The region, centered on St. Petersburg, is relatively rich in minerals. No significant deposits have been discovered in this area, unpromising and unprofitable deposits were screened out at the preliminary stage, but promising ones are actively exploited.
General characteristics of the region
The territory of the region is located in full on the East European (Russian) plain. The highest point does not even reach three hundred meters above sea level. It is the flat nature of the relief that explains the fact that the ore minerals of the Leningrad Region are practically absent. But there are non-metallic, most of which are actively used in construction. On the territory of the region there is an extensive and developed river network, there are almost two thousand lakes, including the largest in Europe - Ladoga.
The region is located in the taiga zone, therefore it is rich inforests (coniferous in the north and mixed in the south), which occupy more than half of the region. Much of the area is swampy. But this did not prevent the almost complete exploration of the region for the presence of mineral resources. A map of minerals in the Leningrad Region is shown below.
Presence of minerals
Of the twenty-six names of minerals identified in the region, only six are classified as ore. At the same time, more than five hundred deposits have been explored, but less than twenty percent are being exploited. Mineral resources of the Leningrad region are associated with tectonics - the territory is located at the junction of tectonic structures. Therefore, the northern parts are rich in deposits of solid building materials - granite, stone, gravel, sand. Thick layers of sedimentary rocks of the southern part contain phosphorites and oil shales, bauxites, limestones and dolomites. Deposits of peat, sand, clay are distributed almost evenly throughout the region. The water area of the Gulf of Finland contains small deposits of iron-manganese ores. In addition, there are several radon springs and mineral thermal waters in the area.
Fully mined minerals
According to the degree of development of deposits, several groups should be distinguished that make up the minerals of the Leningrad Region. The list should start with fully developed minerals, which include shales, phosphates and bauxites.
Bauxite plays the biggest role in industrial applications. The occurrence of ores near Boksitogorsk is shallow, so mining is carried out mainly in an open way. The extraction of shale near the city of the same name is carried out by the mine method, because the depth of their occurrence reaches three hundred meters. Phosphorite raw materials are mined near Kingisepp.
Partial development
Partially developed minerals are various types of building materials. The minerals of the Leningrad region are rich in granite, limestone, building and molding sand, brick and refractory clay. Granite is mined in the northern part of the Karelian Isthmus by open pit mining.
The richest limestone deposits are located in the eastern part of the region. The main sources of mineral water are carbonic (directly in St. Petersburg), sulfuric (near Sablino) and sodium chloride (near Sestroretsk). A large number of swamps served as the basis for the presence of peat deposits on an industrial scale. Its applications - the fuel industry and agriculture - have recently switched to other materials. Therefore, peat reserves, located everywhere, but mainly in the south and east, are practically not developed.
Gold mining
The area is not rich in the presence of abundant gold deposits, but gold-bearing places are present. Basically, this metal is found in deposits of other minerals, both ore and non-ore. But its presence in these sources is rather scarce. Therefore, gold mining in the Leningrad Region was recognized as unprofitable andnot carried out industrially. But it is of interest to amateur artisanal mining.
The latter is especially developed in the former places of industrial production of minerals, which are now not exploited. There is also no diamond mining, although diamond pipes are present in small quantities in the region.
Prospects
There are also minerals in the Leningrad region, the deposits of which are not involved in exploitation at all. These include deposits of dolomites, mineral paint, quartzites and clays. In addition, some types of minerals are under development, the deposits of which have been discovered in the region. These are magnetite ore, colored and ornamental stones, oil, gas and bitumen.
