Uranium ore designation on the map. Designations on the map of minerals important in the study of geography

Natural substances and types of energy that serve as the means of subsistence of human society and are used in the economy are called .

One type of natural resource is mineral resources.

Mineral resources - these are rocks and minerals that are used or can be used in national economy: to obtain energy, in the form of raw materials, materials, etc. Mineral resources serve as the mineral resource base of the country's economy. Currently, more than 200 types are used in the economy mineral resources.

The term is often synonymous with mineral resources "minerals".

There are several classifications of mineral resources.

Based on accounting physical properties allocate solid (various ores, coal, marble, granite, salts) mineral resources, liquid (oil, mineral water) and gaseous (flammable gases, helium, methane).

Based on their origin, mineral resources are divided into sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic.

Based on the scope of use of mineral resources, they distinguish between combustible (coal, peat, oil, natural gas, oil shale), ore (rock ores, including metallic useful components and non-metallic (graphite, asbestos) and non-metallic (or non-metallic, non-combustible: sand, clay , limestone, apatite, sulfur, potassium salts). Precious and ornamental stones form a separate group.

The distribution of mineral resources on our planet is subject to geological laws (Table 1).

Mineral resources of sedimentary origin are most characteristic of platforms, where they are found in the strata of the sedimentary cover, as well as in foothills and marginal troughs.

Igneous mineral resources are confined to folded areas and places where the crystalline basement of ancient platforms is exposed to the surface (or lies close to the surface). This is explained as follows. The ores were formed mainly from magma and hot aqueous solutions released from it. Typically, magma rises during periods of active tectonic movements, so ore minerals are associated with folded areas. On platform plains they are confined to the foundation, and therefore can be found in those parts of the platform where the thickness of the sedimentary cover is small and the foundation comes close to the surface or on shields.

Minerals on the World Map

Minerals on the map of Russia

Table 1. Distribution of deposits of main minerals by continents and parts of the world

Minerals	Continents and parts of the world
Minerals		North America	South America	Australia






Aluminum

Manganese
Floor and metals






Rare earth metals
Tungsten



Non-metallic


Potassium salts
Rock salt


Phosphorites
Piezoquartz



Ornamental stones

They are primarily of sedimentary origin. fuel resources. They were formed from the remains of plants and animals, which could accumulate only in sufficiently humid and warm conditions favorable for the abundant development of living organisms. This happened in the coastal parts of shallow seas and in lake-marsh land conditions. Of the total mineral fuel reserves, more than 60% is coal, about 12% is oil and 15% is natural gas, the rest is oil shale, peat and other types of fuel. Mineral fuel resources form large coal and oil and gas basins.

Coal Basin(coal-bearing basin) — large area(thousands of km 2) continuous or discontinuous development of coal-bearing deposits (coal-bearing formation) with layers (deposits) of fossil coal.

Coal basins of the same geological age often form coal accumulation belts extending over thousands of kilometers.

On globe More than 3.6 thousand coal basins are known, which together occupy 15% of the earth's land area.

More than 90% of all coal resources are located in the Northern Hemisphere - in Asia, North America, Europe. Africa and Australia are well supplied with coal. The coal-poor continent is South America. Coal resources have been explored in almost 100 countries around the world. The majority of both total and proven coal reserves are concentrated in economically developed countries.

The largest countries in the world by proven coal reserves are: USA, Russia, China, India, Australia, South Africa, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Poland, Brazil. Approximately 80% of the total geological reserves of coal are found in only three countries - Russia, the USA, and China.

The qualitative composition of coals is of significant importance, in particular, the proportion of coking coals used in ferrous metallurgy. Their largest share is in the fields of Australia, Germany, Russia, Ukraine, the USA, India and China.

Oil and gas basin— an area of continuous or island distribution of oil, gas or gas condensate fields, significant in size or mineral reserves.

Mineral deposit called a section of the earth's crust in which, as a result of certain geological processes There was an accumulation of mineral matter, in quantity, quality and conditions of occurrence, suitable for industrial use.

Oil and gas bearing More than 600 basins have been explored, 450 are being developed. The main reserves are located in the Northern Hemisphere, mainly in Mesozoic deposits. An important place belongs to the so-called giant fields with reserves of over 500 million tons and even over 1 billion tons of oil and 1 trillion m 3 of gas each. There are 50 such oil fields (more than half are in the countries of the Near and Middle East), 20 gas fields (such fields are most typical for the CIS countries). They contain over 70% of all reserves.

The bulk of oil and gas reserves are concentrated in a relatively small number of major basins.

Largest oil and gas basins: Persian Gulf, Maracaiba, Orinoco, Gulf of Mexico, Texas, Illinois, California, Western Canada, Alaska, North Sea, Volga-Ural, West Siberian, Datsin, Sumatra, Gulf of Guinea, Sahara.

More than half of the proven oil reserves are confined to offshore fields, the continental shelf zone, and sea coasts. Large accumulations of oil have been identified off the coast of Alaska, in the Gulf of Mexico, in the coastal areas of northern South America (the Maracaibo depression), in the North Sea (especially in the waters of the British and Norwegian sectors), as well as in the Barents, Bering and Caspian seas, off the western shores Africa (Guinea waterway), in the Persian Gulf, near the islands South-East Asia and in other places.

The countries in the world with the largest oil reserves are Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kuwait, UAE, Iran, Venezuela, Mexico, Libya, USA. Large reserves have also been discovered in Qatar, Bahrain, Ecuador, Algeria, Libya, Nigeria, Gabon, Indonesia, Brunei.

The availability of proven oil reserves with modern production is generally 45 years worldwide. The OPEC average is 85 years; in the USA it barely exceeds 10 years, in Russia - 20 years, in Saudi Arabia it is 90 years, in Kuwait and the UAE - about 140 years.

Countries leading in gas reserves in the world, are Russia, Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Large reserves have also been discovered in Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, USA, Canada, Mexico, Venezuela, Algeria, Libya, Norway, the Netherlands, Great Britain, China, Brunei, and Indonesia.

Supply of the world economy with natural gas at modern level its production is 71 years old.

An example of igneous mineral resources is metal ores. Metal ores include ores of iron, manganese, chromium, aluminum, lead and zinc, copper, tin, gold, platinum, nickel, tungsten, molybdenum, etc. They often form huge ore (metallogenic) belts - Alpine-Himalayan, Pacific etc. and serve as a raw material base for the mining industry of individual countries.

Iron ores serve as the main raw material for the production of ferrous metals. The average iron content in ore is 40%. Depending on the percentage of iron, ores are divided into rich and poor. Rich ores, with an iron content above 45%, are used without enrichment, and poor ores undergo preliminary enrichment.

By size of general geological iron ore resources CIS countries take first place, second place goes to Foreign Asia, the third and fourth are shared by Africa and South America, the fifth is occupied by North America.

Many developed and developing countries have iron ore resources. According to them total and confirmed reserves Russia, Ukraine, Brazil, China, Australia stand out. There are large reserves of iron ore in the USA, Canada, India, France, and Sweden. Large deposits are also located in the UK, Norway, Luxembourg, Venezuela, South Africa, Algeria, Liberia, Gabon, Angola, Mauritania, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan.

The supply of iron ore to the world economy at the current level of its production is 250 years.

In the production of ferrous metals great importance have alloying metals (manganese, chromium, nickel, cobalt, tungsten, molybdenum), used in steel smelting as special additives to improve the quality of the metal.

By reserves manganese ores South Africa, Australia, Gabon, Brazil, India, China, Kazakhstan stand out; nickel ores - Russia, Australia, New Caledonia (islands in Melanesia, southwestern part Pacific Ocean), Cuba, as well as Canada, Indonesia, the Philippines; chromites - South Africa, Zimbabwe; cobalt - DR Congo, Zambia, Australia, Philippines; tungsten and molybdenum - USA, Canada, South Korea, Australia.

Non-ferrous metals find wide application in modern industries. Non-ferrous ores, unlike ferrous ones, have a very low percentage of useful elements in the ore (often tenths and even hundredths of a percent).

Raw material base aluminum industry make up bauxite, nephelines, alunites, syenites. The main type of raw material is bauxite.

There are several bauxite-bearing provinces in the world:

Mediterranean (France, Italy, Greece, Hungary, Romania, etc.);
coast of the Gulf of Guinea (Guinea, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Cameroon);
coast Caribbean Sea(Jamaica, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Guyana, Suriname);
Australia.

Reserves are also available in the CIS countries and China.

Countries of the world with largest total and proven bauxite reserves: Guinea, Jamaica, Brazil, Australia, Russia. The supply of bauxite to the world economy at the current level of production (80 million tons) is 250 years.

The volumes of raw materials for the production of other non-ferrous metals (copper, polymetallic, tin and other ores) are more limited compared to the raw material base of the aluminum industry.

Reserves copper ores concentrated mainly in the countries of Asia (India, Indonesia, etc.), Africa (Zimbabwe, Zambia, DRC), North America (USA, Canada) and the CIS countries (Russia, Kazakhstan). Copper ore resources are also available in countries Latin America(Mexico, Panama, Peru, Chile), Europe (Germany, Poland, Yugoslavia), as well as in Australia and Oceania (Australia, Papua - New Guinea).Leading in copper ore reserves Chile, USA, Canada, DR Congo, Zambia, Peru, Australia, Kazakhstan, China.

The supply of the world economy with explored reserves of copper ore at the current volume of annual production is approximately 56 years.

By reserves polymetallic ores containing lead, zinc, as well as copper, tin, antimony, bismuth, cadmium, gold, silver, selenium, tellurium, sulfur, the leading positions in the world are occupied by the countries of North America (USA, Canada), Latin America (Mexico, Peru), as well as Australia. Countries have resources of polymetallic ores Western Europe(Ireland, Germany), Asia (China, Japan) and CIS countries (Kazakhstan, Russia).

Place of Birth zinc are available in 70 countries of the world; the supply of their reserves, taking into account the growing demand for this metal, is more than 40 years. Australia, Canada, the USA, Russia, Kazakhstan and China have the largest reserves. These countries account for more than 50% of the world's zinc ore reserves.

World deposits tin ores are found in Southeast Asia, mainly in China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. Other large deposits are located in South America(Bolivia, Peru, Brazil) and in Australia.

If we compare economically the developed countries and developing according to their share in resources different types ore raw materials, it is obvious that the former have a sharp advantage in the resources of platinum, vanadium, chromites, gold, manganese, lead, zinc, tungsten, and the latter - in the resources of cobalt, bauxite, tin, nickel, copper.

Uranium ores form the basis of modern nuclear energy. Uranium is very widespread in earth's crust. Potentially, its reserves are estimated at 10 million tons. However, it is economically profitable to develop only those deposits whose ores contain at least 0.1% uranium, and the production cost does not exceed $80 per 1 kg. The explored reserves of such uranium in the world amount to 1.4 million tons. They are located in Australia, Canada, the USA, South Africa, Niger, Brazil, Namibia, as well as in Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

Diamonds are usually formed at depths of 100-200 km, where the temperature reaches 1100-1300 ° C and the pressure 35-50 kilobars. Such conditions promote the metamorphosis of carbon into diamond. After spending billions of years at great depths, diamonds are brought to the surface by kimberlite magma during volcanic explosions, forming primary diamond deposits - kimberlite pipes. The first of these pipes was discovered in southern Africa in the Kimberley province, after which the pipes were called kimberlite, and the rock containing precious diamonds was called kimberlite. To date, thousands of kimberlite pipes have been found, but only a few dozen of them are profitable.

Currently, diamonds are mined from two types of deposits: primary (kimberlite and lamproite pipes) and secondary - placers. The bulk of diamond reserves, 68.8%, are concentrated in Africa, about 20% in Australia, 11.1% in South and North America; Asia accounts for only 0.3%. Diamond deposits have been discovered in South Africa, Brazil, India, Canada, Australia, Russia, Botswana, Angola, Sierra Lzona, Namibia, Democratic Republic Congo, etc. The leaders in diamond production are Botswana, Russia, Canada, South Africa, Angola, Namibia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Non-metallic mineral resources- these are, first of all, mineral chemical raw materials (sulfur, phosphorites, potassium salts), as well as Construction Materials, refractory raw materials, graphite, etc. They are widespread, found both on platforms and in folded areas.

For example, in hot dry conditions Salt accumulation occurred in shallow seas and coastal lagoons.

Potassium salts are used as raw materials for the production of mineral fertilizers. Largest deposits potassium salts are located in Canada (Saskatchewan Basin), Russia (Solikamsk and Bereznyaki deposits in Perm region), Belarus (Starobinskoye), in Ukraine (Kalushskoye, Stebnikskoye), as well as in Germany, France, and the USA. At the current annual production of potassium salts, proven reserves will last for 70 years.

Sulfur It is used primarily to produce sulfuric acid, the vast majority of which is spent on the production of phosphate fertilizers, pesticides, as well as in the pulp and paper industry. IN agriculture sulfur is used to control pests. The USA, Mexico, Poland, France, Germany, Iran, Japan, Ukraine, and Turkmenistan have significant reserves of native sulfur.

The reserves of individual types of mineral raw materials are not the same. The demand for mineral resources is constantly growing, which means that the size of their production is growing. Mineral resources are exhaustible, non-renewable Natural resources Therefore, despite the discovery and development of new deposits, the availability of mineral resources is declining.

Resource availability is the relationship between the amount of (explored) natural resources and the extent of their use. It is expressed either by the number of years for which a particular resource should last this level consumption, or its reserves per capita at current rates of production or use. The resource availability of mineral resources is determined by the number of years for which this mineral should last.

According to scientists' calculations, the world's general geological reserves of mineral fuel at the current level of production may last for more than 1000 years. However, if we take into account the reserves available for extraction, as well as the constant increase in consumption, this supply may decrease several times.

For economic use the most advantageous are territorial combinations of mineral resources that facilitate complex processing raw materials.

Only a few countries in the world have significant reserves of many types of mineral resources. Among them are Russia, USA, China.

Many states have deposits of one or more types of resources of global importance. For example, the countries of the Near and Middle East - oil and gas; Chile, Zaire, Zambia - copper, Morocco and Nauru - phosphorites, etc.

Rice. 1. Principles of rational environmental management

Important rational use resources - more complete processing of extracted minerals, their integrated use, etc. (Fig. 1).

In the depths of our planet lies a huge amount of various fuel and mineral resources. Their distribution is shown on special geographical maps. In this article we will introduce you to the main signs and designations of minerals, and also tell you about the main mineral wealth of Russia.

About minerals in brief

Mineral resources mean those natural formations in the earth's crust, which are used or can be used in material production (as fuel or raw materials). Most often they reside in solid state of aggregation. But they can be liquid or gaseous (like oil or gas, for example).

By their origin, minerals can be organic or inorganic, and by the conditions of formation - metamorphic, igneous or exogenous. According to their functional purpose they are divided into three large groups:

Ore (aluminum, copper, iron, gold).
Non-metallic (diamonds, limestone, sand, rock salt).
Fuel or combustible (oil, natural gas, coal, shale).

Sometimes in separate group secrete precious and semi gems.

Minerals occur at different depths. In the depths of the earth's crust they are found in the form of veins, lenses, layers, placers, etc. Many of them are extracted by humans to the surface using mines, quarries and wells. Sphere economic activity, which is engaged in the development and extraction of mineral resources, is called mining.

Symbols of mineral resources on maps

Deposits of certain mineral resources are marked on a number of maps: general geographical, geological, economic and others. In this case, special designations of minerals are used. They belong to the category of non-scale cartographic signs.

Geographical designations for minerals used in cartography are generally accepted. You can see what they look like in the diagram below. These signs are studied at school as part of educational subjects general geography and natural history. They can also be found in school and thematic atlases.

In addition, there is a special GOST number 2.857-75, which was developed by a number of Russian scientific institutes. This standard specifies not only the designations of minerals, but also the conditions of their occurrence. However, these signs are used exclusively by geologists. Thus, diamond deposits in this GOST are designated in red, sulfur - lemon, oil - brown, rock salt - purple.

But we will still return to those designations of minerals that are widely used in cartography. Let's take a closer look at what the symbols of those mineral resources that are of the most industrial importance in the world look like. modern world.

Ore minerals: symbols of deposits

Examples: iron and copper, nickel, mercury, tin, aluminum, gold, tungsten.

Conventional signs Ore minerals on maps are most often colored red. They look like this:

Iron ores - shaded
Titan is a diamond with the left half shaded.
Molybdenum is a rhombus with a white square inside.
Copper is a filled elongated rectangle.
Tungsten is an unfilled square.
Mercury is an open circle.
Aluminum is an equilateral square with a circle inside.
Gold is a circle with the left half shaded.
Polymetallic ores - a designation reminiscent of a radiation hazard sign.

Non-metallic minerals

Examples: graphite, limestone, sand, kaolin, granite, clay, rock salt, phosphorites, marble.

Symbols of non-metallic minerals on maps usually have green tint. They look like this:

Asbestos is the sign of a simple Greek cross.
Native sulfur is an equilateral triangle with the left half shaded.
Mica is an empty square crossed along one diagonal.
Phosphorites are a filled circle with a vertical slot in the middle.
Apatity is a filled circle with a horizontal slot in the middle.
Diamonds - eight-pointed star.
Limestone is an empty square intersected along both diagonals.
Kaolin is a square crossed along one diagonal, with the right half shaded.

Fuel (combustible) minerals

Examples: oil, natural gas, peat, oil shale.

Symbols for fuel minerals on maps are usually black. They look like this:

Oil - shaded isosceles triangle.
Natural gas is an empty isosceles triangle.
Coal- shaded equilateral square.
Brown coal is an empty square with diagonal hatching.
Oil shale is a shaded parallelogram.

Map of mineral resources of Russia

Russia is the largest country in the world by area. Therefore, it is not surprising that a huge amount of a wide variety of minerals is concentrated on its territory. In the depths of Russia, deposits of oil, gas, ferrous and non-ferrous metal ores, and precious stones have been identified, explored and developed.

Chain Ural mountains extremely rich in ore deposits. Copper, iron, manganese, nickel, chromite ores, as well as gold and platinum, occur here. There are also ornamental stones of magnificent beauty here. Huge reserves of mercury are concentrated in Altai. Transbaikalia and gold.

Colossal reserves of coal are concentrated in the sedimentary cover of the ancient East European Platform. Western Siberia has rich oil and gas deposits. Potassium salts are mined in the foothills of the Urals and on the chemical industry. The designations of mineral resources in Russia are shown in more detail on the following map.

According to geologists, the country has enormous oil reserves (12% of global reserves), natural gas(3%), iron ores (25%), nickel (33%), zinc (15%), potassium salt(31%). However, the degree of their industrial development remains quite low. Experts estimate Russia's total mineral reserves at 28,000 billion US dollars.

Currently, nuclear energy is used on a fairly large scale. If in the last century radioactive materials were used mainly for the production nuclear weapons, having the greatest destructive force, then in our time the situation has changed. Nuclear energy on nuclear power plants converted into electricity and used for completely peaceful purposes. Also created nuclear engines, which are used, for example, in submarines.

The main radioactive material used to produce nuclear energy is Uranus. This chemical element belongs to the actinide family. Uranus was discovered in 1789 German chemist Martin Heinrich Klaproth in his study of pitchblende, which is now also called "uranium pitch". A new chemical element has been named after a recently discovered planet. solar system. The radioactive properties of uranium were discovered only in late XIX century.

Uranium is contained in the sedimentary shell and in the granite layer. This is a rather rare chemical element: its content in the earth’s crust is 0.002%. In addition, uranium is contained in small quantities in sea water(10?9 g/l). Due to its chemical activity, uranium is found only in compounds and is not found in free form on Earth.

Uranium ores are natural mineral formations containing uranium or its compounds in quantities at which its use is possible and economically feasible. Uranium ores also serve as raw materials for the production of other radioactive elements such as radium and polonium.

Nowadays, about 100 different uranium minerals are known, 12 of which are actively used in industry to produce radioactive materials. The most important minerals are uranium oxides (uranite and its varieties - pitchblende and uranium black), its silicates (coffinit), titanites (Davidite and brannerite), as well as hydrous phosphates and uranium micas.

Uranium ores are classified according to various criteria. In particular, they are distinguished by educational conditions. One of the types are the so-called endogenous ores, which were deposited under the influence high temperatures and from pegmatite melts and aqueous solutions. Endogenous ores are characteristic of folded areas and activated platforms. Exogenous ores are formed in near-surface conditions and even on the Earth's surface during the process of accumulation (syngenetic ores) or as a result (epigenetic ores). They occur predominantly on the surface of young platforms. Metamorphogenic ores that arose during the redistribution of primary dispersed uranium during the metamorphism of sedimentary strata. Metamorphogenic ores are characteristic of ancient platforms.

In addition, uranium ores are divided into natural types and technological grades. According to the nature of uranium mineralization, they are distinguished: primary uranium ores - (U 4 + content not less than 75% of total number), oxidized uranium ores (contain mainly U 6 +) and mixed uranium ores, in which U 4 + and U 6 + are found in approximately equal proportions. The technology for their processing depends on the degree of oxidation of uranium. Based on the degree of unevenness of the U content in the lump fraction of the rock (“contrast”), highly contrasting, contrasting, weakly contrasting and non-contrasting uranium ores are distinguished. This parameter determines the possibility and feasibility of enrichment uranium ores.

According to the sizes of aggregates and grains of uranium minerals, they are distinguished: coarse-grained (over 25 mm in diameter), medium-grained (3–25 mm), fine-grained (0.1–3 mm), fine-grained (0.015–0.1 mm) and dispersed (less than 0.015 mm) uranium ores. The grain sizes of uranium minerals also determine the possibility of ore enrichment. According to the content of useful impurities, uranium ores are divided into: uranium, uranium-molybdenum, uranium-vanadium, uranium-cobalt-bismuth-silver and others.

By chemical composition impurities, uranium ores are divided into: silicate (consist mainly of silicate minerals), carbonate (more than 10–15% carbonate minerals), iron oxide (iron-uranium ores), sulfide (more than 8–10% sulfide minerals) and caustobiolite, consisting of mainly from organic matter.

The chemical composition of ores often determines how they are processed. Uranium is separated from silicate ores by acids, and from carbonate ores by soda solutions. Iron oxide ores are subjected to blast furnace smelting. Caustobiolite uranium ores are sometimes enriched by combustion.

As mentioned above, the content of uranium in the earth's crust is quite low. There are several deposits of uranium ores in Russia:

Zherlovoe and Argunskoye fields. They are located in the Krasnokamensky district of the Chita region. The reserves of the Zherlovoye deposit amount to 4,137 thousand tons of ore, which contain only 3,485 tons of uranium (average content 0.082%), as well as 4,137 tons of molybdenum (content 0.227%). C1 category uranium reserves at the Argun deposit amount to 13,025 thousand tons of ore, 27,957 tons of uranium (average content 0.215%) and 3,598 tons of molybdenum (average content 0.048%). Reserves in category C2 are: 7,990 thousand tons of ore, 9,481 tons of uranium (with an average content of 0.12%) and 3,191 tons of molybdenum (with an average content of 0.0489%). Approximately 93% of all Russian uranium is mined here.

5 uranium deposits ( Istochnoye, Kolichkanskoye, Dybrynskoye, Namarusskoye, Koretkondinskoye) are located on the territory of the Republic of Buryatia. The total explored reserves of the deposits amount to 17.7 thousand tons of uranium, the predicted resources are estimated at another 12.2 thousand tons.

Khiagdinskoye uranium deposit. Extraction is carried out using the method of borehole underground leaching. The explored reserves of this field in category C1+C2 are estimated at 11.3 thousand tons. The deposit is located on the territory of the Republic of Buryatia.

Radioactive materials are used not only to create nuclear weapons and fuel. For example, uranium in small quantities added to glass to give it color. Uranium is a component of various metal alloys and is used in photography and other fields.

Uranium ore is a natural mineral formation that contains uranium in such quantity, concentration and composition that its extraction becomes economically profitable and feasible. There is quite a lot of uranium in the bowels of the earth. For example in nature:

uranium is 1000 times more than gold;
50 times more than silver;
Uranium reserves are almost equal to those of zinc and lead.

Uranium particles are present in the soil, rock, sea water. A very small part of it is concentrated in the deposits. Known, explored uranium deposits are estimated at 5.4 million tons.

Characteristics and types

The main types of uranium-containing ores: oxides (uranites, uranium resins, uranium blacks), silicates (coffinites), titanates (brannerites), uranyl silicates (uranophanes, betauranotyls), uranyl-vanadates (carnotites), tyuyamunites, uranyl phosphates (otenites, torbenites). Zr, TR, Th, Ti, P minerals (fluorapatites, monazites, zircons, orthites...) often also include uranium. Sorbed uranium also occurs in carbonaceous rock.

Field and production

The top three countries in terms of uranium ore reserves are Australia, Kazakhstan, and Russia. Almost 10% of the world's uranium reserves are concentrated in Russia, and in our country two-thirds of the reserves are localized in Yakutia (Republic of Sakha). The largest Russian uranium deposits are in the following deposits: Streltsovsky, Oktyabrsky, Anteysky, Malo-Tulukuevsky, Argunsky, Dalmatovsky, Khiagdinsky... There are also a large number of smaller deposits and deposits.

Application of uranium ores

The most important application is nuclear fuel. The most commonly used isotope is U235, which can be the basis for a self-sustaining chain nuclear reaction. It is used in nuclear reactors, weapons. U238 isotope increases power by fission thermonuclear weapons. U233 is the most promising fuel for gas-phase nuclear rocket engines.

Uranium is capable of actively generating heat. Its heat-generating capacity is a thousand times more powerful than oil or natural gas.
Uranium is used by geologists to determine the age of rocks and minerals. There is even such a science - geochronology.
It is sometimes used in aircraft construction, photography, and painting (it has a beautiful yellow-green tint).
Iron + U238 = magnetostrictive material.
Depleted uranium is used to produce radiation protection equipment.
There are many more functions that uranium performs.

Our land is great and rich in various minerals!

In schools, from the very beginning of studying a subject such as geography, children are explained what wealth is extracted from the bowels of the earth. Children will learn in which part of the world certain natural resources can be found. A map with mineral symbols helps them with this.

The riches of our land

On geographical map Topographers apply special symbols and signs indicating what exactly is in a particular place. For example, forests are indicated as trees or in the shape of a green rectangle, seas in the shape of a blue rectangle, sandy areas in yellow, and so on.

The earth is rich in such minerals as oil, gas, coal, peat, black ore, non-ferrous ore, lime, clay, sand, granite, precious stones (ruby, diamond, sapphire, emerald), fresh water, mineral water and so on. Thanks to topographers, people find out in which area gas or oil is produced, and much more.

According to the designations of mineral resources on the map of Russia, it is rich in oil and gas (Tyumen, Tomsk, Novosibirsk, Perm, Orenburg region, the republics of Tatarstan, Bashkortostan and so on), coal (Pechora, Kuznetsk, South Yakut basins), oil shale (St. Petersburg deposit), peat (Northern Urals, Western Siberia), iron ores(Kursk), copper (Norilsk) and much more.

Students learn how minerals are mined, how they are cultivated, and how they need to be protected.