Morphostructure of garnets from coastal-marine placers
 as a key feature for determining their processing technology

Abstract

One of the most popular abrasive materials at the
 moment is natural garnet sand. Interest in it increased
 significantly after the collapse of the USSR, as many
 industrially significant geological objects were preserved
 within the borders of the former Soviet republics. Many
 primary deposits of raw garnet materials have been
 explored in Russia, but almost all of them are not of
 industrial interest for economic reasons. Currently, the
 coastal zone of the White Sea is considered prospective
 for the discovery of industrially significant placers and
 placer occurrences of garnet sand. The range of application
 of garnet sand is very wide – it is waterjet cutting,
 cleaning of various surfaces and removal of corrosion
 defects, free grinding of glass and porcelain and
 the production of grinding powders. In 2021, the volume
 of government purchases of garnet sand in physical
 terms increased by 16.3 %, and the volume of commercial
 purchases increased by 64.2 % compared to the same
 period of the previous year. Based on the study of the
 composition of the garnet mineral group, we used a set
 of research methods, including precision (X-ray spectral
 and electron microscopy) in order to determine the
 technology of obtaining industrial concentrates.
 The development of new occurrences of coastal garnet-
 containing sand in the Arkhangelsk region can provide
 the country with highly liquid, strategic raw materials.