Pre-Visean Bauxites and Iron-Aluminum Ores Deposit of the KMA and Prospects for Development

• Published in: Geology of ore deposits 2021-07, Vol.63 (4), p.368-381
• Main Authors: Nikulin, I. I., Starostin, V. I., Samsonov, A. A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Admixtures; Aluminium; Aluminum; Aluminum ores; Aluminum oxide; Bauxite; Bayer process; Boehmite; Chlorite; Deposits; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Geology; Haematite; Hematite; Iron; Iron compounds; Iron ores; Kaolinite; Magnetic anomalies; Mineral Resources; Ores; Paleozoic; Precambrian; Raw materials; Sedimentary rocks; Shale; Silica; Silicon dioxide
• ISSN: 1075-7015; 1555-6476
• DOI: 10.1134/S107570152104005X

Data on geology of bauxite deposits associated with rich iron ores of the weathering crust of Precambrian ferruginous-siliceous shale formation within the Kursk Magnetic Anomaly (KMA) are summarized. High -grade iron ores and bauxites occur under a predominantly Paleozoic sedimentary cover at depths of over 400 m. The main potential of iron–aluminum raw materials in the region is concentrated in Bolshetroitskoe, Vislovskoe, Olimpiyskoye and Melikhovo-Shebekinskoe deposits. Bauxite and ferralite deposits were formed during pre-Visean time after phyllitic shales of Yakovlev and Korobkovsky Formations. They consist mainly of boehmite with hematite impregnation, often with a significant admixture of kaolinite and chlorite. Average content (%) is usually Al 2 O 3 ~50.1, SiO 2 ~6.0, Fe tot . ~14.0. The total bauxite potential of KMA is 1201.7 mln t (P 1 + C 1 + C 2 + B). Subsurface mining even with small projected capacity of 1.0–2.5 mln t/year would cover the deficit of alumina presently covered through import.