#ARCTIC. #SIBERIA. THIS IS TAIMYR. Tomsk geologists found a rare mineral in the Talnah deposit – kronstedtite, most often found in meteorites. This is the first such discovery in the Norilsk area. The website of Tomsk Polytechnic University (TPU) writes that the find will help to understand the origin of the drain ores.
Researchers consider the Norilsk deposits to be unique – they have the largest reserves of nickel, copper and palladium. Geologists are now studying layered silicates, which have been little studied.
The university’s press service said that the content of oxides and silicates in the ore samples does not exceed one to three percent. In the collected materials, scientists found inclusions of kronstedtite – this is a rare high-iron layered silicate that can rarely be found in deposits of the terrestrial group. Most often it is found in meteorites, that is, in bodies of extraterrestrial origin.
Kronstedtite is a relatively unstable mineral that quickly turns into the magnesium variety. The uniqueness of the find is the discovery location.
“There is an assumption that the presence of massive confluent sulfide ores at a relatively shallow depth – less than two kilometers – contributed to its formation. Previously, our colleagues from Moscow State University discovered another mineral from stony meteorites – ferrotochilinite – in the Octyabrsky deposit. This fact makes the group of Norilsk deposits even more interesting from the point of view of their formation conditions”, notes Tamara Yakich, associate professor of the TPU Geology department.
Previously, scientists found in Taimyr the remains of ancient reptiles measuring 20 meters in size, and carnivorous mushrooms from the time of dinosaurs in amber from the peninsula.
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Text: Angelika Stepanova, Photo: Nikolay Shchipko
