By Academician Dmitry Rundkvist, Academic Secretary, RAS Department of Geology, Geophysics, Geochemistry and Mining National mineral resources have a key role to play in promoting Russia's economic development in general and a factor which determines the economic well-being of its people. Of decisive importance for the really effective uses of this national asset is stringent state control combined with the introduction of new energy-saving technologies of the mining and processing of raws on the basis of the latest achievements of the domestic and international mining and geological research. WHAT DO WE HAVE? According to the statistics of the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation, this country has in its possession 22 percent of the world's forests, 20 percent of fresh water resources and 16 percent of the world's mineral and raw material resources, including 32 percent of natural gas (the world leader), 12 percent of oil and 12 percent of coal. Russia's share of the world resources of iron and tin exceeds 27 percent, 36 percent of nickel, 11 percent of copper, 20 percent of cobalt, 12 percent of lead, 16 percent of zink and 40 percent of metals of the platinum group. And last, but not least, Russia accounts for one third of the world's resources of gold(*). This country boasts scores of what we call super-giant deposits of ores and other minerals of which less than one half is being actively developed now. These include the Norilsk field (copper, nickel, platinoids), Kursk Magnetic Anomaly and the Kostomuksha deposits in Karelia (iron), Yakutia (diamonds) and the Olympiada Gold Field in Siberia. In the present deplorable state of our affairs, there is no development work in progress now even at such deposits of a truly unique size as the Sukhoi Log (gold, platinum)(*), the Udokan field (copper with associated gold and silver) in Pribaikalye, and Tomtor (niobium, thorium and strontium) in Yakutia. The total cost of the raws mined in Russia ... Читать далее