Minerals

Minerals are mineral formations that are located in the earth's crust. Due to the presence of physical and chemical properties, they are used in various spheres of industrial production. The minerals can be gaseous, solid or liquid.

Mineral formations occur in the form of different types of clusters. They can be represented by stocks, placers, strata, veins. The places where minerals are found are called deposits. Discipline, which deals with the development of such, is called mining.

Depending on their practical or technical properties, minerals are used in one or another industrial sphere.

The combustible mineral formations include oil, coal, shale, natural gas, peat and other resources, the processing of which generates thermal energy.

Mineral -chemical clusters include mineral salts, borates, phosphates and other substances. They are used in the mining and chemical industry.

A separate type of minerals are hydromineral accumulations. They are represented in the form of groundwater.

To mineral formations also include precious stones, and gems.

There are also nonmetallic minerals. They are represented by deposits of apatites, phosphorites, stone and potassium salts, marls, limestones. To the same category include such mineral formations as sandstones, clays, sulfur, asbestos, graphite, mica, quartz, marble, fluorspar and others.

Apatites and phosphorites are used as feedstock for the production of phosphate fertilizers. The largest deposit of apatite is the Khibinsky deposit. It is located on the Kola Peninsula. Its balance reserves are estimated at around 2.7 billion tons. Apatite ores that are mined on this site are supplied to superphosphate plants of the country. In addition, they are also a raw material base for obtaining alumina due to the large content of nepheline.

Phosphorites are mainly found in the European part of Russia. The largest deposit is Vyatka-Kamskoye, it is located in the Kirov region. Clusters in the Moscow, Bryansk, Kursk, and Leningrad regions are considered quite large. In Chuvashia and Bashkortostan, separate phosphorite deposits were also discovered.

For the production of potassium fertilizers, the same salts are used. On the territory of the Urals, in the Perm region is located Verkhnekamskoye field. It is considered to be the largest accumulation of potassium salts. It contains the bulk of all stocks of this raw material in Russia. The balance reserves are about 21.7 billion tons.

Sulfur pyrite and sulfur are used to make sulfuric acid. Large deposits of this substance were found in the North Caucasus (in Dagestan), Samara region, in the Far East. Sulfur pyrite in large quantities is in the Urals. There are also accumulations of table salt. Large deposits are Verkhnekamskoye and Iletskoye. In addition, table salt is mined in the Lower Volga region, in Eastern Siberia, in the Far East.

Mica is mined in the Murmansk region and the Republic of Karelia, as well as in the northern part of Siberia, the Urals and the Far East.

Ore minerals include non-ferrous, black ores, as well as precious metals.

Today, development of deposits is considered one of the priority industries. This is mainly due to the fact that mineral formations are the most important raw material, ensuring the functioning of different systems and structures. The extraction of terrestrial reserves is carried out with the use of various special equipment by experienced qualified specialists.