Development of uranium ore fields

автор: Олег Хоменко

Mouth of river Yellow and its tributaries, overgrown with reeds, willows in the old days was called the natural boundary of Yellow Waters. Its name river and valley, got from Cossacks of the color of water in river, which in several places washed iron ore output, and bright yellow – a product of oxidation of iron ore - fell into a river. Multiple beams and gullies with impenetrable woods adjoin to river. On all sides surrounded by Yellow Waters desolate, covered with lush grasses. These places belong to the so-called Wild field. Tract Yellow Waters was at the intersection of Black Road and the path to the Zaporozhye – Mikitinskogo way because it was as if between two fires. From the northwest often came here forces of the Polish magnates to capture fugitive peasants. The Tatars attacked from the south, who called this place Saris – yellow water. In 1648, on May 16 in the area of the tract Princely gullies at Yellow Waters a battle with Polish troops, which resulted in the complete defeat of the enemy. This was the first victory of the Ukrainian people in the Independence War in 1648–1654. From the Ukrainian side in the battle involved about 20 thousand soldiers under the command of Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky.

he first settlers in the Yellow River have appeared in the middle of XVII century. According to documents in 1680 there was located Zaporozhye farm (later – the village Yellow). In 1740, there was still some wintering place. After 20 years they lived more than 200 people who were engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry. The very name of the tract gave the first name Yellow River mine, which was located in these places, and now a city of Zheltye Vody. Compiled of the first geological map of the Krivoy Rog Basin mining engineer Kantkevich in «Mining Journal» № 3 for 1880 indicated the presence of rich iron ore output in the basin of the Yellow River. Haematite content from 58 to 68% of iron, lie here close to the surface of the earth. As mentioned in the book, directory, «Catherine's Railway» in 1903, in the «Veselo-Ivanovo mine», in 1895 in Lvov with the Railway Engineers Borutskim rented from peasants Veselo-Ivanovka 870 acres of land for 24 years for exploration and mining to pay for half a penny to peck with the guarantee of an annual payment of not less than two thousand karbovanetsev and began construction on an open primary deposits.

Industrial exploitation of the mine in large volumes was begun on May 6, 1901 on completion of the railway line from the village of Yellow River to the Yellow Waters Station (9,86 miles in length) of the means of the Franco-Belgian mining company «Yellow River» with capital of 6 million . francs. In addition to Veselo-Ivanovo, there were four career with small reserves and production volumes: Krivoy Rog society, «Rindik & Co», Bryansk Society, «Kopilova and Kolotti» that did not last long. In 1924, all careers have been merged into one company - the mine, «Yellow River». In the early XX century, mining of iron ore at the mine was reduced to 24 million pounds, representing 4,4% of total production in Russia. In accordance with long-term plan of development of the mine in 1929 was laid down shaft «Capital» and in 1934 she gave the first tonnes of iron ore. It was one of the best mines not only Kryvorizhzhya, but also the entire Soviet Union. At the end of World War II, thanks to the enthusiasm of workers and state aid in the short term was put in mine, «Capital», restored station and the Yellow River railway station, a branch of Yellow Waters. Already in 1944, Mines Management sent to the country's steel mills 173,3 thousand tons of iron ore. Ore production in 1950 rose to 586,6 thousand tons, accounting for 88% of 1940 level in 1945 was first detected signs of mineralization of uranium ore at the May and Zheltorechenskom fields.

Mining of uranium ore began in 1946–1948. And in 1951 the uranium ore was mined at penetration already at the mine workings, «Capital». There are several genetic types of uranium deposits in Ukraine. About 76% of all deposits represent deposits of albitit type, 11% belong to the pegmatite deposits, 7% – to the sandstones, and the remaining 6% is a conglomerate deposits, tar and other types. Industrial value currently have only type of albitit field – sodium and uranium deposits of sandstone-type - hydrogenous. Industrial-type uranium deposits of metasomatic concentrated in the Kirovograd metallogenic area, which is part of the province of the Ukrainian crystalline shield. Structurally Kirovograd metallogenic area dedicated to the eponymous geoblocks, the western boundary of which is the fault of the South Bug, and the east – the Krivoy Rog-Kremenchug fault. Uranium mineralization in Ukraine has raw materials in the form of 12–prospected uranium endogenous fields. The largest of them, which can be practiced only by underground mining, located in Kirovograd region. Geologically, the region Kirovograd presented within the same name geoblocks Ukrainian Shield, in its central part. The structure defines a large area of Korsun-Novomirgorod anticline. The overall situation Michurinsky, Siverinskogo and other locations east of the Kirovograd. Kirovograd ore district are controlled by a fault, and Vatutinsky field – Zvenigorod-Annovskim. Uranium minerals in ores are uranitom, pitchblende, braneritom, kofinitom, hydroxides and silicates of uranium and uranium mob. Measured and inferred resources of uranium Kirovograd region in excess of 100 tons, about half of which are assessed as highly profitable (up to $ 80 per kg of uranium). Predicted uranium resources Kirovograd region is about 200 thousand tons.

Additional base of uranium may be reserves and resources of exogenous epigenetic uranium deposits in the sedimentary cover of the Ukrainian shield, located within the Dnieper brown coal basin. These deposits are suitable for uranium mining to the most advanced in the present method of underground leaching. Since the discovery of the first deposits of this type – Devladovskogo in the Sofia region of Dnipropetrovsk region to this day in central and eastern parts of the Dnieper basin discovered and explored previously estimated for more than ten separate deposits and uranium deposits, similar Devladovskomu. Two of them – Bratskoe and Devladovskoe – fully worked out.

Currently, the most prepared to process Sadovoe, Safonovsk, Novogurevskoe, Sursky and Chervonoyarskoe field. All hydrogenous deposits of Ukraine are located in the right-bank part and are located in permeable unconsolidated sedimentary formations of the Paleogene performing erosion-tectonic depressions in the Precambrian crystalline basement. During this time, there was widespread development and optimization of the method of underground leaching at Devladovskom, and then – at the Bratskom (Mykolaiv region) deposits. Proved not only a theoretical possibility of uranium mining in this way, but some of its high economic efficiency and, not least in Ukraine, identified environmental advantages over the traditional method of mining, uranium mining. Cost of uranium, which is produced from such deposits, significantly lower than the endogenous fields in albitites.

Explored reserves and resources of this type are estimated at 70 thousand tons of various detail Exploration carried out in four fields (Safonovsk, Novogurevskom, Sursk and Sadovoe). The explored reserves of uranium in these deposits is about 8 tons of sandstone-type deposits on the sizes are small and medium-sized reserves of uranium that is 1–3 thousand small-scale works in the forecast center and east of the Dnieper brown coal basin identified 12 areas of promising to identify the individual fields and uranium deposits. At each of these areas can be opened 0,3–0,1 uranium deposits. In addition, in the north-western and western parts of the Dnieper river basin is also possible to identify 5 or 7 new deposits of uranium. In addition to these industrial types of uranium deposits in Ukraine, there is a real opportunity to identify unconventional deposits rich in uranium content ore. Geological forecast indicates that the territory of Ukraine can be opened in hydrothermal vein deposits and deposits of the «inconsistency». Uranium vein mineralization is well developed in the Ukrainian shield. There are known long-term red-Miner and North Bereznyanskoe ore with a uranium content in ores from 0,2–0,7% to 4–6%. Total known 75 ore veins of ore. The most promising on opening a vein deposits Kazankovsko Zheltorechinsky-ore unit, Skvirsky-Tetievsky, Boguslavsky, Gajvoronsky Volchanskiy and potentially ore blocks.