Deposits Of Siberia Research Articles

Опыт применения цифровых геомеханических моделей при освоении рудных месторождений Сибири

The article considers a generalized approach to application of digital models of deposits and organization of geomechanical monitoring systems in the mining of ore deposits in Siberia based on experience of research work carried out by the staff of the Mining Institute named after N.A. Chinakal, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, in the interests of industrial partners. A scheme of managing geomechanical monitoring is given, which provides verification and adaptation of the geomechanical model to the changing conditions of the mined deposit. The results of determining the stress-and-strain state of the rock mass at the Aikhal mine and assessing the state of the ore ceiling are presented. With the use of numerical geomechanical models, a geomechanical justification is made for application of the technology with backfilling of the minedout space. The impossibility of using the mining systems based on caving is demonstrated when extracting the pit reserves of polymetallic mineral deposit. The conclusion provides proposals for organizing geomechanical monitoring with the use of digital geomechanical models.

Perspectives of the Development and Problems of Exploration of a Resource Base of Deficient Strategic Mineral Deposits of Siberia

Perspectives of the Development and Problems of Exploration of a Resource Base of Deficient Strategic Mineral Deposits of Siberia

Геохимические свойства и трансформация микроэлементного состава почв при разработке коренных месторождений алмазов в Якутии

Extraction of diamonds from primary deposits in Siberia is associated with the development of kimberlite pipes in challenging environmental conditions, accompanied by a complex impact on the environment. The article presents the results of monitoring the soil cover of the Nakyn kimberlite field in the Yakutia diamond province, which is affected by the facilities of the Nyurba Mining and Processing Division. Development of primary diamond deposits has a large-scale impact on the subsoil, topography, and soil cover: creation of the world's largest quarries, formation of dumps more than 100 m high, arrangement of extensive tailings, formation of solid and liquid industrial wastes of various chemical composition. The research is aimed at studying the spatial and temporal patterns of the technogenic impact on the soil cover, identifying the nature and level of transformation of the microelement composition of soils based on the analysis of the intra-profile and lateral distribution of mobile forms of trace elements. The study targets in 2007-2018 were zonal types of permafrost soils of northern taiga landscapes, cryozems, occupying 84 % of the total study area, which are characterized by biogenic accumulation of mobile forms of Ni, Mn, and Cd in the upper AO, Acr horizons, and Cr, Ni, Co, Mn, Cu in the suprapermafrost CR horizon. We found out that the contamination of the soil cover of the industrial site at the Nyurba Mining and Processing Division is of a multielement nature with local highly to very highly contaminated areas. Over a ten-year observation period, areas of stable soil contamination are formed, where the main pollutants are mobile forms of Mn, Zn, Ni. We suggest that against the background of a natural geochemical anomaly associated with trap and kimberlite magmatism, technogenic anomalies are formed in the surface horizons of soils. They are spatially linked to technogenically transformed landscapes. One of the sources of pollutants is the dispersion of the solid phase of dust emissions in the direction of the prevailing winds, which leads to the formation of soils with abnormally high contents of mobile forms of Mn, Zn, Ni.

SOME FEATURES OF CURRENT TECHNOGENIC MOVEMENTS OF THE EARTH’S CRUST

We describe the history of studying the current crustal movements by various methods and discuss technogenic effects recorded at large water-reservoir zones and mineral deposits in Siberia. Initially, classical surveying techniques aimed to obtain high-accuracy ground-based measurements of height, tilt and direction. Modern geodesy techniques and methods for measuring absolute gravity are now available to investigate displacement, deformation, tilt and other phenomena taking place on the Earth’s surface. These methods are used to estimate kinematic parameters of the crust areas (e.g. rates of subsidence and horizontal movements) and to monitor fluid motions in mineral deposits. Such data are critical for ensuring a proper management of the mineral deposits. In this article, we analyse technogenic processes observed in the Ust Balyk oil-gas field, the Zapolyarny gas deposit, the water-reservoir zone at the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric power station (SSHPS) on the Yenisei river, and large open-pit mines in the Kuzbass basin. Our analysis is based on surface displacement rates estimated from the data collected in different periods of observations at large man-made facilities. In the study of the hydro technical objects, we estimated the displacement rates at 5.0 mm per year. In the northern areas of the West Siberian petroleum basin, subsidence rates amounted to 20–25 mm per year in the early 2000s. These estimates were supported by the high-accuracy gravity measurements showing an increase up to 6–7 microGal per year in the oil-gas field development areas. We assess a possibility of triggering effects related to weak seismicity due to a high stress accumulation rate (1 KPa per hour) in the SSHPS area. A connection between earth tides and catastrophic events, such as gas emissions in high amounts on mining sites, is discussed. Having analysed the surface monitoring records taken in South Primorye in September 2017, we conclude that underground nuclear explosions in North Korea in this period did not cause any significant displacement of the surface in this most southerly region of the Russian Far East territories.

Mercury in Sediment Core Samples From Deep Siberian Ice-Rich Permafrost

We determine Hg concentrations of various deposits in Siberia’s deep permafrost and link sediment properties and Hg enrichment to establish a first Hg inventory of late Pleistocene permafrost down to a depth of 36 m below surface. As Arctic warming is transforming the ice-rich permafrost of Siberia, sediment is released and increases the flux of particulates to the Arctic shelf seas through thawing coasts, lakeshores, and river floodplains. Heavy metals within soils and sediments are also released and may increasingly enter Arctic waters and the biological food chain. High levels of mercury (Hg) have been reported from shallow soils across the Arctic. Rapid thawing is now mobilizing sediment from deeper strata, but so far little is known about Hg concentrations in deep permafrost. Here, forty-one samples from sediment successions at seven sites and of different states of permafrost degradation on Bykovsky Peninsula (northern Yakutian coast) and in the Yukechi Alas region (Central Yakutia) were analyzed for Hg, total carbon, total nitrogen, and total organic carbon as well as grain-size distribution, bulk density, and mass specific magnetic susceptibility. We show average Hg concentrations of 9.72 ± 9.28 μg kg−1 in the deep sediments, an amount comparable to the few previous Arctic studies existing, and a significant correlation of Hg content with total organic carbon, total nitrogen, grain-size distribution, and mass specific magnetic susceptibility. Hg concentrations are higher in the generally sandier sediments of the Bykovsky Peninsula than in the siltier sediments of the Yukechi Alas. The ratio of Hg to total organic carbon in this study is 2.57 g kg−1, including samples with very low carbon content. We conclude that many deep permafrost sediments, some of which have been frozen for millennia, contain elevated concentrations of Hg and the stock of Hg ready to be released by erosion is of significance for the Arctic ecosystem. The Hg mobilized may accumulate on the way to or in the shallow sea, and where it enters into active biogeochemical cycles of aquatic systems it may concentrate in food webs. Our study highlights the need for better understanding Hg stocks and Hg release from permafrost.

Geochemistry of High-Molecular Weight Dimethylalkanes

Abstract —The homologous series of high-molecular weight dimethylalkanes (HMWDMAs) with either odd- or even-numbered carbon chains in the range from C19–20 to C30–31 have been identified in organic matter from recent and partially lithified deposits of Siberia and the Russian Platform by chromatography–mass spectrometry. The first homologous series is represented by even-numbered 3,4-HMWDMAs followed by the alternation of odd-numbered 3,5-HMWDMAs, even-numbered 3,6-HMWDMAs, and odd-numbered 3,7-HMWDMAs. The most abundant are 3,7-dimethylalkanes. The microbial origin of high-molecular weight dimethylalkanes is the most likely explanation for their presence in the fossil organic matter. The precursors of HMWDMAs might have been tetra- and diether lipids of archaea and bacteria. It is assumed that HMWDMAs and other immature hydrocarbons from great depths (SV-27 and SG-6 superdeep boreholes) result from the decomposition of asphaltenes, which occluded the related compounds inside their structure during the early stages of generation and carried them unchanged throughout the “oil window”.

Restoration of the biodiversity of technogenic landscapes of anthracite deposits in Siberia

The features of self-restoring of plant communities in connection with the edaphic conditions of the dumps of anthracite deposits are revealed. It is shown that the development of tree communities is confined to areas with bumpy terrain, and grassy to horizontal areas.

Thermokarst lake inception and development in syngenetic ice-wedge polygon terrain during a cooling climatic trend, Bylot Island (Nunavut), eastern Canadian Arctic

Abstract. Thermokarst lakes are widespread and diverse across permafrost regions, and they are considered significant contributors to global greenhouse gas emissions. Paleoenvironmental reconstructions documenting the inception and development of these ecologically important water bodies are generally limited to Pleistocene-age permafrost deposits of Siberia, Alaska, and the western Canadian Arctic. Here we present the gradual transition from syngenetic ice-wedge polygon terrain to a thermokarst lake in Holocene sediments of the eastern Canadian Arctic. We combine geomorphological surveys with paleolimnological reconstructions from sediment cores in an effort to characterize local landscape evolution from a terrestrial to freshwater environment. Located on an ice- and organic-rich polygonal terrace, the studied lake is now evolving through active thermokarst, as revealed by subsiding and eroding shores, and was likely created by water pooling within a pre-existing topographic depression. Organic sedimentation in the valley started during the mid-Holocene, as documented by the oldest organic debris found at the base of one sediment core and dated at 4.8 kyr BP. Local sedimentation dynamics were initially controlled by fluctuations in wind activity, local moisture, and vegetation growth and accumulation, as shown by alternating loess (silt) and peat layers. Fossil diatom assemblages were likewise influenced by local hydro-climatic conditions and reflect a broad range of substrates available in the past (both terrestrial and aquatic). Such conditions likely prevailed until ∼2000 BP, when peat accumulation stopped as water ponded the surface of degrading ice-wedge polygons, and the basin progressively developed into a thermokarst lake. Interestingly, this happened in the middle of the Neoglacial cooling period, likely under colder-than-present but wetter-than-average conditions. Thereafter, the lake continued to develop as evidenced by the dominance of aquatic (both benthic and planktonic) diatom taxa in organic-rich lacustrine muds. Based on these interpretations, we present a four-stage conceptual model of thermokarst lake development during the late Holocene, including some potential future trajectories. Such a model could be applied to other formerly glaciated syngenetic permafrost landscapes.

The Oil and Gas Potential of the Riphean Deposits in Siberia Based on the Hydrogeological Data (Based on the Example of the Kuyumba Structure)

In this paper special attention is paid to sorbed hydrocarbon gases when considering the prospects of oil and gas potential of the Riphean strata in Siberia as indicators of oil content. Sorbed hydrocarbon gases are still rarely used as indicators of oil content, although they have the corresponding significant prerequisites. Some of these can be understood by reading this paper.

Physicochemical Conditions of the Formation of Elevated Indium Contents in the Ores of Tin–Sulfide and Base-Metal Deposits in Siberia and Far East: Evidence from Thermodynamic Modeling

Abstract—The base-metal (70–75 wt %) and tin–sulfide (10–15 wt %) deposits are the main indium suppliers in the world. However, the causes and conditions of In accumulation in the ores of these deposits are still unclear. To shed light on this problem, we simulated the physicochemical conditions of formation of base metal and tin–sulfide ores with elevated indium content. For this purpose, the average composition of ore–bearing hydrothermal solutions and parameters of ore precipitation at these deposits were determined using available literature data. Based on these data, obtained standard thermodynamic characteristics $$\Delta G_{{\text{f}}}^{0},$$$$\Delta H_{f}^{0},$$$$S_{f}^{0},$$$$V_{f}^{0},$$$$C_{p}^{0}$$ of chloride indium species ($${\text{InCl}}_{2}^{ + },$$ InCl3, InClOH+), coefficients required for calculations at elevated temperature and pressure, the formation of elevated indium contents in these ores was numerically simulated using “Gem–Selektor-3” and “Chiller” softwares. The results of thermodynamic modeling of the formation of quartz–cassiterite and tin–sulfide ores show that the higher In contents in tin–sulfide ores are related to their formation from acid (pH 4.3), high–chloride (6.6 m) solutions, which contain In (0.002 m) in form of (InCl3aq). The quartz–cassiterite ores were formed from near–neutral (pH 5.3), low–chloride (1.02 m) solution, in which In occurred as hydroxocomplexes InO2H and $${\text{InO}}_{2}^{ - }$$ in concentrations no more than 0.00004 m, which, respectively, determined its low contents in these ores. Computer modeling of the formation of indium–bearing sulfide-base metal and barite-base metal deposits shows that they were formed form high–temperature chloride (1.3–4.3 m) hydrothermal solutions of near–neutral composition (pH 5.8–6). The main In speciations are hydroxocomplexes InO2H and $${\text{InO}}_{2}^{ - }$$, which provide In concentrations of 5–9 × 10–5 m). However, due to the low indium concentrations in hydrothermal solutions, the forming sulfide minerals (sphalerite, pyrite, and chalcopyrite) differ in the lower indium contents compared to the minerals of tin–sulfide ores.

Biofacies Analysis of Lower and Middle Jurassic Deposits of Siberia on Palynomorphs

The results of palynomorph biofacies analysis of the Lower and Middle Jurassic deposits of Western and Eastern Siberia are presented. A comprehensive study of different groups of palynomorphs (spores and pollens, dinoflagellate cysts, acritarchs, prasinophytes, Zygnematales algae, etc.) was carried out. Detailed analysis of the distribution of separate taxa and quantitative proportions of various groups of microphytofossils in sections of Western and Eastern Siberia allowed combinations of palynomorphs reflecting different facies types to be established. In total, nine ecological-facies associations were distinguished—from continental, coastal marine, and shallow-water to typical marine deep-water.

Особенности взаимодействия портландцементных растворов и камня с весьма крепкими рассолами месторождений Восточной Сибири

Особенности взаимодействия портландцементных растворов и камня с весьма крепкими рассолами месторождений Восточной Сибири

The Influence of the Type of Oil Model During the Displacement of Light Oil by Gas on Their Miscibility

The application of degassed oil instead of recombined oil model for a slim tube technique was investigated. It is found that the use of degassed oil is not recommended for modeling and studying of gas and oil miscibility under typical conditions of Western Siberia deposits. The previously estimated miscibility of light oil and associated gas was confirmed in case of application of recombined oil model or degassed oil at displacement from a slim tube. This occurs because of a gradual transition from the mode of immiscible displacement to the mode of limited-mixing displacement of oil and further to the mode of complete mixing as a result of the mass exchange of light oil and associated gas.

Gas hydrates – history of discovery

The literature sources dealing with the history of gas hydrate studies and discovery of possible existence of gas hydrate deposits in natural conditions were analyzed. They contain facts proving that within 1966 and 1969 the conditions for formation of hydrates in porous medium were researched at the Department of Gas and Gas Condensate Deposits Development and Exploitation of Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas. The first experiments were set up by the Ukraine-born Yurij F. Makogon, Department Assistant Professor. The results proved possibility of formation and stable existence of gas hydrates in earth’s crust and became a scientific substantiation of natural gas hydrate deposits discovery. In 1969 the exploitation of Messoyakha deposits in Siberia started and it was the first time when the natural gas was derived directly from hydrates. The same year that invention was officially recognized and registered. Following the comprehensive international expert examination the State Committee on Inventions and Findings of the USSR Council of Ministers assumed that the citizens of the USSR Yurij F. Makogon, Andrej A. Trofimuk, Nikolaj V. Cherskij and Viktor G. Vasilev made a discovery described as follows: “Experiments proved previously unknown ability of natural gas to form deposits in the earth’s crust in solid gas hydrate state under definite thermodynamic conditions (Request dated March 19, 1969)”. The authors were presented with diplomas on March 4, 1971. From then onwards the issue of natural gas hydrates existence was widely researched all around the world. In 1985 Yurij F. Makogon became a Professor. Since 1973 he was a head of the gas hydrate laboratory in the All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Natural Gases and Gas Technologies. Within 1974–1987 he was a head of the gas hydrate laboratory in Oil and Gas Research Institute RAS. In 1992 he was invited by one of the largest universities of the USA to arrange modern laboratory for gas hydrate study. The laboratory was created in the Texas University, USA and in 1995 Yurij Makogon became its head. As far as interest in gas hydrates increases Yurij F. Makogon reports at 27 international congresses and conferences, gives lectures in 45 world leading universities, functions as an academic adviser and participates in different international programs on research and exploitation of gas hydrate deposits in USA, Japan and India. The heritage of the scientist includes 27 patents, eight monographs (four of them were translated and published in the USA and Canada) and more than 270 scientific articles.

Modes of Occurrence of Rare-Earth Elements (La, Ce, Sm, Eu, Tb, Yb, Lu) in Coals of Northern Asia (Review)

The modes of occurrence of six rare-earth elements (La, Ce, Sm, Eu, Yb, and Lu) in low-rank coals (lignites and sub-bituminous coals; also referred to as brown coals) from different deposits of Siberia, the Russian Far East, Kazakhstan, and Mongolia were studied using two selective leaching methods. Selective extraction of organic compounds included the extraction of organic substances with minimal effects on the mineral matter was only used for low-rank coals. The second method of the selective leaching of rare-earth elements (REE) from mineral matter in brown and bituminous coals used ammonium acetate, conc. HCl, conc. HF and 10% HNO3. The content of the six rare-earth elements in all phases (bitumen, humic acids, and residues) was determined by INAA. It was found that in the early stages of coal formation the bulk of the REE was associated with the organic matter primarily humic substances. Release of REE from humic substances during coalification results in the formation of authigenic minerals. The proportion of the REE in organic forms is gradually reduced in the coalification process until there is a complete REE transition to mineral phases in anthracite and graphite. These investigations showed that the alteration of modes of occurrence of La, Ce, Sm, Eu, Yb, and Lu from primary organic compounds to primary minerals occurred simultaneously with the organic matter alteration over the coalification process from peat to anthracite.

Xenoxylon (Coniferales) Fossil Woods from the Jurassic and Cretaceous Deposits of Siberia and the Russian Far East

Xenoxylon fossil wood species (X. latiporosum, X. phyllocladoides, X. japonicum, X. meisteri, and X. nariwaense) from the Cretaceous localities of Siberia and the Russian Far East are described based on anatomical wood features. X. japonicum and X. nariwaense have not been recorded in Russia, and X. meisteri has not been recorded in the Russian Far East. The knowledge about the stratigraphic distribution of X. japonicum and X. nariwaense, which were earlier described only from the Upper Triassic deposits, is improved. A complete list of revised Xenoxylon fossil woods from the Jurassic and Cretaceous deposits of Siberia and the Russian Far East is provided.

УЧЕНЫЕ Г. ТОМСКА – ЛАУРЕАТЫ СТАЛИНСКОЙ ПРЕМИИ В ОБЛАСТИ НАУКИ ЗА ДОСТИЖЕНИЯ В ПЕРИОД ВЕЛИКОЙ ОТЕЧЕСТВЕННОЙ ВОЙНЫ 1941–1945 гг.

In the article, on the materials of official documents, periodicals and personal sources, the achievements of Tomsk scientists in the field of science during the Great Patriotic War that were marked with the Stalin Prize are considered. The perception of this award and its criticism for conjuncture and prejudice in the selection of winners are highlighted. Nevertheless, there was a high significance of the Stalin Prize. It was the highest form of national recognition for the soviet scientists during the modernisation and the Renaissance of the 1930s-1940s, and it was the litmus test of scientific progress in the USSR. From 1942 to 1950, 14 scientists of Tomsk, some of whom were in this city in evacuation, were awarded the Stalin Prize for research achievements during the Great Patriotic War. Eight scientists (physicists V.D. Kuznetsov, M.A. Bolshanina, chemist L.P. Kulev, surgeon A.G. Savinykh, specialist in locomotive construction S.P. Syromyatnikov, histologist A.A. Zavarzin, geologist K.V. Radugin, specialist in mining N.A. Chynacal) in 1942 and 1943, and six scientists were awarded during the postwar years (surgeon D.A. Zhdanov, physiologist B.I. Bayandurov, pharmacologist N.I. Vershinin, botanist V.V. Reverdatto, therapist D.D. Yablokov, biologist B.P. Tokin). Their activities were integrated into the strategic directions chosen and coordinated by the Tomsk Committee of Scientists: research and development of medicinal raw materials, mineral deposits in Siberia, organisation of consultations and scientific support of industrial enterprises, solution to the Ural-Kuzbass problem, etc. The scientific context of the discoveries and works that were awarded and their practical application (introduction into industry, medical practice, transport, etc.) are analysed. The perception of these achievements by other scientists, the large scientific community, including international recognition, is reflected. The influence of political aspects on the selection of winners is considered. It is concluded that the Stalin Prize in the field of science during the period under review representatively reflected the main achievements of scientists, and it was a marker of research development, including on a regional scale. It is emphasised that, taking into account the impressive monetary value of this award and the privileges accompanying the title, the Stalin Prize was an important part of the symbolic capital of the soviet scientist during the Stalin era.

The genus Birisia (Dicksoniaceae) in Cretaceous flora of Siberia and North-East of Russia

In the result of the re-examination of type material of the genus Birisia from the Cretaceous deposits of Siberia and North-East of Russia, we include only three species in this genus: B. alata (Prynada) Samylina (early-middle Albian — Coniacian), B. onychioides (Vassilevskaja et Kara-Mursa) Samylina (Aptian), and B. acutata Samylina (early-middle Albian). Species B. ochotica and B. alata are united under the name B. alata. Species B. jelisejevii, B. samylinae and B. oerstedtii are excluded from the genus Birisia as mismatching to the generic diagnosis. Species of Birisia are distinguished each other in size and degree of dissection of pinnules, in shape, presence and number of lobes, as well as the number of branches of the lateral veins inside the lobes. The pinnules of the Birisia are characterized by the significant variability and have a slightly different structure depending on their location on the leaf blade. Therefore, for a more accurate species identification of Birisia, it is necessary to have the most complete leaves with branching of two or three orders and the fertile pinnules.

Результаты исследований коррозионной стойкости камня тампонажных растворов при взаимодействии с высокоминерализованными пластовыми водами месторождений Восточной Сибири

Результаты исследований коррозионной стойкости камня тампонажных растворов при взаимодействии с высокоминерализованными пластовыми водами месторождений Восточной Сибири

Conditions and development case studies for mountainous deposits in Siberia

The article contains the materials on deposits development intensification under challenging climatic and mining conditions, including mountainous areas of Siberia. The exploitation case studies for mountainous deposits all over the world and in Russia have been described. The authors have been set out the factors impeding the development of such deposits, and the extent of mining and transportation equipment performance degradation is also indicated. There have been stated the characteristics and the description of one of the newly mountainous gold ore deposits in Siberia which is being developed at an altitude of 2684m. A number of specific factors concerning its development have also been introduced as well as the description of mining technologies engineered by Irkutsk National Research Technical University (IRNRTU) specialists. The depth and principal dimensions of the open pit together with the mining and transportation equipment and facilities have been justified. The prime cost analysis of mineral extraction has been made, which results showed the substantial growth in expenditures for the transportation of the overburden rocks and ores. In view of the above mentioned research, there appeared the necessity for the search of new and the enhancement of current transport vehicles and communications.