Minerals of the Altai Territory are very diverse. This is explained by its advantageous geographical position. Since ancient times, various ores, stones, construction and ornamental are mined here. Also, the region is rich in deposits of limestone and sand. Mineral healing waters flowing in the bowels of Altai land are also famous. Consider what minerals are mined in the Altai Territory, give examples of their application.
Altai Territory: location features
On the border with Kazakhstan in South-Western Siberia, this unusually beautiful region is located - Altai. In this region, a surprisingly diverse area: the largest plain in the world is replaced by Altai mountains. Due to such relief features and the area is rich in minerals.
Still, most of the Altai Territory is a plain that gradually rises. 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 is a low mountain three hundred kilometers long.
Altai Territory is also unique in that it extends over 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 only those whose area is more than 1 kilometer.
Mining methods
Minerals of the Altai Territory are extracted (we will present a photo in the article) in three main ways.
Firstly, the so-called open. In this case, a quarry with a depth of not more than 500 meters is built directly in the field zone and the extracted minerals are immersed in specialized equipment.
Secondly, they are building mines. This method is good when the deposits are at a sufficiently large depth. In this case, the so-called mine shaft, reminiscent of a giant well, is first pulled into the depths of the rock, and then the infrastructure is built up.
Another innovative method using a high pressure jet. It is fed into the well, which is made in fossil rock, crushes it. Next, raise pieces of rock up. By the way, this is the most inefficient method, but it is being finalized.
Iron ore
The most famous minerals of the Altai Territory, of course, ores. There are 16 largest deposits in total. It should be noted that they are located in the southwestern part, have a very developed infrastructure. According to estimates, the total in the Altai subsoil is 70 and 490 tons of polymineral and iron ores, respectively.
Iron ore is mined in the Kulundinskaya steppe.
It is used mainly in ferrous metallurgy. Moreover, three of its types are industrially produced: separated (that is, friable), sinter ore (in the form of pieces) and pellets (liquid mass containing iron).
There is such a thing as rich iron ore - this is one in which more than 57% of the iron content. It is from it that cast iron is smelted, and then steel. If the iron content in the ore is small, it is enriched by industrial methods. But ore is used, and not only for these purposes, it is also included in ocher - a special dye of natural origin.
Copper ore
The map of minerals of the Altai Territory is 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 were developed under the direction of A. N. Demidov. Then the first plants appeared in these places. However, 2.5 thousand years ago, ancient people mined copper here.
What is copper ore? This is such a special composition of minerals in which the content of the copper component makes it possible to process it during the industrial process. This requires a minimum of 0.5% copper concentration in the rock. Most often, such an ore is a combination of copper and nickel.
Depending on the enrichment of the ore with copper, they distinguish: chalcosine, bornite and copper pyrite. Ores are listed in decreasing 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, corrosion resistance, and excellent electrical conductivity. Another obvious plus is that copper melts at relatively low temperatures. All this allowed the use of this metal in many areas, from the metallurgical industry and ending with domestic needs (for example, copper pipes are highly valued).
Bauxites
Bauxites (aluminum ores) are also widespread. These minerals of the Altai Territory are also mined in the Salair area. Moreover, the mining process does not cause special difficulties, because these ores are very close to the surface.
Only bauxite with an aluminum content of more than 40 percent goes into industrial processing. The smelting of this valuable metal is the main reason for the extraction of bauxite, but they are also used for the manufacture of paints, and ferrous metallurgy uses bauxite to create special fluids, fluxes that remove oxidation from metals.
Sand and limestone
Listing the minerals of the Altai Territory, it is impossible not to mention such rocks as sand and limestone. These reserves in this area are truly inexhaustible.
Sand is rich in territories where Biya and Katun flow. Silicate bricks are made from this material (if the sand contains quartz). If the rock is completely quartz, then glass.
As for limestone, it is widely used in construction, many sculptors also create their works from this breed.
Special viscosity improver - quicklime - is also produced from this fossil. Limestone is also used in concrete production, in road construction.
