New data on some high-altitude protected insect species in northern Transbaikalia

The paper presents data on registration of two regionally protected insects in the north of Zabaykalsky krai. Observations were made in summer 2019-2021 in Kalarsky district of Zabaykalsky krai on the Ridges Udokan and Kodar. Parnassius eversmanni and Parnassius phoebus are characteristic and common species of high alpine meadows of the study area, especially at the Kodar Ridge between the Apsat and Sredny Sakukan Rivers. This area is not part of the Kodar National Park and requires attention for conservation of rich high altitude ecosystems that include the studied insect species.

Geologic Structure, Mineralogy, and Geochemistry of the Nerunda Gold Ore Field (Northern Transbaikalia)

—We consider the geologic structure of the Nerunda gold ore field located in the Nerunda–Mama ore district in northern Transbaikalia. Gold–quartz low-sulfide formation and ore-bearing carbonate-terrigenous strata and intrusive complexes are briefly described. An ore complex of beresite–listvenite metasomatites hosting carbonate–quartz veins and vein–veinlet zones is characterized. Two stages of ore formation have been recognized. Anomalous geochemical associations and the composition of ore mineralization typical of these stages have been established. Mineralogical and geochemical studies of gold-bearing metasomatites of the Nerunda ore field were carried out. The known geochemical and mineralogical search criteria used for the assessment of the erosion zone level of gold deposits were applied to the geologic conditions of the Nerunda ore field and the Nerunda–Mama gold ore district as a whole. The emphasis was made on the express assessment of the erosion zone level at the early stage of prospecting. We draw a conclusion about the gold potential of the poorly studied ore objects at depth and give guidelines for the following geological prospecting.

ECONOMIC AND GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION OF THE TRANSBAIKAL REGION: TERRITORIAL SUB-LEVELS AND INSTITUTIONAL COMPONENT

The article considers the aspects of changes in the economic and geographical position (EGP) of the Transbaikal Region at different territorial levels, and the factors that determine it. The aim of the study is to analyze the changes in the EGP of the region in historical retrospect, as well as to determine the possible influence of traditional factors and new factors of the institutional environment on these micro-level processes. It was revealed that there was a change in the emphasis on the importance of the Transbaikal Region at the macro and micro levels: the mineral and geological importance of the region in the country significantly decreased with the transition to market relations, while opportunities for cross-border cooperation with China and Mongolia opened up. Currently, special attention is drawn to factors of an institutional nature that can have a certain impact on the economic development of the territory. The focus of the study is on the micro-level of the region, where the Udokan field development project in the north of the Transbaikal Region is currently being implemented within the framework of the concept of the Territory of Advanced development (TOP) project «Northern Transbaikalia». The authors hypothesize that informal norms determining the economic behaviour of the population can resist state institutions that can influence the change in EGP. This confrontation has not been studied either in the Transbaikal Region or in other subjects of the Far East, where new mechanisms of state administration are being implemented. A fundamental factor in the development of the model territory of the north of the Transbaikal Region is its high resource availability. A significant role in the process of changing the EGP is played by the state Institute of the Territory of Advanced Development (TOP) «Northern Transbaikalia», which corrects the effect of traditional factors due to administrative and tax preferences. Informal institutional factors may be the environmental consequences of the development of the field and their possible impact on the traditional nature management of the indigenous small – numbered peoples of the north of the Transbaikal Region – the Evenks