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Siberian Natural Resources




''Siberian natural resources'' refers to natural resources which are located in the North Asia n Mainland ( Soviet Russia n Siberia ). This region is rich in resources which include Coal , Oil and Metal Ore s.


ENERGY SOURCES



Coal

Important coal fields were in Chelyabinsk , where production rose from 390,000 tonnes in 1925 to 3,519,000 tonnes in 1936. The total production for East Urals was 8,080,000 tonnes in 1937. The reserves of coal were the following (by coalfield) in millions of Tonne s:



Kuznets Coal Zone


The development of Kuznets, sometimes called the " Kuzbass ", transformed the Siberian Steppe . The south sector of the Trans-Siberian Railway became a great industrial center. These ancient reserves of 13,000,000,000 tonnes have grown to 450,658,000,000 and annually, the total production of 50 mines in this area in 1937 were 17,300,000 tonnes. The production of this zone was comparable with all of British India , and half of Japanese production. The coal had a high energy content and low Sulphur , making it the best coal in the USSR. The total Anthracite reserve was 54 million tonnes, and were used in the Metallurgical Combine of Ural-Kuznets.


Other coal deposits


Other important reserve stay in Karaganda near Magnitogorsk (Magnet City) Higt Ovens. Its production in 1937 was 3,937,200 tonnes. There are other important deposits of coal in Minusinsk, near Chernogorsk , joining at Yenisei River , the mining zone of Chulym-Yenisei, north of Krasnoyarsk, the Kansk deposits, the Irkutsk deposits which yielded 3,000,000 tonnes from the Cheremkovo mine during 1937, the Baikal lake deposits, the Lena sector, the Norilsk sector in Tunguska mining zone, the Sangar Khai founts, in Amur and Bureya Rivers, near Vladivostok with Artem and Suchan mines with production of 2,110,000 tonnes and 590,000 tonnes respectively in 1937, Sakhalin coal deposits and founts in Pamir and Tian Shan mountains in central Asia.

In the Minusinsk area the estimated reserves are 20,612,000,000 tonnes, the Chulym-Yenisei mine is estimated at 43,000,000,000 tonnes, the Kansk sources estimated at 42,000,000,000 tonnes, and Cheremkhovo estimated at 79,000,000,000 tonnes. The Kuznets area has excellent coal for coke, chemical and gas production. The production stay in 1913 was 774,000 tonnes, these mine extracted in 1927 about 2,600,000 tonnes for maintain one extraction of 16,800,000 tonnes. The electrified and mechanized Prokopyevsk mine poses capacity of production
of about 3,200,000 tonnes. The other sources stay in Stalinsk (Kuznets), Lenin-Kuznets, Kemerovo, Anzhero-Sudzhensk, Chernogorsk, and Cheremkhovo.


Petrol


The Siberian petroleum sources follow (in metric tonnes - 1 metric tonne of petroleum is equivalent to 5 or 10 barrels, or 42 gallons, depending on the Density )

  • Emba: 1,190,400,000

  • Perm-Kama: 3,54,000,000

  • Other Zones at West Urals and Volga: 471,500,000

  • Sakhalin: 339,800,000

  • Central Asia: 427,100,000


Table of Total production (for 45 oil well areas)

  • 1901 : 11,000,000

  • 1913: 7,627,000

  • 1920 : 2,915,000

  • 1928: 11,625,400

  • 1932: 21,413,200

  • 1936: 27,337,700


The most important Siberian petroleum zones are Central Urals, Sakhalin
Island, Nordvyl, on the Arctic Siberian coast and Kamchatka peninsula.
From the Caspian Sea there is one Oil Pipeline , which continues to the petrol
camps of Emba at Orsk and ends in Omsk , west Siberia.
Sakhalin island are the most important oil reserves in the Russian
Far East. In 1936, the Ohka oil wells extracted about 470,000 tonnes
why one-third are obtained for Japanese concessionaires. In the Emba River area extracted about 466,000 tonnes from about 20 pits of a total of 300 yaciments in 1937.

The total USSR Oil production are 230,700,000 tonnes and exist other reserves of 652,000,000 tonnes.


Electrical power generation


The third source of energy is Electricity , and Soviet plans are ambitious.
Theirs seeing the Pamir Tien-Shan and East Siberian sources.

The total count of these energy power making and disposes in 50% of
time raised in about 280.690 GW , between of theirs based
in one disposition of 95% stay 58 GW. To increase
these power, the Soviets studied the Lena, Yenisei and Ob river systems.
In the Lenin Program in 1920, if important the construction of coordinated
Electric powerplant chains in Urals, Yenisei, Angara and Lake Baikal. Some of these projects are similar at Grand Coulee Dam in the Columbia River .

As a historic note, the major electric powerplant in Europe and the
world when are constructed in 1932 if encountered in Dnieper River
where passed between high lands in Zaphorozhe. When are destroyed
in 1941 for Soviet forces in retiring in German-Russian War,
these powerplant possessed capacity of production of 900 MW
and had about 2,500 feet of length and raised to 125 feet over
water level. In 1940 the total electric capacity production was
2.5 GW. The new plan proposed was on a gigantic scale, in
Angara river if planned the construction of a powerplant with production
of 9 GW, and four other powerplants in high Yenisei
produced in the future about 4 GW more.


IRON DEPOSITS


Iron sources were more assorted and varied. In Siberia they are found in Magnitogorsk , Nizhni Tagil , deposits in the south of Kuznetsk, the Angara reserves and Russian Far East mines.

The mines of the Urals were known from 1702 : Magnitogorsk
with annual extraction of 6,000,000 tonnes in 1931, minerals being
Magnetite and secondarily Martite , with 55% or 66% of iron content. The
other and oldest center was in Ninshi-Tagil. The total Ural iron reserves were 1,390,670,000 tonnes, of which one-third are Limonite
and about 450,000,000 correspond directly at Magnitogorsk. When the deposits
in Kuznets began to be exploited, in 1930 recent discovered the Mountainous Shoria iron deposits, with reserves calculated as 292,412,000
tonnes, 45% iron content, and the Karaganda deposits. The other
important founts stay in Petrovsk-Zabaikal near Baikal Lake, and
the Little Khingan Mountains in the Soviet side of the frontier.

Other iron sources exist in East Siberia, e.g., Angara and Ilim river areas
northwest of Baikal Lake with production of 420,850,000 tonnes.
The 30% of USSR iron production are obtain in Kuznets zone in 1937.

Iron deposits:
  • Urals: sources of these mineral exist in Nizhni-Tagil, Zlatoust and Magnitogorsk, with a total production of 2,600,000 tonnes in 1937.

  • Gornaya Shoria : exist iron, in Magnetite form, inside of Calize mineral why poses one 45% of iron content, but more Sulphur.

  • Ridder: if extracted iron mixed with lead and zinc. Your total production in 1936 are about 1,000 tonnes. At the same time in the same mine extracted gold, copper and tin.



OTHER MINERALS


  • and west of Krasnoyarsk . Their extractions effectuated in Achinsk Mine with one mineral with 20 or 25% of purity. The total production in 1937 was about 100,000 tonnes.

  • with double production why mentioned mine above.

  • Pyrite : the founts of these mineral stay in diverse sites, such as Krasnouralsk and Orsk.

  • Lead and Zinc : the sources stay in the Siberian areas of Ridder Mine in Altai, Transbaikalia and Maritime Province. The total production of lead and zinc in 1936 were 55,000 and 63,000 tonnes respectively.

  • {Link without Title} ]: the sources of these material stay in North Urals, in Khabakovsk ancient, Nadezhdinsk , and south Urals in Kamensk . The USSR has a total production of aluminum in 1939 of 60,000 tonnes.

  • , near low Yenisei. The local production was 3,000 tonnes in 1938.

  • and the United States. The deposits of these mineral stay in the Aldan and Kolyma rivers in Yakutia and others in Central Asia and the Urals. In Salair mine obtain gold with zinc and lead.

  • Platinum : The extraction of these mineral are abundant in Nizhni-Tagilin Urals mountains.

  • .

  • Tin and Tungsten: there exist deposits of these minerals in the East Baikal Area and Kazhakstan.

  • . The local production was 1,800,000 tonnes in 1937. The total reserves of potash are valued at 15,000 tonnes and magnesium stay in about 18,000,000 tonnes. In Lake Inder (central Asia) obtain about 30,000 tonnes.

  • , as in Quebec and Rhodesia . Other deposits exist in Altai Sayan. The Ural reserves stain in about 17,500,000 tonnes of fiber with more than 0.7 mm in length, which is sufficient for internal needs. The USSR is second place in production of these mineral with a yield of 100,000 tonnes.

  • Talc and Steatite : deposits of these minerals exist in the Urals in great quantity.

  • Magnesium : Apart from the sources of borax, there are also pure magnesium deposits in Sverdlovsk and Chelyabinsk, with production of 800,000 tonnes.

  • Halite ( Rock Salt ): The extractions of these element are in Solikamsk in the Urals.

  • Common salt: This is recovered from the Aral Sea.

  • Precious Stones and Gems: The Urals have many sources of these, including Emerald s, Beryllium , Amethyst , Topaz , Malachite , Rubies , Alejandrie , Sapphire s, Zirconium , Diamond s, etc.

  • Mercury : The important sources are in the Urals Mountains.

  • Mirabilite : Their sources are in the Kara-Bogaz gulf.



OTHER GENERAL MINERAL OBSERVATIONS IN SIBERIA


The Mineral Richest of Siberia is situated in second place
together with local Agriculture. The mineral distribution
reflect more near your local geology, divided in three great
mineral regions:

#Altai Ranges (Kirgiz Highlands of West Siberia) with copper, gold, silver, etc.
#Ancient Asiatic badge (very important region) which comprehends the Baikal lake zone, with coal, iron, gold, etc.
#East Siberia Mountain lands, notably the High Amur river area, for their easy access – of major importance.


Coal


The existence of coal, estimated at 400,000,000,000 tonnes, was about a quarter of the Asian total, or half of the European reserves. The principal coal mining valleys and basins are:
  • Kuznetsk Basin

  • Irkutsk Valley

  • Minusinsk Basin

  • Kirguiz Steppe Valleys (Karaganda Basin)

  • Sakhalin Island (Alexandrovsk Valley)

  • Maritime Provinces

  • Tunguska Basin

  • Bureisk Valley


During the interwar years, the sources of major production are the
Kuznetsk; the Carboniferous Basin of Irkutsk is extend joining
at Transiberian railway, in 480 km, and the Maritime province near
the Vladivostok area.


Petrol


If encounter in north section of Sakhalin island, and your exploited are accord topic between Japanese and Russians. Other sources are in the Kamchatka or Ohkostk coasts, but the rest of Siberia did not promise much, with the exception of petrol pits in Central Asia or the Urals. These last (referring to the Turkestan zone) are one extension of Caucasian petrol zone and the mentioned Ural petrol sources.


Gold


This metal is mostly found Siberia; currently, the principal mining districts are in the Olekma-Vitim region, in Lena Valley. During 1910-1914 the Siberian gold mines extracted an average of 46,655 kg and employed 57,000 workers. The exploited deposits are "Placers". The working of the gold sources of Lena river, pertaining for much time at the British Company "Lena Goldfields", which in 1935 after long negotiations with the Soviet Government, for compensations for retirement. Russia remains in second place in gold extractions.


Copper


Especially important in the Kirguises Steppes, in Altai ranges and the Yenisei river basin.


Zinc, lead and silver

Are important in Altai ranges, Transbaikalia and the southeast coasts of Maritime province.


Iron


Stay more distributed and are exploited. The most important are Telbes Mine(Kuznetsk coal basin), Minusinsk, Yenisei
valley, Olga territory (Maritime Province) and the Irkutsk area.


Other minerals


Between theirs are tin, manganese, platinum, iridium, osmium and
other nonmetallic minerals. The USSR was near self-sufficiency with respect to mineral needs.


SUMMARY


These if are natural resources known for Japanese Industrialist of
Zaibatsu in Japan and Manchukuo, why theirs stay more interest in exploited and extend your mining business in these area thanks at agreements with Soviet Government or in other case for one Japanese Army invasion for taken at force these resources, and military interest in increased the mineral reserves for making more weapons too. Precisely in overall plan of these area industries participated in economical lines or how obtain these resources in one eventually invasion strategy, but when the Japanese Army defeats occurred in Japanese-Russian Incidents in 1929, 1938 and 1939, these plans were stopped.