MINING INDUSTRY OF THE SOVIET FAR EAST

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• Sequence Number: 3
• Publication Date: April 12, 1954
• Content Type: REPORT

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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION REPORT
CD NO.
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COUNTRY USSR/China DATE DISTR. /.2. Apr 1954
SUBJECT Mining :Industry of the Soviet Far NO. OF PAGES
28
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SOURCE DOCUMENTARY
Following is a translation from the Ukrainian text of an article
entitled TO 14nIng Industry of the Green Ukraine, written by John V Sweet
(aka Ivan Svit). Mt Sweet lived and worked in the Soviet Far East from 1918
to 1951. He is the author of numerous published works on Soviet Far Eastern
geography, ethnology and history.
1. General picture of the geological structure of the Green Ukraine. Her principal
mineral wealth. The gold mining industry. Coal: its deposits and mining.-
Iron ore and the metallurgical industry. The petroleum industry. Deposits
and extraction of ores and metals. Non.metal deposits. The outlook in the
mining industry.
2. The very expanse of the surface of the Green Ukraine presents no small difficulties
nor research, apart from the unstable nature of the research work and the limitao
tion of materials, especially during the last 20 years. In general,' however,
a certain amount of positive knorledge baa been acquired about the general -
structure of the country's surface and "its'idb.surfade'contehtS?-although'infor-
matiOncon6erning the country's resources, founded on professional knowledge,
is still lacking. The information that exists or that which seeps through to
us from time to time does not give an accurate picture of the riches themselves
Or their exact distribution. Only the gold industry and in part the coal ?
industry, have been well investigated and then only in the regions that are in
contact with populated areas, Sparsely populated areas remain little explored.
It is true, however, that actual extraction of something from the ground is a
positive proof and beginning which is followed later by geological and
industrial exploration of the deposits. During the last hundred years, opinions
concerning the structure of the surface and the deposits of the Green Ukraine,
speaking from a geological point of view, have undergone noticeable changes,
although in the main they have remained the same. The country, on the whole,
is mountainous or represents a plateau. Only in the Far North, the Lena River
and the lower Amur River are there considerable areas of lowlands,which?
however, Are hemmed in by mountains rising around them.
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The best work in world literature that gives a general picture of-:the geological
--structure of the-e6rface in the Green Ukraine, though not mentioning the country
specifically, is undoubtedlY the work of Edward Suess. The third volume of the
book -contains a synthesis of all that is known about Siberia in general, and
the Far East, which the latter includes. Subsequent research and publications
are only either supplements or explanations .Of this fundamental work; for the
most part, compilations of various materialau. but, again, they base their judg-
ment mostly on the work done during the second half of the 19th century or before
the First World War.*
4. The scope of the exploration of Siberia expanded especially during the planning
and building of the Siberian railroad, and later, in?the work conducted in the
Amur, Primoreyei and Zabaykal?ye regions in connection' with the planning and
building of railways in these regions. Among the latest works that have appeared
in the Soviet Union, the work of the well-known geologist, V.A. Obruchev?
deserves attention. In general, however, they are compilations of innumerable
materials of various researchers.** The works of the individual authors, re-
searchers, who have worked on the lands of the Green Ukraine, will be indicated.
in appropriate places.
5. Thus, the terrain to the east of the Yenisei River represents an eastern plateau,
surrounded by a gigantic amphitheater of mountains on the south-west, the south,
and the south-east, and by another arc consisting of the Verkhoyans Mountains.
The terrain west and east of these mountains descends in comparatively narrow
strips of land to the Arctic Ocean. A.W. Grabau so describes the country in his
-article on the migration of geosynclines.***
The structure of the whole country bears the imprint of the specific kind of
life prevalent there. The great rivers flowing towards the Arctic Ocean, at
the beginning of the summer when the ice breaks upr are full of floating ice
their banks are Continuously battered by ice f16,-s. Torrents of water from
malting snow and ice rush down. All these factors combine in a great leveling
operation, tear large lumps of rock and earth from the banks and carry them
Own. That iswhy, perhaps, all the rivers flowing north contain deep de-
pressions and gorges. The Lena River, for instance, winds its way in its middle
course, through jagged rocks lying sometimes 300 meters deep. Only its lower-
Phrt -flows through a wide valley, which is also confine,l, however; by the
rising hills of the Verkhoyansk range towering in the east.
As regards theTribaikaVye this term is taken to mean the terrain east of
Lake Weikal. and the southern part of its shore's up to the borders of Mongolia.
This is a beautiful mountainous country with a great number of mountain ranges
* Edward Suess Vol III of Das Amtilitz der Erde or the English edition,
Suess, E.;194-1909 entitled The Face of the Earth, Vol II-1V? Oxford.
** Y.A. Obruche*uahe Geology of Siberia, Vol Academy of Sciences,
Moscow, 1935-1936; This author also gives the history of the geological
research in his work containing 4 volumes published in the old days,
-before 1917, by the Academy of Sciences, 1931-1937, page 213 of bibliog-
raphy. Unfortunately? this work does not contain very much material on
the Far East or the Green Ukraine.
***A.W. Grabau; The Migration of ?Geosynclines (The-National Geographic
Survey of China), Vol 111, NOs. 3-4, pp0270-350? Peking
-04044*.'04:M:401, '1?Er-; rj2Y- IlAiT)4TLTIO
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and ridges which sometimes run parallel, and sometimes in different directions,
or disappear altogether.
8. In the northern part of pribaikal!ye, In the midst of an agglomeration of moun-
tain ridges, precipices, and deep canyon rivers, in the neighborhood of the
source of the Olekma River, begins the system of the Stanovoy Mountains. These
mountains do not run in parallel ranges with one dominating one, as is often
represented on maps even in large atlases, but rather a system of ridges ex-
tending in a general direction from southwest to northeast, with varying width
between separate ranges. There is seldom a dominating ridge but mostly a
series of saddles or plateaus with swamps. Neither is it a watershed between
the Arctic and Pacific Oceans, as one would frequently imagine from the maps.
9. There re several watersheds there, but only in some places are they evident.
In the majority of cases, one crosses these ridges without noticing which side
is which because the sources of the rivers are close to one another, awl some
of the rivers flow north while the others flow south or east. The range f
the Stanovoy is one of plateaus, partly alpine terrain, and of several moun-
tain ridges which rise and then either disappear along the edges of this moun-
tainous terrain or extend into it deeper and disappear there, or rise and unite
again.
10. In the north, the picture is more striking, comprising the Verkhoyansk Mountains
and the ridges coming up to thet -- for instance, the Cherskiy Mountains and
the others -- as if they were a branch of the Kamchatka range, with their
picturesque snow-covered volcanic tops numbering 30 volcanoes, of which 12 are
active today.
U. It is difficult to give a brief description of the geological structure of such
a complicated and vast terrain. We shall touch upon individual spots only,
while describing the deposits, and give their geological characteristics. Any-
one having a deeper interest in this may find detailed information in a good
work by Prof. E.E. Ahnert*, which was printed not so long agoi. or in the
materials, included in the Doklad Prim. T.P. Palate.. 1922 L. Reports of the
Pritorskoy Chamber of Commerce, l2j to which, depending on the special
requirements or interest, only the most recent data in individual fields should
be added. These two books, especially the first -- give a complete Picture,
drawn by men of great knowledge,. The works of Obruchev are in the nature of a
compilation, overburdened by countless technical materials, sometimes not too
well presented.** His description of Siberia is fuller than that of the Far
East,
12. Basically, this last author follows the ideas of Suess (division of Siberia
into seven separate geo-morphological parts, with a certain amount of influence
by the works of Dr. A.W. Grabau present)***, but his treatment of materials of
European scientists is sometimes incorrect and he deals very superficially with
the influence of the glacial epoch. Studies of the subject advanced considerably
only during the last twenty years, a fact we have already mentioned.
* E.E. Ahnert-Gornyye Bogatstva
E sg, Kh barovsk, "Khizhnoye
and diagrams, 800 pp.
** Obrutshew Geologie von
pp. 585 and plates and map.
***Dr. A.W. Grabau? Stratigraphy
palnego Vostoka LIardngResources of the Far
Delo." A large volame /ith maps, figures,
Sibirien [The Geology of Siberigberlin, 1926,
of China,(Geological Survey of China.)
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13. Coneequently, theHtertitory of the Green Ukraine can be divided into three parts,
ie.; the'Yekutskygateau? thelliotheaSItyis -- a mountainous terrain-- and the
Zelenyy KlinttWGreen Wedge with its mountain ridges, valleys, lowlands of
the lower Titt of the AmurRiver, and the Prikhaynayskiye lowlands.
14. All over thattertain With few exceptions ; the accumulations of magnetic mass
play an important part in the gee) ,,Jormations. There are outcroppings of
magnetic mass everywhere. Sometimes ey cover large areas and are up to 1,000
feet thick. Therefore, the streams and rivers cut deep canyons or chasms,
especially among the hills of the Stanovoy system of ranges. Their banks are
eroded, and they have many rapids. The plateaus descend to the principal great
rivers in terraces and form plains in low areas, as, for instsnoe, the Middle
Lena, Aldan, and Vilyny, as well-as the upper part of Gilyuy. There are
secondary formations within- the limits of the Yakutsk heights, as, for example,
the CYakutsVplateaul and the plateau of the Aldan system, all of which are
rich in gold,
15. PrIlatWOVe'is essentially a mountainous terrain - a plateau with endless
mountain ridges of vsrious heights, divided by wide and deep river val4rs. The
general direction Of the mountains is north-east, and the largest range is the
Yablonoy.
16. East of the Olekna River, the system of the Stanovoy range rises to 8,000 feet.
It divides the :Yakutsk area from the Amur River. The Dzhudzhur ridge is its
extension. The northern :slopes of the Stanovoy range fall gradually towards
the Aldan plateau while the slopes facing the Amur River are steeper and often
form chasms.
??
17. The northeastern:hei$hts are formed by the following ridges: the Kolyma ridge
(Gidan), the Anadyr Mountains on the Chukotsk peninsula, the Kotyakskiy ridges,
and the Kamprotka range. The Verkhoyan* Mountains and the high Cherskiy ridge
form an arciNhich embrace s the lowlands'of.the Yani River and the Oyamiyakon
plateau ,-41! the ,coldest region in the world. These places have an alpine char-
acter, With their sharp mountain tops, steep inclines, and traces of, glaciers.
Ice deposits up to 50 feet thick are scattered on the shores of the Arctic
Ocean and on the Novosibirsk /elands, which have been there since the glacial
period. They often contain remnants of mammoths and plants of that period,
especially at the Mouth of the Lena River.
18. At first, we shall examine the mineral wealth in the territory of the Zelenyy
Klin proper, namely, the Amur and PrimOrekiy regions, in the broad sense of
the word, becauSe, firstly, the majority of the Ukrainian population inhabits
this territory and, secondlY, beC'auee the Ukrainians represent an absolute
majority:Of:the. 10P1-atiOn in these regions, and can take a more active part
in building their The mining induetry itself had greater chances in the
future not OnlY of serving local needs but also of becoming the foundation for
foreign trade, while other regions of the Green Ukraine, though also of great
value, would always remain subordinte to the Anur-Primorskiy Region, as we
shall sometimes designate this part of the Green Ukraine.
19. The Amur region is the entire area ranging from the Stanovoy range north of
the Amur 440rPre 'P4 is bounded in the east hy the Dzhuna River and the coast
of the OktiOtOX 004i in the west, the conventional boundary is the,Urk River
which f411.4?.44#0*AnUt River directly from the north, its narrowest part
lying betWeen-the'AnUr River and the Stanp4oyo Mountaine.
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20. In this ter**, OrOgreiPhi *ily rather complex, themountalirxidges have two
main directions meridion. aid latitudinal. The Maly Sma117 Khingan Ridge
runs.meridionelly0ihili l4ie Stanovoy system in the north dominates the entire
terrain and extends latitudinally from west to east. Its extensions are the
ridges of Tukuringrafi'Dzhandal land, and Several others, especially the water-
shed between the rivers of Uda and SeleM#ha? and the mountainous locality north
of the Amguni River. Between, the latter at its source and the Selemdzha River,
there are several ridges extending straight, which are supposed to form the
northern part of the Maly Khingan.
21. In the scut ern part of the Amur region the direction of the Khingan
mountains predoilhates, especially east of the Bureya River, in such ranges
as the Malyy Khingan and the Bureinskiy Mountains, Ukurunra, Chaltin, Tokorey,
and Megan ridges.
22. Earlier,. before 1908, there prevailed the idea that the last 'hree ridges con?
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stituted the northern extension of Sykhotalinl, but this ideiFv.:1W1011ger.11-84
any support.
23. The whole system of rivers looks as if it were a supplement to the two main
directions of mountains, because the streams flow between the ranges like
guiding boundary lines.
24. Before 1894, no systematic investigation of this vast territory had been made.
There had been individual expeditions .which conducted research and prepared
route charts, thus laying a foundation for various kinds-of estimates and
explorations. For example, the orOgraphio description of the territory of the
Far East from the south of Pribsdkallye to the Chukotsk peninsula was based
on the individual research of Prince P. KrOpotkin the results of which were
published in 1875 in T.U.R.G.O. /Possibly, Vol 5, Russian Geological Societe
and later with many changes and a ditions, in English, in 1904.* This work
had a great influence on:the preparation of Maps of Asia, mainly its north-
eastern parts. During the last 40 years, the basic orographic system has been
improved and made, more exnet -- in some places changed out of all recognition-
because at the time of itst eginning tables of measurements (chiselni sklad-
niki) were unknown.
25. However, to this day the regions of the Ude. River, the lower part of the
Amgun g and part of the Gorynya have beenlput little investigated.
26, In trying to produce an accurate description of the mining industry one cannot
skip the details of geological nature in a general summary. The basin of the .
Zeya River is one-of the essential gold-producing localities in the Amur Region
The Zeya:River itself, as well as its tributaries, has its source mostly in
the southern part of the rising ground of the Stanovoy system of ranges, as,
for instance, its left tributaries, the Bryanta River and the Gilyuy River.
The difference between the northern and the southern parts of the Stanoyoy
system of mountains in -geological.reapects is great. The slopes and the side
of the system towards the Yakut, region are rich in granite, poor in gneiss,
but rich in materials of volcanic origin, such as porphyry, porphyrites, gabbro,
and metamorphic schist, as well as a ataWamountoftufaseo4ssonglomerates.
Orography.of Asia by Prince P. Kropotkin, The Geographical Journal, Jan-
Jun 1904, pp '176-206, 331-360) with maps and diagrams.
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27. The Amur part, on the other hand, has almost exclusively Pre-Cambrian granites,
the outcrops of which occur in veins of pegmatite,- and,rarely, porphyritic gran-
ite. The sedimentary make found in the Zeya basin are from the Post-Tertiary
period and occur only in narrow strips in river valleys. Pre-Cambrian gneisses
appear an grattes in the regions' of the Dzhes River -- its lower part -- and the
Khnakha and Olongro rivers, forming the foundation of the basins of the Urkan,
Gilyuy, and Bryanta rivers.
28. The river, creek and stream valleys are full of deposits of the Post-Tertiary
period, sandstone in large-river valleys; and course-grained deposits including
gravel in the younger streams and creeks. Gold is present in those alluvial
deposits; it used to be panned before, and its production is either in a
preparatory stage already or potentially extractable. One can assume, that
possibly all rivers, creeks, and valleys similar to these, contain gold which
it would be 13;94tabl.e to produce. This possibility has been confirmed many
times in practice during the last hundred years. This gold-bearingcquality of
the deposits is responsible for the wreckage and destruction of dark gneisses,
biotites, and hornblende, as well as that of rich outcrops of pegmatite veins.
29. The basins of the Unya and Born rivers form a rich gold-bearing region. The
development of Pre-Cambrian granites and gneisses continues east up to the
Meridional Dzhugdir range, which forms a watershed between the Zeya and Uda
Rivers. The basin of the latter is composed in its western part, to a con-
siderable degree of crystalline rock of older periods, while east of it,
especially nearer the Okhotsk Sea, deposits of the Post-Tertiary period come
to light.
30. In the locality east of the Gilyuy River, between the mouth of the Dzhalinda
River which falls into the Urkan River (on old maps, the Ur River), the mouth
of the Urkan River and that of the Zeya River, and up to the bank of the Amur
River near Blagoveshchensk, gneisses, granites, and other crystalline rocks
come to the surface only in a few places in deep valleys of large rivers, or
in their tributaries. This is because the surface is composed of sedimentary
rocks of the Jurassic period and so-called alluvial deposits, which contain
broad strata of fine sands, sandstone, clay shale, and sometimes, lignites
(lingyty). "'hese Jurassic strata form a continuous upper layer covering up
to the mouth of the Urkan River, while further east they disappear under
alluvial deposits which occupy the rest of the territory between the Zeya and
Amur.
31. Only in the Zeya River valley, between the mouths of the rivers of Urkan and
Selemdzha, and, sometimes, along the Amur River, crystalline strata peep out
from under the alluvial deposits. Thus, the thick Jurassic gneiss and granite
layer, rich in gold, is hidden under the large thick strata of Jurassic and
alluvial rock. For this reason, gold is found here in comparatively small
quantities; if found at all, it is mostly in small tributaries of the Amur River
itself,
320 A phenomenon of great importance to the Amur region should be noted here, namely,
that gold is found here mainly in basic crystalline rocks, in Jurassic and
alluvial deposits of a later period. In the process of erosion in tbst vnst
territory, considerable quantities of gold were liberated from the crystalline
rock, and the rivers, digging in their course deeper and deeper gorges and
canyons through Jurassic crystalline rock contributed to the concentration
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of gold deposits At the same time, in Jurassic and alluvial strata, gold deposits
became slighter and scattered over large areas, through the entire thickness of
the layers.* It is interesting to note, that three pulverizing nrocesses took
place in the Amur region during different geological periods; lberefcre, gold in
those deposits is fine and eroded, which is another proof of it naving cowe uojfl
from remote places.
33. The basin of the Selemdzha River has its principal gold mines in its upper part
and in the tributaries, such as the rivers of Dugda, Mina, Karauraka,, and Khargu.
It is a curious thing that no Jurassic deposits have been found here, and that
directly under the alLvial deposits lies Pre-Cambrian gneissic granite or
crystalline and clay shale. Up the river of Velikaya Mina L Great Mill, the
alluvial strata disappear and Pre-Cambrian deposits form the basis of he upper
part of the Selemdzha basin hiding only sometimes under the deposits of the Post-
Tertiary period.
34. 'Although there is a certain general resemblance between the geological structure
of the Zeya and Selemdzha basins which we have described, there are also
differences, as for example, the fact that there are few outcroppings of
granites of volcanic origin (pegmatites and aplites), that gneisses contain
many admixtures of other schistous rocks, like quartzites, chlorites, and,
.sometimes, clay shale .4rocks dhich are genetically related to gneisses or are
the products of physical and chemicachanges that take place in the gneisses.
In some places instead of gneisses, crystalline schists predominate. South
of the Selemdzha River, along its tributaries, granites are significant. This
depends, perbaps, upon the mountains which form a; watershed between the basins
of the rivers of.Selemdzha and Udi.
35. In the area between the Zeya River and Malyy Khingan, alluvial deposits play
a certain part. They are joined in the east by Jurassic strata, which are of
great importance in the Bureya basin. A little towards the north, Jurassic sand-
stone aud schist still predominate andl in the areas near Bureu, they are inter-
laid with coal, from under which granite strata outcrop, with a general direction
towards the north. Beyond the upper reaches of the Bureya River the nmount of
crystalline rock, such as quartzite, for instance, increases agatqlftile
granites are rare, and gneisses are still fewer. The upper reaches or the
Zelemdzha and Niman rivers have mostly Pre-Cambrian crystalline schist and
a small amount of gneisses.
36. The structure of the Maly Khingan is crystalline in its northern part, while
the regions of the basins of the Velikaya Bira River are occupied by gneissic
granite, rich in gold. There are no alluvial deposits in this locality; there-
fore the strata, rich in gold produced by Post-Tertiary deposits, lie either
on crystalline rock or crystalline limestone, Or on gneisses.. The general
conditions surrounding the presence of gold in Malyy Khingan are the same as
elsewhere, namely, there are rich mines where there is gneissic granite mixed
with pegmatities. Where there is porphyry, there is no gold; nor is there
gold where limestone) dolomites, and clay shale are widespread.
37. In the case of limestone, however, (-gold occur g only where there are no gneissic
granite or pegmatites near it.
* In Australia, old is present mostly in alluvial soil called "alluvial soil,
gold bearing" L in quotation marks in Englisg
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.8. We must return for a while to the region of the Niman River, which is important
from the point of view of the presence of gold, discovered by Yavorovskiy. He
believes the deposits to be alluvial, although of a'different nature from thote in
Other localities Of the Zelenyy Klin. These alluvial mines are all located in
ancient deposits, which may be looked upon sometimes as havingibeen adjoining some
ancient Jurassic sea,. its shores, composed of.crysta4line rockt_richoo
in gold.
19. In the area east of Malyy Khingan up to the river, Gorynt, there are strata of
ancient post-Tertiary deposits. Towards the north, crystalline rock such as crystalline
Schist,. bsginto: appearl? thers is ov great quantity between ,
the rivers of 4111ur and Aulguni. In the basin of the left tributaries the upper
Amgunt (Nelimen? Kerb, Nilana), metamorphic schists are strong. They cut
through quartzite veins, if there ateno granites or gneisses present. However,
volcanic rocks are not conspicuous. In the lower reaches a the Amgun' River,
and in the very structure east of the 137th meridian, there are many outcroppings
of more recent volcanic rocks, such as trachytes and basalts. It is deointer-
esting to note that, except for post-Tertiary and newer deposits, noaedimaterya
rocks have been found yet in the basin Of the Amgunt. Fbiver4,
O. The presence of outcroppings of trathytes and basalts in that area should be
noted. They are characteristic of this part of the country, which shows that
it is tectonically related to the locality of the Sihota-Alin' proper.
.(oek tae
1. The highlands of the Angling River and its lefttributaries are'all rich in gold
which is of Post-Tertiary origin since these highlands were formed from metamorphic
schists, streaked with veins of quartz.
2. The Ussuri region is the area south of the. Amur River and east of the Ussuri River.
It has one principal mountain mass, called the Sikhota-Alint range, stretching
in a general direction from the south to the southeastat about one-third the
distance from he coast of the Japan Sea to the Ussuri River. Looking at the map
of Zelenyy Klin proper, one is impressedly one feature of its orography, for it
looks as if it were one great valley beginning at the south of thelYssrui-Amur
Bay and stretching northeast; to the mouth of the Amur River and St. Nicholas
Bay, Only between the lakes, Chukchagorskoye and Zvoron, in the west, and-9e
Amur River in the east are there no great heights (the 138?meridian crosiga
the 52? north latitude).
vatrbe0 '
3. As has been mentioned above in the physical description of the terrain, the
eastern slopes of the Sikhota-Alin mountains are steep, while the western ones,
towards the rivers of Amur and 11,46uril'slope gently. This is very strongly reflected
in the length of the rivers, some of which flow east and some west. The ones
flowing west are longer and have mote open wider valleys, than those flowing east.
This depend also 124 the tectonic. structure of the SikhoUptAlinurange itself.: Its
average height is, more than 3,000-4,000 feet while individual peaks reach 5,000
feet and sometimeala little more.
I. The Ussuri valley has fertile alluvial soil, like the left bank of the Amur River
in its lower part, although the lakes and swamps scattered here in parts seem to
contradict this opinion. .
5. The eastern and western slopes of the Sikhota-Alin' mountains also differ greatly
from each other intheir geological structure. The eastern slopes of the north, as
far as the Balitheg River, are composed of more recent volcanic rocks, such as
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9.
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basalts, melaphyres, andesites and their tuffs. Further on, the mountains are
composed also of volcanic rock, such as diaryls (diarytygiadiabase, and pOrphYtites,
while gneiSses and syenites begin to crop up. ,.Only further on, towards St. Olga
Bay, granites and gneisses, which predominate tearethat-bay,:come illtP view. On
evaluating this difference in the structure of the slopes of this range, one must
take into consideratthe fact, that the eastern slopes are really not slopes
but the very range itself in its central part.
From the bay of St. 01'ga up to Vladivostok, all the component part? the Sikhota-
Alin range come more_andlp to the surface becaus. the eoastline'heredegthrough
e1.71wItanSIWttdeldUttineit acrOas. No more recent volcanic rocks or any others
, are nOtiCeable here, only sandy clay shale on the surface with crystalline rocks
underneath. Still further, sandstone and various schists slowly blend into the
valley, with post-Tertiary and Jurassic deposits of the valley of the Ussuri River
cropping out on the surface.
47. The surface of the island of Sakhalin is very hilly although it ha :3 no high mountains.
The greater part of it is composed of rocks of later periods, mainly the Tertiary period
There is very little proof of any quantities of crystalline rocks, such as granites
or gneisses being present; for the most .eart, volcanic rocks here break through
chalk or tertiary layers. They are mostly diorites and basalts 'which form the
majority of horns jutting into the sea on the western coast of the island. The
sedimentary rocks of the island are mainly composed of sandstone, marl, chalk de-
posits, and the deposits of the Mountainous Tertiary system, which includes sandstone,
various clays, and conglomerates. '
Li 8 The Kamchatka peninsula is formed chiefly 3f clays and sandstone of the Tertiary
period, bearing countlesd outcropLAngs of olcanic deposits of basalts and traollytes
Massive ancient rocks and crystallines, such as porphyries, Granites, syenites, and
clay shale are encountered only in the southern part of Kamchatka.
49. All mountains in Kamchatka are of volcanic origin. Of a total of 42 peaks, 36 are
volcanoes, of which 12 are active and the rest quiescent. The highest peak is the
Ichinskaya Sopka / Volcanco-7 rising about 17,000 feet. Among the active volcanoes,
the Klyuchevskaya Sopka, rising 15,020 feet, is the highestjlasgreruption in 1946).
For this reason Kamchatka is poor in ores, except sulphur and other volcanic minerals.
50. We refrain from a detailed description of the strip of land along the Okhotsk Sea
and the Anadyr region, because their remoteness from good roads, except the sea
route, their sparcity of population, and their main reserves of various mineral
wealth in the south already known) mark these areas merely as possible future sources,
although, perhaps,of low prOductivity. Although the Soviet administration has made
great efforts during the last few ye ard to push research and develop production in
this remote northern. territory,'It was not for purely economic reasons, but because
their political system requires the utilization of the labor of deportees. After all,
it would not be safe to keep them in more populated localities. This is the only
explanation for the alleged ",great industrial development" of the Far North.
l. The economy of human and production reserves dictates their utilization in more
populated centers. Only exceptionally important metals or minerals, if they cannot
be produced elsewhere or if their transportation costs are prohibitive, are mined
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10.
in remote regions. For example, coal miningin Kcmchatka or the Anadyr' region
can have only two explanations: cltdner thee are no facilities for transporting
coal from the Primorskiy region or there is a great shortage of it for local needs.
Whilenearby Alaska uses petroleum for everything, and only a mall quantity of
coal for its railroad, Kamchatka and the entire North under the Soviets burn coal--
sometimes of very inferior quality--or firewood.
52. All the timber necessary for coal mining, although the quality of local lumber used
for propping is also very poor, is cut by prisoners. Petroleum in this part of the
Soviet empire is a deficient source of energy.
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53. We shall describe now the Prtbaikarye region, which in respect to its mountains
plays an important part in the econo,ay of the Green Ukraine.
54. As has been mentioned several times before, the Priballaltye .cgion has a mountain-
ous terrain. The mountains of the Yablonoy range, consisting of several ridges,
dominate a considerable part of the territory. The geological structure of these
mountains is complex and not uniform. In the main, they are composed of crystalline
and metamorphic rocks, as some maintain, of the Pre-Cambrian period. However,
granites predominate, which turn, in some parts, into orthogneiss and rarely into
syenites. The rocks which have been formed through the hardening of volcanic lava
at the edges of the ridges and in the principal mountain chains in the west are
composed' of various porphyries and porphyrites, with an admixture of tuffs. Basalts
are encountered in the basins of the Khilok, Chikay, and Karenga rivers.
55. Volcanic penetrations are composed mainly of pegmatites, granite-porphyries, diabases
and very rarely, basalt, Crystalline schists, paragneisses, amphibolites, and quar-
tzites are encountered, as well as occasional rocks which have been altered by a
metamorphic process. The valleys of the northern tributaries of the Khilok River
have Mesozoic deposits, which are also to be found along the rivers of Chikoy and
Indogi and in the south of the Chita River in the shape of Juressian conglomerates,
sandstone, and clay, the last containing at times a sublayer of coal. In some places
::11.a.011:4.eithP,cUt though them or cover them up. As far as the alluvial deposts
are concerned, they are found Only in a few places.'
56. The Yablonoy range is curious from the point of view of tectonic structure. For
example, the mountains appear rolled together at the base. yet, they have no folds
because they are permeated by crystalline and metamorphic schikJts, which do not
run parallel_ with the,range, but cut across it, or go in and out at various angles.
It ts thought that this is the result of explosions and displacements, which re-
sulted in magma.
57. Between separate chains, secondary synclines are also encountered. They are partly
filled with deposits of Jurassic origin and very little of them is still left--per-
haps only in deep valleys where the erosion process is not strong.
58. The Stanovoy system of mountains presents today an interesting picture. "ie have
already mentioned and partly described in rather great detail its eastern slopes,
facing the Amur region. In its central sector, ie., from 1200 to 1350 east long-
itude, there are several mountain ranges of various heights extending parallel;
sometimes they converge in parts, then diverge again. Among them there are many
highlands of great height. This is one of the most characteristic features of the
Stanovoy system of mountain ranges.
59. In this part of the Stanovoy sYstem there are individual summits of various heights,
mostly with soft contours. Since they have been subject for a long time to erosion,
they are often dome-shaped. Between the rivers of Levaya Dzhalinda and Teksikha,
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11.
they have the appearance of swampy highlands with small lakes. In this locality,
the slopes facing north are gentle.
60. Lake Toko (1:100 meters above sea-level) is surrounded by a mountainous plateau
bounded by a range in the north. Towards the south the Stanovoy system drops in
two ledges of high mountains so that some suMmits are considerably lower than the
level of Lake Toko: while the plain of the Zeya River is perhaps r25 meters lower.
The peaks near the source of the 1,eya River are about 2,500 meter c high, or per-
haps a little less,while north of the lake only individual mountains are less than
1,800 meters in height. These localities have been visited by many scientists and
the majority of them agree in their descriptions. Especially important research
work was done by n. Ahnert.
61. The Stanovoy system of ranges, from the source of the Aldan River to the upper
reaches of the Maya River, has a structure of a complex geological nature. For
the most part it is composed of various gneisses and other crystalline and meta-
morphic schists, again mostly-Pre-Cambrian and rarely of the ancient Paleozoic
era. Among the rocks that are volcanic in origin, there are vortous granites,
syenites: idrialiten diabasesvpOrphyries and porphyrites, the latter
sometimes belonging to a later era. outcropping (eVlusion) rocks, for in-
stance, porphyries and porphyrites, a small quantity of trashytas, and, on rare
occasions basalts: are also encountered.
62. Although younger effusion rocks are encountered in the west they do not predominate,
while in the east they gradually gain more ground; further aorth, along the Okhotsk
Sea, they form the basis of the structure. Rocks of sedimentary origin form the
basis of the northern chains: and in the neighborhood of the Aldan River there are
mainly Cambrian limestone, quartzites, sandstone slates and, where permeated by
volcanic rock: porphyries: diabases, and porphyrites.
63. In the region ef the upper reaches of the Maya River and in the Yudomo-Mayskiye
mountains appear to .rocks of the U,TerTrias but these are of sea origin as, for
example: light sandstone and dark schist with porphyrite tuffs which are sometimes
penetrated by various quartzites. On the eastern side, in the region of the Ayan
Bay: thick layers of limestone, quartzites, and schists are visible, among which
the fauna of the Upper Devonian period is often found. It is said that even earlier
periods such as the Siltarian may be encountered. there. There is more fossilised
fauna mad flora here, On the ?out of the Okhotsk Sea than, for example,
in the region of the Uda River. East of the river along the sea shore disseminations
of old rocks: among them some with flora, are encountered. There are also Jurassic
sedimentary rocks and deposits of schist, sandstone, and, sometimes: conglomerites.
64. In the valleys of the upper reaches of the Aldan River and sometimes in the high
highlands, there are continental Jurassic rocks with small coal content.
65. The tectonic structure of the Stanovoy system of mountains, like that of the Yablonoy
mountains: is complex. There arc penetrations of gneisses and crystalline and
metamorphic schists. Old folds are everywhere dislocated, some in the direction of
the mountain chain, some across it: but rarely at right angles.
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66. Various volcanic rocks crop out in the old folds. The Cambrian deposits form the
northern slopes of the ranges lying in folds parallel to the ridge; only in the
basin of the Maya River are they at an angle. The Paleozoic, Middle Jurassic and
Triassic formations make up the greater part of the folds, or cross the general
direction of the system of the Stanovoy mountains. Paleozoics predominated in the
Ayan region, Jurassics in the Uda-Tigur and Maya mountains, and Triassics in the
Yudomo-Mayskiye mountains.
OHLY
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12.
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67. The continental Jurassic part of the western slopes is also strongly dislocated and
dips in waves in different directions. In the Aldan highlands the Jurassic system
is compact with crystalline schists overlapping.
68. These tectonic peculiarities greatly influence the finding or non-finding of certain
valuable deposits underground or affect their industrial value. We shall have an
opportunity to touch upon the subject in the chapters on coal and petroleum poss-
ibilites. That is the reason why we dwelled so long on the geological peculiarities
of the Green Ukraine. In this description we did not depend on one author onlyr but
tried to make the best possible synthesis of all that is known to date.
69. The geological tinoonfOrmity in the direction of the Stanovoy system, and the numerous
formations of volcanic effusions confirm the opinion that the surface of the region
changed in the process of dislocation, which led to a division or splitting of the
layers. There is everywhere a great complexity of elevations and depressions but
on the whole, the entire system has the shape of an arc, the internal side ol fnaich
faces the basin of the Aldan River, while the external one looks towards the stretches
of the Amur region and the shores of the Okhotsk Sea.
70. Considerable changes in the watershed are constantly noticable here. They are not
with any single chain of mountains but pass constantly from one range of mountains
to another through the depressions between them. It is very evident here that the
Stanovoy system is really a series of mountains. At the same time, the southern
slopes of this part of the Stanovoy system represent a seriea of cavings, eruptions
frozry1/77, and depressions descending to the plain of the Amur basin.
71. Along the line of these eruptions and dislocations, effusion rocks penetrate the
surface, fanning a volcanic covering and individual streams, which complicate still
more the general appearance of the surface. All these eruptions and dislocations
are thought to have begun before the Cambrian period, after the Proterozoic dis-
location, where the region along both sides of the mountain system sank. This pro-
cess was (perhaps) repeated during the Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Tertiary periods,
atd every time was accompanied by effusions of volcanic rocks. The last move-
ment possibly twk place along the old lines in the Quaternary period, when the
glaciation process was going on, hoWever,:'.it never reached the snow line, al-
though the latter must have been rather Low here.
72. Although there are virtually no glaciers here now, their presence during the glacia-
tion period is confirmel by many facts, as, for instance, the existence of mountain
lakes of oval form,'1., scattered in the hills of the river valleys, and of
a series of so-called "greblya" rdikef-7 and moraines. We have partly elucidated
the glaciation problem in another chapter. At the present time, this period is a
subject of detailed study and research in an endeavor to establish the changes which
took place at that time and were connected with a possible dislocation of the entire
globe. A good deal of information is buried in that last dislocation, which might
explain the remainder of glaciers on the shores of the Arctic ocean, in the region
of the delta of the Lena River, and on the Laptev Islands, as well as the except-
ional fauna and flora, especially on the territory of the Zelenyy Klin proper, chiefly
in the Ussuri region.
73. The western side of the Stanovoy system of mountains represents a watershed between
the tributaries of the Okelema and Vatima rivers, on one band, and the basin. of Lake
Bal.kal on the other. We make reference here only to the eastern and partly northern
shores of the latter. This part of the Stanovoy system has two--sometimes three--
chiins of mountains, divided by meridional valleys of various river systems. The
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13.
peaks of individual mountains in these chains are considerably higher on both
sides of the system itself. It should be noted, that the highlands of the
Tsip River, and especially the valley of the Barguzin River in Pribatkaltle,
at the western end of the Stanovoy system and at the beginning of the knamar-
Daban Cmountainaf7, are characterized by the presence of a great number of
hot mineral springs. This is because the mountains of this region--the west--
are younger. The great scattered shelves of basalts and volcanic craters of
the Qgaternary period seem to indicate more recent eruptions.
. The extension of the Stanovoy Mountains running west from the Okhotsk Sea,
.near the Okhota River, is called today the Kolyma range, and the ridge which
extends from this junction northeast is called the Anadyr ridge. True, the
excursions carried out for research purses during the last twenty years do
not confirm the opinion that the P. Z Anadyr mountains constitute an ex-
tension of the Stanovoy system; they are rather an independent system of ridges.
75. The Yudamo-Mayskiy watershed is composed of Triassic rocks but of sea origin,
as has already'been mentioned in the description of the mountains near the
Okhotsk shores. This characteristic feature of the Yudamo-Mayskiy range is
altogether alien to the Stanovoy system. The range itself issues from the
Stanovoy system at a sharp angle, along the Yudam Myer, and is composed
completely of effusive rocks, such as diabases, diabasic porphyrites, and
quartzite porphyries.
76. The Verkhoyansk Mountains are of the Pre-Cambrian and old Paleozoic periods
and in their structure resemble somewhat the mountains in the Aldan basin.
In the east they Were superimposed with Triassic deposits of sea origin, which
seems to connect these mountains with the Yudamo-Mayskiy watershed. At any
rate, their exact directions and their structure have not been properly in-
vestigated. The works of Yerman and others are not final. One thing is
certain, and that is, that these mountains are not an extentions of the Aldan
chains or ranges, as was formerly supposed.
77. The Kolyma range is not connected with them either, but forms a kind of arc
composed of several meridional ridges. Expeditions under the leadership of
Obruchev conducted explorations of these mountains in 1929 and later
but mo information resulted7 except a general statement to the effect that
granites and metamorphic sChias, in many places intersected by sea Triassic,
were encountered there. The survey of the terrain along the Kolyma River, or,
more correctly, its basin, has not yet been completed, and it requires not only
further systematic research but also a certain amount of synthesizing, since
all the works that have been published speak for the most part of the general
and approximate directions of the ridges and give their names or indicate their
components for lack of detailed information.
78. A typical detail of the latest published materials at our disposal is that even
the results of such old surveys as those conducted by E. Ahnert at the turn of
this century, were not properly checked in 1936 and 1937, when V.A. Obruchev's
work, a compilation of all that was known about East Asia and Siberia, was pub-
lished. A general picture is sketched on the basis of even earlier surveys.
Only the details of the individual areas which had been prospected for various
sources of ores or other minerals, have been worked out. But on the whole a
great deal of work and good specialists are needed in orde to draw a true
picture of the geological structure of the Green Ukraine.
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14.
79. At this point, we consider our general description complete, and we shall
pass to the descrinDtion and characterization of the strata ,f various minerals on
the entire territory of- our land and of the present state of the mining and
manufacturing indusuries connected with them.
The Coal of the Green Ukraine
77-We shall begin with a description of the General coal deposits and their
peculiarities, and our next concern will be the present mining and utilization
of coal as fuel. ri.ad in the chemical industry, which: JO far is in a rudi-
mentary stage in the territory of the Green 'Likraine.
81. Unfortunately, our personal experience concerns only 'uhe mines of that time,
which the author had on opportunity to visit in the Summer of 1922, and a
few others nearby, which at that time did not play as important e part as
they do now. The observation of the Fushun and Malin mines in Manchuria makes
it possible for us to compare and outline future possibilities. The results
of it have been partially published in separate reports.*
e2. The works of E. Ahnert and the Geologist, A.N. Krishtafovich are, perhaps ,the
'best of: an:on the Industry, chiefly the deposits. They give the best
analysis of the LluilditiOn$ necessary for finding the coal strata, as well as
further prospecting on the entire territory of the Amur and Primor'ye regions.
Side by side with this E. Ahnert wrote on other subjects. His chief con-
tribution was to the gold industry. He is' alsothe author of a major work
entitled Gornyye Borm.tstva Dal'nego Vostoka. / Mineral Wealth of the Ra.?
East-7 which is, perhaps, unique. We have referred to it before.
83. Of all the territory, the Primor'ye region and, partly, Skhalin Island are
most important as coal terrain, the deposits of which play an exceptional
part in the economy of the whole country. Other coal deposits are only of
.local: significance, as a source of cheep fuel. The Primor'ye and Sakhalin
deposits are so important because of their accessibility for transportation
? over long distances and because their quality is better here than elsewhere.
4. .The basic mines of the Primor'ye region-. are those of Suchan and Artem, formerly
Uglovy mines, near the station of Uglov,.25 or 30 kilometers from Vladivostok.
85. ...Deposits of good coal are located along--the alchan River, which falls into
'Nakhodka Bay. There are two kinds of 'c'oal there: at the western end there
are semi-anthracites which yield goodCoke and possess good steam-producing
qualities; at the .rCrthwestern end, beOncl. the Sitsya River, coal is fat,
with a long flame. Between these two main qualities, there is opal of tran-
sitional grades. The trouble with Suchan is that the coal layers contain
iliany,dislocations and faults.,: and extend) for the most part, at various,
rather sharp,- angles. The principal layers have a 450 angle of dip; very
often the angle is 600 to 800, and, accordint to the materials of Reutovskiy)
even 900. Besides, the semi-anthracite supplies are insignificant amounting
to-5-7 percent, perhaps 10 percent of the .total. The coal reserves on the
Suchan are not too large. They were estimated at the beginning of the First
World War, taking into account a depth of not more than 90 meters, to be
about 10,000,000 to 12,000,000 tons. According to the materials of M. Yeliyashevich,
Vitenberg, Krishtafovich, and lreobrazhenskiy, the strata suitable for mining
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. Svit
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15.
stretches down to 250-250 meters with nine layers of coal, of which
four are LOW being mined. All that coal belongs to the Upper Jurassic
period and lies among rocks of yellow and whitish sandstone. The coal
of the adjoining mining regions, such as Konstantinovskiy, Podgorodnyy,
Lipovetskiy, etc., belongs to that series too. Schists permeated with
coal tars are also encountered here.
86. The sharp angle of dip of the layers makes mining extremely difficulti
and the safety of the miners is also considerably jeopardized. The mo-
bility of layers limits the procedures to a comparatively small area,
while new directions must be sought continuously. Without costly drilling
operations no long range production can be planned. Up to the end of
the sthirties/transportation also presented great difficulties. Coal
from the Suchen mines was carried to the station of Kangans, which connects
with the station of Ugolnaya of the USS. rtssur1?-7 railroad by a sep-
arate norrow-gauge line running through the mountains. This line has
two mountain transmission points (peredachy) which use steel cables for
lifting and lowering low-freight cars, weighing about 4 tons each. This
line, which is )f low productivity, is about 70 kilometers long.
Later, nn ordinzr3, ,:zil:,?ond line running ta theNakhodkabay was built.
It is equipped for loading coal onto steamers for further transportation.
87. The coal deposits near the Uglovaya part of Amur boy are in a much better
situation. There are about 40 square kilometers of them, all of a brown
color, part of them mixed with tar, suitable for coking, and at an easy
angle of dip of 15?. Other coal mines--Podgorodnyye and the adjoining
ones--have better qualities of coal but, again, with a great mobility
of layers. The magnitude of the deposits and their favorable location
near a railroad made a great development of coal mining here possible.
At present, this principal coal base of the Primor'ye operates under
the name of the Artem mines, producing three times as much coal as the
Suchpn.
88. The following coal group is called the Mongugayskaya. It belongs to the
lower Jurassics and has an average thickness of 1,800-2,000 meters, of
which about 225-250 meters of thickness are productive. The coal lies
amoung , deposits of solid sandstones and sandy schists and coal it-
self. These deposits were partly mined near the Mongugay River, but the
probler -%f transportation makes it difficult. It is interesting to note
that the best materials on coal research written by the above-mentioned
authors were later published abroad.*
89. We wish to point out here an important property of coal in the Green
Ukraine, described by E. Ahnert in his work.** It is its suitability
for coking which makes it useful for industrial purposes. Artem coal
is not very suitable; Tavrychanskiy is poor; Suchan part 1 is unsuitable;
Suchan part 2 is one of high quality. The situation is the same in other
mines. Konstantinovskiy coal is poor: tinovetskiy coal is unsuitable.
There is no coal for coking in the Pribaikaltye region. On the whole
the majority of the better varieties of coal belong in the Far East to
a series of the Jurassic period.
90. There are certain data which permit us to maintain that coal deposits
exist in many places of the sea coast, beginning with Suchan and up to
De-Kastri Bay, but good literature on the subject is so far lacking.
* Dr. Thore G. Halle, Stockholm
** E. Ahnert-Memoirs of China, pp 207-208
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16.
01 As far as con] on " khalir Iolcnd is concerned, there are rather large
and valuable deposit there, which extend !'rceli the north to, perhaps,
c southern part--or rather to about 46? of 50L--0f north latitude, a-
long the western shore. There are scores of deposits there, although
a part of them belongs to the lignites, apparently Pre-Neocene. The
best coal is located neer the port of assyake. It belongs to the Pal-
eocene era and is found amid schiots mixed with sandstone and numerous
layers of bituminous cool. The deposits ore 13-22 meters thick on the
average. Mines are in operation at Duya, Voyevoda, the cape of Rogetyy,
Piltvo, and Vledimirovka.
92. Some of the coal in this region also belongs to the Cretaceous period,
and the deposits run among sandstones enu senists. The coal deposits
among schiste reach 8-11 meters of thickness and contain considerable
flora. These are the mines: Duysko-Nevelskiye, Niklevich, Petrovskoye,
renal, and those near egnevo.
93. These good coal deposits have the same origin as brown coal, but they
have undergone considerable changes caused by pressure and heat, where
the processes of effusone of volcanic rock took lFee in tnts locality.
The letter led to certin dislocations, breaks, and partLy to a change
of angles of dip, sometimes up to 600. The same volcanic process strength-
ened the sandstones and schists, and thus facilitated the production of
coal at this time. The coal reserves are considerable there, perhaps,
the largest in the Green Ukraine. Coal in the Duya region belongs to
n gas variety, with a long flame, and it produces clinkering coke. One
may hope that the deposits of brown coal in the places where volcanic
processes had been more active also improved. Such deposits can be dis-
covered later when the geological reeeerch works are more eetensive and
detailed.
9)1. The difficulties of transport to placec of consumption constitute, howeyer?
a considerable obstacle to a great development of coal mining on SekhaJin
Island. The shipping centers on the western shore are very poor, because
of the lack of bays or quiet, deep rivers, or anything similar. The Tatar
Streit dividing the island of clishalin from the mainland is rough and fogs
are frequent there. All this presents great difficulties for navigation,
and, consequently, for shipping coal.
95. The Amur region hae two varieties of coal. The first one, consisting of
very soft and highly infleremable lignites, is found in the upper part of
the region; / the second7, good coal of the Jurassic system, is in
valleys of the rivers of Bureya, Velikaya Bureya, and others.
95. The Kivdinskiye mines and the mines of the Bureya and Bira are located
there. The Kivdinskiye mines, however, are the most important, together
with the nearby Raychikhinskiye mines. Until 1930 no good prospecting
had been done there .eter, attention was paid to the Raychinkhinskiy
deposits, and their miuLig WVS begun. In this locality, the Jurassic
deposits have reee eeeeiderable layers of black coal, with a very long
area of coal occurrence, up to 170 kilometers long, but the layers are
not very thick. About 40-50 years ego, it was thought that there was
no coal of industrial significance in this locality, but no detailed
research was conducted then. The coal oE. the rdra mines belongs to
the gas variety and yields up to 63 percent coke, although with a con-
siderable quantity of ashes. The Bureya coal seems to be better. We
lack proper analyses but, col-sparing it with the Bira coal, one may,
perhaps, venture such a statement. Coal from this region is used for
local consumption and some of it is delivered to Khabarovsk. On the
whole, the Amur region is not rich in coal.
SECRET
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50X1
96.
17.
? As fai? as Kamchatka is eoncerred, it has, in gereral, few coal deposits,
and those that do exist have no thick strata and thus cennot have any
. industrial significance. A5 fuel for the heating of houses this coal
can hardly compete with .-Urewoc;4, of which there is, anyway, enough for
-local needs. Brown coal deposits are encountered in the region of Lida
"Bay
an on the Tayganovany peninsUla near Kamehatka, as well as on the
shores of Penzhinshiy Bay, but they are not thick, about 3-4 feet only,
Which hardly permits economic production, especially in view of the poor
quality of coal. There are also coal deposits on the Chuhotskiy peninsula
and several other places: Onemen 7ay, near the St. Denis Mountains, and
in Mechigmenskiy Bay. The coal there, however is of poor Quality and the
layers are not thick.
97. There are rather good coal deposits in th- Pribaikallye region, most of
them being brown varieties. The best deposits are in he following re-
gions: Tarbagetay, Khelyertins%, the Chernorskiye mines near Chita, and
the Arbagarskiye mines near 'Jerchinsh. The layers of the Chernovskiye mines
are rather thick, quiescent, without water, and close to the surface; there-
fore, the greater part of coal is mined by open methods. Coal from the
place called 1-)uh,:ebacha: north of ne Shilka Myer, has a special industrial
Importance Pnd is suitable for coking. The Chernovshiy coal is also used
by the PribaikalLye railroad.
98. With reference to coal reserves, they are estimated by different authors
dif-Perently. One must ts2