The Karakul deposit is one of the largest
cobalt
Cobalt is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Co and atomic number 27. As with nickel, cobalt is found in the Earth's crust only in a chemically combined form, save for small deposits found in alloys of natural meteoric iron. ...
deposits in
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
.
The deposit is located in
Altai Republic
The Altai Republic, also known as the Gorno-Altai Republic, is a republic of Russia located in southern Siberia. The republic borders Kemerovo Oblast to the north, Khakassia to the northeast, Tuva to the east, Altai Krai to the west, as well ...
.
The deposit has reserves amounting to 180 million tonnes of ore grading 0.33% cobalt, 1.5% copper, 0.11% nickel and bismuth, 0.4% tungsten, 4.6 million oz of gold and 57.6 million oz of silver.
The mineral deposit was discovered by Soviet prospectors in the 1970s. Imperial Mining held a license to develop the field in 2010. It is possibly the world's largest source of primary cobalt outside of Africa. In 2015 it was owned by Global Cobalt. Global Cobalt had conducted a drilling exploration program in 2013, drilling 45 holes, for nearly 7,400 metres, with positive results. Global Cobalt, Imperial Mining Holding Limited and Global Energy Metals Corporation underwent an arrangement transaction in 2016. Global Cobalt retained its option over the Karakul Cobalt Property as its principal property. It also has an option to acquire four other nearby deposits known as the "Altai Sisters" in the Altai Republic. These four properties are Kuruozek, Yantau, Toshtuozek and Olendzhular.
The five deposits are bundled as the proposed Karakul cobalt mine. The proposal would be to export the ore overland to China for processing.
Altai Sisters
Global Cobalt and Imperial Mining Holding also have interests in four other exploration targets nearby.
Kuruozek
The Kuruozek deposit is a cobalt deposit in
Altai Republic
The Altai Republic, also known as the Gorno-Altai Republic, is a republic of Russia located in southern Siberia. The republic borders Kemerovo Oblast to the north, Khakassia to the northeast, Tuva to the east, Altai Krai to the west, as well ...
of
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
. It has reserves amounting to 50 million tonnes of ore grading 0.35% cobalt, 0.5% nickel and 3.2 million oz of gold.
Yantau
The Yantau deposit is a
silver
Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...
deposit in the
Altai Republic
The Altai Republic, also known as the Gorno-Altai Republic, is a republic of Russia located in southern Siberia. The republic borders Kemerovo Oblast to the north, Khakassia to the northeast, Tuva to the east, Altai Krai to the west, as well ...
of
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
. It has estimated reserves of 288 million oz of
silver
Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...
.
Toshtuozek
The Toshtuozek deposit is a cobalt deposit in the
Altai Republic
The Altai Republic, also known as the Gorno-Altai Republic, is a republic of Russia located in southern Siberia. The republic borders Kemerovo Oblast to the north, Khakassia to the northeast, Tuva to the east, Altai Krai to the west, as well ...
of
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
. It has reserves amounting to 33 million tonnes of ore grading 0.15% cobalt, 0.6% copper, 0.75% tungsten and 2.11 million oz of gold.
Olendzhular
The Olendzhular deposit is a cobalt deposit in
Altai Republic
The Altai Republic, also known as the Gorno-Altai Republic, is a republic of Russia located in southern Siberia. The republic borders Kemerovo Oblast to the north, Khakassia to the northeast, Tuva to the east, Altai Krai to the west, as well ...
of
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
. It has reserves amounting to 67 million tonnes of ore grading 0.4% cobalt, 1% copper and 8.57 million oz of gold.
See also
*
List of mines in Russia
This list of mines in Russia is subsidiary to the list of mines article and lists working, defunct and future mines in the country organized by primary mineral output. For practical reasons, this list also contains stone, marble and other quarry, ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Karakul Mine
Geology of Russia