Current state, prospects and problems of the gold mining industry of the Trans-Baikal Territory

The article considers the current state, problems and prospects of gold mining in the Trans-Baikal Territory. There has been an increase in the volume of gold production from ore and placer deposits over the past 5 years. Placer deposits make up a significant part of the total production volume. The reduction of reserves in placers and the decrease in the quality of minerals in them open up new prospects for the extraction of precious metals, namely in ore gold mining. The extraction of placer gold, even with the best existing technologies, remains a sector of high environmental risk, in many settlements there is a gradual decline in the population and the “extinction” of settlements, as well as illegal gold mining is gaining momentum. Neither regional nor federal environmental supervision bodies have the opportunity to resist the destruction and degradation of nature from the extraction of placer gold. In general, this leads to an increase in the negative impact of placer gold mining on natural complexes and socio-economic sustainable development of regions and municipalities on the territory of which this type of activity is carried out, an increase in accumulated environmental damage.

Ways of solving the problems of rational nature management in the areas of alluvial deposits development

A characteristic feature of the developed placer deposits is that most of them (up to 90–95%) are hard to develop, and the sands included in them are hard to enrich, due to their location in the geographic and climatic zones with a harsh climate, where perennial and deep seasonal permafrost is widespread almost everywhere. About 40% of alluvial deposits are clayey, highly clayey or cemented. As a consequence, there are significant losses of the valuable component and a large negative impact on the environment, including due to repeated re–mining. The studies presented in this paper help to significantly reduce losses and increase the productivity of the dredge, thereby increasing metal recovery.

Platinum-Group Minerals in the Placer of the Kitoy River, East Sayan, Russia

The platinum-group minerals (PGM) in placer deposits provide important information on the types of their primary source rocks and ores and formation and alteration conditions. The article shows for the first time the results of a study of placer platinum mineralization found in the upper reaches of the Kitoy River (the southeastern part of the Eastern Sayan (SEPES)). Using modern methods of analysis (scanning electron microscopy), the authors studied the microtextural features of platinum-group minerals (PGM), their composition, texture, morphology and composition of microinclusions, rims, and other types of changes. The PGM are Os‑Ir‑Ru alloys with a pronounced ruthenium trend. Many of the Os‑Ir‑Ru grains have porous, fractured, or altered rims that contain secondary PGE sulfides, arsenides, sulfarsenides, Ir-Ni-Fe alloys, and rarer selenides, arsenoselenides, and tellurides of the PGE. The data obtained made it possible to identify the root sources of PGM in the placer and to make assumptions about the stages of transformation of primary igneous Os-Ir-Ru alloys from bedrock to placer. We assume that there are several stages of alteration of high-temperature Os-Ir-Ru alloys. The late magmatic stage is associated with the effect of fluid-saturated residual melt enriched with S, As. The post-magmatic hydrothermal stage (under conditions of changing reducing conditions to oxidative ones) is associated with the formation of telluro-selenides and oxide phases of PGE. The preservation of poorly rounded and unrounded PGM grains in the placer suggests a short transport from their primary source. The source of the platinum-group minerals from the Kitoy River placer is the rocks of the Southern ophiolite branch of SEPES and, in particular, the southern plate of the Ospa-Kitoy ophiolite complex, and primarily chromitites.

A New Approach to Characterizing Deposit Type Using Mineral Inclusion Assemblages in Gold Particles

Mineral inclusions within native gold are features of lode gold occurrences that are preserved in detrital particles. Inclusion assemblages in populations of gold particles in placers from specific localities are revealed through inspection of polished sections, and assimilation of robust data sets permits reconstruction of the lode source mineralogy. Inclusion assemblages differ considerably according to the source deposit type, and various approaches have been employed to graphically represent inclusion mineralogy. We present a simple method for depicting and comparing inclusion assemblages using a single standardized radar diagram template that illustrates the proportions of 11 metal and 5 nonmetal (and metalloid) elements in each inclusion assemblage. The Canadian Cordillera hosts many different gold-bearing deposit types and is an ideal terrane in which to develop a globally applicable methodology. Although placer gold is widespread, the location and nature of source mineralization is commonly unclear. This study is based on the inclusion suites recorded in 37 sample sets of gold particles from both placer and lode localities. Radar diagrams describing inclusion assemblages show clear generic differences according to deposit type. Diagnostic signatures have been established and act as templates against which samples of unknown origin may be compared. This approach permits differentiation between populations of gold particles formed in different magmatic systems (low-sulfidation epithermal, calc-alkalic porphyry, and alkalic porphyry), which may all be distinguished from gold formed in orogenic (amagmatic) mineralization. Metallic element signatures are most useful in differentiating gold from different magmatic hydrothermal systems, whereas nonmetallic elements allow for classification of orogenic gold subtypes. Comparisons of mineral inclusion signatures from gold in the Canadian Cordillera with samples from similar geologic settings worldwide suggest that this approach to gold fingerprinting is globally applicable. Therefore, the geochemical signatures of inclusion assemblages provide a robust indication of deposit type and may be applied in exploration to illuminate regional metallogeny in areas where relationships between placer deposits and their source(s) may be unclear.

Development of placer deposits in the North using highwall mining systems

The article studies various aspects of the highwall mining systems applicability for the development of productive sands in terms of the occurrence conditions as well as the mining and technical parameters of placer deposits. The harsh climatic conditions of the Arctic zone and the specific properties of frozen sands impose additional requirements on the operation of the mining complex. Positive and negative aspects of the practical application of mining complexes been analysed with reference to the development of precious metals and gemstones deposits. The most promising mining sites have been identified, where the use of highwall mining systems is technologically and economically feasible. Commercial mining of reserves in the boundary zones in high walls of depleted fields and in thin unconventional seams will substantially expand the mineral resource base of mining companies. A promising trend of this technology development is discussed that includes backfilling of the mined-out space in order to reduce the loss of mineral resources. The ice-rock mixture is proposed as the backfill material, which significantly reduces the unit cost of these operations. A practical case of this technology implementation is described for the development of substandard sands of a placer deposit in the Far North conditions. The possibility of developing the reserves of tin placer deposits on the Arctic shelf using the highwall mining systems has been identified as the most promising direction of scientific and practical research for the development of the mining industry in the region.

The sequential REE (Rare Earth Elements) extraction of weathered crusts of granitoids from Sibolga, Indonesia

Indonesia needs a proven technology for REE extraction to build a national REE industry. Monazite that has been recovered from placer deposits at Bangka-Belitung areas is the most potential REE source. In the future, ion adsorption type will be another potential source of REE deposits. This paper describes the sequential REE extraction of the weathered crusts of granitoids from Sibolga using sequential extraction ICP-MS analysis is applied to determine bulk samples mineralogical compositions and REE content. The total REE (∑REE) content of weathered crusts of granitoids from Sibuluhan Sihaporas A ranges from 265 to 479 ppm, while the amount of ∑REE leached by sequential extraction range from 151 to 263 ppm, and the percentage of adsorbed ∑REE ranges from 55 to 74%. In comparison, Sibuluhan Sihaporas B ranges from 302 to 634 ppm, 82 to 198 ppm, and 28 to 44%, respectively. ∑REE content of weathered granitoids crusts from Sarudik ranges from 135 to 219 ppm, while that SREE leached by sequential extraction range from 21 to 82 ppm, and percentage of adsorbed ∑REE range from 11 to 50 %, while that Sibolga Julu ranges from 191 to 304 ppm, 111 to 138 ppm, and 27 to 44%.