FEATURES OF THE DISTRIBUTION OF GLAUKONITE IN THE DNIEPER-DONETS DEPRESSION. ARTICLE 1. PALEOZOIC-MESOZOIC SEDIMENTS

Abstract

Glauconite has a special material composition, characterized by a high and increased content of macroelements, such as potassium and phosphorus, as well as an increased content of microelements, such as zinc, manganese, molybdenum, copper, cobalt, boron, which stimulate growth and ensure the healthy functioning of plants. Therefore, the most widespread and promising may be the use of glauconite in agriculture, primarily as potash fertilizer and ameliorant. It is one of the most common minerals of the pre-Cenozoic sedimentary stratum of the Dnieper-Donets depression. There are no significant concentrations of glauconite in the Paleozoic sediments. In Mesozoic sediments, the mineral is present in the formations of all three systems. Among sediments of the Jurassic system, high concentrations of the mineral are observed in the Kimmeridgian layer. Among the sediments of the Cretaceous system, significant concentrations of glauconite are present in the formations of the Albian and Cenomanian layers. On the Erathem scale, an increase in the content and mass of glauconite from the Paleozoic to the Mesozoic is observed. On the scale of the systems, an increase in the bulk mass of glauconite is observed in the direction of the Perm → Triassic → Jurassic → Cretaceous. At the lithological level, the most promising types of rocks of all layers are sands, less commonly silts, clays, and sandstones. At the stratigraphic level, the Cenomanian sediments are the most promising. In the horizontal plane, the most promising are the pit edge parts of the depression. In general, the wide distribution of promising layers of the Mesozoic indicates the unlimited mineralogenic potential of the depression on the glauconite raw materials. But the extraction from these sediments in the near future makes it difficult to deeply occur, insufficient capacity for such depths, location mainly under arable land or settlements. With the improvement of depth mining technologies, the use of this resource in the more distant future cannot be ruled out. This primarily concerns the joint manifestations of phosphorites and glauconite in the Mesozoic sediments.