Precambrian Weathering Crust of the Crystalline Basement in the Kaliningrad District

The weathering crust developed after the Precambrian crystalline basement in the Kaliningrad district is characterized on the basis of detailed mineralogical, geochemical, and isotopic investigations of the core material from deep wells. The Late Proterozoic age and zoned structure of the weathering crust is substantiated. The weathering crust is divided into the structural eluvium, hydromicaceous, and kaolinitic zones. After the replacement of a humid climate by the hot arid climate in the terminal Late Proterozoic, the kaolinitic weathering crust was dolomitized under the influence of mineralized waters. In the Early Cambrian, the Precambrian crust was partly eroded and its products (quartz sandstones with kaolinitic matrix, kaolinitic argillites, and oolitic iron ores) were redeposited in Lower and Middle Cambrian sediments of the Kaliningrad district.