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Mineral resources mined in the Karachay-Cherkess Republic. Main features of the geological structure, minerals

The territory of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic extends from the Kuban Plain in the north to the mountain glaciers of the Main Caucasus Range in the south. Absolute marks earth's surface increase in this direction from 400 to 4000 m. The highest point is the peak of Elbrus (5642 m). Following the change in altitude, the terrain also changes from the flat terraced river valleys of the low-mountain (Pasture and Skalisty ridges) and mountain (Advanced and Main Caucasus ridges) zones. From east to west, the terrain is crossed by the rivers Kuban, Teberda, Bolshoy and Maly Zelenchuk, Urup and Bol. Laba, which are the sources of the Azov-Kuban water basin. In the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, the Kuma and Podkumok rivers also originate, which are part of the Terek-Kuma basin.

The Kti-Teberda tungsten deposit was explored in 1987, but is not being developed due to the low content of tungsten trioxide in the ores (average 0.366%) and the unfavorable conditions for tungsten on the world market. Tungsten trioxide reserves amount to 89 thousand tons. Kti-Teberdinskoye field in 2011 was included in the List of licensing objects, but there were no applicants for a license. Due to rising prices for tungsten, some companies have shown interest in this facility. Materials are being prepared to include this deposit in the List of licensing objects for 2015.

There are a number of occurrences of tungsten with ore quality similar to the Kti-Teberda ores, which will merit study only if the explored object is involved in exploitation.

In addition to associated gold mined from copper pyrite ores, occurrences of ore gold with contents of 1-2 g/t have been identified on the territory of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, quite suitable for development using the heap leaching method. At the Lesnoye occurrence of ore gold, an audit retest was carried out, as a result of which the predicted resources of the occurrence increased by 1.5 times, but the subsoil user did not approve the reserves, did not comply with the conditions for subsoil use, and in 2014 the Lesnoye occurrence transferred to the unallocated fund. Birch gold ore occurrence, located on the border with Krasnodar region, was included in the licensing program for 2011, but the auction for Berezovoye ore gold occurrence did not take place due to the lack of applications for participation in the auction. A license was obtained for the geological study of placer gold in the Kyafaro-Urupskaya area, where field work is currently being carried out.

Materials are being prepared to include the Krasnogorsk refractory clay deposit in the List of licensing objects for 2015.

Within the Bedensky serpentinite massif, a number of areas have been studied by subsoil users for various types Applications: as a facing stone, as a raw material for construction and decorative crushed stone grade 1200, as a raw material for the production of sorbents for water purification, forsterite refractories, tribological lubricants. A project for the development of the Levoberezhnoye field has been drawn up and a project for the development of the Medvezhye field is being drawn up. The Tamskoye field is being developed.

Additional exploration of the Marinskoye deposit of quartz-feldspathic raw materials was carried out. As a result of the work, 480 thousand tons of raw materials were put on the balance sheet as reserves of kaolin-quartz-sericite metasomatites over granite-porphyry, suitable for producing technical ceramics (porcelain stoneware, facade tiles and ceramic bricks). The thoroughly explored Kishkit deposit of feldspathic raw materials is being prepared for inclusion in the licensing program for 2015.

Nedra OJSC extracts cement raw materials (limestone, clay) at the Ust-Dzhegutinskoye deposit, produces coarse sludge and supplies it to Kavkazcement CJSC, meeting the cement plant’s need for raw materials.

A geological study is underway with the subsequent development of the Podskalny area of cement raw materials (in the area of the village of Kurdzhinovo). If a positive result is obtained, it is planned to build a cement plant with a capacity of 2 million tons per year.

CJSC Lizvestnyak, based on the Dzheganas limestone deposit, produces and supplies technological stone for the sugar industry to sugar factories in the Stavropol, Kuban and Karachay-Cherkess Republics. Limestones are of high quality (CaCO 3 content - 96.75%).

At the expense of the federal budget on the territory of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic in 2014, geochemical prospecting for non-ferrous metals within the Kardonik ore field was completed; the unacceptably deep occurrence of the roof of the Paleozoic foundation, established by drilling, made further searches for vein polymetallic mineralization in this territory irrational and prospecting work is being carried out for small-sized muscovite in Kuban -Koltyubinskaya Square.

Currently, at the expense of subsoil users' own funds, exploration work has been completed in the Dzhalginsky and Glubokoye areas for limestone for the production of microcalcite, and geological exploration work has begun to study basalts for the production of mineral fiber in the Karakent area.

The state of the mineral resource base of solid minerals on the territory of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic is reflected in table 5.2.1.

Table 5.2.1 Mineral resource base of solid minerals
Karachaevo - Circassian Republics (as of 01/01/2015)
№ p/p	Minerals	Unit change	Balance reserves						Forecast resources					Annual production from the depths	Mining losses
			Total			incl. in the distributed fund			Total			incl. in the distributed fund
			Number of objects	A+B+C 1	C 2	Number of objects	A+B+C 1	C 2	P 1	R 2	R 3	P 1	R 2
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
1	coal	million tons	6	8,6	0,13				57,93	13,39
2	tungsten (WO3)	thousand tons	1	89	20,9						250
3	mineral paints	thousand tons	1	1351		1	1351							0
4	copper	thousand tons	6	785,7	232,1	4	743,8	231,4		700				7,6	1,7
5	zinc	thousand tons	6	446,8	89,2	4	352,3	88,3						4,8	1
6	ore gold	kg	4	1265	79907,3	3	0	79887,3	23	130	140			532,1	116,8
7	placer gold	kg	1		128,4						1000
8	silver	T	6	30,2	1159,6	4		1159						9,0	1,9
9	limestones for sugar. prom.	thousand tons	1	91242,7	157651	1	91242,7	157651						823,5	2,5
10	limestones for the production of microcalcite	thousand tons	2	19299,4	16703,5	2	19299,4	16703,5
11	refractory clays	thousand tons	3	10686,9	72,3				17800	24300
12	feldspar raw materials	thousand tons	2	12907,3	9438,2
13	cement raw materials: limestone clay	thousand tons	2	315275	144331	2	315275	144331	614000					2176,4	9
14	facing raw materials	thousand cubic meters m	4	7778,3	2449	3	5512,8							61	1

In the sphere of subsoil use of Karachay-Cherkessia, over the past three years, a positive trend has continued to increase the volume of mining, in particular gypsum and limestone, which indicates the activity of the business sector even in a crisis economy.

Today, in the small hall of the Government House of the republican capital, a final meeting of the Ministry of Property and Land Relations of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic was held, where the results of the past 2015 were discussed.

First of all, last year the department in the field of subsoil use focused on the involvement of new deposits in the turnover, with the aim of rational and effective use of the resource potential of the republic.

As of the beginning of 2016, the republican list of subsoil plots of local significance included 75 plots with common minerals and 34 containing fresh groundwater.

In 2015, the Ministry, on the basis of approved lists of subsoil areas local meaning 12 licenses for the right to use subsoil were issued. The dynamics of their issuance over the past three years has increased significantly, the maximum value was set in 2014, however, despite the difficult economic situation, the number of permits issued in the past year is higher than the average for the last three years. This factor indicates the interest of entrepreneurs and the intensification of their activities in this direction, especially in the context of a shortage of promising explored areas.

In order to develop the mineral resource base, at the expense of subsoil users, reserves of andesitic porphyrites with a volume of more than 18 million cubic meters were explored and placed on the territorial state balance sheet. meters and 680 thousand cubic meters. meters of boulder-sand-gravel mixture, which will increase the tax base in the future and, accordingly, bring more revenue to the regional budget.

According to an analysis of the production volumes of solid minerals and groundwater in the past year, there is a tendency for this indicator to grow in comparison with the previous period for a number of types of minerals. Thus, despite the increase in taxes, an increase in the volume of gypsum production was recorded by 22%, limestone by 2.2 times, and metamorphic rocks by 20%. This positive trend has continued over the past three years, despite the increase in production taxes.

“The downside of the active mining process is the fact that the rational use and protection of subsoil must take into account the need to preserve geological natural monuments located on the territory of the republic. Currently, there is no certification of geological natural monuments of regional significance, which can lead to the irreparable loss of such objects,” - First Deputy Minister of Property and Land Relations of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic Radmir Agirbov noted during the final board meeting.

Among other things, one of the priority areas of activity of the regional ministry is to improve the efficiency of management of state-owned objects and their involvement in economic circulation, and improve the quality of their accounting. In the field of property relations, department employees are primarily aimed at identifying inefficiently used real estate assets and their further transfer to small businesses.

The Karachay-Cherkess Republic (KCR) is located on the northern slopes of the Greater Caucasus, in the Elbrus region. It has internal borders with Stavropol and Krasnodar region, with Kabardino-Balkaria, and external - with Georgia.

The length of the territory from north to south is 140 km, from west to east - 170 km. The distance from the capital of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic - Cherkessk - to Moscow is 1674 km. Transport communications are well developed in the republic. The road network is more than 3349 km. The density of paved roads is higher than the Russian average.

According to the relief, the territory is divided into flat, foothill and mountainous. Mountains occupy about 80% of the territory. Steppe and forest-steppe vegetation predominates in the foothills. The mountains are covered with mixed and deciduous forests, many valuable species of broad-leaved trees grow (beech, oak, hornbeam); in the high mountain areas there are subalpine and alpine meadows and mountain pastures. In total, 344 thousand hectares are occupied by forests. Well-known centers are located in the mountains of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic international tourism, mountaineering and skiing - Dombay, Teberda, Arkhyz, which are superior in beauty to the famous recreational complexes in the Alps. The Teberda State Nature Reserve is also unique. There are many mountain holiday camps and tourist centers in the mountains, and there are over 60 tourist routes, including horseback riding.

The territory of the republic is crossed by more than 5 thousand rivers and streams originating in the mountains. The main river is the Kuban with tributaries Bolshaya Laba, Bolshoy and Maly Zelenchuk, Teberda, etc. The climate varies according to altitudinal zones: in the foothills in winter the air temperature ranges from 0 to -10"C, in summer - from +18 to +25"C. It is much colder in mountainous areas. The growing season in the north of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic lasts 182 days, which is favorable for Agriculture, and in the south, in mountainous areas, only 50-75 days. Soil and climatic conditions allow the development of the most important branches of agriculture: production and processing of grains, sugar beets, vegetables, meat, milk, wool.

The republic's subsoil is rich in ore and non-metallic minerals. Deposits of copper, zinc, tungsten, polymetallic ores, coal, cement raw materials, gypsum, facing and building stones (marble, serpintinite), silicate and construction sands, refractory, expanded clay and brick clays, mineral paints (red lead), construction materials have been explored. and technological lime, gravel, fresh mineral and thermal medicinal waters. Non-metallic materials are available in large quantities and serve as a good raw material base for the intensive development of industry in the republic building materials.

The extraction and processing of mineral raw materials for the production of building materials is carried out by about 20 enterprises, including JSC Kavkazcement, LLP Silikatchik, JSC Karachaevsky ZhBI, JSC Alibek, etc. Currently, the balance reserves of sand and gravel deposits are underutilized mixtures (Vorotnikovsky, Bayletal-Chagansky, Erken-Khalsky), gypsum (Zhako-Krasnogorsky), refractory clays (Krasnogorsky), building stones (Tashlykolsky, etc.), granite and marble (Agutsky, Dzhemagatsky) and other minerals.

There are significant and varied reserves of high-quality underground mineral waters.

The use of hard coal reserves is currently not profitable for reasons common to the Russian coal mining industry, as well as due to the depletion of coal seams and the complexity of developing KCR deposits. Coal production in 1996-1997 was only 35 thousand tons per year.

The extraction of copper pyrite ores with a high content of copper and accompanying zinc is of great industrial importance. The main deposit is Urupskoye (6 more have been explored, including the large copper Bykovskoye in the Labinsky Gorge). The Urupsky Mining and Processing Plant (GOK) is the main copper mining enterprise in the industry, the second in importance is the Zelenchuksky GOK.

Deposits of gold (near Rozhkao) and silver have been discovered on the territory of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic. There are significant reserves of polymetallic ores (Khudesskoe deposit - the eastern region of the copper-bearing zone), some of which contain copper, zinc, cobalt, etc.

The Republic requires investments to develop promising deposits:

tungsten ores (Kti-Teberda - a feasibility study has been prepared for the construction of the Aksaut tungsten mining and processing plant);
hematite ores (Biychesyn-Bermamyt deposit - with an annual production of 120-150 thousand tons, they can be used to supply iron additives for Kavkazcement JSC and other regions of Russia);
copper-pyrite and sulfur-pyrite ores (Khudessky);
porcelain stone (Marinsky - currently porcelain and ceramic factories in Russia are experiencing a shortage of raw materials, which in average annual terms is estimated at 350-400 thousand tons);
gold-bearing ores, which, with the necessary additional exploration and development, will ensure the production of over 100 tons of gold.

The Karachay-Cherkess Committee on Natural Resources is working on the study, use and protection of natural resources. Taxes received from mining enterprises finance geological prospecting for non-ferrous and precious metals, oil, natural gas, and building materials. The Committee also issues licenses for the right to extract minerals and conduct prospecting work.

On the territory of the republic, deposits of coal, copper pyrite ores, tungsten, refractory clays, serpentinites for various types of applications, feldspathic raw materials, abrasives (garnets), cement raw materials, limestone for the sugar industry, as well as numerous deposits of mineral raw materials for the production of building materials: gypsum , mineral paints, expanded clay and brick-tile clays, construction and silicate sands, building and facing stones, basalts for the production of mineral fiber, sand-gravel mixture, carbonate rocks for construction lime. Manifestations of ore gold have been identified and studied. In the 30-40s of the twentieth century, the development of gold placers was carried out.

74.9% of reserves and predicted resources of hard coal are concentrated on the territory of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic North Caucasus, which amount to 1,8572 thousand tons according to category A+B+C, cat. C 2 – 133 thousand tons, cat. P 1 + P2 – 74.6 million tons. The deposits have small reserves, thin, unconstrained coal seams, complicated by plicative and disjunctive dislocations. Therefore, in the coal balance of Russia, KCR coals are not significantly important and are intended for local consumption. Coals occur in Carboniferous and Jurassic deposits.

In the Carboniferous, coal seams are characterized by a complex structure and variable thickness. The thickness of the seams does not exceed 2.5 m. The predominant seams are 0.3-1.5 m thick. The coals have grades Zh, OS and K. 3 deposits have been identified, including the Tolstobugorskoe deposit, the largest in the North Caucasus, the predicted resources of which are 41.6 million tons (cat. P 1).

Jurassic coals have a wider areal distribution, are characterized by a gentle bedding, low thickness (0.5-0.9 m), and widespread development of fault tectonics, which determines the small-block structure of the deposits. Gas coals (grade G), high-ash. 6 deposits have been identified, of which the predicted resources of cat. P 1 + P 2 – 33 million tons. The first two fields before 1997. developed for local needs. However, due to the high subsidization of mining, by decision of the Ministry of Fuel and Energy, the mines were closed, and the Karachay Mine Administration was liquidated.

Currently, due to the rise in gas prices, a transition of cement production to coal is planned. Perhaps the development of local coal for the needs of the cement industry will become more profitable than importing fuel from Donbass and Kuzbass. The Eurocement-Group company, which has a cement plant in the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, as well as other companies planning the construction of new cement plants in the republic, are showing interest in local coal deposits. Therefore, the Bolshelabinskoe coal deposit will be included in the licensing program.

In the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, 7 copper pyrite deposits have been explored, of which one small Vlasenchikha deposit has already been mined. The total balance reserves of copper in the republic are 858.4 thousand tons of category A+B+C 1 and 232.1 thousand tons of category C 2. The largest industrial reserves are now concentrated in the Khudesskoye deposit (478.5 thousand tons). The largest and conveniently located Urup deposit with initial copper reserves of category A+B+C 1 - 666.6 thousand tons - is being developed by Urupsky GOK CJSC, which is part of UMMC (the balance of copper reserves is 270 thousand tons). The remaining deposits are small. In addition to copper, copper pyrite deposits contain zinc, gold, silver, cobalt (at Hudes), cadmium, selenium, and tellurium. Copper, gold and silver are extracted from the ores of the Urup deposit.

CJSC Urupsky GOK received licenses to develop the Khudesskoye, Pervomaiskoye and Skalistoye deposits. The design of the Khudessky Mining and Processing Plant is underway. Design work has begun for the development of the Pervomaisky and Skalistoye deposits as part of the Urupsky Mining and Processing Plant. The small Bykovskoye and Beskesskoye copper-zinc deposits are not yet attracting interest from investors.

The Kti-Teberda tungsten deposit was explored in 1987, but is not being developed due to the low content of tungsten trioxide in the ores (average 0.366%) and the unfavorable conditions for tungsten on the world market. Tungsten trioxide reserves amount to 89 thousand tons. Kti-Teberdinskoye field in 2011 was included in the List of licensing objects, but there were no applicants for a license. Due to rising prices for tungsten in 2013, some companies showed interest in this facility. Materials are being prepared to include this deposit in the List of licensing objects for 2015.

There are a number of occurrences of tungsten with ore quality similar to the Kti-Teberda ores, which will merit study only if the explored object is involved in exploitation.

In addition to associated gold mined from copper pyrite ores, occurrences of ore gold with contents of 1-2 g/t have been identified on the territory of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, quite suitable for development using the heap leaching method. At the Lesnoye occurrence of ore gold, the subsoil user carried out an audit retesting, as a result of which the predicted resources of the occurrence increased by 1.5 times. A project for geological exploration work has been drawn up. However, the company has not begun the exploration stage of the study; the procedure for early termination of the right to use the subsoil of this site has now begun. The Berezovye ore gold occurrence, located on the border with the Krasnodar Territory, was included in the licensing program for 2011, however, the auction for the Berezovoye ore gold occurrence did not take place due to the lack of applications for participation in the auction. A license was obtained for the geological study of placer gold in the Kyafaro-Urupskaya area, where field work is currently being carried out. The Kovalevsky site is being prepared for the licensing program for geological exploration for gold at the expense of subsoil users.

A license was issued for the development of the Krasnogorsk refractory clay deposit. However, a technical and economic report compiled by the Rostovgiproshakht Institute indicates the unacceptably high cost of underground mining of raw materials. The subsoil user refused the license.

Within the Beden serpentinite massif, a number of areas have been studied by subsoil users for various types of use: as facing stone, as a raw material for construction and decorative crushed stone grade 1200, as a raw material for the production of sorbents for water purification, forsterite refractories, and tribological lubricants. A project for the development of the Levoberezhnoye field has been drawn up and a project for the development of the Medvezhye field is being drawn up. In 2013, development of the Tamskoye field began.

A license was issued for the extraction of hematite as an iron oxide pigment at the Biychesyn-Bermamyt deposit. The extraction of raw materials has begun, but due to limited demand it is carried out on a minuscule scale. Since 2009, production has not been carried out because land relations have not been regulated.

Additional exploration of the Marinskoye deposit of quartz-feldspathic raw materials was carried out. As a result of the work carried out, reserves of kaolin-quartz-sericite metasomatic rocks in granite-porphyry, suitable for the production of technical ceramics (porcelain stoneware, facade tiles and ceramic bricks), were put on the balance sheet. The thoroughly explored Kishkit deposit of feldspathic raw materials will be included in the 2014 licensing program, since a company has appeared that wants to develop it.

At the expense of the federal budget in the territory of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic in 2013, prospecting work was carried out at the following sites:

Geochemical prospecting for non-ferrous metals on a scale of 1:50,000 within the Kardonik ore field;

Exploration work for small-sized muscovite in the Kuban-Koltyubinskaya area.

Currently, at the expense of subsoil users’ own funds, exploration work has been completed at the Dzhalginsky site and geological exploration work is being carried out at the Glubokoye site for limestone for the production of microcalcite, and geological exploration work has begun to study basalts for the production of mineral fiber at the Karakent site.

Interview with the head of the territorial agency for subsoil use in the Karachay-Cherkess Republic, Yuri Karnaukh, following the results of work in 2006
Yuri Vladimirovich! What minerals are mined in the republic?
The Urupsky GOK is developing the Urupsky copper pyrite deposit. The raw material base of Kavkazcement OJSC is the Dzhegutinskoye deposit of cement raw materials. The Dzhegonas deposit produces limestone for the sugar industry and construction lime. Deposits of raw materials are being developed for the production of local building materials: gypsum, construction and silicate sand, brick-tile clay, sand-gravel mixture, building and facing stone. Mineral waters of various compositions and high-quality fresh underground waters, widely used for bottling, as well as thermal waters, are extracted.

This, apparently, does not exhaust the riches of the republic’s subsoil?
Of course not. In the mountainous part of Karachay-Cherkessia, the ancient core of the Greater Caucasus is exposed, composed of diverse complexes of Paleozoic and Proterozoic rocks, which were repeatedly reworked by tectonic and magmatic processes. This determines the significant diversity of minerals identified here. In addition to the above, the following have been explored on our territory: a tungsten deposit, six copper pyrite deposits, deposits of refractory clays, feldspathic raw materials (porcelain stone), facing stone (granite, marble, limestone), gypsum, basalt for the production of mineral fiber, and coal. Demonstrations of ore gold have also been identified.

Why are these resources not used?
In 2006 There has been a real breakthrough in the development of the subsoil of our territory. Investors came to the republic, ready to invest in subsoil development. Deposits explored back in the 50-70s of the last century, as well as poorly studied promising subsoil areas, the geological study of which requires the investment of considerable funds under the conditions of entrepreneurial risk, have become in demand. A number of auctions were held to obtain licenses for the right to develop mineral deposits.

The Urup Mining and Processing Plant, part of the Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company, received a license to develop the Khudesskoye copper pyrite deposit, located in the south of the Malokarachaevsky district. A new mining and processing plant will be built here, comparable in size to the Urupsky Mining and Processing Plant. Its design has already begun. According to preliminary estimates, investments in the construction of the plant will exceed 5 billion rubles. It is planned to begin ore mining in 5 years.

The Moscow Multipurpose Mining Company will develop the Bykovskoye copper pyrite deposit in the Urupsky district and build a refractory plant in the Ust-Dzhegutinsky district, where it is planned to produce aluminosilicate (fireclay) refractories from the refractory clays of the Krasnogorsk deposit, and forsterite refractories from the serpentinites of the Vedenskoye deposit. This company will also engage in geological study of the Forest manifestation of ore gold and, if positive results are obtained, the development of this object. To search for gold deposits, the company is going to use the latest aerospace technology - scanning microlepton fields.

The Rustona company, a subsidiary of the South Korean company Samsung, received licenses for geological exploration and subsequent extraction of facing serpentinite and facing limestone in the Urupsky region. Italian geologists, hired by Samsung as experts, in the spring of 2007. intend to examine another 7-8 areas potentially suitable for the extraction of facing stones of various compositions and colors, since the Samsung company intends to build a stone processing plant in the Urupsky district, based on the local raw material base. Geological exploration work is already underway at the serpentinite site.

The Likageo company explored another section of serpentinites at its own expense. In 2006 She, as a discoverer, received a license to develop this deposit and drew up a project for the extraction and processing of raw materials. In 2007 It is planned to start a quarry.

The Moscow scientific and production enterprise "Radiy" also received a license for geological study and production of serpentinite. It plans to organize the production of sorbents from serpentinite for purification drinking water. Conducted in 2006 technological tests confirmed the suitability of raw materials for these purposes. This enterprise also issues a license for the extraction of fresh groundwater for bottling.
The extraction of mineral waters at the Vazhnenskoye deposit will resume. The auction for the right to obtain a license was won by Artex.

Mining of hematite for the production of iron oxide pigments began at the Biychesyn-Bermamyt deposit in the Karachay district.
- Indeed, the changes are impressive. What is the reason for the sharp increase in investor interest in our deposits?
The reasons are different. For copper pyrite deposits, this is a sharp improvement in the raw material situation - world prices for copper and zinc have increased significantly, as a result of which the development of our relatively poor copper pyrite ores containing these metals has become profitable. For gold, the emergence of a new low-cost metal extraction technology - heap leaching, which made it possible to develop low-grade ores. But the main reason, in my opinion, is the improvement of the investment climate in the republic. Investors are no longer afraid to invest in facilities in the Caucasus, and the authorities of the republic have stopped putting forward unacceptable conditions for subsoil use, as happened before.

What will the republic gain from the development of mineral resources?
Billions of dollars of investment will come to Karachay-Cherkessia. The construction of mines and quarries, processing plants and processing plants, roads, bridges, and power lines will begin. This will create many hundreds of jobs and activate our construction industry. Geological exploration work will begin on poorly studied objects. As a result, high-paying jobs will be created at mining and processing enterprises, tax revenues will significantly increase, communication infrastructure will be developed, and the regional gross product will significantly increase.

What will be licensed in 2007? Or have all the fields of Karachay-Cherkessia already found their investors?
No, the resource potential of the republic is far from being exhausted. On February 13, an auction will be held to obtain a license for geological exploration and production of cement raw materials at the Podskalny site in the Urupsky district, and in April an auction for the Berezovoye gold ore site. The licensing program for 2007 also includes the Beskesskoye, Pervomaiskoye and Skalistoye copper pyrite deposits, the Beskesskoye gold placer, the Nikolaevsky area of cement raw materials for the construction of a new cement plant, and a number of mineral water deposits. And for almost all objects there are already people willing to take part in auctions.

Unfortunately, it has not yet been possible to find investors for the Kti-Teberda tungsten deposit and the Uzunkol deposit of excellent facing granite. The reason is the unfavorable global environment. Demand for tungsten has fallen due to the end of the arms race, since the metal is mainly used to alloy steel for military purposes. And China has flooded the world market with granite blocks at dumping prices. Because of China, it has also become unprofitable to produce magnesium metal, since over 300 small, primitive factories have been built in this country, producing low-quality magnesium using environmentally “dirty” technology. As a result, prices for this metal fell. For this reason, Samsung has so far refrained from producing magnesium from our serpentinite. However, the World Trade Organization (WTO) intends to call China to order in this matter. There is hope that in 2-3 years there will be renewed interest in serpentinite as a raw material for obtaining magnesium metal, which is used to produce light and strong magnesium-aluminum alloys, which are increasingly used in automobile, aircraft and rocket production.

In all regions of the South federal district oil and gas are produced. What, God deprived Karachay-Cherkessia of these minerals?
Let's hope we didn't deprive us. Currently, the research and production enterprise “Sevkavgeoprom” is assessing oil and gas prospects and assessing forecast resources for the territory of the republic. Proposals are already being formulated to put up for auction the right to conduct, under the terms of entrepreneurial risk, a geological study of a number of areas with the subsequent production of hydrocarbons there. But the main task of this study is to justify the feasibility of carrying out seismic exploration work and drilling parametric wells on our territory in order to search for oil and gas. The main hopes on our territory rest on the potential oil and gas content of the Paleozoic basement, and this is an unconventional direction for oil and gas exploration, therefore, without a solid justification, federal funds for these fairly expensive work will not be allocated. I hope this can be done.

It turns out that the geological study of the subsoil of Karachay-Cherkessia continues?
Yes. And in significant volumes. In addition to research into oil and gas, searches for ore gold are being carried out, and very successfully. This work is carried out by a team of talented geologists from our geological exploration enterprise OJSC Kavkazgeologiya. There is reason to believe that in 2009. It will be possible to put up for auction a new large gold mine in the Uchkulan ore field. There is no doubt that there will be people willing to invest in its development. Indeed, in the conditions of the Caucasus, with its warm climate, abundance labor resources and developed infrastructure, using heap leaching technology to extract gold is economically three times more efficient than in Siberian conditions. Prediction and prospecting work for ore gold has begun in the Marukha-Labinsk interfluve, where there are also prerequisites for identifying new deposits. As stated above, geological exploration of the Lesnoye and Berezovoye ore occurrences will begin this year through private investment. Thus, there is reason to expect that in the near future Karachay-Cherkessia will become a new gold mining province.

The geological enterprise “Kavkazgeolsemka” is conducting additional geological study of the areas within the Karachay sheet of the geological map, covering most of the mountainous territory of the republic. As a result, new “clues” should appear for the search for mineral deposits.

Will the development of deposits ruin the nature of Karachay-Cherkessia?
All deposits are located far from our mountain resorts and settlements. An indispensable condition of all license agreements signed by subsoil users when issuing a license is the obligation to conduct an environmental assessment of mining and mineral processing projects. And we have enough supervisory authorities ready to monitor compliance with environmental requirements.

Mineral resources mined in the Karachay-Cherkess Republic. Main features of the geological structure, minerals

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