Where is gold mined in Russia? For more than two hundred years, the map of gold mining sites has been replenished with new deposits. Many of them are of loose type.
According to the analysis of the world exploration and production of gold, the last three decades could not boast of stability: the volume of gold production was constantly changing. The volume of gold sales directly depends on the amount of scrap gold that the population has handed over for processing, as well as bank sales.
To date, new methods of extracting gold from enriched ores are being developed, and more and more often gold mining companies are returning to deposits that were previously considered unsuitable and unpromising.
The development of dumps of mining and processing plants for which gold is an associated material is underway. Therefore, the places of the main gold mining in Russia are constantly changing.
Not all deposits are suitable for industrial processing. Many sites are too small to carry expensive equipment there, using a simpler one is unprofitable. Geologists have decided to call such places "manifestations of gold." The development of such places can be carried out without any special equipment.
Locations of the precious metal.
What factors reduce gold mining costs?
- Unprofitable mines are closed;
- The total volume of preliminary exploration work is reduced;
- Increased gold mining in countries with more affordable labor;
- Capital-saving technologies are being introduced that help reduce labor costs for workers.
Map of gold mining and Russia's place on it
The geography of the gold-mining countries of the world is constantly changing. For example, in the 80s, more than half of all gold production in the world came from South Africa, but ten years later its share in the total world gold production decreased to one third.
Despite the fall of the African gold-mining power, the West increased gold production several times. Many countries that do not mine gold began to develop this industry. These include Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Latin American countries.
Gold mining in Russia, whose geographic map is extensive and diverse, is available in many places. Not all of them are useful for industry. Those that are needed for the industrial processing of gold are divided into endogenous and exogenous.
It looks like gold with tellurides in quartz in an endogenous mine.
Endogenous gold deposits are of several types. It is most expedient to mine in medium and high temperature hydrothermal deposits. They are represented by quartz veins and stockwork zones with sulfides.
Quite important for domestic gold mining are gold deposits formed due to volcanic activity.
Where precious gold is mainly mined in Russia can be recognized by the geodetic setting. Such deposits lie close to the earth's surface. Among the famous ones: Khakanja in the Far East, Kuranakhanskoe in Aldan and many others. Gold is also mined from pyrite-polymetallic deposits of Rudny Altai, igneous copper-nickel deposits located in the north of the Krasnoyarsk region and from gold-bearing skarns, which are located in Olkhovka and Chibizhka at the junction of the Minusinsk Basin and the Eastern Sayan. Some of the most gold-mining regions are: Khabarovsk region, Krasnoyarsk region, Magadan and Irkutsk regions.
Map of gold mining in Russia.
– China. This country produces about four hundred tons every year and 2014 was no exception. However, Russia does not stand still and increases the level of gold production, already in 2013 one could boast of solid results: two hundred and fifty-four tons of pure gold.
Gold mining in the Urals
The Ural region is one of the main places to find the much coveted gold in Russia. It is very favorable for gold mining: the appropriate climate, the absence of permafrost, the presence of developed infrastructure, thanks to which places for gold mining are easily accessible.
Officially, the first gold mining in the Urals began in 1745. At the beginning of the twentieth century, more than three hundred gold deposits were being developed. The source of gold is gold-bearing complex ore deposits and gold deposits.
In general, in the Urals, two industrial types of deposits can be distinguished: vein and mineralized. One of the largest placers is Bolsheshaldinskaya and in the Moss swamp.
This is how yellow metal is mined at one of the large mines in the Urals.
The placer Moss swamp is located in the Southern Urals, ten kilometers north of the Chebarkul station in the Chelyabinsk region. This deposit was discovered at the beginning of the nineteenth century and was developed until the second half of the nineties of the twentieth century.
The industrial development of gold deposits has changed little since ancient times - gold is still being washed. Instead of sheepskins, which can only be seen in vintage photos, bulldozers, water monitors, metal nets and textured rubber mats are used.
For small-scale gold mining, slightly different tools are used, such as:
- Minidrag - carries out washing of productive sand along the shallows and spits of rivers;
- Mini locks - devices for washing and extracting gold;
- A metal detector is a device for detecting gold. After all, there are much more small but rich deposits than those that require industrial processing for processing.
Currently, small-scale gold mining is more relevant than large-scale. Those who wish to work in this field simply enter into an agreement with the owner of a gold mining license and work on man-made dumps. Where do small miners mine gold in Russia? Where is this magic card? You could say nowhere. There are a huge number of deposits of places with a low gold content, therefore it is impossible to single out certain points.
Small-scale gold mining in Russia brings good profits.
Scavenging gold at old dumps undoubtedly has its advantages: a developed network of roads to mining sites, low requirements for technical training of people, no need for plowing, the possibility of using more affordable, smaller equipment.
Russia has a two-hundred-year history of gold mining, nature has provided the bowels of our country with many rich alluvial deposits available for development. It was gold mining that determined the settlement of the east of the country and the development of this part of the country.
Primary deposits in many places are inferior to placer deposits.
The first advantage of alluvial deposits is that their development requires much less economic resources.
That is why, in the Soviet years, the state was actively developing alluvial deposits, putting aside the primary "on the far shelf." The decrease in the intensity of alluvial gold mining, which has been taking place in recent years, can increase the growth of unemployment in Siberia and the Far East, which can provoke an outflow of the population from these parts of the country.
In the meantime, most of the existing alluvial deposits are non-commercial only due to the introduction of appropriate changes in the legislation.
Who owns the main gold mining in Russia?
OJSC Polyus Gold
The largest gold mining company in the world operates in the deposits of the Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk, Magadan and Amur regions. This company has gold reserves equal to three thousand tons.
The country's gold mining companies are successfully replenishing its gold and foreign exchange reserves.
OAO Severstal
One of the largest metallurgical companies in Russia, the main activity of which is ferrous metallurgy. Today, branches of this company can be found in Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Italy, France, USA, Great Britain and Africa.
Kinross Gold
A Canadian company that owns most of the gold mining companies in Yakutia.
Petropavlovsk group of companies
The assets of this company are located in the Amur and Jewish regions, the Yamal-Nenets region. The structure of this company includes metallurgical, gold mining, construction, scientific and design structures.
OJSC "Polymetal"
The core of this company is formed by companies engaged in gold mining in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, Magadan Region, and Kazakhstan. The entire complex for the commissioning of new deposits is carried out by Polymetal independently.
JSC "Yuzhuralzoloto"
All the company's assets are concentrated in Chelyabinsk, the Republic of Khakassia and the Krasnoyarsk Territory. This company practices both open and closed methods of gold mining.
OJSC Vysochaishy
It is one of the leaders in the gold mining industry and is one of the ten largest Russian companies. It is interesting that at the "Vysochaishy" there is its own licensed Training Center, which trains personnel in more than 20 specialties related to the extraction of precious metals.
Highland Gold Mining Limited (HRGM)
Bashkir gold mining company headquartered in Canada.
How and where is it fashionable to develop gold ore manifestations?
There is a closed mine in the Amur Territory. Its development has been carried out since the nineteenth century. Despite the extensive development of this source of the precious metal, small miners have something to gain if they try hard.
The modern landfill is located in the Yakutsk Territory. Powerful modern technology works there, leaving the precious metal with practically no chance of being found. Areas with loose soil are of no value to local gold miners. But areas with dense soil are more promising for study.
Where, after all, now to look for gold in vast Russia? The extraction of the precious metal is carried out not only in the Urals, but also in the central part, the map of deposits of which has long been explored. During the years of Soviet power, about four tons of precious metal per year were exported from the Moscow region alone.
Who does not dream of finding a treasure! But few people know that in the city of Zeya, Amur Region, the chances of sudden enrichment increase significantly. Here, with a regularity of several months, locals find caches of gold bars. If you believe the testimony of these lucky ones, the treasure here can be found on the side of the highway, near the river bank, or just under a bush.
A common story for these places: a certain Bagaudin Estemirov wandered through the forest and found three knitted socks in the bushes, in which gold bars were neatly wrapped. Only 18 pieces for a total of 10.5 million rubles.
Unspeakable luck. But for some reason, such stories do not surprise local residents and operatives.
The ins and outs of all these findings found out "MK".
On October 20, 2016, Marina Moskaleva, a 35-year-old resident of the city of Zeya, was incredibly lucky. On this day, citizen Moskaleva became richer by 19 million rubles. To be exact, another plus of 246 thousand 41 rubles and 63 kopecks. That is how much 24 gold bars cost, which the woman found (at least she claims so) on the side of the Zeya-Tynda highway. Zolotishko lay in a plastic bag under a bush - five meters from an abandoned traffic police post.
It is hard to even imagine how Marina Nikolaevna rejoiced at such enchanting luck. But common sense did not leave her. The lady threw the bag into the back seat of her car and drove home. And after another four days, she set off in the same car with 24 bars of gold in the back seat "on her own business" (at least that's what it says in the criminal case). But Moskaleva never reached her destination. She was stopped by the FSB, who noticed a large black bag in the car. And there...
In general, the gold was confiscated, the lady was charged under part 1 of Art. 191 (“illegal storage, transportation of precious metals”). The court sentenced her to two years of suspended liberty and a fine of 200,000 rubles. The ingots, of course, were confiscated and turned into state revenue.
But here's a coincidence: all in the same Zeya, happiness smiled at 45-year-old Alexei Yegorov. Alexey Valerianovich does not work anywhere, at least officially, and therefore he has a lot of time to wander around the surrounding forests. During one of the walks, a man came across a bundle of 2.4 kilograms of gold while crossing the Gilyui River. Citizen Yegorov could have become rich for more than five million rubles, but he also fell into the hands of the FSB.
There are not one or two such stories in the vicinity of Zeya, and indeed in the Amur Region. Here, for example, Magomed Tochiev (also, by the way, unemployed and, apparently, a very lucky person) in March 2016 was walking through a forest in the city and came across a cache. And it contains 6 kg of gold. Only 17 ingots for a total amount of more than 13 million rubles.
But perhaps the most enchanting story happened to Bagaudin Estemirov, who found three black knitted socks in the bushes, in which there were 18 golden "hemispheres". They weighed more than eight kilograms, and cost about 10.5 million rubles at the then exchange rate. By the way, Comrade Estemirov is not only incredibly lucky - he also has a business streak. At least a limited liability company engaged in the extraction of non-ferrous metal ores is now registered on it.
It's hard to believe, but there are people in Zeya who find the treasure not for the first time. The chairman of the Zeya District Court told us about such “lucky ones in the square”.
- That year, the decision was made on the case of one man who found three kilograms of alluvial gold in a three-liter jar in a hard-to-reach flattering array. This comrade does not have an obvious source of income, he does not work. I started to look at the personality, and it turned out that he was convicted twice for similar crimes. But at the time of my consideration of this case, his criminal record had already been extinguished.
Gold in the vicinity of the wonderful city was regularly found before. For example, in October 2010, in the village of Svetly, in a garage cooperative behind the Pyramid shopping complex, a certain Knuni Baghdasaryan found a plastic bag with placer gold immured in one of the reinforced concrete slabs. The weight of the package was small, only 700 grams. But by selling it, the man would then be able to enrich himself by a million rubles.
But, despite such wonderful stories, for some reason there is no pilgrimage of treasure hunters to Zeya. And local residents do move to other cities, where, although they do not find treasures on every corner, there is work and the opportunity to feed their families.
To Zeya from Blagoveshchensk on the highway 600 kilometers. By car, you can drive for six hours. A harsh town on the right bank of the river of the same name. Of the local infrastructure facilities, it is worth mentioning only the Zeya hydroelectric power station, which supplies electricity even to China, and several gold mining enterprises. Actually, the city itself was founded by gold miners. In the 1860s, after the permission of private gold mining in the Amur region, mines were opened in these remote taiga regions. In 1879, the first artel called the Zeya Warehouse appeared here.
“Do you really think that we really have gold lying around every corner?” These "lucky ones" wash it illegally or steal it from the mines. And when they are caught, they say that they have found them, Andrey Lozhechkin does not even hide his surprise at the dullness of the capital's journalist. And he adds to clarify the situation: - All these people are "black miners."
There are several schemes used by illegal gold miners. One of the most common is this: an artel launders gold in one place, skims off the cream, and then moves on to another. Free prospectors come to this site and extract the remains. However, it is not so easy to find a dump that has not been fully worked out, where you can still wash a kilogram or two. Especially without a lead. But the coordinates of promising areas are often leaked to free prospectors by their legal colleagues. Obviously, no thanks.
In Central Russia, they do not even imagine the scale of underground gold mining. This is a whole industry - with its own laws, schemes and methods to get rid of objectionable people.
“For 18 seized ingots, a decent counter was set ...”
Free gold miners are also called "predators". These people are extremely reluctant to talk about their work. If they agree to an interview, they ask not to indicate their real name. For Aleksey, searching for gold is not a job, it's a hobby. He hunts in the Moscow region, regularly publishes reports and pictures of the wealth found on his blog. For precious metal, it turns out, you do not need to go to the Far East. Alexey assures that even in the Moscow region, knowing the places, you can get several tens of grams of gold.
- For example, near Iksha, until the war, collective farmers mined 150 grams per season. And in Moscow, during the reconstruction of Kudrinskaya Square, three nuggets weighing about 700 grams were found. For you to understand, this is a great success. Usually prospectors deal with golden sand, grains.
Alexey knows many people in this shady segment. He agreed to tell how the "predators" work.
- Most likely, the people caught in Zeya are not even direct miners, but buyers or carriers of reclaimed metal. They buy gold from miners at bargain prices. Moreover, it is clear to anyone who understands at least a little about this business that these people were taken for a reason. An extra buyer appeared - and they decided to merge it into the operational development of the FSB.
What “superfluous” means is also clear to all those involved in this business. The fact is that for the past few decades, Chechens and Ingush have been supporting all illegal gold mining. They buy half-price sand from the miners. And even cheaper. It is clear that sooner or later there will be people who want to sell gold at a higher price. Just such and pass the FSB.
We tried to get through to the defendants in the “found gold” cases for several weeks. To no avail. No one picked up the phone. Alexei is not surprised.
- I think they are not up to journalists now. Because if 18 foreign gold bars that you were supposed to deliver to the customer were seized from you, a decent counter was put up for you. These people now shy away from any shadow.
In the illegal transportation of gold, the main thing is reliable people and well-functioning logistics. Alexei said that some particularly enterprising businessmen make chains from "black" gold for coupling railway cars, which are then painted to look like steel. At the destination station, precious chains are removed and real chains are put on.
“Some kind of very complicated scheme,” I remark.
— On the other hand, gold can travel freely throughout Russia, without inspection.
The work of prospectors is harsh. Few people understand what people sacrifice for the sake of metal, which will then turn into earrings and rings. For several months, gold miners live deep in the taiga, in tents or dugouts.
- One prospector told me how he entered the taiga, abandoned the provisions and went to put the equipment on the stream. He returns to the parking lot, and there all the cereals are torn, the cans of stew are open. The bear was in charge of his camp. It would be logical to return, but this guy went to the taiga for a week. So, he decided to stay. For two weeks, while he worked, he ate one fish.
— And how much do prospectors produce per season?
- A loner, if you lathered 100-200 grams - this is already happiness. If we assume that they rent gold at a price of two thousand rubles per gram, then they will be able to raise a maximum of 200 thousand per season. For those who work in illegal artels, gold allows you to survive the winter. But still, this is not the kind of money for which you can risk your health and freedom. Such may well receive an ordinary worker. But he does not live in the taiga - in an apartment. He is not overgrown and not dirty. And don't risk being sued.
“You can sell the washed metal in stores for your own ...”
Direct mining of gold by private traders is not prohibited in our country. There is no article in the Criminal Code for this. The maximum, according to Alexei, for which a hard worker can be attracted is because he muddied the water in the river or cut down a tree. But for all this administrative punishment is provided.
- But the storage and transportation of precious metals is prohibited in our country. But if you find gold worth less than 2 million 250 thousand rubles in your hands, only a fine is imposed for this. If more, you already fall under the Criminal Code,” explains the blogger.
However, in those places where prospectors work, operational services are unlikely to go. Too far. For example, one former gold miner from Zeya (now he holds a fairly high position, and therefore asked not to use his name) told us that “black miners” often mine in places where you can only drive through the winter road. In spring and summer, there is simply no road there.
- In winter, equipment and people are brought there. Picked up in late autumn due to frost. During the summer months, the only way to get there is by helicopter. Sometimes provisions are brought to prospectors on all-terrain vehicles. And then imagine: FSB officers got to a secret place in the depths of the taiga, spent a lot of money on this special operation. And what did they see? Several people wash basins in water. What can they present? - in turn, says Alexei.
- Surely the gold itself lies somewhere nearby.
“Who will put it in the open?” They hide, of course. And if the operatives find the bookmarks, it doesn't matter. You can always say that it is someone else's. "How not yours?"
- "And so, someone dropped it."
- But there is a special technique nearby.
- So what? I'm just testing equipment. This is not prohibited by law.
But you can't take this illegal gold to a pawnshop. If natural metal was brought to hand over, the jeweler or pawnshop employee is obliged to inform the authorities.
“Now all pawnshops have cameras. If some ignorant person brings washed gold, the receivers are obliged to transfer the record from them to the FSB officers. You instantly fall under the article about the sale, - explains Alexey.
But to receive shadow gold, their own shops have been created. There are such in every city of the gold-bearing regions.
“No one will dig you out from under a collapsed pit ...”
- It's all for rent in the so-called common people "Chechenzoloto" and "Ingushzoloto". Usually this is some kind of grocery store where the buyer sits. The prospector is given 50 percent of the market value of the metal. They can also give out products. It is clear that if you do not share with people in uniform, then your store will be closed very quickly. However, there is no zest in this scheme - it is standard, as in any illegal business.
- Russia is perhaps the only country in the world where it is forbidden for a private person to mine gold. It is possible only for an enterprise that has received the appropriate license,” explains Rudolf. - It costs millions, you can’t pull an individual.
Actually, it was the ban on the extraction of yellow metal by private traders that gave rise to shadow gold mining. The volume of this business is amazing.
— For example, 16 tons of gold are officially mined in the Irkutsk region. And exactly the same amount goes to the illegal cash desk, - Kavchik assures. “Even special cover enterprises are being created. Imagine: there is a bulldozer in the taiga, a gold-collecting cash desk has been built. But nothing is produced at this enterprise. Freestyle wrestlers bring gold here and sell it at half price. And this is just one of the schemes of the "gray" metal turnover.
— Where does this illegal gold go then? Is he being taken out of the country?
- I will say this: what do you think, from what money are the terrorist attacks in the Moscow and St. Petersburg metro? Perhaps even from the "golden".
The ban on gold mining did not always exist - it was introduced only in 1956. Prior to this, private mining was even encouraged.
- In wartime, there were special subbotniks, during which schoolchildren were driven out to the river. With the help of trays, they mined several grams of gold, which they then handed over and received their couple of rubles. They sent money "for the front, for victory."
But as soon as the country recovered from the wounds of the war, as the top people became concerned: would some Soviet citizens earn more than others? After all, gold mining is an opportunity to earn more than you need. Although not the easiest. As Rudolph explained, usually a cube of rock contains from one to two grams of gold. Five at best. Imagine: only two grams in a coma of earth measuring a meter long, a meter wide and a meter high.
“But you must carry this rock cube on your own hands to the river, rinse it in ice water. In a day, a prospector can master a cube, two at the most. That is, the maximum production of a worker is 5-10 grams of gold per day.
And for this you risk not only health, but also life. Cases when miners died under the rubble are not so rare.
Often, when developing grandfather's pits, prospectors find the remains of their predecessors.
In a word, this work is not for everyone. And in our country, this real peasant is branded "black prospector". In New Zealand, for example, this worker would be a wealthy and respected person.
By the way, not only men, but also women go to prospectors. Although, of course, Amazons with a pick and a shovel are rather an exception to the rule.
These women are loved and appreciated. And luck often smiles at them even more often than partners. I once wrote down the story of one prospector woman: “I went to the taiga to collect my children for school, I really need money. Probably, she very much asked the Almighty to help, she believed, not for herself, but for the children. And this time I was lucky in several small gold nuggets with a total weight of almost one hundred grams.
— What is the biggest nugget you found?
- My record is a nugget the size of a chicken egg. Rare luck, we thought for a long time what to do with it. It seemed that I was rich, at least enough for a car. In fact, it turned out to be 175 grams. This is about 200 thousand rubles at black market prices.
Rudolph is from the Irkutsk region. And there, too, as it turns out, the courts are overwhelmed with cases from the series “found a bag of gold under a bush.”
— This is a widespread practice in all gold-bearing regions. The country is in crisis, there is no work in these small towns, but you need to somehow feed your family. If a prospector is caught, he knows from the experience of his colleagues: say what you found, and there will be less trouble. By the way, if this man had put a note in his pocket: they say, I stumbled upon a treasure, I’m going to turn it in, they wouldn’t even impose an administrative punishment on him. He is a good citizen. It's like with a weapon: write a note that you found an unregistered gun in the forest and I'm going to hand it over - and bribes are smooth from you.
- What are the incomes of the richest of the free miners with whom you had to communicate?
No one will say how much he earns, this is the law of fortune. You blabbed - and luck will turn away forever. But in New Zealand I met a gold miner. I found his mini-dredge (equipment used for mining. - "MK") on the bank of a small stream, and the prospector himself - in a nearby pub. He works four hours a day and does not deny himself anything, including a pint of beer after a working day. Every day he mines about 7 grams of gold. If you translate this into rubles, you get 15 thousand. And this person does not feel like a criminal.
Our prospectors can only dream of such a thing.
Although for several years now a package of amendments on free delivery has been a dead weight in the State Duma. If it is accepted, in Russia, as in many countries, gold mining will be a completely legal work. All wrestlers are very hopeful for this project. In fact, they are not criminals. They just want to do their favorite and not the easiest job.
VIDIO
Do-it-yourself equipment for gold mining.For free!
Not only legends, but also historical facts claim that in the old days, gold mining was quite actively carried out in the Moscow region: maps of deposits that have survived since then in various versions still attract darlings of luck and gambling adventurers.
The gold rush at different times in turn covered the vast Russian expanses. Gold panning began in a variety of regions, and often such enterprises achieved very significant success. And this is not surprising, because the Russian subsoil contains almost the entire periodic table, including precious metals. From time immemorial, prospectors in Rus' washed gold, which was more than enough for jewelry for royal families, for precious church utensils and salaries for icons, for minting coins, and even for trade with close and distant neighbors.
Today, there are several hundred large and small deposits of this noble metal in the country. For many years, the Krasnoyarsk Territory, Chukotka, Yakutia and the Magadan Region have held the palm for its production.
Statistics do not mention information about the extraction of precious metals in the middle zone of the country, and therefore not every resident of the regions adjacent to the capital knows that gold mining is possible in the Moscow region. Until now, enterprises that actively mined alluvial gold in Soviet times have been preserved in mothballed form, giving out up to 4 tons of precious metal per year.
Many of the deposits near Moscow are highly profitable in terms of gold mining, since they contain over 17 milligrams of gold per ton of processed rock. For comparison, we can say that in world practice a deposit is considered as promising if the gold reserves in it are 10 milligrams per ton of rock.
From ancient times to the present, you can most often find gold in the rivers of the Moscow region. If you believe the preserved maps, which indicate the most promising places for miners, their main share falls on the northern part of the Moscow region.
For example, in the area of the village of Iksha, a network of small rivers, originating on the tops of the Klin-Dmitrov ridge, erodes the layers of glaciers with their flow. In the thickness of these ice masses formed over the centuries, a lot of precious metal has been accumulated, which enriches the river sand.
And today, one of these small rivers in the Iksha region tirelessly pleases fans of the gold rush with the alluring brilliance of precious grains. The old-timers of these places tell the prospectors a legend, according to which one of the rivers once turned into a real golden stream, from which the miners washed not fine golden sand, but relatively large precious nuggets.
Legends are legends, but small grains of yellow metal, which are called “signs” in the language of prospectors, are found in rivers near Iksha even today.
Cartography to the rescue
Persistent rumors that there is gold in the Moscow region and that it is not so difficult to find it have received unexpected confirmation from cartographers. Not so long ago, a modern map of attractions located on the territory of the Moscow Region was published. The attentive eyes of the catchers of fortune saw on it the symbol Au between two villages in the Dmitrovsky district.
One of them is Protasovo, and the second is Ignatovo. Any high school student knows that a similar sign denotes an element of the chemical periodic table, which has atomic number 79 and is a noble metal, or, more simply, gold.
For gold mining in the Moscow region, a map showing the deposits where there is at least some significant amount of gold sand is simply necessary for the prospector. It helps to weed out rumors and legends that have no basis, and direct your energy to the search for really promising places for the extraction of the precious metal.
A bit of history
Gold from the Moscow region has been mentioned in historical references since the beginning of the 19th century. The soldiers of Napoleon's army, having occupied Moscow, first of all began to ask the locals where the unusual “golden” river was located, in which, instead of fish, gold nuggets were waiting for their catchers.
After the expulsion of Napoleon and the end of hostilities, envoys from the Russian imperial court came to Moscow. The purpose of their arrival in Moscow was the same as that of the French: to learn about the large gold deposits near Moscow. However, the inhabitants of the Moscow province did not give away their secret, and the royal envoys returned to the court with nothing.
Another surge of the "gold rush" occurred on the lands near Moscow before the October Revolution. The reason for it was a case that helped a peasant from the Dmitrovsky district to find two fairly large nuggets on the banks of a small unnamed river. A successful plowman resold the find to a merchant in the capital. Shortly thereafter, “top secret” maps with the designation of a gold-bearing place began to circulate around Moscow.
In response, many residents of Moscow succumbed to excitement and decided to try their luck with a miner's tray in their hands. Even the famous master of reporter Vladimir Gilyarovsky succumbed to the general excitement, together with everyone else he went to catch his luck. Moscow guidebooks responded to the increased demand and began to publish data that there really are gold deposits near the village of Iksha, and you can find them in:
- gold placers;
- alluvial boulders of glacial origin.
The baton of general excitement was picked up by local newspapers, which began to publish articles with enticing, provocative headlines:
- "Klondike near Moscow";
- "Russian California";
- "Golden River"
The successful businessman Ponomarev did not lose his head at the right moment. On the wave of mass interest, he created a joint-stock company with the aim of organizing gold mining on an industrial scale. Very respectable people of that time became members of the society. However, their hopes for quick enrichment did not come true.
The gold rush died down as suddenly as it had flared up. And the reason for this was not at all the absence of the sought-after gold in the rivers near Moscow.
Industrialists did not have the technology to make metal mining economically interesting. At that time, it simply did not exist.
Golden riverbeds
Employees of the Central Research Geological Prospecting Institute of Non-Ferrous and Precious Metals (TsNIGRI) told Rossiyskaya Gazeta journalists that not only the rivers near Iksha are of interest to miners. There is a noble metal in the channels of the Sestra and Volgusha rivers near Moscow.
To prove their words, they organized a real prospecting expedition for the workers of the pen, leading them to the banks of the Sestra. Journalists had to pick up trays and plunge into work. Their efforts were not in vain. In a few hours of hard work, they lathered 5 milligrams of pure golden sand.
When viewed under a microscope, this catch looks very impressive. All grains of sand have a smooth, water-polished surface, and a bright alluring shine. Unfortunately, it was difficult to see microscopic nuggets with the naked eye. But the fact that a certain number of gold signs were found in a short time suggests that this metal is still present in the rivers of the Moscow region.
And not only the northern region of the region can boast of having gold. There is evidence that in the mid-70s, one of the students of the Moscow Geological Prospecting Institute managed to wash gold grains in streams in the Podolsk region. As proof of the veracity of his words, he willingly showed his prey to his classmates.
And the impossible is possible
Experts say that gold deposits should be sought in layers of igneous rocks, which include granites and quartzes, or in the vicinity of metamorphic rocks transformed under the influence of high pressures and significant temperatures.
Moscow region gold is an exception to the rule. The fact is that the territory of the Moscow region for the most part consists of sedimentary rocks. How, in this case, can one explain the presence of gold in the land near Moscow?
Scientists have found strong arguments to explain this phenomenon. According to the presented hypothesis, the reason for the appearance of gold in the Moscow region was a giant glacier, which several millennia ago slid down from the Scandinavian mountains to the Central Russian Upland. During the journey, he accumulated boulders, stones and fragments of various rocks in the ice mass.
As the centuries passed, the climate changed, and the glacial tongue began to gradually melt. In places where rapids formed, a natural enrichment process began to occur, as a result of which heavier minerals settled to the bottom of the glacier, thereby forming mineral deposits. Gold did not escape this fate.
Why mine in the Moscow region
Despite the fact that gold has been mined in the Moscow region for a long time, its reserves are estimated by experts as insignificant from the point of view of industrial interest. In this case, who and why is developing these unpromising deposits? Scientists know the answer to this question too.
The gold of the Moscow region is of interest because it belongs to the loose type, which makes it possible to organize a rather easy process of its extraction. According to experts, such loose gold in Russia will be enough only for the next decades.
Reserves of gold, which occurs together with bedrock, can be mined for more than a century. The problem is that the development of primary deposits requires significant financial investments from gold miners to create:
- complex and expensive infrastructure, including the development of mines and quarries, as well as the construction of processing plants;
- transport and logistics network designed to serve the enterprise, since most of them are located far from housing.
Alluvial gold from loose rocks or alluvial deposits that form on river banks cannot boast of significant reserves, but in terms of extraction it is much cheaper for prospectors. There is another factor that allows gold deposits near Moscow to become profitable.
In the central regions of the country, including the Moscow region, the main reserves of gold are found in sand, which is actively used in the construction industry. Taking into account this factor, the specialists offered the gold miners a technology that allows for the concomitant extraction of the metal. This method makes gold mining economically interesting.
Private mining
The low profitability of gold mining does not frighten the inhabitants of the Moscow region, who in the summer turn into numerous private prospectors, recklessly spending time on the banks of large and small rivers.
For their purposes, they use a simple, but time-tested and reliable mining technology. Most prospectors need only a few items to work:
- tray;
- shovel;
- bucket;
- scoop.
The main difficulty is the main question: where to dig? Some prospectors dig river sediments, while others go to quarries where sand and gravel are mined. After the place is determined, you can get to work.
Here, another difficulty awaits the lover of precious metals. The prospector will have to patiently and carefully carry out the same constantly repeating movements for a long time. In general, the proverb fits prospectors like no other profession: “Perseverance and work will grind everything.”
Mastery Secrets
Since gold is heavier than sand, it always settles to the bottom of the sand mixture. The main task of the miner is to wash the soil sample in such a way that the gold does not inadvertently wash off. After thorough washing of the sand, a dark-colored concentrate is formed, containing fragments of heavy minerals, among which golden grains are hidden. To examine the concentrate carefully in a calm environment, it can be drained into a jar or a special bag and hermetically sealed.
Fine-tuning this material to the desired result can be done at home using an ordinary dust scoop. First you need to go over its inner surface with sandpaper to get rid of the gloss, and make the scoop less smooth.
Experienced miners warn beginners not to let the concentrate dry out. Since the dried grains of gold will become buoyant and can be washed off with water during the first washing of the concentrate.
There is also a secret at the prospector's tray. It must be made from a single piece of wood. And not every tree is suitable for this purpose. The highest quality trays are obtained from linden and cedar. Experts tried to make a tray from modern materials: fiberglass or plastic. But such products could not compete with the traditional wooden tray. Only wood allows the tray to float and has a surface rough enough to trap gold particles.
Miners use a magnet to separate the gold from the dry rock, since the minerals that accompany gold contain a lot of iron. But even here there is a secret. Before using a magnet, it must be placed in a plastic bag or plastic container. In this case, adhering particles of ferruginous quartzites or garnets can be easily separated from the magnet by removing the bag. If you do not take this advice, it can be very problematic to separate the particles adhering to the magnet.
In some cases, the catch can only be detected using a microscope. It can be difficult to see signs, as experts call small gold grains, without the help of equipment.
"Gold Rush" does not let go of adventurers at the present time. Many people dream of becoming a happy owner of a gold nugget, but not everyone knows where to look for a suitable deposit. And, of course, many will be surprised by the information that gold can be mined in the Moscow region, using sand pits or riverbeds for this purpose.
To become a prospector, you do not need to purchase expensive equipment. A shovel and a tray will help to take soil samples and wash the sand. And the direction of the search will be prompted by maps on which deposits of the precious metal are marked with the sign Au. But not only maps can become guides for modern gold miners. Going on a journey, you should study local legends and tales. Often it is they who indicate traditionally gold-rich places.
The magic word that fulfills dreams does not only exist in fairy tales. It just sounds like gold. At its core, it is an ordinary yellow metal, thanks to which it got its name. The question of how to extract gold interested people 7 thousand years ago, in the distant Neolithic era. It was then that it began to gain incredible popularity due to its color, associated with the sun and power given by the gods. Nowadays, few people connect him with the celestials, but as a symbol of power and wealth, gold not only has not lost its significance, but has also become the standard of economic, and with it the political independence of all countries.
Gold in nature
It is important to know not only how to mine gold, but also where it came from on our planet. The answer to this question helps to understand where to look for this coveted metal. Scientists suggest that gold is formed during the explosion of neutron stars, when tons of dust are thrown into space, containing, along with other metals, gold. Subsequently, the dust is concentrated, forming star systems and planets. So it was with our Earth. Now the bulk of the gold is in its molten interior and "drop by drop" is thrown to the surface with lava. That is why gold-bearing veins, where gold can be mined relatively easily, are mainly located in places of post-magmatic and hydrothermal processes. Other igneous rocks, being lighter, are washed out with time, and gold remains in placers. The same thing happens with gold brought to Earth by meteorites. It can be found in its pure form (gold nuggets), or in some minerals, for example, in sulfides, arsenides, and 15 others.
Properties of gold
Before we tell you how to get gold and from what, let's get acquainted with its properties. This knowledge will help not to lose a single milligram of precious metal during extraction. So what are the properties of gold?
- It is very dense and heavy. A golden ball with a diameter of only 5 cm weighs a whole kilogram! This property is used in the main method of its extraction - washing.
- It is very plastic, soft, and, as a result, malleable. From gold you can make threads as thick as a human hair and translucent plates thinner than paper. This makes it possible to use it even in SIM cards!
- It can melt and boil, however, the temperatures must be quite significant. Important: in molten form, without even waiting for the boil, gold can evaporate quickly.
- It is unusually inert, that is, it practically does not dissolve in acids (only in aqua regia and in several other solvents).
All these properties of gold are used in the methods of its extraction both in nature and at home. 
Where is gold mined
There are several countries in the world to which nature has given gold deposits. These are China (the leader in gold mining), Australia, Russia, Canada, the United States, South Africa, former Soviet Uzbekistan, Peru, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Indonesia, Ghana and New Guinea. Gold mining in other countries is also carried out, but in too small quantities. Our country ranks third after Australia and China. Russian citizens, no doubt, are interested in where gold is mined in Russia. We have 37 companies engaged in this business. Polyus Gold is the leader among them. Almost 95% of the total volume of gold is located in the Far East, in the Amur, Krasnoyarsk, Magadan, Irkutsk regions, in Chukotka, in the Khabarovsk Territory, in Yakutia (Sakha), Buryatia, Transbaikalia, in the Chelyabinsk and Sverdlovsk regions. At the same time, the maximum production is carried out in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, and the maximum dynamics of its increase is observed in the Sverdlovsk and Magadan regions and in Chukotka. But in Transbaikalia, gold is mined less and less. Among the mines and deposits can be called Dome, Kyuchussky, Maisky, Karalveemsky, Vorontsovsky, Eldorado, Devil's trough, Sukhoi Log and others. 
Amalgamation
This is one of the oldest and most unhealthy methods of gold mining, officially banned in Russia, but used in other countries and by our artisanal gold miners. It consists in the use of mercury. How to mine gold with amalgamation? To do this, mercury is added to a plastic or glass tray containing sand and very fine fractions of gold. She will not dissolve the desired metal, but will draw it into her balls. To help the process, you need to rotate the tray, allowing the mercury to roll over the entire surface of the sand. Mercury balls with gold are called amalgam. It is collected, separated from the sand and subjected either to hydrochloric acid treatment, in which mercury will dissolve, but not gold, or by evaporating mercury over a fire. You can do this in a simple frying pan. In acid, the gold freed from mercury settles in flakes to the bottom, after which it is thoroughly washed. If there is no desire to lose mercury, you need to lower a piece of foil into the acid. This simple technique allows mercury to precipitate. It is possible to extract gold from amalgam by simply filtering it through suede or tarpaulin, but the loss of expensive metal is always great. 
flushing
This is the most ancient and environmentally friendly method based on the high density of gold. Flushing is used both in industrial production and in individual, in alluvial deposits. It consists in washing the rocks with water. In this case, all light particles are removed, and heavy ones, including gold, remain at the bottom of the tray. The disadvantage of this method is that too small particles of gold are washed out with water, significantly reducing its production. Some are interested in whether gold can be mined by private individuals. Yes, you can. In Russia, a law has been passed allowing miners to work in small deposits and spent gold veins. To do this, you need to buy a license that is valid for 5 years.
Cyanidation
This least labor-intensive method is based on the dissolution of gold in hydrocyanic acid. How to mine gold by cyanidation? It is necessary to crush the rock in which there is a noble metal, pour it into a waterproof tray, pour hydrocyanic acid, in particular sodium cyanide. It will begin to seep through the rock, dissolving the gold in the process. The resulting solution is poured into a separate container. The gold contained in it is precipitated, for example, with zinc dust, and hydrocyanic acid is returned to the process again. 
Flotation
This method cannot be called pure gold mining, but it significantly enriches the rocks and facilitates the further process. "Fleet", "flotter" in translation - this is what keeps afloat. It turns out that there are rocks that get wet well and settle to the bottom, and there are those that do not get wet, but are only enveloped in liquid particles, like air bubbles, and thanks to this they “float” on the surface. This is flotation. With the help of it, gold is mined from sulfide, gold-pyrite, gold-copper and some other minerals. The ore is crushed, filled with water and oil (for example, pine), mixed. Gold particles float to the surface. In industry, instead of oil, air is passed through a mixture of water and crushed ore, and some other reagents. Further purification of gold is most often carried out by cyanidation.
How to mine gold at home
The methods of industrial gold mining, of course, are interesting, but for most citizens they are not very practical. Not everyone can afford to go somewhere in Siberia, to abandoned mines. Yes, this is not necessary, because you can become a prospector without leaving the walls of your own apartment. How to mine gold at home? There are several methods. The easiest and most popular since the time of the Union is the extraction of precious metal from watches and other yellow products. It turns out that earlier, using the inertness of gold, that is, its anti-corrosion properties, many metal objects were covered with it. Of course, the percentage of gold in them is small, but in rocks it is also small.
So, ore containing only 5-10 grams of gold per ton is considered rich. What should be done with the clock? First collect as many of them as possible. Next, take an inert container (glass, plastic), put the watch in there, fill it with nitric acid and wait until it dissolves everything except gold. The resulting solution must be filtered through several layers of gauze, and the gold deposited on it should be placed in vodka and allowed to stand for a day. You will get a brownish precipitate. Then rinse everything thoroughly with water, filter again and set to melt. For the effectiveness of this last stage, soda is added to the melting gold. It must be remembered that the desired metal is able to evaporate, but when melted, excess impurities leave it, and it itself turns into a small ingot. 
Gold from radio components
Gold is used in circuit boards and radio components due to its inertness and low electrical conductivity. How to get gold from radio components and microcircuits? For this, aqua regia (a mixture of nitric and hydrochloric acids), which is prepared immediately before the process, is suitable. This infernal mixture dissolves gold at room temperature. There is even a historical example of dissolving gold medals in aqua regia to hide them from the Nazis. The process produces the chloraurate ion, to which sodium sulfite is added. Gold must precipitate. It is filtered, washed and melted down into an ingot.
Before starting the dissolution process, it is necessary to sort out gold-bearing parts from others. Next, you should try to remove everything superfluous from the “correct” radio components as much as possible. Particular attention should be paid to metal parts, such as hats, legs. If possible, they should be collected with a magnet. Boards can be placed in a mixture of hydrochloric acid and hydrogen peroxide in a ratio of 2:1.
gold from water
Unbelievable, but true: gold is contained in any water, from which, theoretically, it can also be extracted. What concentration is it in? It turns out that about 5 kg per square km, and in sea water it is several times more than in tap water. There is also a relatively large amount of gold in the melt water flowing from the mountains, and in the silt sediment, especially mineralized. It is assumed that in a ton of silt of the Red Sea - about 5 g of gold. The main way to extract it is as follows: add quicklime to water, filter out the precipitate, drain the water back into the sea or river, and subject the sediment to further processing, such as cyanidation.
virtual gold
For all gambling people who care about the process of gold mining itself, computer scientists came up with the Minecraft game, the goal of which is to become a successful miner after passing dozens of tests. How to get gold in Minecraft? You need to go through several levels, "work" as a miner, turn the mined ore into ingots, and only then use it to make, for example, combat armor. You can also look for the desired metal in ancient castles and dungeons, "ask around" people who meet on the difficult paths of passing levels. To real gold diggers, this seems like empty fun, but the Minecraft game has conquered all continents except Antarctica, and brought so much money to its developers that any prospector will envy.
The theme of gold mining, "gold rush" in works of art, I think, leaves no one indifferent. I was once greatly impressed by V. Mitypov's book Inspector of the Golden Taiga. The book tells about the history of the development of gold placers in our native Buryatia.
Gold of Buryatia
Gold in our wild Siberian taiga was discovered more than 180 years ago. The "gold rush", the brutal murders in the mines, the merciless struggle for power - all this also affected my native land.
Now Buryatia ranks 14th in Russia in terms of precious metal reserves. Our gold is mined at the mines:
- Irokinda;
- Samarta;
- Kedrovsky;
- Konevinsky;
- Tsipikansky.
Placer gold deposits are the most explored in Buryatia. Placers are formed due to the destruction of rocks, which the rivers gradually wash away with their waters. Therefore, the easiest way to extract such gold is to wash it with a tray. You don't need to have a special talent to pan for gold. In this case, the main skill and diligence. It is not for nothing that gold miners are called prospectors.
In the Buntovsky district of Buryatia, a gold panning competition is held every year. It usually involves many people. After all, every second family in Baunt is gold miners.
Where is ore gold mined in Russia
Ore gold is stored in the bowels of the earth. Getting to it is much more difficult. But there is, of course, more gold in the ores than on the surface. Therefore, huge funds are spent on its extraction. In our country, most of the gold is mined from there. There are more than 100 such places in Russia. The largest gold ore deposits are located in the Irkutsk, Magadan regions, Krasnoyarsk Territory, in Yakutia, in Chukotka.
Unlike other countries, placer mining still continues to play a large role in Russia. And "black diggers" are severely punished in our country. While in Australia, America, the government, on the contrary, encourages such activities. Their license to mine gold is cheap. Therefore, each person has the opportunity to earn some extra money on gold.
