Geological mapping of kimberlite magmatism as an assessment of diamond-bearing objects in Western Yakutia

Abstract

Тhe results of generalization and GIS integration of the results of the study of all known indigenous deposits and manifestations of diamonds located in the distributed and undistributed fund of the subsoil of the Russian Federation are presented. The work takes into account the results of prospecting, exploration and exploitation works, minutes of meetings of regional (TKZ) and federal (RKZ and GKZ) commissions on mineral reserves and published data. As a result, a GIS-integrated database was created containing 1,319 objects, for each of which key parameters were determined: coordinates, shape, size, age, average diamond content, forecast resources, and diamond reserves. It was established that the indigenous diamond deposits are concentrated in the Central Siberian subprovincia and account for 2.3 % of all known kimberlite bodies, diamond-bearing kimberlite bodies in the Yakut diamond-bearing province – 282, the predominant body shape is a pipe (59 %). There is no correlation between the size of kimberlite bodies and their diamond content, small pipes, as well as large diatremes, can be industrially diamondiferous, the prevailing absolute age of industrially diamondiferous kimberlites is 329-382 million years.