Russian scientists have discovered large reserves of manganese in the Tomtor deposit in Yakutia. This was reported by the Chairman of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Academician Valentin Parmon, at a ceremonial meeting of the SB RAS dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the RAS.
He included the preliminary exploration of manganese reserves in the Tomtor deposit in Yakutia among the most important results of the department’s work last year. It turned out that manganese mineralization in the weathering crusts of the Tomtor massif has significant accumulations and is of industrial interest. The study was conducted by specialists from the Institute of Geology and Mineralogy of the SB RAS together with colleagues from other institutes.
The Tomtor ore field has long been of interest to scientists. The first results were obtained at the turn of the 80s and 90s, when diamond-bearing kimberlites were searched for in samples from one of the wells. Subsequent studies showed a high content of manganese oxide. Now, according to experts, manganese resources in complex ferromanganese ores within the Severny site alone amount to over 17 million tons.
Manganese is a very important substance for metallurgy, necessary for steel production. Russia is forced to buy it abroad. The main supplier of metallic manganese is China, and Ukraine used to be in second place, Georgy Ramzaitsev, chairman of the board of directors of one of the metallurgical companies, said nine years ago.