Mineral resources of the Chelyabinsk region: a list

Mineral resources of the Chelyabinsk region are quite diverse. Of particular interest is the mountainous part of the region. Considering that the Ural Mountains are substantially destroyed, many rock layers located at considerable depth are now on the surface.

Features of iron rocks

The minerals of the Chelyabinsk region are estimated by 300 industrial deposits. There are found non-ferrous and ferrous metals, chemical raw materials, coal, gem stones, various building materials.

Twenty deposits contain iron ore. For example, mining in the Chelyabinsk region is carried out in the Magnitogorsk deposit. It was on the basis of it that the Magnitogorsk Metallurgical Combine was built and put into commercial operation. Experts estimate the ore reserves at 200 million tons, on average the iron content is 50 percent.

For two centuries ore for metallurgy is supplied by the Bakal iron ore region. More than twenty deposits of iron ore were found in the ridges of Bulandikh, Shuid, Irskuskan. Two varieties are found in this area: brown iron ore containing about 48 percent of iron, and also poor rocks, in which the quantitative content of the metal does not exceed 32 percent. These minerals in the Chelyabinsk region are almost 600 million tons.

Problems of extraction

Intensive use of ore deposits in the South Urals leads to their depletion. Nowadays the ores of the Magnetic Mountain are almost completely developed. Now the Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works is forced to work on imported raw materials.

Interest is represented by such deposit, as Kusinsky group of titanomagnetite ores. They include about 50 percent iron, vanadium, chromium, and titanium. Despite the fact that some of them have already been worked out, there are still quite impressive reserves of titanomagnetites.

Copper ores

Answering the question about what minerals are mined in the Chelyabinsk region, we will distinguish copper ore. Most of them are in the eastern foothills of the Urals. In the 18th century, factories for the processing of ores were built. At the end of the twentieth century, a deposit of copper ore was discovered on the territory adjacent to Mezhozerny settlement.

What else can you say about the minerals of the Chelyabinsk region? The list can be continued with deposits of cobalt and nickel. They are located in the Upper Ufaley area. Aluminum ores in the form of bauxites are found near the village of Mezhevoi Log, here the South Ural bauxite mines are functioning.

Ore gold is located on the Kochkar deposit, it has been operating since the second half of the nineteenth century. Loose gold is mined in the Miass gold-bearing region. It was here that a gold nugget weighing 36 kilograms was found, which became the largest of the samples of noble metal found in the country.

Raw materials for chemical production

The list of common mineral resources of the Chelyabinsk region can be continued with fossils that are of importance for the chemical industry. These include sulfur pyrite, phosphorite, talc. The largest talc deposits are the areas of Miass and Syrostan. Phosphorites are found in the vicinity of Asha. At the bottom of the lakes are deposits of mineral salt.

Minerals for the construction industry

What are the minerals in the Chelyabinsk region? There are significant reserves of magnesite. This mineral is considered an excellent raw material for the production of refractory bricks, which is necessary for the lining of blast-furnace and open-hearth furnaces, special chemical products with the addition of chromium.

Refractory clays are found in the Troitsk region. The cement raw materials are found in the form of clays, marls, limestones. The largest deposits were found in the area of Magnitogorsk, Emanzhelinsk.

Analyzing the minerals of the Chelyabinsk region, it is necessary to mention the presence of marble of the highest quality. At present, the deposits of this mineral are estimated at 10 million cubic meters. The largest deposits of marble are Balandinskoe and Ufaleiskoye.

Forming sand is mined at the Buskul and Kichiginskoye fields. Found about 140 deposits of brick clay. Kaolin is an excellent raw material for the faience and porcelain industry. Its reserves are about 30 million tons. The extraction of white clay at the Elininskoye deposit is carried out.

In the Chelyabinsk region, about fifty large deposits of graphite have been identified. One of the largest is located near Kyshtym.

Decorative stones

They are found in three territories: in the Cherry, Ilmensky Mountains, as well as near the Plast. Geologists consider the Ilmensky mountains a real mineralogical museum. Amethyst, topaz, amazonite, malachite, jasper, rubies, moonstone, and opals have been found on this territory.

Stocks of glass sands in the Erofeevskoye field exceed 17 million tons.

Fuel reserves

Brown coals in the Chelyabinsk region occupy an area of about 14 kilometers. They are found on the site from Lake Tishki, as well as in the nearest area.

Coal mining in industrial volumes has been carried out in the South Urals since the beginning of the twentieth century. Basically, this mineral is currently consumed by thermal power plants.

Peat deposits accumulated in large volumes in the marshes of the Chelyabinsk region have not yet been developed. Among the valuable minerals found in this region, we note rare earth crystal.

Conclusion

Given the diverse relief, complex structure, geological origin, we note that in the bowels of the Chelyabinsk region are a variety of minerals. The maximum number of them is located in the mountainous part of the region.

By this time in the Urals found about 13 thousand deposits of various minerals. Most of these deposits are characterized by the convenience of the occurrence of ores, their complexity, the highest quality.

The presence of natural reserves, their excellent exploration, made the Chelyabinsk region a region with an excellent mining industry. Industrial development is due to the minerals that lie in the bowels of the Ural Mountains.

At present Chelyabinsk is the largest industrial city in our country. Its production is represented by machine-building, metallurgical, and chemical enterprises. In addition, in the Chelyabinsk region there are enterprises specializing in the production of measuring equipment and electronics.

Huge deposits of various iron, copper, nickel ores made it possible to turn the city into the largest transport hub of Russia. The Trans-Siberian railway of the railway is stretched through the city, numerous highway routes have been created. In addition, a new international airport was built in the north-east of Chelyabinsk.

Among the industrial enterprises of the city, the Chelyabinsk Tube Rolling Plant, the tractor plant, the mechanical plant, the radio plant "Polet", the electrometallurgical combine, the compressor plant are of special interest. There are other enterprises whose work is connected with minerals. The Chelyabinsk region is currently considered a donor region, giving Russia's state budget impressive monetary resources.