Ozernoye lead-zinc ore deposit

The deposit is situated in Yeravninsky district of the Republic of Buryatia, 165 kilometers north of Mogzon railway station, 60 km from the district centre Sosnovo-Ozersk, 308 km from the Re public’s capital, Ulan-Ude.

The polymetallic ore reserves of Ozernoye deposit are confirmed by the State Committee for Reserves of the USSR. (protocol №5869 dated 19.01.1970) :

• 104.96 million tons of ore in categories B+C1
• 23.2 million tons of ore in category C2

Ozernoye deposit is large even by the world standards. It is a stratiform deposit of volcanogenic, sedimentary genesis. Constitutionally, the ores are sulphur-siderite-polymetallic.

The average content of useful components in the confirmed reserves is as follows: zink – 6.57%, lead – 1.25%, pyritic sulphur – 20.82%, cadmium – 0017%, silver – 37.6 grams per ton. Primary ores constitute 96% of the reserves. The zone of oxidation is developed up to 25  meters deep.

By 2012, it is planned to commission an ore mining and processing complex for open-cast mining and processing of 6 million tons of ore annually, with a view to produce approximately 600 thousand tons of zinc concentrate and 80 thousand tons of lead concentrate per year.

KHOLODNINSKOYE lead-zinc ore deposit

The deposit is situated in Severo-Baykalsky district of the Republic of Buryatia, 36 kilometers north of  “Razyezd Kholodny” railway station (Baykal-Amur Railroad), 70 km from the district centre, Nizhneangarsk settlement.

Kholodninskoye deposit is the largest one in Russia by zinc and lead reserves. It is a stratiform deposit of volcanogenic, sedimentary genesis. Constitutionally, the ores are sulphur-polymetallic and sulphur.

The deposit is represented by three linked ore zones. The first ore zone includes the main reserves of the deposit and is formed by three large adjacent layers of ore. Its length is 4700 meters, layer depth – 5 to 230 meters, examined depth – 800 meters.

By the features of geological structure and distribution of useful components the Kholodninskoye deposit is referred to the second group of complexity.

The polymetallic ore reserves of Kholodninskoye deposit are confirmed by the State Committee for Reserves of the USSR. ( protocol № 9703 dated 29.03.1985)

• 334 million tons of ore in categories B+C1: lead – 2010000 tons, zinc – 13340000 tons
• 185 million tons of ore in category C2: lead – 1350000 tons, zinc – 7860000 tons.

The average content of useful components in the confirmed reserves: zink – 4.3%, lead- 0.65%, pyritic sulphur – 20.7%. The ores also contain cadmium, indium, selenium, tellurium and silver (28 grams per ton). 

Primary ores constitute 90% of the reserves. The zone of oxidation is developed up to 7-10 meters deep. On the North-Eastern flank there is a zone of mixed ores up to 30-40 and 100-130 meters deep.

By 2012, it is planned to put into operation an enterprise (a mine with underground extraction) for the mining and processing of 2 million tons of ore per year.

Nazarovskoye gold-sulphide-zinc ore deposit

The deposit is situated, 170 kilometers north of Mogzon railway station, 60 km from the district centre, Sosnovo-Ozersk settlement.

The ore reserves of Nazarovskoye deposit are confirmed by the Ministry of Non-Ferrous Metals of the USSR (protocol №350-ВК dated 31.05.1982):

• 5.9 million tons of ore in categories C1 and C2 (zinc – 465000 tons, gold – 11.2 tons, silver – 328 tons)
• 6.8 million tons of ore in category P1 (zinc – 528000 tons).

The average content of useful components in the confirmed reserves of the polymetallic ores:

Zinc – 7.84%, gold - 0.8 grams per ton

There are five ore bodies in the deposit. Their bedding is up to 400 meters deep. The ore bodies have the form of lenses and beds. The ore minerals consist of pyrite, black jack and magnetic pyrite. The ore bodies are bedded amidst limestone and tufa.

Preliminary prospecting has been carried out on the deposit. It is necessary to complete exploration works, to prepare the feasibility report and to calculate the ore reserves.

By 2013, it is planned to commission an enterprise for open–cast mining and processing of 200 thousand tons of ore annually.

YERMAKOVSKOYE ore deposit

The deposit is situated in Kizhiginsky district of the Republic of Buryatia. The distance from the deposit to the nearest railway station, Bada, is 46 kilometers, to the district centre Kizhiginsk – 40 kilometers, to the city of Ulan-Ude – 200 kilometers.

License УДЭ № 13303 ТЭ for the mining of fluorine-beryllium ores at YERMAKOVSKOYE ore deposit was issued to OOO ”Yaruuna Invest” on 04 October, 2005. The mining-metallurgical company “East-Siberian Metals Corporation” manages OOO ”Yaruuna Invest”.

The ore reserves are confirmed by the State Committee for Reserves of the USSR (protocol №6099, 1970): 1.7 million tons of ore. The ores were mined till 1996. At the present time the balance of the ore reserves is:

• 764 thousand tons in category C1,
• 630 thousand tons in category C2

YERMAKOVSKOYE ore deposit is the largest one in Russia by the reserves of beryllium.

The average content of BeO and CaF2 in the remaining reserves is 1.28% and 19%, respectively.

The further development of the project envisages the reestablishment, at YERMAKOVSKOYE ore deposit, of ore mining facility for open-pit mining of at least 50 thousand tons of ore by 2010, the production of beryllium concentrate, as well as beryllium and its compounds.

TALINSKOYE brown coal deposit

The deposit is situated in Yeravninsky district of the Republic of Buryatia, 70 kilometers from the district centre Sosnovo-Ozersk, 15 kilometers east of the base of Ozerny mining and processing complex. From Ulan-Ude – 320 kilometers.

The coal reserves of Talinskoye deposit are confirmed by TKZ PGO ”Buryatgeologiya” (protocol  № 80 dated 16.12.1980):

• 12.9 million tons of coal in categories B+C1
• 0.6 million tons of coal in category C2

The coals are of Б2 grade: medium cinderiness, medium sulphury, low calorie. They can be utilized as energy fuel for heat stations and boiler-houses.

The area of the deposit is 14864 square kilometers, it is situated in the central part of the Isingin valley. The availability of coal in the valley was first discovered in 1969.

The productive coal layer of the deposit lies practically horizontally, from 2 to 46 meters deep, and is elongated to the north-west. Maximum depth of the layer – 25 meters, average depth of the deposit is 10 meters. The prospective carboniferous area is estimated at 60 sq. kilometers.

The coals of the deposit are attributed to brown coals of Б2 grade:

• maximal humidity ratio – 37%
• cinderiness – 8-12%
• volatile substances – 47-48%
• fraction of total mass for sulphur – 1-1.9%
• highest combustion heat of working fuel – 3789-4096 kilocalories/kg (15.9-17.1 megajoule/kg)
• lowest combustion heat of working fuel – 3343-3664 kilocalories/kg (14-15.3 megajoule/kg)

The deposit has been explored to meet the needs of Ozerny GOK and is prepared for industrial development.

Open-cast mining of brown coal is being conducted at the deposit. The planned consumption by Ozerniniskaya thermoelectric power station of the brown coal from Talinskoe deposit – 370 thousand tons per year.