The first discovery of platinum group minerals in black shale gold ores of the Degdekan deposit, Northeast Russia

The results of investigation of heavy fraction minerals from the Degdekan deposit hosted by the lower portion of stratified Mid Permian sediments are presented; the investigation was conducted via electron microscopy using a QEMSCAN hardware and software instrument equipped with a QUANTAX quantitative analysis system. The following mineral phases of platinoids have been detected for the first time: native osmium, rutheniridosmine, osmiridium, ruthenosmiridium, laurite, iridarsenite, and Ru, Os, and Ir arsenide.     

Job access, location decision, and the working poor: A qualitative study in the Columbus, Ohio metropolitan area

The critical perspective in job accessibility research argues that access to employment opportunities in an urban area is a complex process. This paper explores the role of individual level location decision-making as it relates to job access. In US metropolitan areas, a worker must consider where to live, where to work, and how they will commute between these locations – the residential–commuting–employment nexus. But limited work has been done to understand how this home-work link influences job access. This research interviews thirty working poor individuals in the Columbus, Ohio metropolitan area. One unexpected finding was the spatially transitory nature of these individuals’ lives – frequently changing both jobs and residences. Negotiating the nexus is a process of spatial decision-making determined by their individual urban mobility. Residential choice is made based on mobility options, not work location. They have diverse job commuting experiences as their mobility options change over time, and those mobility options often dictate their capacity to access existing job opportunities. From the experience of these individuals, Columbus has a strong local economy with many low-skilled higher paying jobs, but a weak public transit system. This article also contributes a qualitative based research perspective to a body of literature that historically under utilizes the approach.     

The outlook for the discovery of new types of economic uranium deposits in the Kodar-Udokan zone of the Transbaikal territory in Russia

On the basis of detailed fieldwork and analytical procedures (microprobe, X-ray diffraction, chemical analysis, etc.), ores and altered wall-rock rocks of the Khadatkanda and Etyrko deposits in the Kodar-Udokan mineragenic zone were studied. Economic concentrations of gold and some other accompanying metals have been established in ore of the Khadatkanda uranium deposit in the Syul’ban uranium district. REE-U lodes with brannerite-uraninite have been found at the Etyrko Fe-Ti-V deposit related to the Chinei layered pluton in the Udokan mining district. The outlook for the discovery of new types of economic uranium deposits is substantiated with respect to the known hydrothermal uranium ore objects and nontraditional setting related to the layered mafic-ultramafic intrusions.     

Geochemistry of the Kola River, northwestern Russia

The Kola River in the northern part of the Kola Peninsula, northwestern Russia, flows into the Barents Sea via the Kola Bay. The river is a unique place for reproduction of salmon and an important source of drinking water for more than 500,000 people in Murmansk and the surrounding municipalities. To evaluate the environmental status of the Kola River water, sampling of the dissolved (<0.22 μm) and suspended (>0.22 μm) phases was performed at 12 sites along the Kola River and its tributaries during 2001 and 2002. Major (Ca, K, Mg, Na, S, Si, HCO₃ and Cl) and trace (Al, As, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sr, Ti, and Zn) elements, total and particulate organic C (TOC and POC), N and P were analysed. Comparison with the boreal pristine Kalix River, Northern Sweden, shows that, except for Na, Cl, Al, Cu and Ni, which exceed the concentrations in the Kalix River by as much as 2–3 times, the levels of other major and trace elements are close to or even below the levels in the Kalix River. However, the results also demonstrate that pollutants from the three major sources: (1) the Cu–Ni smelter in Monchegorsk, (2) the open-pit Fe mine and ore concentration plant in Olenegorsk, and (3) the Varlamov, the Medveziy and the Zemlanoy creeks, draining the area of the large agricultural enterprises in the lower part of the watershed, have a major influence on the water quality of the Kola River.     

Ore potentiality of the Vanchin Graben, Primorye, Russia

New data on Cenozoic mineralization in the Vanchin coal basin are presented. In addition to the Au-Ag quartz-adularia veins known since the 1970s (Soyuzny deposit), stratified Au-Ag mineralization in tuffaceous-sedimentary rocks, porphyry tin mineralization in the extrusion of tourmalinized rhyolite, metalliferous coal seams enriched in Au, Ge, and REE are hosted in this graben. The localization and chemical and mineral compositions of these types of mineralization are considered. It is shown that Au-Ag mineralization is more widespread in the graben that was previously supposed. The anomalous and diverse mineralization of the Vanchin Graben is attributed, first of all, to long-term evolution of volcanism and hydrothermal activity developing synchronously with lacustrine and bog sedimentation and continuing after its termination. The main stages of ore formation are related to volcanic centers differing in age and conjugate hydrothermal systems functioning above a long-living magma chamber.     

Composition and genesis of the Konevinsky gold deposit,Eastern Sayan,Russia

The Konevinsky gold deposit in southeast Eastern Sayan is distinguished from most known deposits in this region (Zun-Kholba, etc.) by the geological setting and composition of mineralization. To elucidate the cause of the peculiar mineralization, we have studied the composition, formation conditions, and origin of this deposit, which is related to the Ordovician granitoid pluton 445–441 Ma in age cut by intermediate and basic dikes spatially associated with metavolcanic rocks of the Devonian–Carboniferous Ilei Sequence. Four mineral assemblages are recognized: (1) quartz–pyrite–molybdenite, (2) quartz–gold–pyrite, (3) gold–polysulfide, and (4) telluride. Certain indications show that the ore was formed as a result of the superposition of two distinct mineral assemblages differing in age. The first stage dated at ~440 Ma is related to intrusions generating Cu–Mo–Au porphyry mineralization and gold–polysulfide veins. The second stage is controlled by dikes pertaining to the Devonian–Carboniferous volcanic–plutonic association. The second stage is characterized by gain of Hg and Te and formation of gold–mercury–telluride paragenesis.     

Petrography and geochemistry of eclogites from the Mir kimberlite,Yakutia, Russia

 Diamond-bearing eclogites are an important component of the xenoliths that occur in the Mir kimberlite, Siberian platform, Russia. We have studied 16 of these eclogite xenoliths, which are characterized by coarse-grained, equigranular garnet and omphacite. On the basis of compositional variations in garnet and clinopyroxene, this suite of eclogites can be divided into at least two groups: a high-Ca group and a low-Ca group. The high-Ca group consists of high-Ca garnets in equilibrium with pyroxenes that have high Ca-ratios [Ca/(Ca+Fe+Mg)] and high jadeite contents. These high-Ca group samples have high modal% garnet, and garnet grains often are zoned. Garnet patches along rims and along amphibole- and phlogopite-filled veins have higher Mg and lower Ca contents compared to homogeneous cores. The low-Ca group consists of eclogites with low-Ca garnets in equilibrium with pyroxenes with a low Ca-ratio, but variable jadeite contents. These low-Ca group samples typically have low modal% of garnet, and garnets are rarely compositionally zoned. Three samples have mineralogic compositions and modes transitional to the high- and low-Ca groups. We have arbitrarily designated these samples as the intermediate-Ca group. The rare-earth-element (REE) contents of garnet and clinopyroxene have been determined by ion microprobe. Garnets from the low-Ca group have low LREE contents and typically have [Dy/Yb]_n < 1. The high-Ca group garnets have higher LREE contents and typically have [Dy/Yb]_n > 1. Garnets from the intermediate-Ca group have REE contents between the high- and low-Ca groups. Clinopyroxenes from the low-Ca group have convex-upward REE patterns with relatively high REE contents (ten times chondrite), whereas those from the high-Ca group have similar convex-upward shapes, but lower REE contents, approximately chondritic. Reconstructed bulk-rock REE patterns for the low-Ca group eclogites are relatively flat at approximately ten times chondrite. In contrast, the high-Ca group samples typically have LREE-depleted patterns and lower REE contents. The δ¹⁸O values measured for garnet separates range from 7.2 to 3.1‰. Although there is a broad overlap of δ¹⁸O between the low-Ca and high-Ca groups, the low-Ca group samples range from mantle-like to high δ¹⁸O values (4.9 to 7.2‰), and the high-Ca group garnets range from mantle-like to low δ¹⁸O values (5.3 to 3.1‰). The oxygen isotopic compositions of two of the five high-Ca group samples and four of the eight low-Ca group eclogites are consistent with seawater alteration of basaltic crust, with the low-Ca group eclogites representative of low-temperature alteration, and the high-Ca group samples representative of high-temperature hydrothermal seawater alteration. We interpret the differences between the low- and high-Ca group samples to be primarily a result of differences in the protoliths of these samples. The high-Ca group eclogites are interpreted to have protoliths similar to the mid to lower sections of an ophiolite complex. This section of oceanic crust would be dominated by rocks which have a significant cumulate component and would have experienced high-temperature seawater alteration. Such cumulate rocks probably would be LREE-depleted, and can be Ca-rich because of plagioclase or clinopyroxene accumulation. The protoliths of the low-Ca group eclogites are interpreted to be the upper section of an ophiolite complex. This section of oceanic crust would consist mainly of extrusive basalts that would have been altered by seawater at low temperatures. These basaltic lavas would probably have relatively flat REE patterns, as seen for the low-Ca group eclogites. Received: 10 July 1995 / Accepted: 17 May 1996     

Changing relationships between Religion, the State, and Society in Russia

This paper first traces the major changes in the relationship between the (Orthodox) Church and State in the different Russian polities, using Madeley’s framework of historic mono-confessional blocs and multi-confessional belts. Second, it outlines the recent tendencies and characteristic features of church–state relations in today’s Russia. Third, using data from sociological surveys, it analyses the current dominant popular perceptions and societal attitudes towards religion and the State, including religious freedom. Being part of the historic mono-confessional Orthodox bloc, the different Russian polities produced different models of church–state relations: from a symphony of religious and political powers, through a forced nationalization of the Orthodox Church (Russian Empire from the époque of Peter the Great until revolution of 1917), and forced secularisation (during the Soviet Union), to a return of mutual support of (Orthodox) Church and State despite a formal (constitutional) separation in Putin’s Russia.     

Postglacial emergence and the Tapes transgression, north-central Kola Peninsula, Russia

The history of postglacial emergence on the Murman coast, Kola Peninsula, is reconstructed based on twelve new radiocarbon ages from three marine sections and regional shoreline observations. Two pronounced shore levels are recognized below the Late Weichselian marine limit. The lower shoreline (11 -16 m a.s.l.) is associated with a transgression dated to 6200–6600 BP, correlative to the Tapes transgression on the Norwegian coastline. The upper shoreline (36–47 m a.s.l.) is not yet dated directly but probably correlates to the Main (Younger Dryas) shoreline. Strandline elevations descend eastward along the Murman coast. Observed emergence trends suggest the greatest regional Late Weichselian glacier load over the west-central Kola Peninsula rather than in the southern Barents Sea.     

Geology and Genesis of the Natalka Gold Deposit,Northeast Russia

The Natalka lode gold deposit, also known as the Matrosov mine, is located in the Magadan region of northeastern Russia at 61° 39′ N, 147° 50′ E. The deposit was discovered in 1943 and production started in 1945. The mine has produced more than 75 metric tons of gold, with an average grade 4 g/metric ton (mt), and has reserves of about 450 mt.

The Natalka deposit occurs along the southwestern flank of the Yana-Kolyma metallogenic belt and is confined to the major, NW-trending Tenka fault. The deposit is hosted by Upper Permian carbonaceous sediments, subjected to greenschist metamorphism. The ore zones occur along a Z-shaped, strike-slip fault zone that extends for about 12 to 13 km. In plan view, the ore zones are about 5 km long and 100 to 200 m wide in the northwest portion, 350 to 400 m wide in the central portion, and 600 m wide in the southeast portion of the deposit.

The main ore minerals are arsenopyrite and pyrite, which comprise about 95% of the sulfides, along with subordinate pyrrhotite, Co-Ni sulfarsenides, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, galena, native gold, ilmenite, and rutile. Scheelite, tetrahedrite, bournonite, boulangerite, and stibnite occur locally. The major gangue mineral is quartz, with subordinate carbonates, feldspars, chlorite, sericite, kaolinite, montmorillonite, and barite. The total sulfide content of the ore zones ranges from 1 to 3%, and in places up to 5%. Native gold occurs as large individual grains ranging from 0.1 to 2.0 mm in diameter, or as fine disseminations in arsenopyrite. The average gold fineness is 750 to 790.

Fluid inclusion studies reveal homogenization temperatures of 150° to 360° C, with mainly liquid and as much as 5% vapor. Two temperature peaks of 280° to 320° C and 180° to 240° C occur in many samples. The δ³⁴S composition of sulfides in orebodies ranges from ?6.3 to ?2.4 per mil and approximates that of sedimentary rock-hosted pyrite. The δ³⁴S values of the ore solutions are interpreted as having been close to that of the sulfide minerals. The δ¹⁸O composition of ore quartz ranges from 13.9 to 14.1 per mil. The calculated δ¹⁸O composition for the ore fluid ranges from 7.1 to 7.3 per mil at 300° C. The δ¹⁸O values of oxygen indicate a quite homogeneous fluid of metamorphic origin.

The sulfur, arsenic, and gold in the ore deposit were mobilized during metamorphism that included transformation of pyrite to pyrrhotite. The PT conditions for this reaction are estimated at about 400°C and 2.5 kbar, approximately at the biotite isograd. Associated decarbonatization and dehydration reactions produced much of the ore fluid. The interaction of ore-fluid sulfur with Fe-bearing silicate and oxide minerals probably caused deposition of sulfide minerals and gold.     

Amphiboles of the Khibiny alkaline pluton, Kola Peninsula, Russia

The rocks of the Khibiny pluton contain 25 amphibole varieties, including edenite, fluoredenite, kaersutite, pargasite, ferropargasite, hastingsite, magnesiohastingsite, katophorite, ferrikatophorite, magnesiokatophorite, magnesioferrikatophorite, magnesioferrifluorkatophorite, ferrimagnesiotaramite, ferrorichterite, potassium ferrorichterite, richterite, potassium richterite, potassium fluorrichterite, arfvedsonite, potassium arfvedsonite, magnesioarfvedsonite, magnesioriebeckite, ferriferronyboite, ferrinyboite, and ferroeckermannite. The composition of rock-forming amphiboles changes symmetrically relative to the Central Ring of the pluton; i.e., amphiboles enriched in K, Ca, Mg, and Si are typical of foyaite near and within the Central Ring. The Fe and Mn contents in amphiboles increase in the direction from marginal part of the pluton to its center. Foyaite of the marginal zone contains ferroeckermannite, richterite, arfvedsonite, and ferrorichterite; edenite is typical of foyaite and hornfels of the Minor Arc. Between the Minor Arc and the Central Ring, foyaite contains ferroeckermannite, arfvedsonite, and richterite; amphiboles in rischorrite, foidolite and hornfels of the Central Ring are (potassium) arfvedsonite, (potassium) richterite, magnesiokatophorite, magnesioarfvedsonite, ferroeckermannite, and ferriferronyboite; amphiboles in foyaite within the Central Ring, in the central part of the pluton, are arfvedsonite, magnesioarfvedsonite, ferriferronyboite, katophorite, and richterite. It is suggested that such zoning formed due to the alteration of foyaite by a foidolite melt intruded into the Main (Central) Ring Fault.     

Ag-Sb mineralization of the Yana-Kolyma belt, Northeast Russia

The mineral assemblages of the Ag-Sb deposits from the Yana-Kolyma Foldbelt were studied. The compositions of ore minerals, the isotopic compositions of sulfur in ore minerals, and the carbon and oxygen in carbonates are given. Arsenopyrite of the deposits is significantly enriched in Sb (1–16 wt %), which is related to the primary enrichment of the ore-hosting sequences in Sb and the ore formation at shallow depths. Based on the fluid inclusions study, the deposits were formed at T = 329–149°C and P = 0.30–1.04 kb from low-salinity chloride-sulfate-bicarbonate solutions enriched in Sb and Ag. The sequence of precipitation of Ag-Sb minerals was mainly controlled by the Sb concentration and the sulfur fugacity and potential in the fluid.     

Eclogites from the Obnazhennaya Kimberlite Pipe,Yakutia, Russia

Mineralogy and petrography of six eelogite xenoliths from the Obnazhennaya kimberlite pipe ar e described. Based upon modal and mineral compositions, these eclogites can be divided into Group A (five samples) and Group B (one sample), as per Coleman et al. (1965) and Shervais et al. (1988). Group-A eclogites are orthopyroxene-bearing, and their constituent minerals have high Mg# and Cr₂O₃ content. The clinopyroxenes in this type of eelogite have low jadeite component. The geochemical features of Group-A eclogites are similar to garnet pyroxenite, and e believed to be the product of high-pressure fractionates from an alkaline basaltic melt in thear upper mantle. Group-B eelogite (0-82/91) contains higher Al₂O₃ and FeO and lower MgO and Cr₂O₃; its composition is similar to a high-aluminum basalt or gabbro. This eelogite could have crystallized under high pressure in the upper mantle from a basaltic melt, without significant fractionation. Alternatively, it also could be the relict of subducted oceanic crust. However, no evidence exists at present that definitively indicates a crustal origin for this Group-B eelogite xenolith.     

Ludwigite and Yuanfuliite from Fumarolic Exhalations of the Tolbachik Volcano,Kamchatka, Russia

Geology of Ore Deposits - This paper in focused on the data for ludwigite and yuanfuliite of the new fumarolic genetic type. These ferric–magnesian borates (oxoborates) have been found in...     

Geology and genesis of the Cheremshanka silica deposit, western Transbaikal region, Russia

The geology and genesis of a large high-grade silica deposit is considered. It occurs in the form of a quartzite layer, 20–50 m thick, extending for 8 km in conformity with the host Upper Proterozoic silicate-carbonate metasedimentary rocks. The average content of SiO₂ is 99.2%. It has been established that quartzite was formed by metasomatic silicification of sandstone during metamorphism of the carbonate-silicate sequence. The rocks were silicified by infiltration acid leaching, whereas long-term refinement of quartzite was provided by diffusion in finely dispersed capillary-porous systems, where the energy of the solution-solid phase interface was important. In the course of metasomatic migration of components, Au, Ag, Pb, Zn, Fe, and other elements were removed from quartzite and formed gold-sulfide mineralization in contact zones of the quartzite body. This opens up opportunities for discovering economic Au-Ag and Pb-Zn ores in the ore field.     

Late- and postglacial environment of the Buzuluk area,middle Volga region,Russia

A 13 m long core from the lake-swamp at Pobochnoye (53°01′30″ N, 51°50′30″ E) in the Buzuluk pine forest in the middle part of the Volga River basin, Russia was studied for pollen, peat stratigraphy, mollusc, δ¹⁸O/δ¹⁶O and δ¹³C/δ¹²C analyses and radiocarbon dating. For the first time the environment history of the east European Russia has been reconstructed for the last 14,000 years; ca 14,000–13,000 BP cold dry steppes spread across the basin of the Samara River. Isotope data indicate that the main climate shift occurred ca 10,000 BP at the Lateglacial–Holocene transition when climate became warmer and forests expanded. Pinus sylvestris L. expanded 10,000 BP. Ca 9,000 BP Ulmus, Quercus and Corylus appeared in the Buzuluk forest followed at ca. 7,000 BP by Alnus, then Tilia and Acer at 6000 BP. Between 6000 and 4500 BP the climatic conditions were optimal for the forest growth in the Samara River basin. 5500–5000 BP the lake became shallower and was transformed into the eutrophic peat swamp. Between 4500–3500 BP climate became drier and hotter and forest less abundant. Between 3500–2400 BP the forest cover again increased. Between 2400–2000 BP the pine forest area has reduced, apparently due to increased dryness, and around 2000 BP the modern environment in the Buzuluk area has been in existence.     

Proterozoic magmatic and tectonometamorphic evolution of the Taratash complex, Central Urals, Russia

The Taratash Complex (TC) in the northernmost Bashkirian Anticlinorium (Middle Urals) is unique among the pre-Uralian polymetamorphic complexes along the eastern margin of the East European Craton because it experienced granulite facies peak metamorphic conditions (850–900°C/10 kbar). Herein, we constrain the post-granulite facies polystage evolution of the complex, which records various increments of the geodynamic history of the East European continental margin. Formation of granite and migmatite associated with amphibolite facies events are dated at 2,344±29 and 2,044±8 Ma (U–Pb, zircon) in different structural units. At 1,810±41 Ma, the TC was affected by a greenschist facies retrogressive metamorphism which was probably related to a stage of granite formation in the eastern part of the East European Craton. This is confirmed by a U–Pb–zircon age of 1,848±8 Ma obtained from a sheared granite in the adjacent Alexandrovskiy Complex (AC). Greenschist facies shear zones which separate different structural units of the TC formed before 1,350 Ma. Partial re-equilibration of Rb–Sr- and K–Ar-isotope systems between 1,350 Ma and 1,200 Ma is attributed to fluid flow probably induced by anorogenic magmatism in the Bashkirian Anticlinorium. Meso- to Neoproterozoic basaltic dykes indicate that the TC had been exhumed to upper crustal levels at that time. Evidence for a Grenvillian event or for the Timanian orogeny which affected other pre-Uralian complexes in the Urals is lacking. Uralian orogenic shortening and thrusting on Devonian limestones is recorded by shear zones in the AC to the east of the TC and has been dated at 300 Ma (Rb–Sr, ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar).     

Rock-Forming feldspars of the Khibiny alkaline pluton,Kola Peninsula,Russia

This paper describes the structural-compositional zoning of the well-known Khibiny pluton in regard to rock-forming feldspars. The content of K-Na-feldspars increases inward and outward from the Main foidolite ring. The degree of coorientation of tabular K-Na-feldspar crystals sharply increases in the Main ring zone, and microcline-dominant foyaite turns into orthoclase-dominant foyaite. The composition of K-Na-feldspars in the center of the pluton and the Main ring zone is characterized by an enrichment in Al. This shift is compensated by a substitution of some K and Na with Ba (the Main ring zone) or by an addition of K and Na cations to the initially cation-deficient microcline (the central part of the pluton). Feldspars of volcanosedimentary rocks occurring as xenoliths in foyaite primarily corresponded to plagioclase An_15–40, but high-temperature fenitization and formation of hornfels in the Main ring zone gave rise to the crystallization of anorthoclase subsequently transformed into orthoclase and albite due to cooling and further fenitization. Such a zoning is the result of filling the Main ring fault zone within the homogeneous foyaite pluton with a foidolite melt, which provided the heating and potassium metasomatism of foyaite and xenoliths of volcanosedimentary rocks therein. The process eventually led to the transformation of foyaite into rischorrite-lyavochorrite, while xenoliths were transformed into aluminum hornfels with anorthoclase, annite, andalusite, topaz, and sekaninaite.     

Peat Accumulation and Early Carboniferous Environments of the Kizel Coal Basin, the Urals, Russia

The lithological and geochemical composition and conditions of formation of the coal-bearing deposits of the Kizel Coal Basin in the Perm region of the Urals (central Russia) are described using the two most representative sections, Gubakha–Stary Most and Krestovaya Mountain, based on a detailed “layer-by-layer” technique. Brief characteristics of the Lower Carboniferous paleosols from fossil paleosol (FPS-) profiles of the studied region are given. Special attention is paid to the parent vegetation of the coal-forming processes, based on an analysis of both plant macrofossils and palynoflora. The peat accumulation in conditions of permanent incoming of clastic material from the Paleo-Urals to the Kizel Basin was probably effective only in more or less stable environments, when the accumulated organic matter produced by plant mortmass was not dissolved by clastic particles. Thus, the conditions of coal-forming are reconstructed as a forest swamp, where the main dominants are represented by lycopodiopsids of the order Lepidodendrales, predominantly Lepidodendron veltheimii. These plants in particular were the source of the initial organic matter for the peat (and later coal) of the Kizel Coal Basin.