First Bakcharsky ore will be mined

At the end of 2014 Tomsk region intends to register in the State Registrar the initial reserves of Bakcharsky C2 ore in the amount of 150 million tons. Iron content in the ore after washing can exceed 60%.

This information was delivered by Maksim Buyanov, Director General of LLC Geliotom+, on November 28, 2014 at the meeting of the Experts Council on Industrial Policy where he was presenting the results of geological prospecting at Bakcharsky ore deposit that was performed following the Rosnedra (Russian Subsoil Control Board) request.

In the western part of Bakcharsky section the iron occurs in two beds. The first bed is at a depth of 160-165 m from the surface, its thickness is 3-4 m; C2 reserves to be registered amount to 50 million tons. The second bed adjoins the first one, its thickness is 8-9 m; C2 reserves to be registered amount to 100 million tons. Two options of iron production are offered to be submitted to the State Commission approval: borehole mining and open-cast mining.

Hydraulic borehole mining has already been used for ore production from the depth of 700 m at Kursk magnetic anomaly, but the upper layers there were composed of hard limestone. Open-cast mining requires considerable scope of stripping works. According to calculations this method would allow production of 53 million ton of iron ore.

Results of studies have shown that iron at Bakcharsky iron ore deposit is of rather high quality. Its main drawback is phosphorus that can be removed by chemical reduction only. Cost of the updated project with account of chemical reduction is estimated at 1.5 billion RUB. Two options of further processing of the produced ore are currently under consideration: construction of ironworks in the vicinity of the field or steelworks for production of higher added value products: chloride and iron oxide.

For reference:

Bakcharsky iron deposit (occurrence) is one of the largest iron ore deposits in Russia and in the world. It is located in Bakcharsky district of Tomsk region between the Andarma and Iksa rivers (the Chaya River tributaries). Bakcharsky iron deposit is in the most thoroughly surveyed part of the West-Siberian iron ore basin. Area of the field is 16 thousand square km. Iron ore occurs in three horizons at depths of 190 and 220 m. Prospected reserves of ore are estimated at 28.7 billion tons, forecast reserves amount to 110 billion tons. Forecast reserves of Bakcharsky field are twice as much as the known reserves of the country.

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• December
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