One of the most valuable minerals for industry is iron ore. Deposits in Russia of this mineral are in abundance. Not without reason, our country is one of the five leaders in terms of production of this raw material. Let's find out where the richest iron ore deposits in Russia are located.
The role of iron ore in industry
First, find out what role iron ore plays in Russia, more precisely, in its industrial production, what qualities it possesses.
Iron ore is a natural mineral that contains iron in such an amount that its extraction from ore is cost-effective and appropriate.
This mineral is the main raw material for the metallurgical industry. The main end product is cast iron and steel. The commodity form of the latter is called rental. Indirectly through this industry, engineering, automotive, shipbuilding and other spheres of the national economy depend on iron ore supplies.
Therefore, each existing iron ore deposit in Russia is so important for the development of the country. The economic regions of the country, especially the East Siberian, Central Black Earth, Ural, Northern and West Siberian, are largely tied to the processing of ore raw materials.
The main properties of iron, because of which it has found such widespread use in industry, is strength and heat resistance. Equally important is that, unlike most other metals, the extraction and extraction of iron from ore is possible in large volumes and at relatively low cost.
Classification of Iron Ores
Iron ores have their own classification system.
Ores are divided into the following types depending on the chemical composition: oxides, hydroxides and carbonic salts.
The main types of iron ore minerals are: magnetite, limonite, goethite, siderite.
Iron ore deposits in Russia also have their own classification. Depending on the method of ore occurrence and its composition, they are divided into several groups. Of paramount importance are the following: sedimentary deposits, skarn, complex, quartzite.
Reserves and production
Now we find out what volumes of iron ore are mined in Russia.
By the volume of explored deposits of iron ore in terms of iron, the Russian Federation shares the first place with Brazil, having 18% of the total world reserves. This is due to the fact that we have the largest iron ore deposits in Russia.
If we take into account not pure iron, but all the ore with impurities, then here in terms of reserves of the Russian Federation it takes the second place on the globe - with 16% of world reserves, second only to Ukraine in this indicator.
In terms of the production of valuable mineral, Russia has long been in the top five countries. So, in 2014, 105 million tons of iron ore were mined, which is 1395 million tons less than the leader of this list, China, or 45 million tons less than the fourth in the list, India. At the same time, Russia is 23 million tons ahead of Ukraine in terms of production.
For many years, Russia has been among the ten largest countries in the export of iron ore. In 2009, the country ranked sixth with an export volume of 21.7 million tons, in 2013 it fell to ninth place, and in 2015 rose to fifth. By this indicator, the unchanging world leader is Australia.
In addition, it should be said that immediately two Russian metallurgical plants are among the ten world giants for the production of iron ore products. These are Evrazholding (production volume - 56, 900 thousand tons / year) and Metalloinvest (44, 700 thousand tons / year).
Major deposits
Now let's determine where the main iron ore deposits in Russia are located.
The largest iron ore basin in the country is KMA. The Kola ore district and deposits of Karelia possess large ore reserves. Rich in iron ore and the Urals. One of the largest in Russia is the West Siberian basin. Large iron ore deposits in Russia are located in Khakassia and in the Altai Territory.
With the accession of Crimea to Russia in 2014, another large iron ore basin appeared in the Russian Federation - the Kerch.
Next, we will describe in more detail the most significant iron ore deposits in Russia.
Deposits of the Kursk Magnetic Anomaly
The Kursk anomaly is not only the largest iron ore deposit in Russia, but also the undisputed world leader in terms of iron content. By the amount of raw ore (30, 000 million tons), this area is second only to one Bolivian deposit, the reserves of which are still being specified by specialists.
KMA is located in the Kursk, Oryol and Belgorod regions and has a total area of 120, 000 square meters. km
The basis of iron ore in this region are magnetite quartzites. It is with the magnetic properties of this mineral that the anomalous behavior of the magnetic needle in this region is connected.
The largest deposits of KMA are Korobkovskoye, Novoyaltinskoye, Mikhailovskoye, Pogrometskoye, Lebedinskoye, Stoilenskoye, Prioskolskoye, Yakovlevskoye, Chernyanskoye, Bolsheroroitskoye.
Deposits of the Kola Peninsula and Karelia
Significant iron ore deposits in Russia are located in the Murmansk region and the Republic of Karelia.
The total area of the Kola ore district, located within the Murmansk region, is 114, 900 square meters. km It should be noted that far from one iron ore is mined here, but also many other ore minerals - nickel, copper, cobalt ores and apatites. Among the deposits of the region, Kovdorskoye and Olenogorskoye should be distinguished. The main mineral is ferruginous quartzite.
The largest deposits of Karelia are Aganozerskoye, Kostomukshskoye, Pudozhgorskoye. True, the first of them is more specialized in the extraction of chromium ores.
Ural deposits
The Ural Mountains are also rich in iron ore. The main production area is the Kachkanar group of fields. Ore from this region is characterized by a relatively high titanium content. Mining is done in an open way. The total explored volumes of iron ore are approximately 7, 000 million tons.
In addition, it should be said that it is in the Urals that the largest metallurgical plants of Russia are located, in particular Magnitka and NTMK. But at the same time, it should be noted that a significant part of the former reserves of iron ores has been exhausted, so you have to import them to these enterprises also from other regions of the country.
West Siberian basin
One of the largest iron ore regions in Russia is the West Siberian basin. It could be the largest field in the world (up to 393, 000 million tons), but, according to explored data, is still inferior to KMA and the El-Mutun field in Bolivia.
The pool is located mainly in the Tomsk region and covers an area of 260, 000 square meters. km It should be noted that despite the huge volumes of ore reserves, the exploration of its deposits and production are associated with a number of difficulties.
The largest deposits of the basin are Bachkarskoye, Chuzikskoye, Kolpashevskoye, Parbigskoye and Parabelskoye. The most significant and explored of them is the first on the list. It has an area of 1200 square meters. km
Deposits in Khakassia
The deposits in the Altai Territory and Khakassia are quite significant. But if the development of the first of them is rather weak, the Khakass ore reserves are actively mined. Of the specific deposits, Abagazskoye (more than 73, 000 thousand tons) and Abakanskoye (118, 400 thousand tons) should be distinguished.
For the development of the region, these deposits are of strategic importance.
Kerch basin
More recently, in connection with the annexation of Crimea, Russia's wealth was also replenished with the Kerch basin, rich in iron ore. It is fully located on the territory of the Kerch Peninsula of the Republic of Crimea, and has an area of more than 250 square meters. km Total ore reserves are estimated at 1800 million tons. A feature of ore deposits in this region is that they are located mainly in the deflections of rocks.
Among the main deposits it is necessary to name Kyz-Aulskoye, Ocheret-Burunskoye, Katerlezskoye, Akmanayskoye, Eltigen-Ortelskoye, Novoselovskoye, Baksinskoye, Severnoye. Conventionally, all of these deposits are combined into a northern and southern group.
Other iron ore regions
In addition, Russia has a significant number of other iron ore deposits, which are of less importance and volumes than those listed above.
In Western Siberia, a large iron ore deposit is located in the Kemerovo region. Its resources are used to provide raw materials for the West Siberian and Kuznetsk metallurgical plants.
In Eastern Siberia, in addition to Khakassia, iron ore deposits are found in Transbaikalia, in the Irkutsk region and in the Krasnoyarsk Territory. In the Far East - in the long run - large-scale development may begin in Yakutia, the Khabarovsk and Primorsky Territories, and the Amur Region. Especially rich in iron Yakutia.
However, this is not a complete list of iron ore deposits that are available in Russia. In addition, we must not forget that some deposits may be poorly explored, underestimated in volume or not discovered at the moment.
