Minerals of Crimea: Varieties and Extraction

The nature of the Crimean peninsula is rich and unique. A lot of articles have been written about the beauty of the Black Sea coast, but not everyone knows that these lands are carriers of valuable minerals. An unusual relief and a specific climate led to the formation of a wide variety of soils, of which there are now more than 20 types, including rich black soil.

The whole territory is divided into 3 ridges, 9% of the area is mountainous. The main ridge is located in the south of the peninsula and occupies the sea coast. About 4 km away from the sea in the western region. The main ridge is formed by arrays, which are inextricable lines.

Among them can be distinguished Yalta Yayla, Nikita Yayla, Ai-Petrinskaya Yayla. These embossed features play an important role in the formation of minerals. On Bubugan Yayla is located Roman Kosh - this is the name of the highest point of the Crimean ridge, its height is more than 1.5 thousand meters above sea level.

Ai-Petri, exceeding a height of 1200 meters - another peak that deserves special attention. It is located in the southwest. The peak is famous for its giant trident - this is what an unusual natural formation looks like. Local lands also contain valuable rocks. Slopes inherent in local massifs have a steep surface.

Ayu-Dag mountain range in Gurzuf, Diva rock in Simeiz, cape Fiolent on the outskirts of Sevastopol, cape Ai-Todor - the amazing nature awarded these places not only incredible beauty, but also enriched it with minerals. The ridges of the Karabi Yayla are separated by deep depressions and are 6-7 km away from the sea. The relief attraction of Crimea is also the majestic Chatyr-Dag massif.

Near Sudak, mountains are located closer to the sea, and this is important in the formation of minerals in the area. It mainly produces sedimentary rocks (clay, sandstone, limestone). Due to frequent changes in the level of salts, the marine animal world also changed, which, accordingly, led to the formation of a variety of minerals on the remains of the soil. Many valuable rocks formed after the eruption of the volcano.

Minerals - valuable natural resources, representing the mineral or organic parts of the earth's crust. These substances are used in numerous fields of activity, and their importance is especially great in the construction industry. Some varieties are found in many areas of the Crimea, other specimens are considered rare. The well-being of the entire peninsula depends on the extraction of many elements.

The most important minerals for a comfortable life in the depths of the Crimea are contained in small quantities and mostly of poor quality, but there are also very valuable breeds.

Combustible minerals are usually classified into liquid, gaseous and solid. The first category includes, for example, oil. For the first time, a well for oil production was drilled in the 60s of the XIX century. In those years, “black gold” was mined most often from the Chokrak and Karagansk deposits of the Neogene period. In addition to oil, they also mined from here gas. In general, it is believed that these findings do not bring much profit when mining in Crimea, since their reserves are very small.

Oil exploration in the Crimean lands continues. Approximately 5 tons of this fuel is produced per year, which is a very small amount. The problem is also that in local lands, oil can move between the strata of rocks, which greatly complicates its production. With natural gas, which refers to gaseous fossil fuels, things are not much better.

Crimea can not boast of coal deposits, although they are trying to actively find this solid substance. It is mined on Mount Beshui in the Bakhchisarai district. Under Baron Wrangel, the peninsula supplied itself with this fuel until the Germans burned these lands. After the war, coal mining resumed, however, the quality of the substance was inferior to alternatives from other lands, moreover, mining became increasingly less profitable and more dangerous.

Ore is actively mined in the Kerch iron ore basin. The area of ​​the deposit is about 250 square kilometers. The total ore reserve here is about two billion tons. Extraction of ore minerals, unlike the above combustibles, is much simpler, since these substances are not so deep. However, the find cannot boast of excellent quality, and therefore raw materials are not exported.

There are 3 types of ores found here: loose brownish-brown (oolites from limonite and hydrogetite), dense species (small oolites and hydrosilicates of iron and siderite) and “caviar” (oolites with manganese hydroxides). Low quality is due to the low iron content (33-40%). But the manganese content makes the find a little more valuable. The substance is fusible, and therefore widely used in industry.

The formation of ore here began at the bottom of bays and straits, so the substance contains elements of clay, phosphate, barite. In mountainous areas, ore with cinnabar inclusions is found, however, these species do not have special industrial value.Other ore minerals found in the territory of Crimea include zinc blende, cadmium blende, and lead shine.

Gold also belongs to ore metals. The deposit of this value is kept secret, although there is information that small reserves are mined at Cape Fiolent. In the 80s of the last century, gold elements were discovered in the Lower Zamorsky Leninsky district, they came here through the river of the northern Azov region. They also found jewel on Cape Franzuzhenka off the Sudak coast. In general, the gold resources of the republic are small.

As a rule, non-metallic metals include building materials. Perhaps, this group is most common in Crimea. The most valuable is bryozoan limestone, also called Inkerman stone. This substance was mined in antiquity. Roman tracts, houses in Alexandria, were erected from this unusual stone. Sevastopol itself was once rebuilt from limestone.

The White Livadia Palace is also built of Inkerman stone. It is possible to use this raw material for finishing works. For example, this is how the Culture Palace “Ukraine” is designed in Kiev or the “Stalinist” towers in the Russian capital.

Some quarries on the peninsula contain marble-like limestone; it can be seen on the walls of the Moscow metro stations. Shell rock is another fairly common raw material used in the construction industry. It can be found, for example, in the region of Yevpatoriya, the village of Oktyabrskoye, in the Starokrymsky quarry on Agarmysh. Sand mining is also developing here, although environmentalists are now raising the issue of environmental disaster, which could result in illegal mining of sand in coastal areas.

The list of other valuable gifts of nature of Crimea is very diverse. For example, in demand are Crimean gems. They are found on the Kara-Dag volcano. Among the most common varieties are agate, chalcedony, opal, onyx, amethyst, rhinestone. These are semiprecious minerals that are widely used in jewelry. Currently, Kara-Dag belongs to protected areas, and the extraction of native stones is prohibited here, although earlier, at the beginning of the 20th century, there was a jewelry workshop where jewelry was made from carnelian and agate.

Cornelian one of the most popular Crimean gems. Under the tsar, the annual carnelian mining totaled 16 pounds; Faberge himself made his famous jewelry from stones. Mount Kara-Dag turned into a protected zone after single search engines went here in search of stones. They blew up the slopes, wielded sledgehammers and crowbars, extracting chalcedony and agate, and then exported the find from the peninsula. Only after the public, among Soviet writers, opposed such actions, Kara-Dag was declared a nature reserve.

Popular on the South Bank diorite. This rock was obtained after the eruption of a volcano. Diorite is found between Alushta and Gurfuz. You can meet him near the areas of Lozovoe and Ukrainka in the south of Simferopol. In appearance, this stone resembles granite and can also be used in the construction industry. Its surface is gray in color with a greenish tint.

Another result of a volcanic eruption was the appearance in the depths of the Crimean peninsula of such a stone as trails. It is called a rock from the ashes. The main purpose of the mineral is economic. Most often, trails can be found in Karadag, which is located 20 km from Feodosia and in the village of Planersky. Other valuable materials are concentrated on the peninsula, including quartz sand and gravel used in construction.

As already mentioned, most of the ore metals are found on the Kerch Peninsula. The "hunt" for them is in the Kamysh-Burunskoye and Eltigen-Ortelskoye fields. It is customary to extract oil and gas on the Kerch and Tarkhankut peninsulas. Large fuel deposits also include Tobechikskoye, Mysovoye, Belokamenskoye, located in the east of the territory, as well as Glebovskoye, Kirovskoye, Olenevskoye, Black Sea deposits, located in the west.

They are trying to extract gas and oil in the lowland Crimea. Natural gas was found from the wells at the Olenevskaya, Oktyabrskaya, Glebovsky, Zadornensky anticlines. Natural gas resources are concentrated in calcareous marls and sandstones. Actively master the "blue fuel" began on the Glebovsky anticline. The Oktyabrskaya anticline could also boast large deposits of substance, here it was possible to extract fuel from a depth of 2700-2900 meters. In the east, on the Dzhankoy uplift and in the area with. Riflemen on the Arabatsky arrow were also found bursts of combustible gas.

Small coal reserves are found in mountainous areas, but only in Beschui organized industrial production. This field is located on the northern slope of the Main Ridge. In the lower part you can find layers of fossil working power.

Working trips to the Crimean mineral deposits, see the next video.