Where is jade mined in Russia? Jade fever: who and why is fighting for the Siberian Klondike State control over jade mining

General Director of the Trans-Baikal Mining Enterprise (ZGRP) Alexander Voronkov comments on the history of the creation of the enterprise, the reasons for the transition of the ZGRP from the Irkutsk region to Buryatia, the policy of decriminalization of the jade industry with the participation of law enforcement agencies of Buryatia, the volume of tax revenues from the ZGRP to the budget of the republic, the interaction of the enterprise with the administration of the Bauntovsky Evenki district , working conditions at the Kavoktinsky deposit of light-colored jades, the need for geological exploration in the Bauntovsky and Okinsky regions of Buryatia, the conflict situation around the fields of ZGRP and the Sibirgeologiya company in the Okinsky region of the republic, which law enforcement agencies are currently investigating, and other topics.

“The Trans-Baikal mining enterprise was created in 2013, and in 2014, having received permits and completed all the necessary design actions, ZGRP began mining stone located in the Bauntovsky district, in the delta of the Kavokta River. Our enterprise was created from scratch - all the equipment was purchased, building materials were purchased, and by importing a distance of 800-900 kilometers over the course of a year, a fairly modern housing settlement was built with all the necessary infrastructure - residential buildings, central heating, a dining room, a bathhouse and laundry complex and rest point. The entire infrastructure for production and technical purposes was created - warehouses for finished products, mechanical repair shops, the initially necessary equipment was purchased, and it continues to arrive every year, since the conditions for jade mining are very difficult. We have the fourth category of complexity - miners and geologists understand what it is. We work with a crazy amount of rock that has to be transported from place to place - on average, the ZGRP moves about 750 thousand cubic meters of rock every year. We work on jade mining and exploration from April to November, and in winter we prepare for the next season, and in addition, this is the maintenance of infrastructure, and, of course, security. We inherited from previous years a farm that was slowly but surely going downhill - no one was protecting anything, and the mineral resources were simply taken away. They dug wherever they wanted - they say that in 2013-2014 there were about one and a half thousand illegal subsoil users and about 30-40 pieces of equipment in Kavokta. We had to fight this legacy and bring everything back to the norm, which is determined by law. Today, an efficient team of two hundred people has been created, which is capable of solving any problems, and a production and technical base has been created. I would like to specifically focus on the great work carried out on exploration work. We are always proud to say that based on the results of 2017, the company drilled in rock formations with a total of 65 thousand linear meters - this is a very big result. And the exploration stage is now beginning at the Okinskoye field, since previous data, to put it mildly, does not correspond to reality. In Oka we are doing the same thing as we did at the Kavoktinskoye field - this is the fight against illegal subsoil users and the construction of all infrastructure - roads, warehouses, a village - everything is the same.”

The General Director of ZGRP explained the difference between different jade deposits in Buryatia: “The Kavoktinskoye deposit refers to light-colored jade, or, as the common people say, it is white jade. “White jade” is a rather arbitrary concept, it can be white-green, white-blue, but, indeed, there is also white jade - all this together is called light-colored jades. And green ones are jades that are mined in the Oka region; they are usually dark-colored. Light-colored jades gravitate towards the Bauntovsky region, and go towards the Chita deposit in the north of the Trans-Baikal Territory. There is a bit of a misconception that any white jade costs a lot of money. This is not entirely true - indeed, very good jade is quite expensive, but as a rule, it is two to three percent. Everything else is near-jade rocks and jade of lower quality, which is not expensive.”

Answering a question about the decriminalization of the jade industry, the hero of the “Big Reason” program said the following: “In 2013, the decriminalization process began after analyzing the situation on the natural resources market - the President of Russia signed an order on the decriminalization of this industry and, in connection with this, an instruction was given to the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs. Speaking about the positive dynamics in the sphere of suppressing illegal subsoil use, I must note the enormous role played by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Buryatia, which very systematically carries out this work to this day. As a result, order has been established in this area, there are some residual phenomena - people are trying to get to the jade mining sites, but we take security very seriously - our territory is fenced, and it is under round-the-clock surveillance. Specialized armed guards, dogs, video cameras, and other surveillance equipment that restricts the access of outsiders - we have all this today. And after a joint meeting of the republican prosecutor’s office, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the FSB with the participation of enterprises interested in decriminalizing the industry, it was decided to establish a police post at the field. Today we fully protect and control the Kavoktinskoye field.”

According to Alexander Voronkov, “Of the two hundred people in the ZGRP team of engineering and technical workers, we have about 30 people, the rest are representatives of blue-collar professions. 95 percent of our employees are residents of the Republic of Buryatia, including residents of the Bauntovsky district. If a person does not have a qualification, but wants to obtain it, we invest in additional training for our employees. The main categories of our employees are bulldozer operators, excavator operators, vehicle drivers, tracked vehicle drivers, stone sorters and various support workers. The average salary for the enterprise based on the results of 2017 was 83 thousand rubles with a full social package. The salary of a janitor is 50-60 thousand rubles, and a bulldozer driver’s salary is 150-160 thousand rubles. We always have people who want to work, but 80-90 percent of our employees are people who are already familiar with working and living conditions - they like everything, and they suit us too.”

The shift work schedule, according to the general director of ZGRP, looks like this: “At the end of March, machine operators arrive; during the winter period, spare parts are delivered by the chief mechanic and logistics services. You can only go there on river ice from the end of January to mid-March; during this period you need to get everything - from metal and oxygen for welding to food. Back in 2015, we built a huge refrigerator for products that are blast frozen. There are four meals a day in the canteen, you can always take a supplement, or cookies, sweets, condensed milk, tea, sugar - there are no problems with nutrition. The work is carried out around the clock, in two ten-hour shifts with breaks for meals, and ends in November. The work is quite difficult, so our employees work for 6-7 months and rest the rest of the time.”

Answering the question about how ZGRP interacts with the authorities and residents of the Bauntovsky Evenki district, the hero of the “Big Reason” program said: “Since 2014, we have developed good, kind relations with the district leadership. When we arrived in the district, we immediately told the previous head of administration: tell me, what problems do you have, and how can we help you? We signed an agreement according to which we annually invest about ten million rubles in the Bauntovsky district. The district administration invests this money in the development of schools, in the renovation of kindergartens, in trips to competitions and seminars, mainly for children. We have excellent relations with Mr. Kovalev (Nikolai Kovalev - head of the Bauntovsky Evenki district - ed.), he is a real business executive and a person in his place. In addition, we are developing reindeer husbandry; the previous head of the administration approached us with a request to develop the traditional agricultural occupation of the northern peoples - reindeer husbandry. We got a herd of deer in the region of 70-80 heads, the selection of which had not been carried out for about 15 years. We took patronage over the Toloi farm, today its employees work for us, we have already imported deer three times to improve the breed - from Kyzyl, Tofalaria and from Oka . Today the herd numbers more than 300 heads, we expect that next year we will already have 500 heads of deer. We really wouldn’t want the indigenous people to forget about reindeer husbandry, so we are happy to run this business, regardless of the costs. We decided in the future to buy a container-type sausage shop in order to sell environmentally friendly venison sausage in Ulan-Ude.”

Home:: Minerals and rocks

Nephritis

English name: Nephrite

It is a type of mineral: TremoliteFerroactinolite

Jade is a dense and viscous cryptocrystalline (microcrystalline) fibrous variety of the tremolite-ferro-actinolite solution minerals, including actinolite, which remains listed as an IMA mineral as of May 2015.

Sometimes jade is considered as a rock, the bulk of which consists of such varieties of minerals of this series. Valuable ornamental stone (blue jade - dianite - is extremely rare and especially highly valued). Very viscous due to the interweaving of fine-crystalline fibers, and therefore very durable. At the fracture, the surface is uneven with sharp thin edges. Has a waxy sheen, incl. on a polished surface at any degree of polishing. The most valuable jewelry variety of jade, the one with the cat's eye effect, is very rare.

Most jade deposits are located in areas where intrusive igneous rocks intrude into serpentinites. There are rare deposits where jade was formed as a result of the action of magma on magnesium-rich dolomites.
Jade has several names: “lumbar” or “kidney” stone. It received this name because of its similarity in appearance to the human kidney. Ancient people, due to the hardness of this stone being twice as hard as steel, made strong arrowheads from it. For this reason, the ancient name for jade is “axe stone.” In China, jade was valued more than gold jewelry and ivory.

For many centuries, various types of jewelry, religious and household items were created from jade. Symbols of power were cut out of it and used to decorate royal tombs and palaces. Nowadays, jade is used to make jewelry for women and talismans.

In ancient times, it was believed that jade had many healing properties: jade brings calmness and cures kidney diseases. Small pebbles resemble a kidney in appearance. The amazing properties of jade - its strength (twice as strong as steel), viscosity, resistance to abrasion and acids have attracted human attention to it since ancient times. Archaeological research has discovered jade objects dating back to the Neolithic. Various tools and weapons were made from jade, amulets (mainly from white jade), figurines of gods, and jewelry were carved. Jade is ideal for carving. It is a hard material that is not scratched by steel. Jade is mined in the mountains and along river banks. Jade pebbles are more valuable because they are much denser. Pebbles can be covered with traces of oxidation, which craftsmen never remove and always incorporate them into the composition of the craft, cutting out small details using the oxide.

Jade was especially popular in Ancient China, where it was valued so highly that it was used to make plaques that were used on a par with coins; jade weights were the standard for weighing gold, and paired jade plates served as a passport for the emperor's envoys. Famous Chinese carvings are known all over the world: vases, bowls, boxes, animal figurines, pagodas, balls located one inside the other, and other jewelry. Jade until the middle of the 19th century. imported to Russia from China.

At this time, the Peterhof lapidary factory purchased dark green jade for a thousand rubles per pound, and for better quality the price doubled. In the middle of the 19th century. G. M. Permikin discovered jade boulders in the Eastern Sayan, and then the first primary deposit. Products of the Peterhof Lapidary Factory made from Sayan jade were demonstrated at the World Exhibitions in London and Paris in 1862 and 1867.

Location
Russia
Bortogolskoye, Gorlykgolskoye, Ulankhodinskoye /now mined/ and Ospinskoye deposits (west of Lake Baikal in the spurs of the Eastern Sayan along the Onot and Biboy rivers)
Buromskoye and Golyubinskoye deposits (basin of the Vitim river, Eastern Siberia) are placers of high-quality white, yellow, soft green (light green) and black jade.
Khamarkhudinskoye deposit in the basin. R. Dzhidy (left tributary of the Selenga River, Buryatia).
Nyrdvomenshor deposit, Polar Urals
Foreign deposits
In the western spurs of the ridge. Kuen-Lun near Kashgar and Khotan and in the form of pebbles along the banks of rivers flowing from the spurs of these mountains (ancient and most famous deposits); Prov. British Columbia (Canada); in pcs. Montana, Alaska, Washington, California (USA); large deposits are also known in Australia, New Zealand (New Zealand material is distinguished by its high quality; it is translucent, has good coloring and is considered one of the best in the world), Brazil, Mexico, and Poland.

Properties

• Selection form: cryptocrystalline solid masses.
• Color: Green: from light to dark. Less common are jade in white, yellow, blue and black colors.
• Color 2: White Yellow Green Blue
• Transparency: translucent see through
• Hardness: 5 5,5 6
• Origin of name: from Greek nejroV (nephros) - kidney
• Zodiac sign: Taurus Gemini Virgo Libra
• Literature: Dobretsov N.L., Tatarinov A.V. Jadeite and nephrite in ophiolites. Novosibirsk: Nauka, Sibirsk. department, 1983. 124 pp.; Nephrites of Siberia Kolesnik Yu. N. Nephrites of Siberia. Novosibirsk: Nauka, 1965; Prokhor S.A. Udokan Golden Jade; Suturin N.A., Zamaletdinov R.S. Jades. Novosibirsk: Nauka, Siberian Branch, 1984. 149 p.

Photo

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Articles on the topic

• Nephritis
  In China, jade was considered the national stone and was so highly valued that plaques were made from it, which were in circulation on a par with coins, and paired jade plates served as a passport for the emperor's envoys.
• Path of Jade
  Many Chinese texts are devoted to describing the color of jade and its corresponding properties.
• Legends and truth about jade
  The amazing properties of jade - its strength, viscosity, resistance to abrasion and acids have attracted human attention to it since ancient times

Jade deposits

• Irkutsk region
• Urik river
• Golyubinskoye field
• Russia
• The Republic of Buryatia
• Transbaikal region

What is jade? Properties, extraction, application and price of jade

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Other jadeite deposits of the world

Field in Kazakhstan

The Itmurunda jadeite deposit in Kazakhstan was discovered in the 50s of the 20th century. It is located 110 km from the city of Kashi among a massif of serpentinites stretching in the northwest direction for 30 km, with a width ranging from several meters to 1.5 km.

The diameter of jadeite veins ranges from one to several tens of meters.

Some veins, especially the largest ones, consist of gray jadeite. Closer to the outer layers, a lot of green jadeite appears, as well as albite, analcime, natrolite, and tremolite. Based on the location of the veins in the deposit, you can even give them “names.” In the vein cores the main constituent is almost monomineral jadeite; closer to the edges: a layer of omphacite, and the outermost layer is orthopyroxene ( Fig.5)

Another researcher discovered that the “original” deposits of deposits can be divided into 2 types according to their formation. The first type is dominated by actinolite, albite-quartz crystalline structures, and the second type is dominated by albite.

Jade (stone)

Under the influence of erosion, albite turns into “hard” jade, and actinolite, under the influence of erosion, turns into omphacite. In the actinolite-albite-quartz layer, "hard" jade initially appears in an area that does not contain quartz. Places rich in quartz are not very suitable for the formation of “hard” jade.

In the veins, albite gradually undergoes very large changes.

All varieties of jadeites in Kazakhstan can be divided into 3 types: jadeite of white-light-gray color, jadeite of dark gray color, jadeite of light green-dark green color.

Below are their features:

(1) Jadeite is white - light gray in color.

This is the main type of jadeite found in these deposits.

In terms of volume, its content sometimes reaches 70-90% of the total composition. Its chemical composition: jadeite - 80-95%, albite - 3-5% and a small amount of dark-colored minerals such as magnetite, graphite (2-5% of the total volume).

(2) Jadeite is dark gray in color.

This species is quite rare, mostly it is very dark in color, closer to black.

Most often it can be found where there is an increased amount of magnets and graphite in the layer. Chemical composition: jadeite - 70-90%, omphacite - up to 5%, magnetite and graphite content is quite large - from 5 to 35%.

(3) Green jadeite.

Green jadeite is usually located in the upper layers of veins, color: gray-green, dark green, burgundy-green.

Small such formations can stand out as uneven spots on white and gray-white jadeites. The main composition of green jade: jadeite with a high chromium content, omphacites, and possibly a small amount of chromites (Table 1).

The combination of jadeite and omphacites in green jadeites is symbiotic, paragenetic.

(4) Multi-colored jadeite.

Multi-colored jadeite is often found next to white jadeite stones, on the upper layers.

One stone can combine white, gray, green, black, etc. colors.

Table 1 Chemical analysis of “hard” jade from the Mulunde deposit in Kazakhstan (%)

*F1-4 Direct contact with chromium affects the color, with green, light green, and white jadeite colors predominating.

**F5-F10 Light green, almost colorless jadeite.

The structure of all jadeites in Kazakhstan is crystalline.

The structure of monomineral jadeite is curved and "fragmented". Based on the size of the grains, two categories can be distinguished: the first is very small grains, up to 0.05 mm. The second category is grains with a diameter of up to 2 mm.

Most of all, opaque or translucent medium-grained jadeite of light green and green colors is mined here.

When compared with Myanmar jadeite, the most similarity is observed with Haipailiao of the medium and low category.

Arelik deposit in America

This deposit is located in California near San Venito and formed during the late Jurassic-Cretaceous period.

The serpentinite massif is oval in shape, extends 16 km in length and 6.4 km in width. The serpentine layer also contains remnants and xenoliths of primary volcanic rock.

Their sizes range from several meters to several hundred meters, and the minerals undergo oxidation. Gradually, the density becomes greater, essonite, diopside, tremolite, and vesuvian are formed.

These layers react with the forming jadeite pyroxene and thus form jadeite deposits ( rice. 6).

1) Early and late remnants of the Cenozoic era, the boundaries are unclear.

2) Marine sediments of the Late Cretaceous period.

3) “Fracesco” groups, Jurassic-Cretaceous periods.

4) Serpentinite layers containing remnants and xenoliths of primary volcanic rock.

5) Serpentinite.

In this field, the smooth transition of rock layers is especially noticeable.

Layers of xenolith, layers of albite and alkaline amphibole gradually transform into layers of albite-jadeite, as well as into a layer of green diopside and jadeite-omphacite. The albite-jadeite layer at the deposit is very clean; if you look at a vertical section, it is mostly white jadeite.

In the central part of the deposit, green jadeite is formed alternating with layers of white jadeite.

In layers of green, light green and dark green jadeite, peeling planes are formed (width from a few millimeters to 2.5 cm). Green jadeite contains: 75% jadeite, 15% aegirine, 7% diopside and 3% essonite, as well as a small amount of natrolite, but does not contain albite ( Fig.7). In white jadeite, the content of jadeite pyroxene is extremely high - about 97%.

The quality of the jadeite mined here is very low; a small amount of rare emerald-colored jadeite is found.

Jadeite Japan

In Japan, jadeite has been discovered in Niigata Prefecture, Yushi, Chinhai and other places.

The first discovered jadeite deposit was near Niigata Prefecture, discovered in 1938. In fact, jadeites in Japan began to be used in ancient times.

According to the results of scientists' research, it was found that jadeite deposits were formed as a result of the collision of lithospheric ocean plates and continental plates. As a result, the Japanese islands began to move northeast, and the pressure between the plates increased greatly.

This also affected the layers of lawsonite - glaucophane, and under the influence of strong pressure the process of formation of jadeite began.

The quality of Japanese jadeite varies ( Fig.8), the mineral composition of the stones is very heterogeneous. Sometimes you can see Japanese jadeite of good quality, with rich color, but the transparency of the stone is usually poor. Jadeite in Japan is mined in small quantities, the quality is quite low, so it is mainly of interest only to collectors and lovers of this stone.

Other jadeite mining sites

In addition to all of the above, there are a large number of other known jadeite deposits in the world.

For example, such as Celebes or Mocchiesusa in Spain. In France, in New Zealand, in the Chinese provinces of Yunnan and Hebei, jadeite deposits have also been discovered in all these places.

Many of them have already been explored, and the mined jadeites have their own already determined value.

Products made from jadeite from these deposits are increasingly beginning to appear on the markets.

This criminal story began in the summer of 2014 and could have remained unknown to the general public if one of its participants had not decided to talk about it, writes Newsbabr.com.

The question is not about any particular honesty of our interlocutor - it’s just that out of the three defendants in the case, he was left alone before the law.

In the language of the investigators, he was given full responsibility.

Last summer, three relatively young people decided to get a little rich. Not entirely legal, of course.

Jade deposits and ancient legends

It was quite simple to do this - after all, two of the trio are police officers. And the third has a dad.

The enrichment scheme was outrageously simple: it is unclear why no one has thought of this before.

In the Sayan valleys, not only gold or spinel is illegally mined, but also less expensive (and therefore less state-controlled) jade. However, even the relatively low cost of the stone is amazing - Oka green jade costs about $500 per kilogram.

Baunt white jade already costs from five to ten thousand dollars per kilogram. The main consumer of jade is China, where this stone is in some cases valued higher than gold.

Jade is mined mainly in the territory of Buryatia - in the Tunkinsky, Barguzinsky and Okinsky regions. Illegal jade mining is a separate story that is not related to our story, and more on that later.

As a rule, professional teams from Irkutsk, Krasnoyarsk and Ulan-Ude extract stone. Production is regulated “according to rules”; excesses are rare.

The main purchase of jade takes place in Irkutsk - this is where the largest underground market for this mineral is.

It is sold in much smaller volumes in Ulan-Ude and Chita. Jade is bought by Chinese citizens and taken to their homeland.

This is where a weak link was discovered, which it was decided to deploy for the benefit of individual citizens. According to our interlocutor, the whole scheme was invented by none other than Sergei Alekseev, a very enterprising businessman, the son of Boris Alekseev, a deputy of the Legislative Assembly of the Irkutsk Region.

Chinese citizens were caught red-handed immediately after the transaction was completed. After all, purchasing semi-precious stones without a license and without trade documents is a direct violation of the law. Of course, it was not Sergei Alekseev himself who detained, but two of his friends and accomplices: the head of OP-9, Lieutenant Colonel Ilya Vychuzhin and the detective of the department for combating economic crimes, Alexey Levitsky.

The detained Chinese were released on bail. The stone was registered as evidence and stored at the regional department.

And here comes the most interesting part. The fact is that natural jade looks like an ordinary slightly greenish cobblestone. After the arrest and seizure, the jade was stored at the regional department as evidence. And at night it was replaced with cobblestones collected on the banks of the Angara and taken to a base specially rented from the famous Gleb L.. The first expert, seeing a cobblestone instead of jade, twirled his finger at his temple and informed Vychuzhin and Levitsky that they had detained the Chinese in vain, and the case should be closed.

Of course, none of the Chinese even thought of protesting and drawing criminal charges for themselves. It's better to lose a little money than a lot of freedom.

However, the criminal trinity unfolded on too large a scale. Perhaps the experts brought in repeatedly were puzzled by the systemic idiocy of the duo. Or maybe she just didn’t share it with who she needed to.

One way or another, the Internal Security Directorate of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the FSB Directorate for the Irkutsk Region became interested in the issue. The development was carried out professionally - all actions to remove the jade from the regional department were recorded on video, the negotiations of the defendants were also recorded.

Sergei Alekseev took up the matter. Using his father’s famous name, he tried to “drive up” through his relatives to the head of the Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee for the city of Irkutsk, Mikhail Fedyashev.

It was not possible - the chief investigator was not tempted by tempting offers.

Then Sergei Alekseev turned to his dad. According to reports, they together tried to persuade the prosecutor in charge of the case to close it.

It is not known exactly how the persuasion ended, but somehow it turned out that today the only person under investigation remains in the case. This is a former BEP detective, Aleksey Levitsky, who has already been dismissed from the authorities.

Lieutenant Colonel Ilya Vychuzhin not only did not part with his organs, but also continues to hold office. Now he is the deputy head of OP-8 in Irkutsk-II. The CSS checks, despite the presence of video recordings, “did not find anything.” It turns out that several tons of jade migrated through the regional police department, and its chief did not notice anything?

Dad's son Sergei Alekseev is also free and completely immersed in quiet family happiness.

Which, by the way, we will also tell you about soon.

And the case will most likely be closed altogether due to some newly discovered circumstances. Because Sergei Alekseev has a dad. And dad is very friendly with the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Lyudmila Berlina. As you know, she is one of the prosecutors - and there are no former prosecutors, like security officers.

In fact, why shouldn’t the prosecutor’s team help the “jade boy” Sergei Alekseev, who is in trouble?

“Where can I buy real jade?” – this question was once asked by each of our clients. The solution for them was to order raw stone from the Rosnefrit company.

In this article:

Where is jade mined in Russia? The main deposits are found in Eastern Siberia. Currently, there are four areas rich in jade. These are Western Sayan, Eastern Sayan, Dzhidinsky and Vitimsky.

Ulan-Khodinskoye field, Eastern Sayan, Russia

Deposits are also known in the Polar Urals, Sakhalin and Kamchatka. There are plenty of raw materials in Russia, but most of them are exported to China.

A little history

Russian jade deposits were discovered in the Eastern Sayan Mountains at the beginning of the 19th century. Although local peoples (Soyots) have been decorating their outfits with green stones since time immemorial. Jade has been known here since the Neolithic period: it is found in the burial grounds of various tribes.

In 1821, on the Onot River, a teacher at the Irkutsk gymnasium, Shchukin, found round pieces of jade. He sent the find along with a letter to St. Petersburg. There, few people paid attention to the report of the teacher from the province. Jade was still exported from China at a thousand rubles per pood. Only when reports about jade deposits exceeded a dozen, V. G. Permikin, an official of special assignments, was sent to Eastern Siberia.

In the 50s of the last century, Permikin brought about 700 pounds of jade from the Sayan Mountains. Supplies were transported only on ice in winter; this was impossible in summer. Ten years later, jade products were demonstrated at exhibitions in London and Paris. Until the end of the 19th century, other deposits were discovered in Eastern Siberia.

In 1896, geologist Leonard Yachevsky discovered a deposit in the valley of the Khara-Zhelge River. He was searching for jade deposits in the upper reaches of the Kitoi, Onot, Urik and Belaya rivers. On the bank of the Onot River he discovered a boulder, which later received the name “general’s stone”.

They wanted to make a sarcophagus from it for the late Emperor Alexander III. But the widow did not like the stone: the jade seemed too dark to her. Subsequently, this boulder was cut into pieces by illegal miners.

Before 1900, not much stone was mined, about 80 tons. A record amount of jade was mined by an entrepreneur from Irkutsk, Johann Schnelle; his company sold about 90 tons of jade. He was also searching for jade after the revolution as a geologist at Burgosstroy. He is responsible for the discovery of the stone on the Nameless Spring (flows into the Onot River).

Until 1939, about 70 tons of jade were mined in the USSR. In 1937, the largest Ospinskoye deposit was discovered. In 1939, production ceased. Until 1965, jade was not officially mined in the Soviet Union.

This year, the Ulan-Khodinskoye deposit was discovered, where apple-green jade is found. In 1973, the Khamarkhudinskoye deposit was discovered with smoky-gray jade, which contains sulfur and greenish shades. In 1974, the Boldoktinskoye placer deposit was discovered, and in 1977, the Khargatinskoye placer deposit.

Until 1978, stone was mined at six mines. In 1978, geologists mining jade made an unexpected discovery. Reserves of white jade were discovered in the Vitim region. It is formed according to a completely different principle than green.

White jade forms in sedimentary polycarbonate rocks rich in magnesium, and the rocks are completely devoid of iron. It was believed that deposits of white jade were found only in China; their discovery in the USSR was a revolution in jade exploration.

It is noteworthy that until the late 80s it was believed that the discovery of white jade was of purely geological interest. The fact that a gem can bring millions of dollars in profit was realized only in the 90s. Unfortunately, this money did not go to the state budget. Most of the profits from production and sales went to private entities.

Jade of Buryatia

Buryatia is called a storehouse of gems. And not least because most of the jade deposits are located here. 90 percent of jades are mined here - out of 16 deposits in Russia, 13 are concentrated in this region. Over the past 20 years, jade production has increased 18 times.

Large jade deposits

In the north of Buryatia, on the border with the Trans-Baikal Territory, reserves of rare flowers were discovered: red, white, blue jade. The best are the Kavoktinskoye, Golyubinskoye and Ospinskoye deposits. The latter produces a stone with a cat's eye effect, apple green in color. This shade is most valued in Europe.

Jade deposits are concentrated in five regions of Buryatia: Muisky, Bauntovsky, Zakamensky, Tunkinsky and Okinsky. Three deposits of white jade are known in Mue and Baunt.

In the 21st century, the discovery of jade deposits continues. Thus, the Khoitinskoye deposit on the Tsipa River and the Udokanskoye deposit on the Kalar River were discovered.

It is noteworthy that in Buryatia there are areas in which jade deposits have not been fully studied. Thus, there are suggestions that there are deposits along the Bokson River near the left tributary of the Oka River. The western part of the Eastern Sayan Mountains has not been completely explored. Many areas are inaccessible and can only be reached by helicopter.

Jade export to China

The export of jade to China began in 1930. The delegation from the Middle Kingdom meticulously selected 800 kilograms of the best quality stone from the five tons offered. During the existence of the USSR, jade was exported to the Middle Kingdom more than once, but sales were sporadic until the end of the 20th century.

Jade is the national stone of the Celestial Empire. Every family in the country strives to have jade jewelry in their home, as the gem is believed to bestow longevity and wealth. There are more than a billion Chinese, but there is no jade mining. All fields are closed and a moratorium has been introduced on production. Jade is exported to the Celestial Empire from many countries, and not least from Russia.

Somehow it happened that their colleagues from Moscow were the first to notify about the major victories of the Buryatia police in the decriminalization of the jade industry in Buryatia. At the end of April, the official representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, Irina Volk, reported that “employees of the Main Directorate of Economic Security and Anti-Corruption of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, together with the Economic Security and Inspectorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Republic of Buryatia, stopped the illegal mining of jade in the Okinsky district. According to the information available to investigators, the illegal activity was organized by a 68-year-old head of one of the largest commercial enterprises in the region, without a license to develop a quarry.”

A fight with no end in sight

A criminal case has been opened. The entrepreneur is charged with paragraph “b” of Part 2 of Article 171 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. This is “Illegal entrepreneurship involving the extraction of income on an especially large scale.” During the searches, illegally mined minerals in the amount of 112 tons, worth more than 103 million rubles, were discovered and seized.

The news was widely reported in both local and federal media. After all, catching such a large, seemingly illegal jade miner is a success, although the fight against the illegal trade in “green gold” has been going on for eight years. And it seems that there were even reports that this very turnover was almost defeated. It turns out, no? Is the jade “mafia” the most alive of all living things? She is like the Serpent Gorynych. A good fellow will cut off his head, and in its place a new one will immediately grow. However, in fact, behind these simple questions, others arise.

"Intruder" who discovered jade

How did “the largest commercial enterprise in the region,” that is, a completely legal and long-known one, engage in jade mining without a license, and migrate from the list of reputable companies to the list of illegal entrepreneurs, or, in any case, this is what is suspected of doing so? Its leader would have to be crazy to decide on such metamorphoses.

Well, then, when it becomes known that the “68-year-old head of one of the largest commercial enterprises in the region” is Alexander Sekerin, who heads the truly famous company “Sibirgeologiya”, the questions become even greater. The professional geologist is one of the discoverers and researchers of white jade deposits in the north of Buryatia and green jade in the Eastern Sayan Mountains. The company he heads has been mining jade in the Eastern Sayan Mountains for 20 years. During all this time, neither the control nor the law enforcement agencies had questions for her. Why would she engage in stone poaching?

“Complete nonsense!” – this is how the veteran geologist himself emotionally commented on the accusations against him in an interview with one of the local weekly newspapers, drawing attention to the fact that the case against him may be caused by an attempt at a “raider takeover.” And not the enterprise as such, but several veins of the Gorlykgol deposit on which it operates, as well as already mined stone. The reason for the scandal was a technical error made by government agencies when obtaining a license.

The story of the bureaucratic “beard”

The license for the right to use the subsoil was issued to Sibirgeologiya back in 2002 with the intended purpose and type of work: exploration and extraction of jade from the Gorlykgol deposit (veins No. 10, 36 and 37). But there were inaccuracies in determining the boundaries of the preliminary license allotment. Alexander Sekerin has repeatedly contacted Rosnedra and its territorial structures with requests to correct this technical error. And their presence was confirmed by them! But the correction process took a long time.

However, in 2014, Tsentrsibnedra acknowledged the deviations of the boundaries of the sites from the centers of jade veins No. 36 and 37, sending a letter to Rosnedra indicating that the boundaries required adjustment. However, the boundaries were not adjusted and the technical error remained uncorrected.

In 2016, Sibirgeologiya submits documents for updating the license. Tsentrsibnedra send a letter to Rosnedra, citing the fact that it is the federal structure that must make changes and additions to the license. But Rosnedra notifies its territorial body that it itself has the authority to issue updated licenses, and also points out the need to update the Sibirgeology license as soon as possible. Everything seemed clear!

Alas, at the beginning of this year, Sibirgeology once again appealed to the Centersibnedra with a request to correct a technical error that had already been made during the update, as well as to the Arbitration Court to put an end to the protracted red tape.

“All this correspondence indicates that Sibirgeologiya was not involved in illegal business, did not hide from the state, seeking to correct inaccuracies in its license that appeared through no fault of the company,” says Alexander Sekerin.

Rosnedra has no complaints

This is confirmed by a letter sent to him in response to his request from the Department of Geology and Licensing of the Center for the Republic of Buryatia. The document, in particular, reads: “The exclusive right to use and develop jade veins Nos. 10, 36 and 37 under license UDE 00770 TP belongs to LLC SE Sibirgeologiya.” The balance reserves of jade veins No. 36 and 37 were transferred to the balance sheet of LLC SE Sibirgeologiya in 2002.” And one more thing: “There are no grounds for transferring them to other subsoil users.”

In other words, Rosnedra has no claims against Sibirgeologiya; the indicated veins cannot belong to anyone else. Where did the police come from, reporting such a successful operation with searches and seizure of more than 110 tons of jade? And here it turns out that the Ministry of Internal Affairs received a statement from the General Director of JSC Transbaikal Mining Enterprise (ZGRP), Alexander Voronkov, who asked to check the legality of mining operations on their licensed territory, allegedly carried out by Sibirgeologiya.

And now the questions are endless, starting with a simple one: why is the Ministry of Internal Affairs so sharply interfering in the emerging dispute between two economic entities, although it does not manage state mineral resources? In principle, such a dispute should be resolved in arbitration courts.

If I were white...

It is difficult to get an answer to this question, although one can assume: the whole point is that ZRGP is a “daughter” of the Rostec super corporation and, according to the official version, it ended up in Buryatia not for the sake of self-interest, but only by the will of the state that “sent it.” The noisy redistribution of the jade industry, which took place in 2012–2014, showed that the “daughter” is actually a desperate “boy”.

ZGRP replaced the ever-memorable Evenk community “Dylacha” in the market, which extracted especially valuable white oil at the Kavoktinskoye deposit. The company regularly reports on the growth of production and tax payments, on “white” salaries, and on selfless assistance to the Bauntovsky Evenki district. The company's image as a philanthropist and benefactor is tirelessly maintained.

Well, for now, ZGRP has taken up not only the white Baunt jade, but also the green (cheaper) stone of the Eastern Sayan Mountains, having received a mining license in the vicinity of the Sibirgeologiya site. Why was this needed?

The now ex-Minister of Natural Resources of Buryatia spoke frankly about this in an interview with TASS at the end of 2016:

– Every year 1.6 thousand tons of jade are mined in Buryatia. This is about 100 million rubles in tax revenues to the republic’s budget,” Yuri Safyanov, Minister of Natural Resources of the Republic of Buryatia, told TASS. – Decriminalization of the jade industry, in my opinion, lies in the need to license those areas that are in the unallocated fund. Then each plot will have an owner and he will make sure that there are no “black jades”. The second step is to establish serious work by law enforcement agencies. Now, as I understand it, they took the third step when they tried to monopolize the industry: Rostec came to us, it took the largest deposits, Rostec’s subsidiaries are trying to restore order. I don't know if this will work or not.

Monopolization is going well

It turns out. The process of monopolization is going well. The former jade miners are gradually leaving the Eastern Sayan Mountains. The first victim was Cascade, which may have had its share of sins, but which asked for one thing: to be given the opportunity to pay off all its debts and close down in a civilized manner.

At the end of April, disputes over jade from the Eastern Sayan Mountains became the subject of a case in the Arbitration Court of the Krasnoyarsk Territory. According to the claim of ZGRP, he invalidated the competition for exploration and production of jade in the Ilchira-Khusha-Gol Interfluve site in Buryatia. Tsentrsibnedra must cancel the license for the right to use subsoil, which was issued to Mineral LLC (Ulan-Ude) in October 2017. The details of the case have not been disclosed, Interfax reported, but, apparently, ZGRP is going to lay claim to this area.

Will monopolization help decriminalization? Nobody knows this. At the end of the day, this is a business issue. If ZGRP does it better, then it’s nothing personal. If ZGRP has problems that it plans to solve by obtaining new areas of work, then there are no problems - take part in competitions.

But the mystery of why the police are so actively helping ZGRP monopolize the jade business should already be classified as a public issue. When the Ministry of Internal Affairs carries out special operations, destroying the camps of truly “black diggers” of jade, well armed and equipped with equipment, this causes respect. And when does one intervene in business disputes between two companies? Is it not turning into a ministry of “jade” affairs instead of internal affairs? Cases sewn with green thread, as well as white ones, will obviously not bring glory to valiant law enforcement officers.

...Here one involuntarily recalls a curiosity from the protocols: “Before the police arrived, the fight was disorganized.”

Alexander Makurin, for “Number One”
Photo: “Number One”