|
If the State Duma passes the law, it will be easy for any of us to start the life of a free prospector and go to the Vitim, Tsipikan and other gold-bearing rivers of Buryatia to fetch the bird of luck.
For more than 200 years of the Russian history of gold mining, "black" prospecting is not a new profession. The news of the taiga riches attracted tens of thousands of fortune hunters. At different times, people who individually mined yellow metal were called free bearers, lone prospectors, and even predators.
"Black prospecting"
In Buryatia, the history of "black prospecting" goes back to 1844, when on the territory of the present Bauntovsky district at the Mariinsky and Innokentievsky mines 7 spools of 9 shares were mined, that is, 30 grams 216 milligrams of yellow metal. In literally 10-15 years, as Vladimir Kozulin, a well-known local historian of the Bauntovsky region, says, all rivers, springs and valleys of Vitim, Vitimkan, China, Tsipa, Tsipikan were mined by gold miners. This is how the gold rush began in the Barguzin taiga, as Bount was called until 1925. A large gold miner of the Barguzin taiga, Yakov Frizer, in his book "Gold mining in the Barguzin district and its needs", published in Moscow in 1901, writes:
Due to the rich gold content, work at the Solovyovka mines revived. The times of wide mines revelry have returned. Workers went to work, which lasted only a few hours, in smart boots, flannel blouses and beaver hats with a watch in their pocket and rings in their hands. Some appeared in fox beshmet and silk sashes, bought at a high price from the shoulders of the manager himself ...
Here the gold miner wrote about those who sometimes worked for meager wages in the mines. But there were free prospectors and gold miners in the taiga, working alone or in small close-knit teams. They counted on their own strength, skill and, of course, luck. More than one and a half hundred years have passed since then, but even now there are many such people. According to the Union of Gold Producers of the Russian Federation, in the main gold-bearing regions of the country - in Chukotka, Yakutia, Krasnoyarsk and Trans-Baikal Territories, Magadan, Amur and Irkutsk Regions, the Republic of Buryatia, a total of more than 12 thousand people are engaged in black artisanal mining.
"Golden Initiative"
According to Anatoly Kushnarev, chairman of the committee of the People's Khural of the Republic of Belarus for economic policy, the law on "free bringing" is being discussed in the State Duma, and it may be adopted this year. However, until the law is adopted in the final reading, even the smallest handful of precious grains found by the police in a person's pocket threatens to turn around for a period of two to seven years. This is the 191st article of the Criminal Code.
With renewed vigor, the issue of legalizing the free bringing of gold was raised at the recent inter-parliamentary association "Parliamentary Association of the North-West of Russia" and the Parliamentary Association "Far East and Transbaikalia" held in Blagoveshchensk. Buryatia was represented at this forum by deputies Tsydenzhap Batuev and Anatoly Kushnarev.
Another interesting proposal is to issue a permit for gold mining for the population according to a simplified system on dumps, where the dredge has already passed, but the precious metal still remains, - said Anatoly Kushnarev.
"Pros and cons"
Valery Nazarov, General Director of the Zapadnaya Artel of Prospectors from Muisky District, expressed the position of the republic's prospectors.
The position of the majority of mining enterprises towards the adoption of this law is extremely negative. All positive expected moments will be leveled, first of all, by an increase, I am sure that it will be so, theft from operating mining enterprises. We are lobbying this law and, I think, will not be adopted. I'm not saying that only our organization is opposed, this is the majority of gold mining enterprises represented by the chairman of the Union of Prospectors and Chairman of the Union of Gold Producers of Russia Sergei Kashub, - said Valery Nazarov.
Supporters of the legalization of free income do not expect a large economic effect, a significant increase in gold mining due to this law. But the recognition of the free bringing is important in social terms, supporters of the bill say. By the way, Sergei Abramov, chairman of the Magadan Regional Duma, spoke about this at the inter-parliamentary union in Blagoveshchensk. He spoke about the experience of the pilot region. According to him, "free bringing" did not lead to an increase in gold production, but significantly reduced social tension.
A difficult issue for the district is the permission of free bringing. The use of non-industrial placers is not provided for by modern Russian legislation, - said Nikolai Kovalev, head of the Bauntovsky Evenk region. - To obtain a permit for gold mining, it is necessary to conduct exploration, calculate and approve reserves. There are no reserves in non-commercial placers (by definition), and there are no approved reserves - there is no mining permit. It is necessary to adjust the legislation so that it is possible to issue licenses for the extraction of gold from non-industrial placers.
The northerners raised this issue in March during the visit of the acting the head of Alexei Tsydenov to the Bauntovsky district. Not so long ago, the Bauntovsky district made proposals to the agenda of the congress of deputies of all levels, which will be held in Ulan-Ude in October. The chairman of the Council of Deputies, Alexander Ochirov, proposed to re-enter the federal level with a law "on free bringing" of gold.
Prospector means to try
In his memoirs, a pensioner, former head of the Iskra prospecting artel in the Bauntovsky district, V.I. Krasnoyarov writes: “After all, as it was before, before 1954, I lathered a gram and handed it over. They received money immediately, and no one asked where they got it. After the war, the front-line soldiers themselves organized the extraction of metal, conducted reconnaissance. After all, it was necessary to feed the family. And the schoolchildren also worked on gold all summer. From the age of 15, I myself washed gold with my father 15 km from the Borovsky site. Used butara, prohodnushka to thaw the sands in winter, carried firewood on horseback, sawed them by hand. Prospectors of the old days know how it was. It was a difficult time, but no one complained about any crisis, because everyone was busy with business. Why not now remember this experience, while there are still old prospectors who remember how it is done? After all, this method of extraction also has its own characteristics and specifics. They could teach young people in special courses. The area has always been based on mining. But after working off by the equipment, there is rock in each side for manual extraction. Free, however, is beneficial to everyone, and, first of all, to the region. This includes deductions to the budget and new jobs. "
Prospecting tourism
By the way, the main argument of the opponents of free money is: "The state will not be able to control the work of the miners." In their opinion, the legalization of free bringing will not lead to any noticeable increase in gold production. On a national scale, this will amount to hundreds of kilograms, that is, a fraction of a percent. And today, without the adoption of the law, a large number of people are engaged in gold mining in a primitive manual way. And they are forced, willingly or not, to come into conflict with the law. Some of them come under the control of criminal structures.
Most countries have long accepted the "free bringing" for granted and understood that there is no reason to prohibit mining. Ultimately, the precious metal will end up in the state treasury anyway. In the USA, Switzerland, Canada, Australia, “gold or artisanal tourism” has even gained popularity. For a modest fee, the mines give out a prospector's tray and offer to try their luck.
Help site
The draft law stipulates that private individuals will be allowed to extract precious metals at waste industrial sites, loose and small deposits with reserves of up to 10-15 kilograms of gold. At the moment, there are thousands of sites in Russia where gold reserves are less than 10 kg. They are not of any interest for industrial mining, but private entrepreneurs could continue to wash the gold that remained after mining the placers. In order for individual entrepreneurs to wash gold, according to the authors of the bill, it is necessary to simplify the procedures for accessing the subsoil for Russian citizens, to issue them without a competition (auction) simplified licenses to use land plots, to introduce a simplified taxation system for them, as well as a simplified procedure for accepting gold. Now the individual mining of gold, silver and non-ferrous metals, which existed in Tsarist Russia, and even in the Soviet Union until 1954, is prohibited in our country.
The deposits are located in Okinsky, Bauntovsky, Muisky, Severobaikalsky, Yeravninsky and Zakamensky districts. Gold reserves amount to 100.7 tons, forecast ore gold resources are estimated at 1311 tons. 56% of gold is in primary deposits.
Zun-Kholbinskoye field (Okinsky district). It has been developed since 1987. Mineralization is represented by vein-like bodies and mineralized zones, traced to a depth of 1000 m. The ores are gold-quartz-sulfide, the average gold content is 12.5 r / t, there are few harmful impurities. The ores are easy to concentrate according to the gravity-flotation scheme. The Barun-Kholbinskoye and Zun-Ospinskoye fields are located nearby. Konevinskoye and Zegen-Golskoye are being prepared for operation.
Irokindinskoe deposit (Muisky district), Ores are easily enriched, poor sulphide The distribution of gold in quartz veins is extremely uneven. The Kedrovskoye field is 18 km away.
Placer gold reserves are 18%. Most of the deposits are located in the Bauntovsky, less - in the Muisky, Zakamensky, Severobaikalsky, Eravninsky, Khorinsky, Pribaikalsky, Dzhidinsky and Okinsky districts. The largest placer deposits: Nerunda (Levaya Mama basin), Vitimkon, Tsipikan, Bolshoi Kavyktykon (Tsipikan basin), Verkhina Chiny, Myrgen-Sheno.
Production began at the Nerundinskoye field in the Severobaikalsk region.
Troitskoye deposit (Bauntovsky district). Preparing for operation. Low-sulfide gold-quartz-carbonate ores. Coarse gold, up to 6.5 mm.
Silver
In Buryatia, silver is an associated component of 16 deposits: 12 gold and 4 complex polymetallic. 97% of silver reserves are concentrated in unmanaged polymetallic deposits. In gold ore it is extracted along the way.
Platinum group metals
The most promising is the Yoko-Dovyren massif in the Severobaikalsk region, combining sulfide platinum-copper-nickel ores in the bottom part (platinum up to 0.52 g / t; palladium up to 3.68 g / t; ruthenium up to 0.34 g / t; rhodium up to 0.48 g / t) with low-sulfide platinum-metal mineralization in the middle part (platinum up to 4.1 g / t, palladium up to 7.8 g / t).
In the Muisky region, in separate placers (Adyan Kelyansky and Adyan Paramsky), osmium and iridium minerals accounted for up to 10% of the volume of reclaimed gold. Natural alloys of osmium and iridium are noted during the mining of gold placers in the Zakamensk region.
In the Eastern Sayan mountains, the chromites of the Ospinsky type of rebasite massif have increased contents: platinum - up to 1.24 g / t, palladium - up to 0.89 g / t, osmium - up to 1.18 g / t, iridium - up to 0.34 g / t and ruthenium - up to 0.73 g / t.
Non-ferrous metals
Lead and zinc
Large complex pyrite-polymetallic deposits with high quality ores - Kholodninskoe and Ozernoe, as well as medium - Nazarovskoe gold-zinc and Dovatkinskoe lead-zinc. The first three are being prepared for operation.
The Kholodninskoye deposit (Severobaikalsky District) is the largest lead-zinc deposit in Russia (11.2% of lead reserves, 34.1% of zinc reserves). It is represented by three large steeply dipping adjacent ore deposits. In pyrite-polymetallic ores, the average content of lead is 0.68%, zinc - 4.33%, sulfur - 20.76%, associated components - silver, gold, cadmium, antimony, bismuth, copper, indium, selenium, thallium. There are also pyrite ores. In the vicinity, lead-zinc ore occurrences have been identified: Galenptovoye, Kalakachanskoye, Iokskoye, Rybachye. Ondokskoe, Ozernoe, Cosmonauts, Avgolskoe, Bolshechuyskoe, Losinoe.
Lake deposit (Eravnnsky district). The most widespread are lead-zinc pyrite ores - 70% of reserves, in which the average content of lead is 1.1%, zinc - 0.2%. Spderite and barite mineralization and magyetite skarns have been identified. In siderite ores, the average iron content is 30.68% and manganese 3.91%.
The Nazarovskoye field is located near Ozernoye. Attractively compactly located rich ore deposits with gold grade up to 4 g / t.
The Dovatka deposit (Horp district) is represented by isolated linear ore bodies and deposits. The ores are 50-90% magnetite, 5-40% sphalerite and galena. The average content of the sum of lead and zinc ranges from 10 to 21%, silver - 140-165 g / t.
Tungsten
Tungsten reserves are concentrated in the Dzhida geological and economic region in 8 deposits (3 primary deposits, which make up 98% of the explored reserves, and 5 placer deposits). There are also promising objects in other regions. Until 1997, tungsten was mined by the Dzhidinsk tungsten-molybdenum combine at the Inkurskoye and Kholtosonskoye deposits.
The Kholtosonskoye deposit is the largest vein-type wolframite deposit in Russia, the ores correspond to the best deposits in the world, do not contain harmful impurities. The field was developed from 1934 to 1996. More than 60 thousand tons have been extracted. The calculated reserves are 32.5 thousand tons, with the continued prospects for their growth on almost all horizons.
The Inkurskoe deposit is a typical stockwork of quartz-scheelite-Hübnerpt composition in quartz yurites. The field ie has been explored in detail at a depth of 400 m. From 1973 to 1996 gt. about 35 million tons were produced. The fields are being prepared for resumption of exploitation. Inkurskaya and other tungsten deposits were mined periodically.
During the operation of the mines and the processing plant, a significant amount of mine dumps and waste (tailings) of the processing plants have been accumulated on the industrial site of the enterprise. Of greatest interest is the Barun-Naryn deposit of technogenic deposits accumulated in a tail storage with an area of more than 1 km 2. Explored 9.1 million tons of mixed-grained and silty sands containing 14,270 tons of W0 3 0.156%. In addition, the tailings contain increased concentrations of gold, silver, lead, zinc, copper, bismuth. The operation of the field has begun.
At 75 km from Zakamensk, the Buluktaevskoe tungsten deposit with associated molybdenum, beryllium and fluorite was explored, and during the war years.
Prospective tungsten-bearing regions are Ikat-Bagdarnnsysh (Angokptskoye deposit, Snezhnoye and Amolskoye ore occurrence) and Kurbino-Eravninsky (Olanskoye ore occurrence).
Molybdenum
Dzhida tungsten-molybdenum combine at the Pervomayskoye field in 1941-1972. 30 million tons of ore were mined, from
which received 17 thousand tons of molybdenum concentrate. The deposit is fully worked out, but in the area of the open pit there are several million oxidized ores with a molybdenum content of 0.05-0.12%, which can be exploited.
The Orekntkanskoye stockwork type molybdenum deposit in the Bauntovsky region, one of the largest in Russia, is being prepared for mining, and 30% of the ores are rich (up to 0.15% molybdenum). Associated - tungsten, beryllium, rhenium, tellurium, selenium. Additional exploration of the deposit as a possible gold-molybdenum deposit is underway.
Preparations for exploitation of the Zharchikhinsky molybdenum deposit (Tarbagataisky district) are underway. According to preliminary exploration data, reserves in the open pit contour to a depth of 365 m were calculated with a total molybdenum content of 0.091%, and a sulfide content of 0.08%.
The Malo-Oinogorskoye deposit (Zakameneyut area) is a large steeply dipping deposit of vein-disseminated ores.
The article needs some work.
The Republic of Buryatia belongs to the regions of the formation of a new SME with attractive geological and economic indicators and, along with the Irkutsk and Chita regions, belongs to the Pribaikalsk gold-bearing region. The predicted resources of the Republic of Buryatia are 3.92% of the total in Russia (13th place). The main share of predicted resources is located in the Severo-Baikalsky, Muisky and East Sayan geological and economic regions. Balance reserves of gold in Buryatia are accounted for at 304 deposits, including 282 placer deposits; 19 indigenous, 1 technogenic and 2 complex. The Republic of Buryatia in terms of balance reserves in primary and alluvial gold deposits (excluding complex deposits) takes the 14th place in Russia (1.95%) among the constituent entities of the Federation. The basis of the mineral resource base of gold in Buryatia is the explored reserves of the Vostochno-Sayan deposits (44%), the adjacent North-Baikalsky, Muisky and Ikat-Bagdara geological and economic regions, in which 43% of the republic's balance reserves are concentrated, in the Dzhida and Kurba-Yeravansky districts accounts for 13%. The balance reserves of gold in Buryatia in the primary deposits are 53.7%. The average gold content in the developed deposits is 16.2-21.7 g / t, in those being prepared for development - 7.3-21.6 g / t. The main share of the balance reserves of ore gold is concentrated in such deposits as Zun-Kholbinskoe (Eastern Sayan) and Irokindinskoe (South Muisky ridge). About 30% of gold reserves are located in complex polymetallic deposits, which are currently not being developed. Placer gold reserves are 16.4%. Average gold grades in sands range from 350-600 g / m 3 for shallow placers, up to 3-6 g / m 3 for deep-lying placers. The distributed fund contains 100% of ore gold reserves and 70.5% of placer gold reserves. The unallocated fund contains the least attractive placer deposits for development - small, remote, with low metal contents and buried placers. At present, only one deep-lying placer is being mined on the territory of the Republic of Buryatia. On a small scale, re-mining of technogenic placers and gale-effelike dumps is being carried out on the territory of the republic. Since 1993, the increase in alluvial gold reserves has ceased to make up for their retirement during mining. Since 1986, the overall level of production in the republic has steadily increased until 2002 (from 1612 to 8170 kg) and then began to decline, reaching 6145 kg in 2008 (this happened due to a decrease in alluvial gold production (since 2004, it fell by more than 2 times: from 2982 to 1172 kg). 2010 did not become a turning point (Fig. 1). In the period 2000-2004, alluvial gold mining more or less stabilized, reaching almost 3 tons. But since 2001, it has declined sharply. It is not a big revelation that the mineral resource complex of Russia, including Buryatia, created before the beginning of the 90s and possessing a high resistance to survival, in the conditions of ill-considered economic reform, turned out to be in a critical state. Over the past fifteen years, the extraction of minerals, including gold, has not been offset by an increase in reserves. Explored reserves have declined sharply, and their quality has also deteriorated. Since 2002, the existing mechanism for the reproduction of small and medium-sized enterprises was abolished, federal tasks in the field of geology were transferred to budget financing, and the constituent entities of the Russian Federation practically lost sources of investment in the study of mineral resources. Due to insufficient reproduction of the mineral resource base, the preparation of alluvial gold facilities for licensing lags behind the level of demand. On the territory of Buryatia, there are several capable enterprises that can independently carry out geological exploration and replenish the SME (LLC Sininda, LLC s / a Kurba, CJSC Vitimgeoprom). In other cases, the quality of explored reserves is low, since small artels are not staffed with qualified personnel. Despite the rather high cost of a gram of gold, its production has stopped in the Zakamensk and Dzhida regions, although there are prospects there. Inferred resources according to Ignatovich are 14.6 tons, including cat. P 1 - 1.2 t; P 2 - 2.3 t and P 3 11.1 t. The reserves of the distributed fund are mainly located in 4 out of 9 gold-alluvial areas (Fig. 2): | Gold-alluvial area | Unit of measure | Distributed stocks | Unallocated fund reserves | Production 2009 |
| balance sheet | off-balance |
| Total for RB | Kg | 23334
|
| 5.3 (score) 3.2 (score) | 1169
|
| 1. Severobaikalsky |
| 2 762
| 121,0
|
| 313
|
| 2. Muisky |
| 3 317
| 378,0
|
| 228
|
| 3. Bounty |
| 15 011
| 6860,0
|
| 305
|
| 4. Eravninsky |
| 1 177
| 110,0
|
| 323
|
| 5. Khorinsky |
| 48
| 155,0
|
| 0
|
| 6. Dzhidinsky |
| 64
| 11,0
|
| 0
|
| 7. Zakamensky |
| 418
| 521,0
|
| 0
|
| 8. Pribaikalsky |
| 95
| 64,0
|
| 0
|
| 9. Okinsky |
| 442
| 0,0
|
| 0
|
The decline in gold production leads to a deterioration in the social situation of the population and an outflow of labor associated with gold mining. The decrease in gold production, in addition to the above reasons, is mainly due to: - lack of centralized investment loans; - with a high level of taxation; - dependence of many enterprises, especially in the Bauntovsky District, on the Bank, which is the holder of controlling stakes. All of the above does not allow mining enterprises to achieve the necessary profitability to ensure normal reproduction of products, therefore, at present, many enterprises are on the verge of stopping production activities due to financial bankruptcy, which will inevitably lead to a landslide decline in gold production in the republic. In placer gold mining, it has been going on for 3 years. Ways to increase gold mining are seen: - in changing tax policy and creating legal conditions for preferential taxation to attract investors and entrepreneurs to the gold mining industry; - in increasing labor productivity; - in replacing outdated washing and finishing equipment with more modern, which will increase metal production by 200-260 kg (20%) per year due to additional extraction of fine gold. One of the real ways to increase alluvial gold production is also to improve the technology for processing gold-bearing sands using highly efficient modern washing and finishing equipment (PGB-1000, Romashka, MOD-2, MOD-0.2, concentration tables, various separators, etc.). etc.). The use of such equipment will increase gold production by 10-20% in comparison with traditional technologies; - in changing the policy of managing enterprises by financiers - to professional geologists; - in the replacement of auctions for small deposits (up to 100 kg) with tenders. From the analysis of the data on the territorial balance of reserves, it follows that some of the subsoil users, having received a significant number of licenses for alluvial gold objects, do not show sufficient activity in their development. At the sites declared in the “Explored” column, there have been ten-year-old approved reserves for years, and at many of the “Developed” and “Prepared for Development” sites, according to the annual TBZ accounting, there are zero production. It is difficult to explain this by waiting for the rise in gold prices, since the prices for it are currently higher than ever, and it is most likely possible to “wait” for them to decline. Then both border-active and even part of active stocks are quickly transformed into inactive; - in support of small enterprises in the production of deposits with residual reserves and low quality. - in rendering assistance in carrying out the revaluation of residual reserves, since the enterprises themselves, as a rule, do not have qualified specialists. - in the true picture of the objects under licensing, on which mining operations were carried out. To increase the efficiency of geological exploration for alluvial gold, it is necessary, first of all, to take organizational measures to strengthen the geological and technical services of enterprises performing exploration, to increase the technical equipment of the work, as well as strict control by the Department over the direction and method of work, the quality of work and documentation. Currently, mining from deep-lying placers has almost completely stopped, although they are all licensed (in some places, sluggish work is being carried out). In conclusion, we can name several gold-alluvial areas where one can get an increase in alluvial gold reserves: the Severobaikalsk region (the valleys of the Sininda, Namama, Ukolkit, Turlikon, Amnunda rivers), the predicted resources of the Olokit and Bol rivers. Chuya are estimated at 24.5 tons (Pozdnyakova, 2008); Muisky district (rivers Yanguda, Kelyana, Sunuekit, predicted resources of which are estimated at 21 tons); Bauntovsky district (basins of the rivers Verkh Tsipa, Amalat, Kydzhimit); Yeravninsky district. In the East Sayan ZRR, it is recommended to carry out a small amount of prospecting (drilling) work at the Samartinskaya ZRP in order to possibly identify deep buried gold placers and transfer the predicted resources of category P 3 (9.2 tons) to industrial categories. As can be seen from all of the above, the situation in the gold mining industry is difficult, but not hopeless.
Date: 08.08.2015
State and prospects of gold mining in the Republic of Buryatia
A.A. Mironov
Gold mining in Buryatia has been going on since the second half of the 19th century. Until 1986, it was a little over 1.5 tons per year, and was carried out almost exclusively from placers. With the commissioning of the Kholbinsky mine and the organization of JSC Buryatzoloto, the level of ore gold production began to increase by 150 - 600 kg annually. In 2000, the growth reached its maximum - 1000 kg. In the period from 2000 to 2008, the ratio of ore and placer gold production changed - from 61% and 39% to 80% and 20%, respectively. Currently, in Buryatia, most of the gold is mined from primary deposits (Fig. 1).
Rice. 1. Dynamics of gold production in the Republic of Buryatia for 1986-2008.
The graph shows a systematic decrease over the past 7 years in placer gold mining and stagnation of ore gold mining at the level of 4.9 tons. This is due to a number of reasons, which will be discussed below.
Ore gold
15 ore deposits of gold have been explored in the Republic. Most of them belong to low-sulfide gold-quartz formation and are represented by vein morphological type. Special mention should be made of the Zun-Kholbinskoye, Zun-Ospinskoye and Troitskoye deposits, where, in addition to veins, mineralized gold-bearing zones have been identified. Balance reserves of ore gold are about 180 tons. Currently, the Zun-Kholbinskoye, Irokindinskoye, Kedrovskoye and Pionerskoye deposits are being developed (Table 1).
Tab. 1. Dynamics of mining of ore gold in Buryatia
The main mines of the Republic - Kholbinsky (Samartinsky) and Irokinda operate relatively stably. Nevertheless, in relation to 2004, they have outlined a decrease in the volume of metal production, which may become more pronounced in the next 2-3 years. The reasons for this are a decrease in the average grade of gold in marketable ore and an increase in the cost of the extracted metal due to the complication of the mining and technical conditions of development.
The Zun-Kholbinskoye field has been developed for 22 years. Only for the period from 2002 to 2008. the average grade of gold in salable ore decreased from 10.2 to 8 g / t. At the moment, mining and exploration work is being carried out at deeper horizons of 1740-1490 m and 1440-1390 m, respectively. In connection with the change in the mining technical conditions and the introduction of the mine laying system at the mine, there was an additional increase in the cost of gold.
At the Irokinda mine, in the period 2002 - 2008. there is also a decrease in average gold grades - from 11.4 to 7.9 g / t due to the development of relatively rich blocks of the deposit.
At the Kedrovskoye field, despite fluctuations in the volume of production, in general, the trend of its increase continues. This is primarily due to the optimization of the mining technology and the increase in the average gold grade from 8.6 g / t (according to exploration data) to 9.3 g / t (according to exploration data). In 2009 it is planned to increase production to 550 kg.
A small amount of seasonal mining of gold-bearing eluvial-deluvial slope deposits and adit dumps was carried out at the Pionerskoye deposit. The Nerundinskoye field is being prepared for the start of pilot development in 2010. Exploration of its central part was carried out at the Konevinskoye field. Balance reserves are about 9.3 tons. It is planned to start experimental-industrial development. Provision of operating mining enterprises with proven reserves as of 01.01.09 is: Irokinda - 1.5 years, Kholbinsky - 3-7 years, Kedrovskoe - 10 years.
The increase in reserves growth requires a significant increase in prospecting and exploration work. But in the presence of a number of promising objects, due to a lack of funds from subsoil users, work is being carried out in an insufficient volume, and in some cases it is mothballed. In particular, the resumption of operational work at the "Barun-Kholbinskoye" and the beginning of them at the "Zun-Ospinskoye" fields is currently under question. Exploration work continues at the Vodorazdelnoye and Zegengolskoye deposits. There are prepared reserves at these deposits, but in quantities insufficient for the construction of enterprises. At the same time, expenditures on exploration work in 2008 for ore gold amounted to 1,479 million rubles, including 184 million rubles from the federal budget. The increase in reserves amounted to 18 tons. In 2009, the volume of prospecting and exploration work for ore gold is likely to be significantly reduced, which will not allow to ensure the reproduction of the raw material base. For example, even the largest gold mining enterprise in the Republic, JSC Buryatzoloto, plans to drastically reduce prospecting operations in 2009.
Placer gold
The development of alluvial deposits in recent years has been carried out in several regions. In six out of seven regions (Table 2), placer gold mining systematically decreases, especially sharply in the Zakamensk region (from 478 kg in 2004 to 5 kg in 2008). The extraction of alluvial gold in the Bauntovsky and Severo-Baikalsky regions decreased by more than 3 times. The general drop in the volume of alluvial gold mining in the Republic has somewhat slowed down the opening of the new Yeravninsky gold-alluvial area. Gold mining here began only in 2005, and already in 2008 exceeded 300 kg. Most of the gold (281 kg) was mined by OOO AS "Kurba" from the placer creek. Stone.
Tab. 2. Distribution of gold mining volumes from alluvial deposits by districts
The mineral resource base of the Republic of Buryatia is currently represented by 225 alluvial deposits, of which about 40 are being developed. Most enterprises (except for four) mine less than 100 kg of gold per year (Table 3).
Tab. 3. The volume of alluvial gold production by the main enterprises of Buryatia
Most of the placer deposits on the balance sheet have reserves of less than 200 kg. The interest of enterprises in such placers has decreased in recent years. The loss of interest of entrepreneurs in placers is due to the fact that, under the existing legislation, the involvement of placers with reserves of less than 100-200 kg in the development is economically unprofitable. Small placers require the same package of documents and the amount of approvals as for large deposits. In this regard, return on investment and profit are possible only after 3-5 years or more. Obviously, business areas with a shorter return on investment are more preferable.
The situation in alluvial gold mining was aggravated by the crisis of 2008-2009, when conditions for obtaining bank loans and an increase in rates also made it unprofitable to extract gold from relatively large alluvial deposits with proven and approved reserves of more than 300-500 kg. In general, there is a general trend towards a decrease in production volumes in all gold alluvial areas (ZRR). The annual decrease in the total production of alluvial gold averages 440 kg (15 - 36%). The only exception is the new Eravinsky ZRR, which in 2008 ensured the production of 25% of the total volume of placer gold.
Among the problems that hinder the development of gold mining, the following should be highlighted:
1. Low provision of gold mining enterprises with proven reserves. Most of the previously explored deposits (mainly during the Soviet period) have been worked out. The least economically profitable deposits remained.
2. Termination of government work on the reproduction of SMEs. The abolition of the rates of deductions for VMSB in 2002 predetermined the termination of prospecting and appraisal works. There is practically no federal funding for such programs for placer gold in Buryatia. In 2008, the volume of budget financing amounted to only 0.3 million rubles.
3. Unprofitable for enterprises to invest in prospecting and exploration of placers. Obtaining a license is a complex and time-consuming process, exploration is costly with ambiguous results. Under such conditions, only large operating enterprises can afford to conduct exploration work, most often in an insignificant volume (in 2008, about 51 million rubles were spent on exploration).
4. Difficulty obtaining licenses for exploration and production of alluvial gold. Licenses can only be obtained through an auction. In general, obtaining licenses is a very lengthy procedure.
5. A significant period (1.5 - 2 years) for registration of permits from the moment of obtaining a license to gold mining (projects, approvals, forest disposal, etc.) and related costs. Obligatory state expertise of all projects, regardless of the stages of work and sources of funding, “lightens” the pockets of subsoil users by 120-240 thousand rubles at once.
6. Administrative and bureaucratic factor. A particular negative role in reducing the business activity of subsoil users is played by the consumer attitude towards them from representatives of various administrative, controlling and approving bodies. Often the latter consider gold miners as a source of additional income.
In general, in the gold mining industry of the Republic there has been a steady downward trend in the volume of gold production. While the decrease in production from ore deposits is relatively weak (about 2% per year), the annual decrease in alluvial gold production averages 440 kg (15 - 36%). At the same time, the overall decline in production in 2008 amounted to 545 kg or 9% (to the level of 2007).
Based on the results of the enterprises' work in the first half of 2009, it can be assumed: 1. Increase in the volume of production (to the level of 2008) from primary deposits by 260-300 kg (an increase of about 6%). This is primarily due to the implementation of a number of activities at the mines of Buryatzoloto OJSC and the improvement of the technological process at the Zapadnaya agricultural enterprise LLC. So at the Samarta mine, from mid-September, an additional fourth line for processing poor ores with a capacity of about 9 thousand tons of ore per month (up to 90 kg of gold) will be launched. At the Irokinda mine, in the period from May to October, due to the work of the "summer" line for processing poor ores, it is planned to additionally extract 120-130 kg. 2. Increase in the volume of gold mining from placers by 250 kg (up to 20%), including by the enterprises of Sininda-1 LLC (by 25-50 kg, an increase of 10-20%), Kharasun LLC (by 30 kg, an increase up to 100%), LLC "Kurba" (by 30 kg, an increase of 10%). Taking into account the results of the work in the first quarter of 2009, a decrease in the volume of production at OOO Zolotoy Vostok-Siberia in the amount of 100 kg (an increase of 60%) is likely. At the same time, the general downward trend in the amount of mined metal from alluvial deposits is likely to continue and will not exceed the level reached in 2008 of 1219 kg. 3. The overall level of gold mining in the Republic of Buryatia in 2009, under the most favorable conditions, may increase by no more than 3%.
The situation in placer gold mining in Buryatia is similar to the situation in other regions of Russia. The need to simplify legislation has been discussed for a number of years. This is indicated by the chairman of the Union of Prospectors of Russia, chairman of the Union of Gold Producers, heads of regional administrations, specialists from enterprises and research institutes / 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. /. Without the Government of the Russian Federation understanding the essence of the problem and the urgent need for an early solution to it, placer gold mining in Buryatia will cease to exist in the coming years, as has already happened in the Zakamensky and Khorinsky regions of Buryatia. The closure of gold mining enterprises results in complex social problems. For example, in the Zakamensk District, the unemployed found an opportunity to earn a living by illegally mining wolframite in the abandoned mines of the Holtoson mine. 7 people died in the gaseous mines.
Gold mining in Buryatia can be more efficient. For the Republic with a population of not much more than 1 million people, the existing six to seven tons of gold per year is a notable source of income. There is a real possibility of increasing the production volume up to 10-12 tons. For this, first of all, measures are needed to attract private investment in prospecting and exploration of gold deposits. In particular, it is necessary to speed up the procedures for obtaining licenses for prospecting, exploration and development of placers, and to reduce the time required for processing the documents required to start gold mining. All this should take months, not years. Then business will show interest in the industry, new deposits will be found, gold production and tax revenues to the budgets will increase.
| 