Gumeshevsky copper mine (Gumeshki) is one of the oldest and most famous copper deposits in the Urals. The history of the Gumeshevsky mine begins in the Bronze Age and continues during the early Iron Age. The deposit was rediscovered in 1702 by the Aramil peasant Sergei Babin and the Utkin peasant Kozma Suleev.

In 1709, the industrial development of Gumeshki began. The mined ore was transported to the Yekaterinburg and Uktus plants, until the Polevsk copper smelter was built in 1718 for its processing.

In the period from 1735 to 1871, the deposit was developed by numerous mines and pits. At this time, exclusively oxidized ores were known and mined, consisting of cuprous clays, malachite and native copper. At the same time, the depth of work varied from 20 to 150 meters.
In 1749, at a depth of 14 fathoms, two human skulls, shin and humerus bones, 4 leather rawhide bags, two copper crowbars, an iron knife with a bone handle and many other finds of the “Chud” period were found.
In 1774, at a depth of 15 fathoms, a birch support and two fur mittens were found.
Gumeshevsky malachite was the most exceptional; it was used to make jewelry; the malachite halls of the Hermitage and the Palace of Versailles were decorated with it. In 1770, a block of malachite weighing more than 2.7 tons was mined at the mine; part of it is stored in the Mineralogical Museum of the Leningrad Mining Institute.

The next period from 1870 to 1937 is characterized by the development of cuprous clays in quarries, processing of old dumps and heap leaching. For this purpose, a chemical plant was built next to the deposit, and in 1907, a sulfuric acid plant (Polevskaya Order of the Red Banner of Labor cryolite plant) was erected in its place. Production waste was stored in spent quarries and mines "Georgievskaya" and "Engliyskaya".
Until 1917, the mine produced copper ore on a small scale and washed out old dumps. Work at the mine was then resumed in 1926 by the English concession Lena Goldfields and continued until 1931.
Since 1934, the head of the Degtyarsk geological exploration office "Tsvetmetrazvedka" engineer Merkulov M.I. Extensive search work was organized.

In the third period, from 1938 to 1957, exploration of primary sulfide ores was carried out.
At the beginning of 1938, geologist of the Degtyarsk geological exploration office Belostotsky V.I. and the second secretary of the district committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, Comrade Valov, raised the question of exploratory drilling in the area of ​​​​old mines. This is how the first drilling rig appeared at the Gumeshevsky mine. The first wells intersected a skarn ore deposit up to 20 m thick with good copper content. After that, drilling rigs were already working at the mine.
Thus, in 1938, large reserves of primary (skarn) ores were discovered at the long-abandoned Gumeshevsky mine. This discovery was a major event in the history of research into the ore resources of the Urals. In terms of its identified reserves, it surpassed all other copper contact-metasomatic deposits of the USSR and stood on a par with such large pyrite deposits as.
In the early 1940s, construction of a new mine began in Gumeshki, excavation of the Yuzhnaya mine and restoration of the Georgievskaya mine began.

An ancient mine on Gumeshki (photo taken from http://ozon.newmail.ru).

During the excavation of drifts and crosscuts, old mine workings filled with acidic mine waters or industrial waste (phenolic resins) from a cryolite plant were opened. All this complicated mining operations.

In 1942, due to the outbreak of war, the mine was put into wet conservation.
Restoration of the mine began after the Great Patriotic War. In 1950, according to the project of the Unipromed Institute, work began on restoring the mine. The design productivity of the mine was determined at 300 thousand tons of ore per year. The construction of the Kapitalnaya mine began, and the Gumeshevsky mine administration was formed.

From 1958 to 1994, the Gumeshevsky mine carried out underground mining of ore bodies in bedrock at horizons of 54 m, 100 m, 145 m, 195 m, 250 m, 310 m, 350 m, 410 m, 490 m, connecting the Georgievskaya mines. , "Southern" and "Capital".

The Yuzhnaya-Ventilationnaya mine, the pile driver of the Kapitalnaya mine is visible in the background (photo – http://ozon.newmail.ru).

The mine used systems of block-story caving and sub-level drifts with ore breaking through deep wells.
Drainage was carried out through the shaft of the Kapitalnaya mine with an average annual productivity of 216 to 338 m³/hour. A feature of the deposit was the presence of water-filled karst cavities with a maximum volume of up to 800 m³.
Most of the water inflow was formed at a horizon of 100 m, which had the largest mining area and came out near the Zhelezyansky and Seversky ponds. Water also came from the bed of the Zhelezyanka River and the settling tanks of the Polevsky cryolite plant.

The bed of the Zhelezyanka River, diverted to the side.

The area of ​​the depression crater was 3.58 km² with a mine field length in the meridional direction of about 900 m.

Flooded area in the area of ​​the Yuzhnaya-Ventilationnaya mine.

Due to the development of ore reserves in the central part of the deposit and a large influx of water, it was decided to stop further ore mining in 1994 with a stop in drainage (up to 100 l/s). In 1995, flooding of a huge number of mine workings began, which continued until 2001.

The mining depth of the Gumeshevskoye deposit reached 500 meters from the surface, work was carried out on 5 underground horizons.
From 2000 to 2004, at the Gumeshevskoye deposit, Uralhydromed OJSC carried out exploration of cuprous clays for subsequent leaching.
In 2004, the Gumeshevsky mine began mining oxidized ores (cuprous clays) by underground leaching using concentrated sulfuric acid. The leaching depth ranged from 50 to 100 meters.

An area of ​​underground leaching at the site of the “northern” failure.

A number of legends are associated with work at the mine in pre-revolutionary times, which form the basis of the tales of P. P. Bazhov (for example, the tale of the “Mistress of the Copper Mountain”).

Destroyed buildings of the Kapitalnaya mine.

Remains of copra.

Lifting machine room.

The shaft of the Kapitalnaya mine.

Ruins of the administrative and administrative complex of the Kapitalnaya mine.

Remains of the Yuzhnaya-Ventilationnaya mine.

Flooded mine shaft.

Remains of the ventilation unit.

Remains of the Yuzhnaya mine.

Mine bus stop.

Used literature and sources:

Educational geological practice. / Ed. V.N. Ogorodnikova. 2011.

Copper ores were known and mined in the Urals in prehistoric times, as evidenced by the remains of ancient “Chud” mining operations. The Chud mines (from the name of the Chud tribe) are the most ancient ore mines of the Bronze Age people; ore was mined there for hundreds of years. Copper production in the Urals begins already in the 4th-3rd millennium BC. e. Copper ore and tin in Bronze Age mines were mined in pits, pits, and primitive mines. In 1581, a detachment of Cossacks led by Ermak conquered the Siberian Khanate. The Russian state occupied all of Eastern Europe and advanced its border far beyond the Urals. The eyes of the Russian people are turned to the east, where the stone ridge of the Urals rose, which, according to rumors, legends, and rare visits, was considered extremely rich in ores, minerals and amazing stones. It was necessary to organize the extraction of ore in the country and the smelting of metals from it: one after another, search expeditions were sent to different directions of the Ural Mountains. Since the 16th century, artisanal mining of brown iron ore and the smelting of red iron from it in peasant house-houses has been known in the Urals and the Urals.

The first archival information about the discovery of copper ores dates back to the 17th century. In 1628, B. Kolmogor found swamp-type iron ore (brown iron ore) on the eastern slope of the Southern Urals. The first state-owned ironworks was built in 1631 on the Nice River. Copper ore was discovered by miner A. Tumashev in 1634 in Grigorova Gora. Later, the first large mining plant in Russia was built there - the “grandfather” of the Ural factories. The famous ore explorer D. Tumashev (son of A. Tumashev) discovered iron ore deposits in the valley of the Neya River in 1669.

At the beginning of the 18th century, Peter I, caring for the glory and greatness of Russia, determined the direction of development of the state, and the “Ural storehouses” opened up to Russian industrialists. Large-scale development of the Urals begins. Copper-pyrite ores were found in the upper reaches of the Chusovaya River (Polevskoye, Gumeshevskoye, Mednorudyanskoye deposits, Turinsky group of deposits). The Gumeshevsky mine is located within the city of Polevskoy, near the sources of the Chusovaya River.

In 1702, by decree of the Tsar, Nikita Demidov was given ownership of the state-owned Nevyansk mining plant with mines, for which it was allowed to “cut down forests and burn coal and build all sorts of factories.” This marked the beginning of the Demidov industrial complex in the Urals. The eldest son of Nikita Demidov organized, together with his father, the extraction of asbestos, magnetic iron ore, malachite and other precious and ornamental stones. The Demidovs built 40 metallurgical plants in the Urals. Until 1779, the Demidov factories annually supplied iron to the Admiralty and cast artillery guns and anchors for the Black Sea Fleet and the Arkhangelsk port. During the war with Napoleon, they produced artillery shells.

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One of the most valuable minerals for industry is iron ore. Deposits of this mineral are found in abundance in Russia. It is not for nothing that our country is one of the top five in terms of production of this raw material. Let's find out where the richest iron ore deposits in Russia are located.

The role of iron ore in industry

First, let's find out what role it plays in Russia, more precisely, in its industrial production, what qualities it has.

Iron ore is a natural mineral that contains iron in such quantities that its extraction from the ore is cost-effective and feasible.

This mineral is the main raw material for the metallurgical industry. The main end product is cast iron and steel. The commodity form of the latter is called rental. Mechanical engineering, automobile manufacturing, shipbuilding and other areas of the national economy depend indirectly through this industry on the supply of iron ore.

That is why every existing iron ore deposit in Russia is so important for the development of the country. The economic regions of the country, especially the East Siberian, Central Black Earth, Ural, Northern and West Siberian regions, are largely dependent on the processing of ore raw materials.

The main properties of iron, which is why it is so widely used in industry, are strength and heat resistance. Equally important is that, unlike most other metals, the mining and extraction of iron from ore is possible in large volumes and at relatively low cost.

Classification of iron ores

Iron ores have their own classification system.

Depending on the chemical composition, ores are divided into the following types: oxides, hydroxides and carbon dioxide salts.

The main types of iron ore minerals are: magnetite, limonite, goethite, siderite.

Iron ore deposits in Russia also have their own classification. Depending on the method of occurrence of the ore and its composition, they are divided into several groups. The following are of primary importance: sedimentary deposits, skarn, complex, quartzite.

Volumes of reserves and production

Now let’s find out what volumes of iron ore are mined in Russia.

In terms of the volume of explored iron ore deposits in terms of iron, the Russian Federation shares first place with Brazil, having 18% of the total world reserves. This is explained by the fact that we have the largest deposits of iron ore - in Russia.

If we take into account not pure iron, but all ore with impurities, then in terms of reserves the Russian Federation ranks second on the globe - with 16% of world reserves, second only to Ukraine in terms of this indicator.

In terms of production volumes of this valuable mineral, Russia has long been among the top five countries. Thus, in 2014, 105 million tons of iron ore were mined, which is 1,395 million tons less than the leader of this list, China, or 45 million tons less than India, fourth on the list, produces. At the same time, Russia is 23 million tons ahead of the next-ranking Ukraine in terms of production.

For many years, Russia has been among the top ten countries in iron ore exports. In 2009, the country ranked sixth with an export volume of 21.7 million tons, in 2013 it dropped to ninth place, and in 2015 it rose to fifth. According to this indicator, the constant world leader is Australia.

In addition, it should be said that two Russian metallurgical plants are among the top ten world giants in the production of iron ore products. These are Evrazholding (production volume - 56,900 thousand tons/year) and Metalloinvest (44,700 thousand tons/year).

Main deposits

Now let's determine where the main iron ore deposits in Russia are located.

The largest iron ore basin in the country is KMA. The Kola ore region and deposits of Karelia have large reserves of ore. The Urals are also rich in iron ore. One of the largest in Russia is the West Siberian basin. Large iron ore deposits in Russia are located in Khakassia and the Altai Territory.

With the annexation of Crimea to Russia in 2014, another large iron ore basin appeared in the Russian Federation - the Kerch basin.

Deposits of the Kursk magnetic anomaly

The Kursk anomaly is not only the largest iron ore deposit in Russia, but also the undisputed world leader in terms of iron content. In terms of the amount of unrefined ore (30,000 million tons), this area is second only to one Bolivian deposit, the reserves of which are still being clarified by specialists.

KMA is located on the territory of the Kursk, Oryol and Belgorod regions and has a total area of ​​120,000 square meters. km.

The basis of iron ore in this region is magnetite quartzite. It is the magnetic properties of this mineral that are responsible for the anomalous behavior of the magnetic needle in this area.

The largest deposits of the KMA are Korobkovskoye, Novoyaltinskoye, Mikhailovskoye, Pogrometskoye, Lebedinskoye, Stoilenskoye, Prioskolskoye, Yakovlevskoye, Chernyanskoye, Bolshetroitskoye.

Deposits and Karelia

Significant iron ore deposits in Russia are located in the Murmansk region and the Republic of Karelia.

The total area of ​​the Kola ore district, located within the Murmansk region, is 114,900 square meters. km. It should be noted that not only iron ore is mined here, but also many other ore minerals - nickel, copper, cobalt ores and apatites. Among the deposits in the region, Kovdorskoye and Olenogorskoye should be highlighted. The main mineral is ferruginous quartzite.

The largest deposits in Karelia are Aganozerskoye, Kostomuksha, Pudozhgorskoye. True, the first of them specializes more in mining

Deposits of the Urals

The Ural Mountains are also rich in iron ore. The main production area is the Kachkanar group of fields. Ore from this region has a relatively high titanium content. Mining is done by open-pit mining. The total explored volumes of iron ore are approximately 7000 million tons.

In addition, it should be said that the largest metallurgical plants in Russia are located in the Urals, in particular Magnitogorsk and NTMK. But at the same time, it should be noted that a significant part of the former reserves of iron ore has been exhausted, so they have to be imported to these enterprises from other regions of the country.

West Siberian Basin

One of the largest iron ore regions in Russia is the West Siberian basin. It could be the largest deposit in the world (up to 393,000 million tons), but, according to exploration data, it is still inferior to the KMA and the El Mutun deposit in Bolivia.

The pool is located primarily in the Tomsk region and occupies an area of ​​260,000 square meters. km. It should be noted that despite the huge volumes of ore reserves, exploration of its deposits and production are associated with a number of difficulties.

The largest deposits in the basin are Bachkarskoye, Chuzikskoye, Kolpashevskoye, Parbigskoye and Parabelskoye. The most significant and explored of them is the first on the list. It has an area of ​​1200 sq. km.

Deposits in Khakassia

The deposits in the Altai Territory and Khakassia are quite significant. But if the development of the first of them is carried out rather poorly, then the Khakassian ore reserves are actively mined. Of the specific deposits, Abagazskoye (volume more than 73,000 thousand tons) and Abakanskoye (118,400 thousand tons) should be highlighted.

These deposits are of strategic importance for the development of the region.

Kerch basin

More recently, in connection with the annexation of Crimea, Russia’s wealth was replenished with the Kerch Basin, rich in iron ore. It is located entirely on the territory of the Republic of Crimea, and has an area of ​​more than 250 square meters. km. Total ore reserves are estimated at 1800 million tons. A peculiarity of ore deposits in this region is that they are located mainly in rock troughs.

Among the main deposits are Kyz-Aulskoye, Ocheret-Burunskoye, Katerlezskoye, Akmanayskoye, Eltigen-Ortelskoye, Novoselovskoye, Baksinskoye, Severnoye. Conventionally, all these deposits are united into the northern and southern groups.

Other iron ore regions

In addition, there are a significant number of other iron ore deposits located in Russia, which are of smaller importance and volume than those listed above.

A large iron ore deposit is located in the Kemerovo region. Its resources are used to provide raw materials to the West Siberian and Kuznetsk metallurgical plants.

In Eastern Siberia, in addition to Khakassia, iron ore deposits are found in Transbaikalia, the Irkutsk region and the Krasnoyarsk Territory. In the Far East - in the future - large developments may begin in Yakutia, Khabarovsk and Primorsky Territories, and the Amur Region. Yakutia is especially rich in iron.

However, this is not a complete list of iron ore deposits that are available in the region. In addition, we must not forget that some deposits may be poorly explored, underestimated in volume, or not discovered at all at the moment.

Importance of the iron ore industry

Of course, the extraction of iron ore and its subsequent processing and export are of quite high importance for the economy of the entire country. Russia has the largest iron ore reserves in the world and is one of the leaders in their extraction and export.

We stopped at the most important iron ore deposits in Russia, but this is not a complete list. This mineral can be found in almost every economic region of the country. Select (by the way, not all iron ore deposits in Russia have been fully explored) any of them on the economic map - and you will definitely come across such a site.

Today this industry is of great interest as a promising direction.

MUNICIPAL EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION

"SECONDARY SCHOOL OF THE VILLAGE OF BEREZINA RECHKA

SARATOV DISTRICT OF SARATOV REGION"

Abstract on geography

"Natural Resources of the Urals"

Work completed

9th grade student

Fedotov Vladislav

Head: teacher

Geography Ponomarev

Tatyana Yuryevna.

Natural resources of the Urals

The Ural Mountains amaze with the richness of their subsoil, which has given them the reputation of being the underground storehouse of our country. About a thousand different minerals have been found here and over 10 thousand mineral deposits have been recorded. In terms of reserves of platinum, asbestos, precious stones, and potassium salts, the Urals is one of the first places in the world.

For thousands of years, the Ural Mountains have been subject to destruction under the influence of external forces - weathering, ice and river flows. As a result, the inner parts of the folds appeared near the surface, where mineral formation processes took place intensively and various ores arose. Thus, the long-term destruction of the mountains “exposed” rich mineral deposits and made them available for development.

The main wealth of the Urals is ores, and often complex ores, for example, iron ores with an admixture of titanium, nickel, chromium, copper ores with an admixture of zinc, gold, and silver. Most of the ore deposits are located on the eastern slope, where igneous rocks predominate. Large deposits of iron and accompanying ores are Magnitogorskoye, Vysokogorskoye, Kachkanarskoye, Bakalskoye, Khalilovskoye.

The Urals are also rich in deposits of non-ferrous metals. Copper ore is mined at Krasnouralskoye, Gaiskoye and other deposits. Large deposits of bauxite and manganese were found in the Northern Urals. A lot of nickel and chromium are mined in the Urals. In the mountains of the Middle and Northern Urals there is a platinum belt with primary and alluvial platinum deposits. Gold is associated with quartz veins of granites on the eastern slope. The Berezovskoye deposit near Yekaterinburg is the oldest gold mining site in Russia.

Among the non-metallic resources, it is worth noting the huge deposits of asbestos (“mountain flax”) - the most valuable fire-resistant material. The Bazhenov asbestos deposit is one of the largest in the world. The Shabrovskoe talc deposit is the largest in our country. Also on the eastern slope of the mountains there are deposits of graphite and corundum.

The Urals have long been famous for all kinds of precious and ornamental stones. Famous Ural gems include amethysts, smoky topazes, morions, green emeralds, sapphires, transparent rock crystal, alexandrites, demantoids and others. All these gems are mined mainly on the eastern slope (Murzinka mines, Ilmen Mountains). High-quality diamonds were found on the western slope in the Vishera River basin. The ornamental stones of the Urals are distinguished by their extraordinary beauty of colors: jasper, marble, variegated coils. But green patterned malachite and pink eagle are especially prized.

In the Cis-Ural region, the Permian salt-bearing strata of the marginal trough contain colossal reserves of potassium salts, rock salt, and gypsum (Verkhnekamskoye, Sol-Iletskoye, Usolskoye deposits). There are also a lot of building materials in the Urals - limestone, granite, cement raw materials.

In many areas of this mountainous country, refractory materials necessary for metallurgy are mined. Development of refractory clays, kaolin, and quartzites is underway. The Satka magnesites are especially valuable in the Southern Urals. There is also oil in the Urals (Ishimbay and others), as well as coal. In addition to mineral resources, the Urals are famous for their forest resources. There are especially many forests in the Northern Urals.

Flora and fauna

The composition of the four-legged and feathered inhabitants of the Urals is diverse, but has much in common with the flora and fauna of the neighboring plains. Mountainous terrain increases this diversity, causing the appearance of altitudinal zones in the Urals and creating differences between the western and eastern slopes

As you move south, the altitudinal zonation of the Urals becomes more complex. Gradually, the boundaries of the belts rise higher and higher along the slopes, and in their lower part, when moving to a more southern zone, a new belt appears.

Flora. To the south of the Arctic Circle, larch predominates in the forests. As it moves south, it gradually rises along the mountain slopes, forming the upper boundary of the forest belt. Larch is joined by spruce, cedar, and birch. Near Mount Narodnaya, pine and fir are found in the forests. These forests are located mainly on podzolic soils. There are a lot of blueberries in the grassy cover of forests. On the western slope of the Southern Urals, more heat-loving flora grows: oak, beech, hornbeam, hazel.

The fauna of the Ural taiga is much richer than the fauna of the tundra. Elk, wolverine, sable, squirrel, chipmunk, weasel, flying squirrel, brown bear, reindeer, ermine, and weasel live here. Otters and beavers are found along the river valleys. New valuable animals have been settled in the Urals. The sika deer has been acclimatized in the Ilmensky Reserve; muskrat, beaver, deer, muskrat, raccoon dog, American mink, and Barguzin sable have also been resettled.

In the Urals, based on differences in altitude, climatic conditions, and geological development, several parts are distinguished: Polar, Subpolar, Northern, Middle and Southern Urals.

Rivers and lakes of the mountainous country

On the Ural ridge, separating the water basins of the Volga and Ob, many large tributaries of these rivers originate: the Vishera, Chusovaya, Belaya, and Ufa flow to the west; to the east - Northern Sosva, Pelym, Tura, Iset. In the north, the Pechora begins, flowing into the Arctic Ocean, and in the south, the Ural River flows through Kazakhstan and flows into the Caspian Sea. No wonder the gray-haired Ural is called the keeper of river sources

Lakes play a significant role in the landscapes of the Urals, and for some areas, for example, the forest-steppe Trans-Urals, lake landscapes are even typical. In some places large accumulations of “blue saucers” are visible here, separated by narrow isthmuses of land. There are many lakes in the eastern foothills of the Southern and Middle Urals and among the swampy taiga of the northern Trans-Urals. In the mountainous country there are fresh, brackish, and even bitterly salty lakes. There are also karst lakes, and there are floodplain oxbow lakes and lakes of fog.

The fish in the rivers and lakes of the Urals is tasty and often valuable. Among the Ural inhabitants of reservoirs there are European grayling, whitefish, burbot, ide, brook lamprey, taimen, sculpin goby, salmon, pike, perch, roach, crucian carp, tench, carp, pike perch, and trout.

Lake Turgoyak

It is rare that on our planet there are simultaneously mountains, a lake in these mountains, and a coniferous forest all around. One of such places here in the Southern Urals is Lake Turgoyak, now a national park. In terms of cleanliness and transparency of the water, it is not inferior to Lake Baikal. The lake is included in the list of the most valuable reservoirs in the world by the International Limnological Commission. In our country it is included in the card index of remarkable landscapes. The area of ​​the lake is 26.4 sq. km, length - 6.9 km, greatest width - 6.3 km, coastline length 27 km. Turgoyak is located in a deep intermountain basin between the Ural-Tau and Ilmensky ridges at an altitude of 320 m above sea level. This is the deepest lake in the Southern Urals: its depth reaches 34 m, the average depth is 19.2 m. There are six islands in total on the lake. Large rivers flow into the lake: Bobrovka, Kuleshovka, Lipovka and Pugachevka. Only one river flows out - Istok. Currently, due to the decrease in the water level in the lake, there is no outflow of water. It itself is very picturesque; walking trails are laid along its banks.

There are many beautiful places on the lake. The Inyshevsky Bay is especially beautiful on the northern shore, always quiet and thoughtful, even when there are waves on the lake; wide layers of sand stretch from the water in an arc, from rock to rock.

It is interesting to visit its islands. The largest of them is the island of St. Vera, where at one time there was an Old Believer monastery.

It is interesting to climb deep into the bay near the Krestovoy Peninsula and from there climb Krestovaya Mountain. Beautiful view from Krestovaya Mountain.

Another beautiful excursion is to the Ilmensky ridge. From the top there is a view to the east, to the eastern Ural region of lakes scattered everywhere among the wooded hills. Directly in front of us the winding Miassovo stretches whimsically, far to the right is the wide, patterned B. Kisegach, even further to the right you can barely see Chebarkul. Large, small, barely noticeable light depressions in the forest.

A long journey can be made to Itsil.

On the shore of Lake Turgoyak, there are dozens of sanatoriums. boarding houses and recreation centers.

The unique nature of the Urals

“A person will admire the wild virgin taiga, where there is so much life and freedom. And if fate throws this person onto lakes, winding rivers, rolling their crystalline waters along a rocky bottom, and he hears the cry of birds - geese, ducks, seagulls, - sees flocks of “red” game fluttering in all directions - he will be sorry to leave with a region where, although for a relatively short time, nature is full of enchanting charm.”

A. K. Denisov-Uralsky

Naturally, the nature of such a large mountainous country as the Urals, stretching from the Arctic Ocean to the southern steppes in the center of a huge continent, is unusually diverse. The Urals crosses several natural zones, clearly expressed on the neighboring plains - Russian and West Siberian.

Within the same zone on the plains of the Cis-Urals and Trans-Urals, natural conditions differ markedly. This is explained by the fact that the Ural Mountains not only form a barrier to the settlement of some species of plants and animals, but also serve as a real climatic barrier. To the west of them there is more precipitation, the climate is more humid and mild; to the east, that is, beyond the Urals, there is less precipitation, the climate is drier, with pronounced continental features.

The nature of the vegetation of the Cis-Urals and Trans-Urals is also different. For example, in the taiga of the Cis-Ural region there are most fir-spruce forests, and fewer pine forests. In the Trans-Ural region, on the contrary, pine forests are especially common. In the Cis-Urals, south of the taiga, there are broad-leaved forests; in the Trans-Urals there are none. In the steppes of the Cis-Ural region, in the remaining areas of meadow steppes, forbs form a colorful carpet. In the steppes of the Trans-Ural region, due to the lack of moisture and the close occurrence of salt-rich tertiary sediments, saline soils with sparse vegetation are common.

Currently, there are practically no natural landscapes left in the Urals, with the exception of forests and mountain tundras in the very north, which would not be changed by man. In the forest zone, in place of native dark coniferous and pine forests, birches and aspens grow over vast areas. The fauna of the Urals has also changed greatly: the number of ferrets, badgers, squirrels, sables, martens, and beavers has decreased. There are few fish left in the rivers.

As a result of economic activity, the nature of the Urals, especially the Middle and Southern ones, has changed greatly. The forests suffered significantly, as they were cut down when the metallurgy of the Urals developed using charcoal. The composition of the forest area has changed: more and more space is occupied by birch and birch-pine forests. Many rivers are polluted by industrial wastes, and in large cities there is a lack of clean water for the household needs of the population, so the problem of water supply is one of the most important in this region. Soil resources are rich only in the southern part of the Urals, in the zone of steppes and forest-steppes. All of the above facts allow us to conclude that the problems of rational use of the natural resources of the Urals are very acute.

Bibliography

1. Lobanov Yu. E. “Ural caves”. Sverdlovsk: Middle Ural book. Publishing house, 1989

2. Pysin K. G. “On the natural monuments of Russia.” M.: Soviet Russia. 1990

3. Arkhipova N. P. “Wildlife places of the Sverdlovsk region.” – Sverdlovsk: Middle Urals. Book Publishing house, 1984

Illustrations used:

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http://www.geo.59311s011.edusite.ru/p50aa1.html

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http://greeninform.ru/2009/03/malaxit-kamen-garmonii/

http://www.suvenirograd.ru/sights.php?id=1462&lang=1

http://www.spas-extreme.ru/el.php?EID=1200

The mineral resources of the Urals are represented by jewelry diamonds and other minerals, as well as various metals and non-metals.

The very first Urals that began to be mined, the history of their mining began about 4 thousand years ago.

Much later, approximately in the V-III centuries BC. e., began to mine iron ore. Gold began to be mined in the 1st millennium BC. Since the deposits reaching the surface, where the minerals of the Urals were located, quickly dried up, it was necessary to carry out deeper developments. But temporarily this type of human activity fell into decline, since in the first millennium BC. the entire Southern Urals are inhabited by nomads who were not involved in the mining and smelting of metals.

Only 1.5 thousand years later, people began to mine the minerals of the Urals again, and a new era of using these resources began.

Minerals of the southern Urals

Black metals

From the end of the 18th century to the present day, brown iron ores have been mined. At the beginning of the last century, iron ore deposits began to be developed at a rapid pace, and the Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works was built, but today the ore reserves here are practically exhausted. Not far from Magnitogorsk, a deposit of magnetite and titanomagnetite ores is being developed, which is called Maly Kuybas.

The mineral resources of the Urals are represented not only by iron ores, but also by others such as titanium, chromium, vanadium, and manganese.

Currently, deposits of iron-titanium-vanadium ores are being developed, the reserves of which are very large. They have a high iron content - up to 57%, titanium - up to 6.5%, vanadium - up to 0.4%.

Non-ferrous metals

In the Southern Urals there are many ores of various non-ferrous metals. A large number of deposits of sulfide copper, as well as deposits of sulfide ores, have already been developed. Since they are located at a shallow depth, they are being mined open-pit. Not far from the Arkaim nature reserve, a zinc deposit was discovered at the end of the last century and is now being developed. The main difference between pyrite ores is that they always have several components. If the main ones are zinc and copper, then along with them there is a fairly high amount of gold, lead, silver, as well as such rare metals as gallium, indium, scandium, mercury and others. Sulfur is also obtained from these ores.

Along with pyrite ores, there are significant deposits of porphyry copper ores, which contain a significant amount of molybdenum.

The Ufaley nickel-cobalt ore deposits are known far beyond the country's borders. Some of them have already been worked out, but a constant search for new deposits of these ores is being carried out. There are deposits of bauxite, from which aluminum is smelted.

Noble metals

The Southern Urals are the main supplier of gold to the state treasury. It was in the Urals that a nugget of this metal weighing about 36 kilograms was found. carried out from mines whose depth reaches 700 m. Gold and silver are also mined by processing pyrite ores.

Rare metals

This includes tungsten, tin, tantalum, beryllium and others. Mining of such a rare mineral as columbite is underway. It is from it that niobium is extracted; zirconium ores are also mined, along with which ceramic feldspathic raw materials are mined. There are deposits of tungsten and beryllium ore.

A few kilometers from Satka there is a unique deposit of rare metal ores, namely zirconium, niobium, tantalum, molybdenum, which is called Simbirka. This ore has an unusual mineral composition and is very rich in tantalum and niobium, which is extremely rare.

To date, a map of the mineral resources of the Urals has been compiled, which is constantly updated as new searches and development of deposits are carried out.