Very varied. This is explained by the beneficial geographical location. Since ancient times, all kinds of ores, stones, construction and ornamental materials have been mined here. The region is also rich in deposits of limestone and sand. Mineral minerals are also famous healing waters flowing in the depths of the Altai land. Let's look at what minerals are mined in the Altai Territory and give examples of their use.
Altai Territory: location features
On the border with Kazakhstan is located this unusually beautiful region - Altai. This region has a surprisingly diverse terrain: the largest plain in the world gives way. Because of such relief features, the area is rich in minerals.
Still most of Altai Territory- This is a plain, gradually rising. It is bordered on one side by the Altai Mountains, and on the other by the Salair Ridge. It is easy to confuse it with ordinary hills, but this is not so: the ridge consists of low mountains three hundred kilometers long.
The Altai Territory is also unique in that along its length there are many natural areas: taiga and mountains, forest-steppe and steppe.
Concerning water resources, then there are several large rivers. Moreover, the largest of them, the Ob, occupies 70 percent of the entire territory. The territory is also rich in lakes: there are 11 thousand of those whose area is more than 1 kilometer.
Extraction methods
Minerals of the Altai Territory are extracted (photos of them will be presented in the article) in three main ways.
Firstly, the so-called open one. In this case, a quarry no more than 500 meters deep is built directly in the deposit area and the extracted minerals are loaded onto specialized equipment.
Secondly, they are building mines. This method is good when the deposits are at a fairly large depth. In this case, first a so-called mine shaft, reminiscent of a giant well, is dug deep into the rock, and then the infrastructure is built on.
Another method, innovative, using a jet high pressure. It is fed into a well made in fossil rock and crushes it. Next, the pieces of rock are lifted up. By the way, this is the most ineffective method, however, it is under development.
Iron ore
The most famous minerals of the Altai region are, of course, ores. In total there are 16 largest deposits. It should be noted that they are located in the southwestern part and have a very developed infrastructure. According to estimates, in the depths of Altai there are 70 and 490 tons of polymineral and iron ores, respectively.
Mined in the Kulunda steppe.
It is used primarily in the iron and steel industry. Moreover, three types of it are industrially produced: separated (that is, crumbly), sinter ore (in the form of pieces) and pellets (liquid mass containing iron).
There is such a thing as high-grade iron ore, which is one that contains more than 57% iron. It is from this that cast iron is smelted, and then steel. If the iron content in the ore is low, it is enriched industrial methods. But the ore is used not only for these purposes, it is also included in ocher - a special dye of natural origin.
Copper ore
The map of mineral resources of the Altai Territory is also rich in copper ores.
Their deposits are located mainly in the west of the Silair Ridge. These ores have been mined here since the 16th century, when in 1719 the discovered deposits began to be developed under the leadership of A. N. Demidov. It was then that the first factories appeared in these places. However, 2.5 thousand years ago, ancient people mined copper here.
What is copper ore? This is a special composition of minerals in which the content of the copper component makes it possible to process it during industrial process. To do this, you need a minimum of 0.5% copper concentration in the rock. Most often, such ore is a combination of copper and nickel.
Depending on the enrichment of the ore in copper, they are distinguished: chalcocite, bornite and Ores are listed in descending order of useful metal content.
Copper is widely used in various fields. For a long time, people have noticed its ability to conduct heat well, resistance to corrosion, and excellent electrical conductivity. Another obvious plus is that copper melts at a relatively low temperatures. All this made it possible to use this metal in many areas, from the metallurgical industry to household needs (for example, copper pipes are highly valued).
Bauxite
Bauxite (aluminum ore) is also widespread. These minerals of the Altai region are also mined in the Salair area. Moreover, the mining process does not cause any particular difficulties, because these ores are located very close to the surface.
Only those bauxites with an aluminum content of over 40 percent are used for industrial processing. Smelting of this valuable metal - main reason bauxite mining, but they are also used to make paints, and ferrous metallurgy uses bauxite to create special liquids and fluxes that remove oxidation on metals.
Sand and limestone
When listing the mineral resources of the Altai region, it is impossible not to mention rocks such as sand and limestone. These reserves in this area are truly inexhaustible.
The areas where the Biya and Katun flow are rich in sand. Sand-lime bricks are made from this material (if the sand contains quartz). If the rock is completely quartz, then it is glass.
As for limestone, it is widely used in construction; many sculptors also create their works from this rock.
Special product to impart viscosity, quicklime is also produced from this fossil. Limestone is also used in concrete production and road construction.
Stones
The minerals of the Altai region are also stones. Moreover, both construction materials, such as gypsum (Lake Dzhira), and Altai marble. It is mined in several colors: here you can find many shades from white to golden. The striped jasper mined here is known all over the world. The scale of granite deposits is also impressive.
This stone is especially valued for its strength, so it is used for the production of cladding, as well as any structures where high strength is required.
Quartzites from the Altai region have also always been in price: they have a special pinkish tint, for which they have earned popularity.
The name of the mineral resources of the Altai Territory can be listed for a very long time. Of course, all of them are not represented there. periodic table, however, the deposits are very, very impressive.
The territory of the Altai Territory in its geological past more than once turned out to be the bottom of the sea, and this could not pass without leaving a mark on the bowels of this land. Geologists are still assessing the complexity of the deep structure earth's crust. According to one version, the name Altai comes from the Mongolian word “alt” and literally means “place of gold.” And this assumption is not so far from reality; the land is truly impressive with its wealth of mineral resources.
Altai Territory is a large industrial region of Russia. It is located in the southeast Western Siberia and the length of its territory covers almost all natural zones, averaging 585 km from west to east, and 360 km from north to south.
Minerals of the Altai Territory
The diversity of the picturesque landscape allows one to only guess about the significant resource potential region. The list of mineral resources of the Altai Territory is represented by deposits of iron, polymetal, brown coal, gypsum, natural soda, salt and precious metal. Mining of rare metals continues: molybdenum, bismuth, tungsten, lithium and others. Raw materials storage facilities for building materials are very well represented: almost 20 deposits of building stones, a large number of storehouses of inert resources, gypsum, brick and expanded clay, material for the production of concrete and the composition of mortars.
The Altai region is famous for its unique porphyry deposits and the unsurpassed quality of granites, marbles and jaspers. Also, the fertile region has been appreciated more than once for its healing waters and mud.
Of course, no wealth of earth can last. To instill careful attitude To natural resources lands, teachers of the region within the framework of the Local History program give necessary knowledge students primary school 2-4 classes about mineral resources of the Altai Territory.
A little history
The generosity of the subsoil of the Altai land was famous even before the region became part of the Russian state. But for a long time knowledge about the region itself remained scanty, often mythical. IN early XVII centuries, pioneers came here mainly for table salt, obtained from local lakes.
The active development of mineral resources in the Altai Territory began with the military confrontation between Russia and Sweden in early XVIII century. In this regard, a constant supply of copper from Scandinavian state was discontinued. In search of such necessary resources for a military company, Russian ore prospectors Kostylev discovered copper ore in Zmeinaya Gora near Kolyvan. The Ural factory owner A. Demidov took advantage of this discovery and in 1729 the Kolyvano-Voskresensky plant was put into operation. And a little later silver was discovered here. TO end of the XVIII century, eight mining and metallurgical plants were already operating in the region. And along with this, deposits of ornamental stones were also discovered: Beloretskoye, Korgonskoye, Goltsovskoye and Revnevskoye.
The past century was marked by significant geological achievements: 13 storehouse deposits of polymetallic ores, two iron deposits and one unique deposit of aluminum-iron-titanium-vanadium ore (Kharlovskoye) were identified and thoroughly explored. Thus, a significant resource base of non-ferrous and ferrous metallurgy, which was concentrated mainly in Rudny Altai, was prepared for industrial development.
Polymetallic ores
Most of the mining in the Altai Territory comes from polymetallic ores. A total of 10 deposits have been identified, which are compactly located next to each other in the southwestern part of the region. Currently, deposits of such fields as Rubtsovskoye, Zarechenskoye, Korbalikhinskoye, Yubileynoye, Stepnoye, Sredneye, Zakharovskoye, Mayskoye, Talovskoye and Lazurskoye are considered to be actively developed. Their combined reserves amount to almost 61 million tons of ore and contain 1,600 thousand tons of lead, 800 thousand tons of copper, about 4,806 thousand tons of zinc, 3,543 tons of silver and 40 tons of gold.
The specificity of the Altai deposits lies in the difficulty of selecting suitable technology ore beneficiation. Experts noted that complex ores of some deposits, for example, Rubtsovsky, are difficult to process, which is explained by the general growth of copper, zinc and lead sulfides among themselves and with the host rock. They often lie in difficult geological conditions. But according to exploration data, metals in such a combination are not found anywhere else in Russia.
Iron ores
The Beloretskoye and Inskoye deposits represent the raw material base of iron ores in the Altai Territory. The mineral resources of the Beloretsk pantry are somewhat more modest, although they have high availability silica, the iron content in the ores is 33.6%. The Insky deposits are richer, have some sulfur and phosphorus, and an iron content of 45%. Total stock ore from two deposits totals 490 million tons.
Small deposits of magnetite ores are known: Rubezhnoye, Chesnokovskoye, Kuznetsovskoye. And in the western part of the region there is the Kulundinskaya iron ore area. The iron content in them is from 23% to 37%. These deposits are not being exploited.
Munai lignite deposit
Until recently, the largest lignite deposit in the Solton region occupied more and more confident positions along with other minerals that are mined in the Altai Territory. Its resources were estimated at almost 250 million tons. The deposits are located in the center of the Shaburovskaya coal-bearing area and are represented by a strip of oval schizometric shape. The main industrial coal reserves are concentrated in horizontally lying seams - Rogozinsky and Goncharovsky.
The quality of Munai coal is not inferior to coal from the Kansk-Achinsk basin Krasnoyarsk Territory. Its main buyers were Biysk, Smolensk, Solton, Zonal, Togul, Sovetsky and Tselinny districts. Demands for Salton coal continued to increase, and real market consumption. Based on this, it would seem that the Munai coal mine has great prospects, but reality has shown otherwise.
The coal deposit was discovered back in the 80s years XIX centuries, but remained without due attention. Only a century later, Novosibugol began developing the deposit, after which it repeatedly changed its owners. Unfortunately, today the situation has not changed much. In 2016, the Munaisky open-pit mine was mothballed.
Tungsten
For a long time, metals have been at the service of humanity, assisting in the creation and improvement of technology. An important place among them is occupied by tungsten, a metal on the fiery frontiers. Among all the minerals mined in the Altai Territory, the fate of tungsten is somewhat in limbo. Its production was practically stopped, given that Russia previously occupied one of the key positions in the world market.
There are 20 tungsten deposits in the region. Particularly noteworthy are the Kolyvan and Talitsko-Belokurikha districts. In the Kolyvan region there are Plitninskoye, Ryabinovskoye, Novokolyvanskoye, Kolyvanskoye, Beloretskoye and Kremlevskoye fields. Within the Talitsko-Belokurikha region there are Dmitrievskoye, Osinovskoye, Nikolskoye, Ivankinskoye, Batunovskoye and other deposits.
Tungsten deposits are mainly classified as quartz-vein type. The leading minerals are molybdenite, wolframite and scheelite. The Batunovskoye, Mulchikhinskoye and Beloretskoye fields are of economic interest.
Gold deposits
Rich geological history determined the formation of the complex structure of the earth's crust and topography of the Altai region. The minerals that abound in the depths of the earth never cease to amaze with their diversity. The region continues to confidently occupy a position in the mining of precious and non-ferrous metals.
Currently, the Novofirsovskoye ore field in the Kurinsky region and the Murzinskoye deposit (Demidovsky mine) are the most developed. Placer gold deposits are concentrated in 14 nodes of the North Altai and Salair gold-bearing regions. Significant concentrations of gold are found in complex polymetallic deposits (Zarechenskoye and Zmeinogorskoye). The development of the Korbalikhinskoye deposit, whose reserves are estimated at 26 million tons of ore, continues. And in the near future, it is planned to carry out geological exploration work at the following sites: Kayanchinskaya (Altai district), Loktevskaya (Kurinsky district) and Kumirskaya (Charyshsky district).
Altai stones
Nature continues to generously share reserves of unique facing and ornamental stones in the Altai region. Approximately 300 deposits have been identified, but only a few have been explored. Thanks to his high quality The stones brought world fame to the Beloretsk quartzite deposit, the Revnevsky deposits of green-banded jasper, the Goltsovsky storehouse of spotted jasper and the Korgon porphyry and jasper deposit.
The use of facing stones began relatively recently. The white marbles of the Pushtulim deposit managed to gain fame far beyond the Altai Territory. Marble from the Tavdinskoye, Belovskoye, Ust-Munskoye and Dukovskoye deposits is a little less famous.
March 2, 2016The mineral resources of the Altai region are very diverse. This is explained by its favorable geographical location. Since ancient times, all kinds of ores, stones, construction and ornamental materials have been mined here. The region is also rich in deposits of limestone and sand. The mineral healing waters flowing in the depths of the Altai land are also famous. Let's look at what minerals are mined in the Altai Territory and give examples of their use.
Altai Territory: location features
On the border with Kazakhstan in South-Western Siberia is located this unusually beautiful region - Altai. This region has amazingly diverse terrain: the world's largest plain gives way to the Altai Mountains. Because of such relief features, the area is rich in minerals.
Still, most of the Altai Territory is a plain, gradually rising. It is bordered on one side by the Altai Mountains, and on the other by the Salair Ridge. It is easy to confuse it with ordinary hills, but this is not so: the ridge consists of low mountains three hundred kilometers long.
The Altai Territory is also unique in that its length includes many natural zones: taiga and mountains, forest-steppe and steppe.
As for water resources, there are several large rivers. Moreover, the largest of them, the Ob, occupies 70 percent of the entire territory. The territory is also rich in lakes: there are 11 thousand of those whose area is more than 1 kilometer.
Extraction methods
Minerals of the Altai Territory are extracted (photos of them will be presented in the article) in three main ways.
Firstly, the so-called open one. In this case, a quarry no more than 500 meters deep is built directly in the deposit area and the extracted minerals are loaded onto specialized equipment.
Secondly, they are building mines. This method is good when the deposits are at a fairly large depth. In this case, first a so-called mine shaft, reminiscent of a giant well, is dug deep into the rock, and then the infrastructure is built on.
Another innovative method uses a high-pressure jet. It is fed into a well made in fossil rock and crushes it. Next, the pieces of rock are lifted up. By the way, this is the most ineffective method, but it is being finalized.
Video on the topic
Iron ore
The most famous minerals of the Altai region are, of course, ores. In total there are 16 largest deposits. It should be noted that they are located in the southwestern part and have a very developed infrastructure. According to estimates, in the depths of Altai there are 70 and 490 tons of polymineral and iron ores, respectively.
Iron ore is mined in the Kulunda steppe. 
It is used primarily in the iron and steel industry. Moreover, three types of it are industrially produced: separated (that is, crumbly), sinter ore (in the form of pieces) and pellets (liquid mass containing iron).
There is such a thing as high-grade iron ore, which is one that contains more than 57% iron. It is from this that cast iron is smelted, and then steel. If the iron content in the ore is low, it is enriched using industrial methods. But the ore is used not only for these purposes, it is also included in ocher - a special dye of natural origin.
Copper ore
The map of mineral resources of the Altai Territory is also rich in copper ores.
Their deposits are located mainly in the west of the Silair Ridge. These ores have been mined here since the 16th century, when in 1719 the discovered deposits began to be developed under the leadership of A. N. Demidov. It was then that the first factories appeared in these places. However, 2.5 thousand years ago, ancient people mined copper here.
What is copper ore? This is a special composition of minerals in which the content of the copper component makes it possible to process it during the industrial process. To do this, you need a minimum of 0.5% copper concentration in the rock. Most often, such ore is a combination of copper and nickel.
Depending on the enrichment of the ore in copper, they are distinguished: chalcocite, bornite and copper pyrite. Ores are listed in descending order of useful metal content.
Copper is widely used in various fields. For a long time, people have noticed its ability to conduct heat well, resistance to corrosion, and excellent electrical conductivity. Another obvious plus is that copper melts at relatively low temperatures. All this has made it possible to use this metal in many areas, from the metallurgical industry to household needs (for example, copper pipes are highly valued).
Bauxite
Bauxite (aluminum ore) is also widespread. These minerals of the Altai region are also mined in the Salair area. Moreover, the mining process does not cause any particular difficulties, because these ores are located very close to the surface.
Only those bauxites with an aluminum content of over 40 percent are used for industrial processing. The smelting of this valuable metal is the main reason for the extraction of bauxite, but it is also used to make paints, and the ferrous metallurgy uses bauxite to create special liquids, fluxes, that remove oxidation on metals.
Sand and limestone
When listing the mineral resources of the Altai region, it is impossible not to mention rocks such as sand and limestone. These reserves in this area are truly inexhaustible.
The areas where the Biya and Katun flow are rich in sand. Sand-lime bricks are made from this material (if the sand contains quartz). If the rock is completely quartz, then it is glass.
As for limestone, it is widely used in construction; many sculptors also create their works from this rock. 
A special agent for imparting viscosity - quicklime - is also produced from this fossil. Limestone is also used in concrete production and road construction.
Stones
The minerals of the Altai region are also stones. Moreover, both construction materials, such as gypsum (Lake Dzhira), and Altai marble. It is mined in several colors: here you can find many shades from white to golden. The striped jasper mined here is known all over the world. The scale of granite deposits is also impressive. 
This stone is especially valued for its strength, so it is used for the production of cladding, as well as any structures where high strength is required.
Quartzites from the Altai region have also always been in price: they have a special pinkish tint, for which they have earned popularity.
The name of the mineral resources of the Altai Territory can be listed for a very long time. Of course, the entire periodic table is not presented there, but the deposits are very, very impressive.
The Altai Republic has a variety of mineral resources. These are coal, iron, gold, silver, cobalt, bismuth, wollastonite, mercury, molybdenum, tungsten, lithium, tantalum, antimony, nickel, copper, zinc, silver, tin, and Construction Materials. The subsoil of the Altai Republic is rich in ores of various metals, and primarily in iron ores, the deposits of which are located on the Kholzun and Sailyugem ridges. Mercury ores are of great industrial importance. These are the Aktashskoye and Chagan-Uzunskoye fields. The Karakul Khoshkhvehgmov deposit of cobalt and bismuth has very large reserves of these metals. The largest deposit of primary skarn gold is located in Sinyukhinskoye. ore field. The gold mining industry is promising for sustainable development Republic of Altai. Deposits and manifestations of wollastonite are widely developed in the Altai Mountains. Due to their unique properties wollastonite is widely used in various industries production: ceramics, electric welding, medical equipment and materials, radio electronics.
The Ozernoye and Pogranichnoye silver deposits are concentrated in the southeast of the Altai Mountains and, together with the Mongolian Legat deposit, form a single ore-bearing structure. Deposits of molybdenum and tungsten are widespread in western and southeastern parts Mountain Altai. The Kalgutinskoye molybdenum-tungsten deposit with proven reserves and a partially prepared ore mining system is of industrial interest - Large deposit Yatmya with associated tantalum is represented by the Alakha stock. The deposit is unique in its origin. Among energy resources The most famous are the deposits of black coal - Kuraiskoye and Pyzhinskoye, brown coal in the vicinity of the village. Chagan-Uzun. Gorny Altai is the second region in the world for the richness of jasper deposits. There are about 300 varieties here. "There is no other area in the world in which there would be concentrated decorative stones such varied colors" -
wrote academician A. E. Fersman, who visited Altai in 1916. The most unique ones are grey-violet, white, black and red jaspers. Jasper from the Altai Mountains is used both in jewelry and as a facing material. Among other stones, aquamarines should be noted. There are numerous deposits of facing stones. Special meaning represents the Oroktoy marble deposit. Among granites, granites from the Yustyd massif have good decorative properties. Building materials - limestone, clay, sand - are widespread in the Altai Mountains and can be used depending on local needs. Easily accessible limestone deposits in the Ust-Koksinsky region can support the production of Portland cement by local enterprises.
Calcareous sands and brown coals of the Taldy-Dyurgun deposit in the Kosh-Agach region of Moscow State University1 are used to neutralize acidic and ultra-acidic soils of agricultural lands in the North-Western and Western Altai. Taldy-Dyurgunskie Rug coals are an excellent raw material for producing natural organic fertilizers rich in humus components.