Origin and prospects of the Cimmerian iron ore basin in Ukraine and Russia

The article is dedicated to the geological structure and spatial position of the Cimmerian Kerch-Taman iron ore basin. Based on paleogeographic and recent geochemical data, it is shown that iron accumulated in the Cimmerian brackish lake originated mostly from weathered old rocks of the Ukrainian shield. The metal in question was delivered to the basin by its multistage migration and concentration owing to processes, which involved the eluvial zone of weathering crusts, krasnozem soils, rivers, bogs, and limans surrounding the lake. The formation mechanism of iron ore deposits is considered with the assessment of prospects for the discovery of new Cimmerian deposits in the spacious West Kuban depression and Crimea region and offshore areas of the Azov and Black seas.