Chapter 18 MODERN-DAY QUARRIES OF FACING STONE IN THE NORTH-WEST OF RUSSIA

Assigned to the North-West of Russia are the Leningrad region, Karelian Republic and Murmansk region. It is one of the most highly developed industrial area since olden times. It is connected with central Russia, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Poland and other Europian contries by railways, autostradas and water-ways. Intensive quarrying of stone was traditionally carried on from the very beginning of St.Petersburg's foundation.

Modern-day deposits of building and facing stone are shown schematically in figure, listed above. The most important of them are following (bracketed numbers are in line with those shown on the map):

Quarrying of granites - Vozrozhdeniye /39/, Kamennogorsk /35/, Karlakhti(Kuznechensk) /37/, Syuskyujansaari /30/, Kashina Gora /21/;

Quarrying of gabbroid rocks - Monchetundra /6/;

Quarrying of marbles - Ruskeala /22/;

Quarrying of gabbro-diabases - Ropruchey /45/;

Quarrying of quartzites - Shoksha /44/;

Quarrying of limestones - Babino Seltso /53/, Putilovo /52/.

The production of stone has drastically decreased in recent years. In addition to deposits listed above the following quarries where episodic production of stone took place should be mentioned as well. They are: Ukkomyaki /29/, Mustavara /31/, Kuzrechensk /9/ - for granits; Aikuaivenchorr /7/ - for khibinites; Pirtijarvi /1/ - for marbles. There are also abundant deposits explored in different degree (almost all of them are shown on the map), where the quarrying either was not carried out, or was pursued to customized orders to a small extent.

Data are as of 2000 the greatest industrial outpit of granitic blocks over the North-West of Russia is at the quarries Vozrozhdeniye, Kamennogorsk, Syyskuunsaari, Kashina Gora. These granites are widely used as building material in St.Petersburg, Moscow and other places both in Russia and abroad. The deposit Vozrozhdeniye represents the greatest granitic quarries in Russia, while the Kashina Gora deposit occupies the first place in the Karelian Republic.

Schematic geological map of the Russian North-West showing the main deposits of facing stone (compiled by M.S.Ziskind, O.N.Lipunov and E.S.Rodina). 1 - clays, sands, limestones, dolomites, gypsum; 2 - limestones, dolomites; 3 - clays, sands; 4 - aleurolites, sandstones, clays, conglomerates, volcanic tuffs; 5 - marbles, quartzites, talc-chlorite schists, schungitic shales and other slates, conglomerates; 6 - gneisses, amphibolites, gneissoid granites; 7 nepheline syenites, ijolith-urtites, foyaites; 8 - rapakivi-granites; 9 - alkaline granites, granosyenites; 10 - microcline granites, plagio-microcline granodiorites, midmatite-gran-ites; 11 - gabbros, gabbro-diabases, gabbro-diorites, gabbro-amphibolites; 12 - plagiogranites, diorites, migmatites, gneissoid granites; 13 - gabbros, gabbro-norites, gabbro-anorthosites; 14 - 21 deposits of facing stone: 14 - granites; 15 - diorites; 16 - nepheline syenites (khibinites); 17 - gabbro-norites, gabbro-diabases; 18 - quartzites; 19 - marbles; 20 - limestones and dolomites; 21 - schungitic shales (aspidites).

Deposits in operation: 21 - Kashina Gora, 22 - Ruskeala I, 29 - Ukkomjaki, 30 - Syuskyujansari, 35 - Kamennogorskoye, 37 - Karlakhtinskoye, 39 - Vozrozhdeniye, 44 - Shockshinskoye, 45 -Roprucheyskoye, 52 - Putilovskoye, 53 - Babino Seltso.

Reserve prospected deposits: 1 - Pirtti-Jarvi, 5 - Schonguy, 7 - Aykuayvenchorr, 8 - Titanskoye, 9 - Kuzrechenskoye, 10 - Chyornaya (Black) Salma, 16 - Belogorskoye, 19 - Motorinskoye, 25 -Kovadjarvi, 28 - Impiniyemi, 31 - Mustavara, 32 - Uksunlakhti, 40 - Lyubimovskoye, 51 -Voytolovskoye.

Preliminary researched deposits: 6 - Monchetundra, 34 - Jelizovskoye, 38 - Ilyinskoye, 41 -Ostrovskoye, 42 - Ala-Noskua, 49 - Jelizavetinskoye (Elizabeth's), 50 - Borisovskoye. Poorly known deposits: 2 - Valsejavr, 3 - Kuchozero, 4 - Odjavr, 11 - Karnisvari, 12 - Metchang-Jarvi, 13 - Kirgozerskoye, 14 - Vanzhozerskoye, 15 - Medvezhiya Gora (Bear's Mountain), 17 - Tivdiyskaya Group, 18 - Vikshilambinskoye, 20 - Nigozerskoye (Zaonezhiye - Beyond Onega Lake), 23 - Keynoset, 24 - Leppyasyurja, 26 - Putsari, 27 - Tulolansari, Vannisensari, Riekkalansari, 33 - Ulyalegskoye, 36 - Borodinskoye, 43 - Voznesenije (Ascention), 48 -Podshcheleyskoye

The most important enterprise in the North-West of Russia where granites are quarried is the Closed Joint-stock Company "Vozrozhdeniye". Using Finnish instrumentation of today, they produce granitic blocks conforming to the world standards. A start has also been made by the Company on the quarrying of blocks by modern technologies at the deposits Borodino, Sosnovaya Gorka (Pine Hill), Petrovka. The Ladoga Board of Quarry Managing in Pitkäranta presents an enterprise combining stable traditions with modern Italian equipment. It works up granite at Syyskuuyansaari deposit.

Apart from the examples cited above, small deposits of gabbroids, namely, Keynoset, Bolshoy (Big) Massif-2, Drugoretsk, Ropruchey are exploited in the Karelian Republic. The following deposits are worked up from time to time: Shokshinskoye crimson quartzites, Nigrozero - garnet amphibolites, Repomäki - granites, Sulku granite gneisses. In the Murmansk Region small deposits of gabbro Kulos, Nittis, Jona are exploited in the main. Khibinites of the Aikuaivenchorr deposit in the Khibiny are mined in insignificant amounts.

The allocation of stone quarries and mines, as well as names of the enterprises are given in the specialized reference book (Slesareva et al., 1998). All new information about the subject can be received from the authors of the handbook:

North-West Regional Geological Centre of the Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia. 24 Odoyevskogo street, building 1 St.Petersburg, 191155

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