Siberian natural resources
Encyclopedia
Siberian natural resources refers to resources found in Russia
n Siberia
, in the North Asian Mainland. The Siberian region is rich in resources, including coal
, oil
and metal
ore
s.
coalfields, production rose from 390,000 tonnes in 1925 to 3,519,000 tonnes in 1936. The total production for the East Urals was 8,080,000 tonnes in 1937. Reserves for the following coalfields are shown in millions of tonne
s:
, (sometimes called the "Kuzbass") transformed the Siberian steppe
. The south sector of the Trans-Siberian Railway
became a great industrial center because of the activity surrounding the coalfields. These ancient reserves of 13,000,000,000 tonnes grew to 450,658,000,000 tonnes. In 1937, the 50 mines in this area produced a total of 17,300,000 tonnes. The coal production of this zone was comparable with that of all of British India, and half of that produced by Japan. Kuznetsk coal was the best in the USSR, with high energy and low sulphur content. The total anthracite reserve was 54 million tonnes; and was used in the Ural-Kuznetsk Metallurgical Combine.
(Magnet City) Higt Ovens. Production in 1937 was 3,937,200 tonnes. Other important coal deposits are: Minusinsk near Chernogorsk
, which joins the mining zone of Chulym-Yenisei at the Yenisei river
; the Kansk deposits north of Krasnoyarsk
; the Irkutsk deposits, which yielded 3,000,000 tonnes from the Cheremkovo mine in 1937; the Lake Baikal deposits; the Lena sector; the Norilsk sector in Tunguska mining zone; the Sangar Khai founts in the Amur River and Bureya River
s near Vladivostok, the Artem and Suchan mines with 1937 production of 2,110,000 tonnes and 590,000 tonnes respectively; and the Sakhalin coal deposits in the Pamir and Tian Shan mountains in central Asia.
In the Minusinsk
area, the estimated reserves are 20,612,000,000 tonnes; the Chulym-Yenisei mine is estimated at 43,000,000,000 tonnes; the Kansk sources estimated at 42,000,000,000 tonnes; and Cheremkhovo estimated at 79,000,000,000 tonnes. The Kuznets area has excellent coal for coke, chemical and gas production. Production in 1913 was 774,000 tonnes. In 1927, these mines extracted about 2,600,000 tonnes to maintain one extraction of 16,800,000 tonnes. The modernized Prokopyevsk mine has an expected production capacity of about 3,200,000 tonnes. The other sources are in Stalinsk (Kuznets), Lenin-Kuznets, Kemerovo, Anzhero-Sudzhensk, Chernogorsk, and Cheremkhovo
)
Table of Total production (for 45 oil well areas)
The most important Siberian petroleum zones are the Central Urals, Sakhalin Island, Nordvyl on the Arctic Siberian coast, and the Kamchatka peninsula. From the Caspian Sea
there is one oil pipeline
, which continues to the petrol camps of Emba at Orsk and ends in Omsk
, in western Siberia. Sakhalin Island has the most important oil reserves
in the Russian Far East. In 1936, the Ohka oil wells extracted about 470,000 tonnes; one-third were obtained for Japanese concessionaires. In the Emba River area about 466,000 tonnes were extracted from about 20 pits of a total of 300 yaciments in 1937.
Total USSR oil production was 230,700,000 tonnes and there exist other reserves of 652,000,000 tonnes.
. There has been investigation into the Pamir Tien-Shan and East Siberian sources. The total count of these energy producing and disposes in 50% of time raised in about 280.690 gigawatts (GW), between of theirs based in one disposition of 95% stay 58 GW.
To increase output, studies were made of the Lena, Yenisei and Ob river systems. In the Lenin Program in 1920, proposed construction of power systems in the Urals, Yenisei, Angara River
and Lake Baikal
. Some of these projects are similar to the Grand Coulee Dam
in the Columbia River
.
A major hydroelectric powerplant was constructed in 1932 on the Dnieper River, at a high latitude in Zaporozhe. But it was destroyed in 1941 by retreating Soviet forces during World War II. The plant had a production capacity of 900 MW, was about 2,500 feet long, and rose 125 feet above water level. In 1940 the total production capacity was 2.5 GW. The new plan proposed plants on a gigantic scale, on the Angara river. Planned output was 9 GW, with four other plants in high Yenisei producing about 4 GW more.
, Nizhni Tagil deposits in the south of Kuznetsk, the Angara River
reserves, and Russian Far East mines.
The mines of the Urals have been known since 1702: Magnitogorsk
with annual extraction of 6,000,000 tonnes in 1931, minerals being
magnetite
and secondarily martite, with 55% or 66% of iron content. The
other and oldest center was in Ninshi-Tagil. The total Ural iron reserves were 1,390,670,000 tonnes, of which one-third are limonite
and about 450,000,000 correspond directly at Magnitogorsk. When the deposits
in Kuznets began to be exploited, in 1930 recent discovered the Mountainous Shoria iron deposits, with reserves calculated as 292,412,000
tonnes, 45% iron content, and the Karaganda deposits. The other
important founts stay in Petrovsk-Zabaikal near Baikal Lake, and
the Little Khingan Mountains in the Soviet side of the frontier.
Other iron resources in East Siberia are the Angara and Ilim river areas northwest of Baikal Lake, with production of 420,850,000 tonnes. No less than 30% of USSR iron production in the USSR was obtained in the Kuznets zone in 1937.
Iron deposits:
During the interwar years, major production was in the Kuznetsk Basin; the Carboniferous Basin of Irkutsk extends joining
at Transiberian railway, in 480 km, and the Maritime province near the Vladivostok area.
gold. The British Company "Lena Goldfields" owned and operated much of the gold production until the revolution, and secured compensation from the Soviet government in 1935. Russia remains the second biggest gold producer in the world.
valley, Olga territory (Maritime Province) and the Irkutsk area.
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
, in the North Asian Mainland. The Siberian region is rich in resources, including coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
, oil
Oil
An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....
and metal
Metal
A metal , is an element, compound, or alloy that is a good conductor of both electricity and heat. Metals are usually malleable and shiny, that is they reflect most of incident light...
ore
Ore
An ore is a type of rock that contains minerals with important elements including metals. The ores are extracted through mining; these are then refined to extract the valuable element....
s.
Contribution to Soviet economy
Siberia’s contribution to the Soviet economy in percent of national output was given in Soviet statistical yearbooks for 1973 (1940 in brackets) as: Coal 33% (23%), Coking coal 30% (17%), Oil 21% (1.6%), Natural gas 8.5% (from 1.5% in 1950), Electric power output 18% (6.6%), Iron ore 6.9% (1.6%), Pig iron 9.5% (10%), Crude steel 8.3% (10%), Rolled steel 10% (9.1%). But regional breakdowns were omitted in the yearbooks from 1973, except for a few 1975 figures.Coal
In the important ChelyabinskChelyabinsk
Chelyabinsk is a city and the administrative center of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, located in the northwestern side of the oblast, south of Yekaterinburg, just to the east of the Ural Mountains, on the Miass River. Population: -History:...
coalfields, production rose from 390,000 tonnes in 1925 to 3,519,000 tonnes in 1936. The total production for the East Urals was 8,080,000 tonnes in 1937. Reserves for the following coalfields are shown in millions of tonne
Tonne
The tonne, known as the metric ton in the US , often put pleonastically as "metric tonne" to avoid confusion with ton, is a metric system unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. The tonne is not an International System of Units unit, but is accepted for use with the SI...
s:
- East Urals: (TriassicTriassicThe Triassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about 250 to 200 Mya . As the first period of the Mesozoic Era, the Triassic follows the Permian and is followed by the Jurassic. Both the start and end of the Triassic are marked by major extinction events...
ligniteLigniteLignite, often referred to as brown coal, or Rosebud coal by Northern Pacific Railroad,is a soft brown fuel with characteristics that put it somewhere between coal and peat...
): 2,872 - KaragandaKaragandaKaragandy , more commonly known by its Russian name Karaganda, , is the capital of Karagandy Province in Kazakhstan. It is the fourth most populous city in Kazakhstan, behind Almaty , Astana and Shymkent, with a population of 471,800 . In the 1940s up to 70% of the city's inhabitants were ethnic...
(Low Carboniferous period, for coking): 52,696 - Kuznets (PermianPermianThe PermianThe term "Permian" was introduced into geology in 1841 by Sir Sir R. I. Murchison, president of the Geological Society of London, who identified typical strata in extensive Russian explorations undertaken with Edouard de Verneuil; Murchison asserted in 1841 that he named his "Permian...
, for coking): 450,658 - Minusisk (Permian): 20,612
- ChulymChulymChulym or Cholym can refer to:*Chulyms, an ethnic group in Russia*Chulym language*Chulym River , in Krasnoyarsk Krai and Tomsk Oblast, Russia; a tributary of the Ob River*Chulym River , a river in Novosibirsk Oblast, Russia...
-Yenisei: (JurassicJurassicThe Jurassic is a geologic period and system that extends from about Mya to Mya, that is, from the end of the Triassic to the beginning of the Cretaceous. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of the Mesozoic era, also known as the age of reptiles. The start of the period is marked by...
lignite): 43,000 - KanskKanskKansk is a town on the left bank of the Kan River in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. Population: It is home to the Kansk air base and is crossed by the Trans-Siberian railroad....
: (Jurassic lignite): 42,000 - IrkutskIrkutskIrkutsk is a city and the administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, one of the largest cities in Siberia. Population: .-History:In 1652, Ivan Pokhabov built a zimovye near the site of Irkutsk for gold trading and for the collection of fur taxes from the Buryats. In 1661, Yakov Pokhabov...
and Transbaikalia (Jurassic): 81,397 - BureyaBureyaBureya may refer to:*Bureya River, a river in Amur Oblast, Russia; a tributary of the Amur River*Bureya , an urban-type settlement in Amur Oblast, Russia...
: 26,116 - SuchanSuchanSuchan may refer to:*A former name of Partizansk, Russia*Suchan River, now Partizanskaya River, Russia*Suchań, a town in Poland*Sucháň, a village in Slovakia*James Suchan, Irish Rebel, member of Irish Whig club 1761-1839...
(for coking): 42,000 - TunguskaTunguskaTunguska may refer to:*Any of the Tunguska Rivers** Upper Tunguska, an old name of the lower flow of Angara River** Stony Tunguska River...
(low Carboniferous): 400,000 - Lena (MesozoicMesozoicThe Mesozoic era is an interval of geological time from about 250 million years ago to about 65 million years ago. It is often referred to as the age of reptiles because reptiles, namely dinosaurs, were the dominant terrestrial and marine vertebrates of the time...
): 60,000
Kuznetsk Coal Zone
The development of the coal fields of Kuznetsk BasinKuznetsk Basin
The Kuznetsk Basin in southwestern Siberia, Russia, is one of the largest coal mining areas in the world, covering an area of around . It lies in the Kuznetsk Depression between Tomsk and Novokuznetsk in the basin of the Tom River...
, (sometimes called the "Kuzbass") transformed the Siberian steppe
Steppe
In physical geography, steppe is an ecoregion, in the montane grasslands and shrublands and temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biomes, characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes...
. The south sector of the Trans-Siberian Railway
Trans-Siberian Railway
The Trans-Siberian Railway is a network of railways connecting Moscow with the Russian Far East and the Sea of Japan. It is the longest railway in the world...
became a great industrial center because of the activity surrounding the coalfields. These ancient reserves of 13,000,000,000 tonnes grew to 450,658,000,000 tonnes. In 1937, the 50 mines in this area produced a total of 17,300,000 tonnes. The coal production of this zone was comparable with that of all of British India, and half of that produced by Japan. Kuznetsk coal was the best in the USSR, with high energy and low sulphur content. The total anthracite reserve was 54 million tonnes; and was used in the Ural-Kuznetsk Metallurgical Combine.
| Years | Millions of Tonnes | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 1913 | 0.799 | 3% |
| 1928 | 2.743 | 8% |
| 1932 | 7.544 | 12% |
| 1934 | 11.974 | 13% |
| 1936 | 17.3 | 14% |
| 1937 | 20.0 | ? |
Other coal deposits
Another important reserve is at Karaganda near the MagnitogorskMagnitogorsk
Magnitogorsk is a mining and industrial city in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, located on the eastern side of the extreme southern extent of the Ural Mountains by the Ural River. Population: 418,545 ;...
(Magnet City) Higt Ovens. Production in 1937 was 3,937,200 tonnes. Other important coal deposits are: Minusinsk near Chernogorsk
Chernogorsk
Chernogorsk is a town in the Republic of Khakassia, Russia. Population: During the Soviet era, a "corrective labor camp" was located here....
, which joins the mining zone of Chulym-Yenisei at the Yenisei river
Yenisei River
Yenisei , also written as Yenisey, is the largest river system flowing to the Arctic Ocean. It is the central of the three great Siberian rivers that flow into the Arctic Ocean...
; the Kansk deposits north of Krasnoyarsk
Krasnoyarsk
Krasnoyarsk is a city and the administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, located on the Yenisei River. It is the third largest city in Siberia, with the population of 973,891. Krasnoyarsk is an important junction of the Trans-Siberian Railway and one of Russia's largest producers of...
; the Irkutsk deposits, which yielded 3,000,000 tonnes from the Cheremkovo mine in 1937; the Lake Baikal deposits; the Lena sector; the Norilsk sector in Tunguska mining zone; the Sangar Khai founts in the Amur River and Bureya River
Bureya River
The Bureya River is a 623 km long south-flowing tributary of the Amur River. Its name comes from the Evenk word birija, meaning river...
s near Vladivostok, the Artem and Suchan mines with 1937 production of 2,110,000 tonnes and 590,000 tonnes respectively; and the Sakhalin coal deposits in the Pamir and Tian Shan mountains in central Asia.
In the Minusinsk
Minusinsk
Minusinsk is a historic town in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It serves as the administrative center of Minusinsky District, although it is not administratively a part of it. Population: 44,500 ....
area, the estimated reserves are 20,612,000,000 tonnes; the Chulym-Yenisei mine is estimated at 43,000,000,000 tonnes; the Kansk sources estimated at 42,000,000,000 tonnes; and Cheremkhovo estimated at 79,000,000,000 tonnes. The Kuznets area has excellent coal for coke, chemical and gas production. Production in 1913 was 774,000 tonnes. In 1927, these mines extracted about 2,600,000 tonnes to maintain one extraction of 16,800,000 tonnes. The modernized Prokopyevsk mine has an expected production capacity of about 3,200,000 tonnes. The other sources are in Stalinsk (Kuznets), Lenin-Kuznets, Kemerovo, Anzhero-Sudzhensk, Chernogorsk, and Cheremkhovo
Petroleum
The Siberian petroleum sources follow (in metric tonnes - 1 metric tonne of petroleum is equivalent to 5 or 10 barrels, or 42 gallons, depending on the densityDensity
The mass density or density of a material is defined as its mass per unit volume. The symbol most often used for density is ρ . In some cases , density is also defined as its weight per unit volume; although, this quantity is more properly called specific weight...
)
- Emba: 1,190,400,000
- Perm-Kama: 3,54,000,000
- Other Zones at West Urals and Volga: 471,500,000
- Sakhalin: 339,800,000
- Central Asia: 427,100,000
Table of Total production (for 45 oil well areas)
- 1901: 11,000,000
- 1913: 7,627,000
- 1920: 2,915,000
- 1928: 11,625,400
- 1932: 21,413,200
- 1936: 27,337,700
The most important Siberian petroleum zones are the Central Urals, Sakhalin Island, Nordvyl on the Arctic Siberian coast, and the Kamchatka peninsula. From the Caspian Sea
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The sea has a surface area of and a volume of...
there is one oil pipeline
Pipeline transport
Pipeline transport is the transportation of goods through a pipe. Most commonly, liquids and gases are sent, but pneumatic tubes that transport solid capsules using compressed air are also used....
, which continues to the petrol camps of Emba at Orsk and ends in Omsk
Omsk
-History:The wooden fort of Omsk was erected in 1716 to protect the expanding Russian frontier along the Ishim and the Irtysh rivers against the Kyrgyz nomads of the Steppes...
, in western Siberia. Sakhalin Island has the most important oil reserves
Oil reserves
The total estimated amount of oil in an oil reservoir, including both producible and non-producible oil, is called oil in place. However, because of reservoir characteristics and limitations in petroleum extraction technologies, only a fraction of this oil can be brought to the surface, and it is...
in the Russian Far East. In 1936, the Ohka oil wells extracted about 470,000 tonnes; one-third were obtained for Japanese concessionaires. In the Emba River area about 466,000 tonnes were extracted from about 20 pits of a total of 300 yaciments in 1937.
Total USSR oil production was 230,700,000 tonnes and there exist other reserves of 652,000,000 tonnes.
Electrical power generation
The third source of energy is electricityElectricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
. There has been investigation into the Pamir Tien-Shan and East Siberian sources. The total count of these energy producing and disposes in 50% of time raised in about 280.690 gigawatts (GW), between of theirs based in one disposition of 95% stay 58 GW.
To increase output, studies were made of the Lena, Yenisei and Ob river systems. In the Lenin Program in 1920, proposed construction of power systems in the Urals, Yenisei, Angara River
Angara River
The Angara River is a long river in Irkutsk Oblast and Krasnoyarsk Krai, south-east Siberia, Russia. It is the only river flowing out of Lake Baikal, and is the headwater tributary of the Yenisei River....
and Lake Baikal
Lake Baikal
Lake Baikal is the world's oldest at 30 million years old and deepest lake with an average depth of 744.4 metres.Located in the south of the Russian region of Siberia, between Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and the Buryat Republic to the southeast, it is the most voluminous freshwater lake in the...
. Some of these projects are similar to the Grand Coulee Dam
Grand Coulee Dam
Grand Coulee Dam is a gravity dam on the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington built to produce hydroelectric power and provide irrigation. It was constructed between 1933 and 1942, originally with two power plants. A third power station was completed in 1974 to increase its energy...
in the Columbia River
Columbia River
The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
.
A major hydroelectric powerplant was constructed in 1932 on the Dnieper River, at a high latitude in Zaporozhe. But it was destroyed in 1941 by retreating Soviet forces during World War II. The plant had a production capacity of 900 MW, was about 2,500 feet long, and rose 125 feet above water level. In 1940 the total production capacity was 2.5 GW. The new plan proposed plants on a gigantic scale, on the Angara river. Planned output was 9 GW, with four other plants in high Yenisei producing about 4 GW more.
Iron deposits
Siberian iron sources were more assorted. They are at MagnitogorskMagnitogorsk
Magnitogorsk is a mining and industrial city in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, located on the eastern side of the extreme southern extent of the Ural Mountains by the Ural River. Population: 418,545 ;...
, Nizhni Tagil deposits in the south of Kuznetsk, the Angara River
Angara River
The Angara River is a long river in Irkutsk Oblast and Krasnoyarsk Krai, south-east Siberia, Russia. It is the only river flowing out of Lake Baikal, and is the headwater tributary of the Yenisei River....
reserves, and Russian Far East mines.
The mines of the Urals have been known since 1702: Magnitogorsk
with annual extraction of 6,000,000 tonnes in 1931, minerals being
magnetite
Magnetite
Magnetite is a ferrimagnetic mineral with chemical formula Fe3O4, one of several iron oxides and a member of the spinel group. The chemical IUPAC name is iron oxide and the common chemical name is ferrous-ferric oxide. The formula for magnetite may also be written as FeO·Fe2O3, which is one part...
and secondarily martite, with 55% or 66% of iron content. The
other and oldest center was in Ninshi-Tagil. The total Ural iron reserves were 1,390,670,000 tonnes, of which one-third are limonite
Limonite
Limonite is an ore consisting in a mixture of hydrated iron oxide-hydroxide of varying composition. The generic formula is frequently written as FeO·nH2O, although this is not entirely accurate as limonite often contains a varying amount of oxide compared to hydroxide.Together with hematite, it has...
and about 450,000,000 correspond directly at Magnitogorsk. When the deposits
in Kuznets began to be exploited, in 1930 recent discovered the Mountainous Shoria iron deposits, with reserves calculated as 292,412,000
tonnes, 45% iron content, and the Karaganda deposits. The other
important founts stay in Petrovsk-Zabaikal near Baikal Lake, and
the Little Khingan Mountains in the Soviet side of the frontier.
Other iron resources in East Siberia are the Angara and Ilim river areas northwest of Baikal Lake, with production of 420,850,000 tonnes. No less than 30% of USSR iron production in the USSR was obtained in the Kuznets zone in 1937.
Iron deposits:
- Urals: sources of these mineral exist in Nizhni-Tagil, Zlatoust and Magnitogorsk, with a total production of 2,600,000 tonnes in 1937.
- Gornaya Shoria: exist iron, in Magnetite form, inside of Calize mineral why poses one 45% of iron content, but more Sulphur.
- Ridder: if extracted iron mixed with lead and zinc. Your total production in 1936 are about 1,000 tonnes. At the same time in the same mine extracted gold, copper and tin.
Other minerals
- ManganeseManganeseManganese is a chemical element, designated by the symbol Mn. It has the atomic number 25. It is found as a free element in nature , and in many minerals...
: mined in the Urals, KazakhstanKazakhstanKazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...
and west of KrasnoyarskKrasnoyarskKrasnoyarsk is a city and the administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, located on the Yenisei River. It is the third largest city in Siberia, with the population of 973,891. Krasnoyarsk is an important junction of the Trans-Siberian Railway and one of Russia's largest producers of...
. Their extractions effectuated in Achinsk Mine with one mineral with 20 or 25% of purity. The total production in 1937 was about 100,000 tonnes. - CopperCopperCopper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
: possess ample reserves in Urals and Kazakhastan. Its total production in 1930 was 34,105 tonnes, increasing in 1936 to 83,000 tonnes. In East Kazakhastan exist the Yaciment of Kounrad, their minerals are composed of less than 2% copper, and these extraction are uneconomic. And the mine of Djezkazgan with double production why mentioned mine above. - PyritePyriteThe mineral pyrite, or iron pyrite, is an iron sulfide with the formula FeS2. This mineral's metallic luster and pale-to-normal, brass-yellow hue have earned it the nickname fool's gold because of its resemblance to gold...
: the founts of these mineral stay in diverse sites, such as Krasnouralsk and Orsk. - LeadLeadLead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
and zincZincZinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...
: the sources stay in the Siberian areas of Ridder Mine in Altai, Transbaikalia and Maritime Province. The total production of lead and zinc in 1936 were 55,000 and 63,000 tonnes respectively. - Aluminum: the sources of these material stay in North Urals, in Khabakovsk ancient, Nadezhdinsk, and south Urals in KamenskKamenskKamensk is an urban locality in Kabansky District of the Republic of Buryatia, Russia. Population:...
. The USSR has a total production of aluminum in 1939 of 60,000 tonnes. - NickelNickelNickel is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel belongs to the transition metals and is hard and ductile...
: the most important deposits are in NorilskNorilskNorilsk is an industrial city in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, located between the Yenisei River and the Taymyr Peninsula. Population: It was granted city status in 1953. It is the northernmost city in Siberia and the world's second largest city north of the Arctic Circle...
, near low Yenisei. Local production was 3,000 tonnes in 1938. - GoldGoldGold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
: this was abundant of minerals in the Urals and Siberia from ancient times. The values at respect in 1936, mentioned about 5,173,000 oz, why reduced pruently in about 4,500,000 oz. Other more optimistic values duplicated these tables. USSR is second place behind South Africa and ahead of CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and the United States. The deposits of these mineral stay in the Aldan and Kolyma rivers in Yakutia and others in Central Asia and the Urals. In Salair mine obtain gold with zinc and lead. - PlatinumPlatinumPlatinum is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Pt and an atomic number of 78. Its name is derived from the Spanish term platina del Pinto, which is literally translated into "little silver of the Pinto River." It is a dense, malleable, ductile, precious, gray-white transition metal...
: This mineral is abundant in Nizhni-Tagilin in the Urals mountains. - ChromiumChromiumChromium is a chemical element which has the symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the first element in Group 6. It is a steely-gray, lustrous, hard metal that takes a high polish and has a high melting point. It is also odorless, tasteless, and malleable...
: In the Urals mountains was obtained 200,000 tonnes of chromiteChromiteChromite is an iron chromium oxide: FeCr2O4. It is an oxide mineral belonging to the spinel group. Magnesium can substitute for iron in variable amounts as it forms a solid solution with magnesiochromite ; substitution of aluminium occurs leading to hercynite .-Occurrence:Chromite is found in...
. - Tin and Tungsten: there exist deposits of these minerals in the East Baikal Area and Kazhakstan.
- BoraxBoraxBorax, also known as sodium borate, sodium tetraborate, or disodium tetraborate, is an important boron compound, a mineral, and a salt of boric acid. It is usually a white powder consisting of soft colorless crystals that dissolve easily in water.Borax has a wide variety of uses...
and PotashPotashPotash is the common name for various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water-soluble form. In some rare cases, potash can be formed with traces of organic materials such as plant remains, and this was the major historical source for it before the industrial era...
: These minerals are exploited in great quantities in SolikamskSolikamskSolikamsk is a town in Perm Krai, Russia. It is the third-largest town in Perm Krai, with a population of It was founded in 1430. The name of the town is derived from the Russian words "" and "" .It is famous for its production of salt, in particular, potassium chloride, which is used as a...
. The local production was 1,800,000 tonnes in 1937. The total reserves of potash are estimated at 15,000 tonnes, and magnesium stay in about 18,000,000 tonnes. In Lake Inder (central Asia) there is 30,000 tonnes. - AsbestosAsbestosAsbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, thin fibrous crystals...
: This mineral was extracted in an Asbestos mine near Sverdlovsk in the Urals from 1889. The fiber is found in PeridotitePeridotiteA peridotite is a dense, coarse-grained igneous rock, consisting mostly of the minerals olivine and pyroxene. Peridotite is ultramafic, as the rock contains less than 45% silica. It is high in magnesium, reflecting the high proportions of magnesium-rich olivine, with appreciable iron...
, as in QuebecQuebecQuebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
and RhodesiaRhodesiaRhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...
. Other deposits exist in Altai Sayan. The Ural reserves are about 17,500,000 tonnes of fiber with more than 0.7 mm in length, so adequate for internal requirements. The USSR is in second place for production of these mineral with a yield of 100,000 tonnes. - TalcTalcTalc is a mineral composed of hydrated magnesium silicate with the chemical formula H2Mg34 or Mg3Si4O102. In loose form, it is the widely-used substance known as talcum powder. It occurs as foliated to fibrous masses, its crystals being so rare as to be almost unknown...
and Steatite: deposits of these minerals exist in the Urals in great quantity. - MagnesiumMagnesiumMagnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg, atomic number 12, and common oxidation number +2. It is an alkaline earth metal and the eighth most abundant element in the Earth's crust and ninth in the known universe as a whole...
: Apart from the sources of borax, there are also pure magnesium deposits in Sverdlovsk and Chelyabinsk, with production of 800,000 tonnes. - Halite (rock salt): The extractions of these element are in Solikamsk in the Urals.
- Common salt: This is recovered from the Aral Sea.
- Precious Stones and Gems: The Urals have many sources of these, including emeraldEmeraldEmerald is a variety of the mineral beryl colored green by trace amounts of chromium and sometimes vanadium. Beryl has a hardness of 7.5–8 on the 10 point Mohs scale of mineral hardness...
s, berylliumBerylliumBeryllium is the chemical element with the symbol Be and atomic number 4. It is a divalent element which occurs naturally only in combination with other elements in minerals. Notable gemstones which contain beryllium include beryl and chrysoberyl...
, amethystAmethystAmethyst is a violet variety of quartz often used in jewelry. The name comes from the Ancient Greek ἀ a- and μέθυστος methustos , a reference to the belief that the stone protected its owner from drunkenness; the ancient Greeks and Romans wore amethyst and made drinking vessels of it in the belief...
, topazTopazTopaz is a silicate mineral of aluminium and fluorine with the chemical formula Al2SiO42. Topaz crystallizes in the orthorhombic system and its crystals are mostly prismatic terminated by pyramidal and other faces.-Color and varieties:...
, malachiteMalachiteMalachite is a copper carbonate mineral, with the formula Cu2CO32. This green-colored mineral crystallizes in the monoclinic crystal system, and most often forms botryoidal, fibrous, or stalagmitic masses. Individual crystals are rare but do occur as slender to acicular prisms...
, rubies, alejandrie, sapphireSapphireSapphire is a gemstone variety of the mineral corundum, an aluminium oxide , when it is a color other than red or dark pink; in which case the gem would instead be called a ruby, considered to be a different gemstone. Trace amounts of other elements such as iron, titanium, or chromium can give...
s, zirconiumZirconiumZirconium is a chemical element with the symbol Zr and atomic number 40. The name of zirconium is taken from the mineral zircon. Its atomic mass is 91.224. It is a lustrous, grey-white, strong transition metal that resembles titanium...
, etc. The Mir MineMir MineMir Mine also called Mirny Mine is an open pit diamond mine located in Mirny, Eastern Siberia, Russia. The mine is deep and has a diameter of , and is the second largest excavated hole in the world, after Bingham Canyon Mine...
in Mirny, Sakha RepublicMirny, Sakha RepublicMirny is a town in the Sakha Republic, Russia, located west of Yakutsk on the Irelyakh River . Population: It was founded in 1955 after the discovery of a nearby kimberlite pipe by expedition led by Yuri Khabardin; it has had town status since 1959.The town is served by Mirny Airport.There is a...
is the largest open pit diamondDiamondIn mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
mine in the world producing both industrial and gem quality stones. - MercuryMercury (element)Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver or hydrargyrum...
: Important sources are in the Urals Mountains. - MirabiliteMirabiliteMirabilite, also known as Glauber's salt, is a hydrous sodium sulfate mineral with the chemical formula Na2SO4·10H2O. It is a vitreous, colorless to white monoclinic mineral which forms as an evaporite from sodium sulfate bearing brines. It is found around saline springs and along saline playa lakes...
: Sources are in the Kara-Bogaz gulf.
Other general mineral observations in Siberia
The Mineral Richest of Siberia is situated in second place together with local Agriculture. The mineral distribution reflect more near your local geology, divided into three great mineral regions:- Altai Ranges (Kirgiz Highlands of West Siberia) with copper, gold, silver, etc.
- Ancient Asiatic badge; a very important region which covers the Baikal lake zone, with coal, iron, gold, etc.
- East Siberia Mountain lands, notably the High Amur river area, for their easy access – of major importance.
Coal
The existence of coal, estimated at 400,000,000,000 tonnes, was about a quarter of the Asian total, or half of the European reserves. The principal coal mining valleys and basins are:- Kuznetsk Basin
- Irkutsk Valley
- Minusinsk Basin
- Kirguiz Steppe Valleys (Karaganda Basin)
- Sakhalin Island (Alexandrovsk Valley)
- Maritime Provinces
- Tunguska Basin
- Bureisk Valley
During the interwar years, major production was in the Kuznetsk Basin; the Carboniferous Basin of Irkutsk extends joining
at Transiberian railway, in 480 km, and the Maritime province near the Vladivostok area.
Petrol
Petrol is encounter on north section of Sakhalin island, and your exploited are accord topic between Japanese and Russians. Other sources are in the Kamchatka or Ohkostk coasts, but the rest of Siberia did not promise much, with the exception of petrol pits in Central Asia or the Urals. These last (referring to the Turkestan zone) are one extension of Caucasian petrol zone and the mentioned Ural petrol sources.Gold
Gold is often found in Siberia; currently the principal mining districts are in the Olekma-Vitim region of the Lena Valley. During the period 1910-1914, the Siberian gold mines extracted an average of 46,655 kg and employed 57,000 workers. Exploited deposits are of placerPlacer
Placer may refer to one of the following:*Placer deposit*Placer sheep*Placer mining*Placer, rugby league football role.Geographical names:* Placer, Masbate, Philippines* Placer, Surigao del Norte, Philippines...
gold. The British Company "Lena Goldfields" owned and operated much of the gold production until the revolution, and secured compensation from the Soviet government in 1935. Russia remains the second biggest gold producer in the world.
Copper
Especially important in the Kirguises Steppes, in the Altai ranges and the Yenisei river basin.Iron
Stay more distributed and are exploited. The most important are Telbes Mine(Kuznetsk coal basin), Minusinsk, Yeniseivalley, Olga territory (Maritime Province) and the Irkutsk area.