold production in the world is 2200 tons (1995). The first place in the world in gold production is occupied by South Africa (522 tons), the second place is by the USA (329 tons, 1995). The oldest and deepest gold mine in the United States is Homestake in the Black Hills (South Dakota); Gold mining has been going on there for over a hundred years. In 1988, US gold production reached its peak. The main mining areas are concentrated in Nevada, California, Montana and South Carolina. Modern methods extraction (imitation) makes it profitable to extract gold from numerous poor and poor deposits. Some Nevada gold mines are profitable even with ore grades as low as 0.9 g/t. Throughout U.S. history, gold has been mined from 420 vein mines in the West, 12 large placer mines (almost all in Alaska), and small placer mines in Alaska and the western states.

Because gold is virtually resistant to corrosion and highly prized, it lasts forever. To date, at least 90% of the gold mined in the past has survived in the form of bars, coins, jewelry and art objects. historical period. As a result of the annual global production of this metal, its total amount increases by less than 2%.

Silver,

like gold, it is a precious metal. However, its price compared to the price of gold was recently 1:16, and in 1995 it decreased to 1:76. About 1/3 of the silver produced in the USA is used for 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, and on electroplating (silver plating). ).

Approximately 2/3 of the world's silver resources are associated with polymetallic copper lead and zinc ores. Silver is extracted mainly as a by-product from galena (lead sulfide). The deposits are predominantly vein deposits. The largest producers of silver 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, and high thermal and electrical conductivity are used. Most wide application platinum is found in automobile catalytic converters (which promote afterburning of fuel in order to remove harmful impurities from exhaust gases), as well as in platinum-rhenium catalysts in petrochemistry, during the oxidation of ammonia, etc. Used for the manufacture of crucibles and other laboratory glassware, dies, etc. Almost all platinum production occurs in South Africa (167.2 tons, 1995), Russia (21 tons) and Canada (16.5 tons). In the USA, in 1987, development of a deposit began in Stillwater (Montana), where 3.1 tons of platinum metals were obtained, with 0.8 tons of platinum itself, the rest being palladium (the cheapest and most widely used of the platinum group metals). Russia is the leader in palladium reserves and production (the main mining area is the vicinity of Norilsk). Platinum is also mined in the Urals.

RARE METALS ORES

Niobium and tantalum.

Niobium is used primarily 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 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, from which main gas, oil and product pipelines are built. The largest producer of niobium raw materials is Brazil (82% of world production, 1995). Canada ranks second. Both of these countries produce pyrochlore concentrates. Pyrochlore ores are also mined in Russia, Zambia and some other countries. Columbite concentrates are obtained as a by-product during the development of tin-bearing weathering crusts in northern Nigeria.

Tantalum is rare in nature. It is used primarily in electronics (for microminiature electrolytic capacitors), and in carbide form in 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 world's richest deposit, Bernick Lake in southeastern Manitoba) and Mozambique also have significant reserves; small industrial deposits exist in Eastern Kazakhstan. The main ore minerals of tantalum are tantalite, microlite, wodginite and loparite (the latter is available only in Russia). The production of niobium and tantalum concentrates in Russia is concentrated on the Kola Peninsula, Transbaikalia and Eastern Sayan. Industrial pyrochlore deposits are also known in Aldan, and columbite (tantalum-niobium) deposits are known 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.

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 together with lanthanides and are close to them in chemical properties. Rare earth metals are used in the form of mixtures and separately as alloying additives in steels and alloys, for the manufacture of magnetic materials, special glasses, etc. 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 famous yttrium mineral is xenotime. About 45% of the world's reserves of rare earth elements (approx. 43 million tons) are concentrated in China; The world's largest bastnaesite deposit with complex rare earth and iron ores is also located there - Bayan-Obo (in Inner Mongolia). The United States ranks second in lanthanide reserves - 25% of world production comes from the Mountain Pass deposit in California. Other known deposits of bastnäsite ores are located in northern Vietnam and Afghanistan. Monazite from coastal sea placers (black sands) is mined in Australia, India, Malaysia, and the USA (along with titanium and zirconium minerals). A by-product during 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 rare earths (mainly cerium, i.e., light lanthanides) is loparite ore from the unique Lovozero deposit (Kola Peninsula). There is an industrial deposit of yttrium and yttrium rare earths (heavy lanthanides) in Kyrgyzstan.

Cesium

– a rare alkali metal. It has the lowest ionization potential, i.e. gives up 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 terms of photosensitivity. 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 ion reactors is very promising. rocket engines future, as well as in solar cells, electric batteries and ferromagnetic materials.

Canada is the leader in the production 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. There are pollucite deposits in Kazakhstan, Mongolia and Italy (Elba Island).

TRACE ELEMENTS

Elements of this broad 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 cross-section for capturing slow (thermal) neutrons, hafnium is better than any other metal for making control rods nuclear reactors. This is the only metal from which such rods for ship reactors are made. In the US, almost 60% of hafnium is consumed by nuclear power (for the production of control rods and reactor shields). 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 along 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 reserves of hafnium are estimated at 460 thousand tons, of which 38% are 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. Currently, in the CIS, the largest (though severely depleted) placer deposit is located in Ukraine, and other, smaller placers are in Kazakhstan.

Gallium.

The main consumer of gallium is the electronics (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 optical lasers is being considered. Gallium is concentrated in aluminum minerals and in low-temperature sphalerites. Gallium is obtained mainly as a by-product during the processing of bauxite into alumina and partly during the smelting of zinc from some 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, and Germany. The world reserves of gallium contained in bauxite are more than 15 thousand tons.

Germanium.

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

In nature, germanium is found 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, renerite). Most of the world's germanium reserves are concentrated in zinc ores (Canada, China, Australia). Germanium reserves in the United States are estimated at 450 tons. It is located mainly in 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 from a number of polymetallic deposits of Rudny Altai are enriched in germanium. In Russia, germanium is extracted mainly from the ash from the combustion of coal from the germanium-coal deposits of Primorye and Sakhalin, in Uzbekistan - from the ash of coal from the Angren deposit, and in Ukraine - when processing Donbass coals into metallurgical coke.

Thallium

extracted as a by-product during 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. Pyrites from low-temperature deposits are distinguished by high concentrations of thallium. In the USA, thallium reserves are approx. 32 tons - approximately 80% of the world (1996), but its production is not carried out. 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.

Processing 1 kg of uranium produces the same amount of energy as burning 15 tons of coal. Uranium ores serve as raw materials for the production of other radioactive elements, such as radium and polonium, and various isotopes, including light isotopes of uranium. The main minerals of uranium ores are uranium pitch uranite (pitched pitch) and carnotite (yellow uranium-vanadium mineral that forms dissemination of small grains in sandstones).

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

The largest explored reserves of uranium (1995) are found in Australia (approx. 466 thousand tons, more than 20% of world reserves), Kazakhstan (18%), Canada (12%), Uzbekistan (7.5%), Brazil and Niger (7 each). %), South Africa (6.5%), USA (5%), Namibia (3%), Ukraine (3%), India (approx. 2%). The large Shinkolobwe uranite deposit is located in Democratic Republic Congo. China (Guangdong and Jiangxi provinces), 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 uranite reserves. In Russia, industrial uranium reserves are concentrated mainly within the Streltsovskaya caldera in Eastern Transbaikalia. A large deposit was recently explored in Buryatia.

Thorium

It is used for alloying alloys and is a potential source of nuclear fuel - the light isotope of 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 sediments. 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 east and west (more than 75% of production) coasts of Australia. In India, monazite deposits are concentrated along the southwestern coast (Travancore). In Malaysia, monazite is mined from alluvial tin deposits. The USA has small stocks thorium in coastal-marine monazite placers in Florida.

NON-METALLIC MINERAL RESOURCES

AGRONOMY AND MINING CHEMICAL RAW MATERIALS

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

Nitrates.

Nitrogen compounds are also used in the production of explosives. Until the end of the First World War and in the first post-war years, Chile had a monopoly position on the nitrate market. 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 USA, where the technology for producing anhydrous ammonia containing 82.2% nitrogen has been developed, ranks first in the world in its production (Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas account for 60% of production). 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 sylvite (potassium chloride) and carnallite (potassium and magnesium chloride). Sylvin is usually present together with rock salt - halite in the composition of sylvinite, rock, which forms deposits of potassium salts and serves as an object of extraction.

The production of potassium salts before the First World War was a monopoly of Germany, where their mining in the Stassfurt area began in 1861. Similar deposits were discovered and developed in the salt basins of western Texas and eastern New Mexico (USA), in Alsace (France), Poland, and the surrounding area Solikamsk in the Urals (Russia), the Ebro River basin (Spain) and Saskatchewan (Canada). The first place in the production of potassium 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), and the USA (1.48 million tons). t), 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 the Utah deposit, potassium salts are obtained by underground dissolution (leaching) from deep-lying folded strata. In California, potassium salts borates and table salt are extracted from underground brines using various technological methods of crystallization. The remaining potash resources are concentrated in Montana, South Dakota and central Michigan.

In Russia, the extraction of potassium salts has long been carried out in the Solikamsk region, in addition, promising areas have been identified in the Caspian region and the Baikal region. 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 phosphate sediments. 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 United States, 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 Mountains on the Kola Peninsula.

Salt

mined in more than 100 countries. Its largest producer is the USA. Almost half of the extracted 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 the leather and food industries 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 salt lake water, sea water or underground brines. The world's resources of table salt 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, rock and table salt resources in natural brines are concentrated in the northeastern and western regions and the Gulf Coast. Salt lakes and brine evaporation facilities are located near densely populated areas in the western United States.

In Russia, salt is extracted from a number of deposits in the Caspian region (lakes Elton and Baskunchak), the 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 Ukraine and Belarus. Large industrial reserves of salt 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 United States (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, necessary for the production of phosphate and other mineral fertilizers. It is also used as an insectofungicide and disinfectant in the production of organic and inorganic chemicals, petroleum refining, fine metals and 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 alkali elements and alkaline earth metals (sulfates). In coals and oil, sulfur is found in the form of various complex organic compounds, and in natural gas - in the form of hydrogen sulfide gas (H 2 S).

World sulfur resources 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 non-existent limited. About 600 billion tons of sulfur are 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 of injecting water steam or steam into the formation through wells. hot water. In this case, the sulfur melts 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 off the coast of Texas and Louisiana. In addition, sulfur in the United States is obtained from oil refining, natural gas processing, and many coke plants. Sulfuric acid is produced as a by-product during the roasting and smelting of copper, lead, molybdenum and zinc ores.

INDUSTRIAL MINERALS

Diamonds.

The most famous of precious stones, 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, as well as for drilling hard rocks. They reinforce metal-cutting tools. Of natural diamonds, only a small part (by weight) is jewelry grade, the rest are technical crystals of non-jewelry quality (boret and carbonado). Bort and carbonado (black diamonds) are dense cryptocrystalline or granular aggregates. Industrial diamonds are also obtained artificially. Only synthetic diamonds are produced in the USA. Natural diamonds have been discovered in Arkansas and Colorado, but their extraction is not economically feasible.

Typically, diamonds are found in tubular bodies - explosion tubes (diatrems), composed of volcanic rock - kimberlite. However, a significant part of diamonds is mined from alluvial placer deposits formed as a result of the erosion of kimberlite pipes. About 90% of the world's production of natural industrial diamonds in 1993 accounted for 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 unit of mass of precious stones, a carat, is equal to 200 mg); including 91.2 million carats (84.5%) of industrial diamonds and 16.7 million carats (15.5%) of jewelry diamonds. In Australia and Congo (DRC) the share of jewelry 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 the Arkhangelsk region (primary and placer deposits).

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. Mica sheet 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 thousand tons of sheet muscovite were mined in 1995 (with world production of 7 thousand 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 Karelo-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-flaked 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 polishing paper, when drilling oil wells, etc. Naturally occurring fine-flaky mica occurs in granites, pegmatites, gneisses, metamorphic schists, and clayey sediments. The United States ranks first in the world in the production of mica scrap and fine flake mica, with 60% of the production coming from North Carolina (pegmatites). Large reserves of fine-flaky muscovite are contained in the gneisses of Northern Kazakhstan.

Optical quartz and piezoquartz.

Quartz ranks second in abundance 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 this quartz that plays an important role in optical instruments (rock crystal) and in modern 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 US, Arkansas produces high-quality rock crystal crystals, which are widely used in jewelry. Quartz with defects is also mined there, unsuitable for electronics, but used for growing 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 crystal crystals are mined in the Southern and Subpolar Urals and Aldan. In Ukraine, morion is mainly mined from pegmatites of the Volyn Upland. Rock crystal deposits are being developed in Kazakhstan.

PROMISING 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 seas and oceans as sources of oil, sulfur, table salt and magnesium is increasingly increasing; their production is usually carried out in the shelf zone. In the future, there is a question about the development of the deep-sea zone. A technology has been developed for the extraction of iron-manganese ore 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 the economic risk and the unresolved issue of the legal status of such deposits. Agreement on maritime law, regulating the development of seabed mineral resources, was not signed by the United States and several other states.

Promising materials that replace natural mineral raw materials include ceramic and semiconductor materials. Metals, ceramic and polymer materials used as a matrix and reinforcing components to strengthen various composite materials. Plastics, or polymers, are the most widely used material in the United States (more than steel, copper, and aluminum combined). The starting materials for producing plastics are petrochemical synthesis products. 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, beryllium oxides, magnesium oxides, 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. 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, vol. 1–3. M., 1967–1971
Mineral resources of the world. M., 1997