Where do the stones come from in Karelia? Minerals

Today we are going to interesting trip- to Karelia! Karelia is located in the North of Russia, it is beautiful and amazing land, where northern nature shows all its luxurious beauty! But we will not admire the tall ship pines, nor the marvelous icy waterfalls, nor the mysterious forest lakes, nor even the fabulous northern lights - we will turn our gaze downward, and even deeper, into the bowels of the Karelian land. We will admire marvelous semi-precious stones of Karelia! And beautiful decorations from them!

Shungite jewelry

The most famous stone in Karelia today is shungite. True, he is famous for his medicinal properties- They usually use it to purify water.

Let's look at these stones carefully. Black or gray, loose, sometimes slightly shiny - they don’t seem to be very beautiful. Ostensibly. But it only seems at first glance! In fact, shungite is an amazing stone, a natural filter that can not only purify water from sources, but also the water inside us!

Shungite is mined only in Karelia, near the village of Shunga. It is often used in water filters, and natural sources, gushing from the shungite layers, there is a sanatorium.

It is not known whether shungite jewelry heals, but you can try! Moreover, they look unusual and impressive! Shungite is also a strong amulet against the evil eye, envy, and damage!

Jewelry with Labradorite

The most beautiful Labradors in the world are mined in Karelia. This stone is as gray and inconspicuous at first glance as shungite. But only at first glance! Labradors of Karelia sparkle and shimmer when the stone is turned, like the scales of mother-of-pearl fish northern seas, or like peacock feathers - a rainbow always plays on the surface of every stone, transparent or translucent!

Our great-grandmothers really appreciated this play of light, and called Labradorite “Taus stone”! It means "peacock" - in the old days it was believed that Labradors shimmered like the feathers of a peacock! Indeed, very similar.

Kyanite

There are also bright stones in Karelia, and those that can compete in beauty and brightness with the colors of the hot south! One of those rare, but not too rare expensive stones- kyanite!

In ancient times, this blue stone served as a substitute for sapphire.

Today we can be proud of kyanites - such a stone is rarely found in the jewelry trade, but it is very beautiful! If you love rare and unusual stones, blue kyanite is sure to please you!

Amazonite

Another Karelian semi-precious miracle - amazonite!

Amazonites, according to mystics, help the housewife manage to do many things around the house. The stone is light, delicate, jewelry made from it is beautiful and unusual.

Pyrite jewelry

Very unusual jewelry - made of pyrite! This is not stone, but ordinary iron ore. But how beautiful she is!

Pyrite glitters with a golden tint, which is why its other name is “cat’s gold.” Gold miners often mistook this beautiful mineral for gold ore.

Jewelry made from pyrite not only looks beautiful, but is also very unusual, and is rarely on sale.

The list does not include deposits and manifestations of block stone (quartzite, marble, decorative slate) and talc stone, which can also be used as an ornamental stone.

Kitelskoye field The garnet is located 10 km northwest of the city of Pitkäranta, in the northern frame of the Mursul and Koirinoi-Pitkäranta gneiss-granite domes and is confined to the garnet-bearing shales of the Pälkjärvi formation of the Lower Proterozoic, which form the core of the Kitelskaya syncline. Known since the beginning of the 18th century. Distribution of pomegranate in productive

From the book: A.E. Fersman. Precious and colored stones of Russia. Volume I. Petrograd, 1920
Red garnet is widespread in the mica schists of southern Finland and Karelia, where it has long been noticed. So, back in 1787, Alopeus wrote: “in ancient times they were dug and peasants sold them to lovers for a reasonable price: they polish them and wear them in rings.” We received more accurate information from Severgin, who describes, based on his observations in 1805, a cherry pomegranate 1.5 versts from the Kidel Church (to the left), 46 versts from Serdobol ( Sortavala):
"especially noteworthy are the Kidel garnets, called in the place of Kidel-Kiva, also the Kidel ruby, and located near the village of Kidel ( now the village of Kitelya) behind the Shuydamsky churchyard, at the northern end Lake Ladoga. Whole mountains of talc slate are filled with it, and even on their surface, after removing the moss, you can see garnets sticking out like nail heads. The crystals are the size of an ordinary nut."
Academician Ozeretskovsky in his “Travel to Lakes Ladoga and Onega” says that small children collect them in the field when peasants plow the ground and pull them out with a plow, but their nest is in a soapstone, which starts from the village no more than a mile away . “In different places,” he says, small garnets sitting in stones are visible from the outside, and there is no difficulty in extracting them, because the stone is not strong and immediately cracks with a hammer. The outer garnets in the stone are mostly small and with cracks, but inside they can be found The fragments are deliberately large, solid, and have a pleasant light cherry color, which can be used for crafts.”
In Serdobol, Ozeretskovsky saw a ring made from local garnet, in which the dark red color was so pure that the stone seemed almost transparent. Sobolevsky also wrote about the possibility of cutting this stone: “almandine comes in a pleasant bluish-crimson color and, due to its transparency, can take on a facet.”

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Black melanite from some of the Pitkäranta mines could be used for black mourning items.

A body with an area of ​​280x80 m was studied by mining to a depth of 5.3 m. The shales contain rhombic-dodecahedral, less often round, garnet crystals, ranging in size from 0.5 to 2.5 cm in an amount of up to 20%. In terms of composition, garnet belongs to the pyrope-almandine series with a small content of spessartine component. The color of the pomegranate is dark crimson, cherry red with a faint lilac tint, the color is intense. The surface of the crystals is uneven, rough, due to the presence of shading and small potholes. Crystals measuring 1-1.5 cm contain standard monoblasts, some of the crystals measuring 0.5-0.7 cm are completely defect-free. Reserves of crystal raw materials up to a depth of 3 m are assessed according to category C, in the amount of 2.1 thousand tons, incl. jewelry garnet (cabochon) - 20.9 tons. Off-balance reserves of garnet (collectible gems) are estimated at 3.8 thousand tons, abrasives - 1.6 thousand tons. Technological tests of the Kitelsky garnet were carried out by the "Colored Stones" trust, according to the conclusion of which the garnet was recommended to the enterprises of Glavyuvelirprom for the manufacture of jewelry. Waste crystal raw materials can be used to produce garnet grinding materials without prior enrichment. The deposit is located in favorable mining and hydrogeological conditions for open-pit mining / Saltykova, 1968f; Goldman, 1970f; Kuznetsova, 1981f/.

2-4 km from the deposit in similar geological conditions there are occurrences of garnet Ozernoe and Dam, which can serve as an additional source of crystal raw materials / Stepanov, 1984f; Artamonova, 1989f/.

It is possible to simultaneously extract large garnet crystals, which can be used in the jewelry industry, from garnet ores of deposits and occurrences in North Karelia - Terbeostrov, Elovy Navolok, Solokhina Luda, Kislyachikha and Udinskoye/Klimov, 1970f and others/.

Khitostrov corundum deposit located 8 km northwest of the village. Raspberry Varaka. Three productive bodies contain well-cut corundum crystals measuring 2-5 cm along the long axis. The color of the crystals ranges from pale pink to bright pink or cherry with a purple tint. In standard samples, 1-3 crystals are usually observed in an area of ​​40x50 mm. Corundum crystals have a long axis size of 2-5 cm. Corundum reserves in category C are estimated at 35.8 tons/Starikov, 1980f; Glazunov, 1985f/.

On Volkostrovsky manifestation, located in Lake Onega, on the island of Volkostrov, 16 km southeast of the village. Velikaya Guba, amethysts of pinkish-lilac, violet color develop in the form of druses and brushes in quartz veins and cracks among the formations of the Zaonezhsky Ludicovian Formation. Among the transparent crystals of amethyst there are crystals pierced with thin needles of goethite / Artamonov, 1961f; Podkopaev, 197 Of/.

Freshwater pearl-bearing bivalves living in the rivers of the Republic of Karelia belong to the species Margaritana margaritifera. The extraction of northern pearls in the rivers of Karelia has been carried out since ancient times; it reached its greatest volumes in the 18th-19th centuries. From the end XIX century The pearl fishery is falling sharply due to competition from cultured pearls. Since then, pearl mining in Karelia has been carried out only sporadically. Studies carried out in the recent past indicate the presence in many reservoirs of Karelia and Kola Peninsula large colonies of pearl mussels. In the Republic of Karelia, based on the results of exploration and experimental fishing, industrially promising areas in the deposits were identified Keret River And Syuskyuyanjoki/Golubev, 1974f; Guryanov, 1980f/.

Jewelry and semi-precious stones are sometimes companions of muscovite and feldspathic raw materials in pegmatite veins. At the field Pirtima in pegmatite veins Nos. 1 and 4, microcline amazonitization zones with a thickness of up to 4-9 m are developed. Amazonite reserves (green microcline) at the deposit were estimated at 657.0 t / Chuikina, 1971; Amozova, 197 Zf; Arutyunov, 1979f and others/.

At the field Mica Bor in 3 pegmatite veins, 30-60 m long, 6-20 m wide, 2-10 m thick, belomorite (moonstone) was discovered - oligoclase of light gray and bluish colors with iridescence in blue and yellow tones with a pearlescent tint. Belomorite of the Khetolambino deposit has equally high decorative properties, the reserves of which are calculated in two veins 60-120 m long, 8-10 m thick. In addition, belomorite is found in vein No. 82 of the Dense Lambina occurrence, and vein No. 8 of the Okhtinsky occurrence. At the Plotnaya Lambina occurrence, polychrome tourmaline is present in pegmatites along with belomorite /Moskvina, 1951f; Stepanov, 1966f; Boguslavsky, 1974f;1982f; Amozova, 1983f; Afanasyeva, 1983f and others/.

In pegmatite veins of deposits Tedino, Blink Varaka, Nikonova Varaka, manifestations of Lisiy Bor-1, quartz vein manifestations Shueretsky section And Shuyostrov and silexites manifestations Piert Island rose quartz is found. At the field Tedino rose quartz was discovered in vein No. 37, 33 m long and 3.5 m thick. The central part of the vein is composed predominantly of white and pale pink quartz. At the field Blink Barracks rose quartz is installed in pegmatite vein No. 7, where the size of quartz blocks reaches 14x6x2 m. The quartz is white, gray, and in small rare areas it is pale pink. The predicted resources of rose quartz, estimated to a depth of 10 m, are 70 tons. At the occurrence of L Isii Bor-1 Rose quartz was discovered in vein No. 1.

The vein was quarried to a depth of 3-10 m. Of interest are the quartz dumps located at the northwestern end of the vein. Quartz is white, pale pink and pink. The approximate reserves of rose quartz in the dumps of vein No. 1 are estimated at 150 tons. Quartz from vein No. 1 takes a mirror polish, has high decorative qualities and is recommended for the manufacture of stone cutting and jewelry / Drobyshevskaya, 1954f; Abakumenko, 1968f; Rogovenko, 1968f; Okhotina, 1973f; Petukhov, 1995f and others/. On Suisari Island in Kondopoga Bay Lake Onega, located 23 km northeast of Petrozavodsk, in the northern, northeastern and south coast

Chalcedony mineralization has been established (Suisari occurrence). Grayish chalcedony and quartzin form interspherical cavities in spherical lavas, cracks in breccias, and irregularly shaped segregations in breccia cement. The size of chalcedony segregations in breccias does not exceed 5 cm2, in the interspherical spaces - 10-20 cm of the true axis. Saturation of spherical When carrying out geological survey work in the central part of the Central Konzhozersky ultramafic massif, 12 km south of the village. In the Petrovsky Yam, bodies of confluent micro-fine-grained serpentinites-serpophytes were discovered in the form of thin (from tens of centimeters to a few meters) veins and zones (Konzhozersky occurrence). The bodies of serpophytes were exposed in a number of wells and ditches. The breed is light green, dark green, yellowish-green (in small veins - emerald green) in color, with a waxy sheen. In OME PGO "Sevzapgeologiya" from serpophyte was made trial batch of products with high decorative properties. The rock is well polished, suitable for making various ornaments / Yudin, 1991f; Bogachev, 1993f/. located 9 km northwest of Pitkyaranta. It is confined to a pegmatite vein with a length of 220 m, an average width of 54 m and a thickness of up to 4 m, located among the amphibole shales of the Pitkyaranta formation, framed by the Mursul gneiss-granite dome. Graphic pegmatite is a yellow, cream, pink and white colored rock consisting of tabular microcline crystals intergrown with elongated quartz individuals. The contrast of quartz and microcline determines the high decorative value of the stone. The dimensions of the graphic pegmatite blocks are over 100x150x150 mm. If necessary, an additional source of graphic pegmatite can be the manifestations of Lapponiemi-1, Pyurejasari, Tyulenie and Hotari / Makarova, 1963f; Rundqvist, 1973f/.

The inventory of jewelry, jewelry-ornamental and ornamental stones takes into account three occurrences of colored quartzites, two occurrences of quartz porphyry, an occurrence of decorative slate, an occurrence of plagio-clase porphyrite and an occurrence of colored marble, which were not included in the inventory of deposits and occurrences of block stone due to the insignificance of the scale or increased rock fracturing. At the Prionezhsky occurrence, located 40 km southeast of Petrozavodsk, quartzites of pink and pinkish-crimson color, massive or banded texture, form a sheet-like body 150 m long and up to 2 m thick, confined to the Shokshinsky Vepsian formation. In the Segezhsky region, 20 km north of the city of Segezha, the Kamennoborsky occurrence of fuchsite quartzites was discovered, confined to a member of interbedding of quartzites and shales of the Zheleznovorotinskaya Sariolia Formation. The thickness of the interbedding unit is more than 8 m, the thickness of the fuchsite quartzite layers is a few tens of centimeters. Fuchsite quartzite is a monolithic rock of grass-green and emerald-green color, which has high decorative properties. 1.5 km northeast of the railway. Art. Padozero is a known occurrence of plagioclase porphyrite

On Tetyuginsky lidite deposit, located 2 km south of the village. Tolvuya, 4 productive bodies were identified and contoured, representing fragments of a single flat-lying layer, which on the modern erosion section is dissected into blocks of irregular shape. The thickness of the formation within the field varies from 0.4-0.5 m to 4 m. Lydites are dense, opaque, black rocks with a conchoidal fracture, banded, brecciated and globular texture. The content of quartz and chalcedony in lidites ranges from 88-97%, shungite substance - 3-7%. Graded lydite is used as an ornamental stone, the minimum block sizes of which must be at least 40x40x30 mm. Lydites are also used as a technical (touch stone), the requirements for which are much more stringent. At the Shung deposit of shungite rocks, lidites occur in the roof of shungite deposits, are distributed over an area of ​​​​about 1000x400 m, and are traced to a depth of 100 m ( Shungskoe manifestation of lidites). The thickness of the lidite layer reaches 4-6 m /Gorlov, 1967f; Afanasyeva, 1983f; Arkadyev, 1993f and others/.

On south coast Yalgub lips of Lake Onega are known Yalgubskoe manifestation of variolites. Among the spherical lavas of diabase porphyrites and amygdalite diabases of the Suisar Formation of Ludikovia, there are thin (up to 20 cm) interlayers of variolites with high decorative properties. Immersed in the dark gray cryptocrystalline mass of the rock are varioles 10-20 mm in size, composed of radiant aggregates of plagioclase or pyroxene /Ryleev, 1984f/.

Shungite is a unique stone, because nowhere in the world except in Karelia (and in Karelia itself, nowhere except in Zaonezhye) can you find it. Added to this intriguing characteristic is an equally curious detail - from a geological point of view, the not entirely clear, very ancient (2 billion years) origin of shungite. Myths have always been in the service of trade - where there is a lack of more or less reliable, scientific information about the subject; and now shungite is already called a substance of unearthly origin, brought to our planet as a result of its collision with the planet Phaeton... According to science, everything is much more prosaic: shungite is a metamorphic rock formed on the basis of organic bottom sediments (sapropel). Microorganisms of the Precambrian era (those 2 billion years old) accumulated on the bottom of the world's oceans for millions of years until they were buried deep underground by subsequent volcanic deposits and safely metamorphosed into a rock called shungite, the main chemical element of which (up to 80% of the content) is carbon. Carbon molecules in shungite have a qualitatively different structure than similar molecules, for example, in graphite or diamond. We are talking about the so-called. fullerenes - spherical molecular compounds, which are attributed main role in the active saturation of water with valuable carbon from shungite raw materials. Shungite filters for water purification are only a small, but scientifically based component of the modern “shungite” industry. Two other profitable components: products for lithotherapy (balls, pyramids) and souvenirs of Karelia (figurines, magnets).

By the way, the name shungite was given to the stone in 1877 by A.A., professor of geology at St. Petersburg University. Inostrantsev (1843-1919) - from the name of the village of Shunga, in which a real shungite vein was first discovered.

PHOTO 1. I collected these small shungite pellets on the shore of Lychny Island (Lake Sandal).

Another myth of the “shungite” industry is associated with the history of the use of stone by our ancestors: supposedly famous sights in Karelia are related to shungite - Tsaritsyn Klyuch (Medvezhyegorsky district) and Marcial Waters (Kondopoga district). The main character in the first case is Ksenia Ivanovna Romanova - the mother of the future Tsar Mikhail Romanov, who was exiled to Zaonezhie on the orders of Boris Godunov and was cured of bodily ailments thanks to the consumption of water from the well, which later became known as Tsaritsyn Spring. Even if this place really preserves the memory of the “Great Elder Martha,” until the beginning of the 21st century you will not find anywhere references to the fact that the said recovery occurred thanks to the shungite or any other stone contained in the earth. As for the Marcial waters, founded under Peter the Great, it is well known that the healing effect of local drinking procedures was initially associated with the “ferruginous” (“marcial”) nature of the local underground water. Shungite again has nothing to do with it.

PHOTO 2. Larger shungite stones. Also brought by me from one of my walks around Sandal Lake.

It is rich in its own varieties of minerals. Deposits of more than 30 species have been found in the region.

Iron

There are 3 groups of iron ores (ferruginous quartzites) in Karelia:

Swamp and lake - accumulation of ores occurs at the bottom of reservoirs.
- hematite ores – formed in Yatu-Li deposits.
- ferruginous quartzites – located among the Lopian deposits.
One of the richest iron ore deposits is Kostomuksha.

Titanium is almost 1.5 times lighter than steel, 3 times stronger than aluminum. At a temperature of 537° it retains its mechanical properties. In the territory of Karelia there are several deposits of titanium-magnetite and one deposit of ilmenite with magnetite. The metal is used in aircraft, ship, and rocket construction.
Ore deposits have been explored in the Pudozhsky, Kondopoga, Loukhsky districts.

Mica-muscovite

This deposit is located in northern Karelia in the Louhi region.
Back in the mid-14th century, on the territory of Karelia, Novgorod merchants discovered in the rocks of the Karelian coast White Sea layered stone. From the fact that the stone exfoliated, it received the name “sluda”. Moscow has always been actively involved in the supply of this raw material, which is why this stone material was later called muscovite, in honor of Muscovy.
Mica is actively used in the electrical and radio engineering industries.

Quartz-feldspar raw materials

This raw material is widely used in Karelia and throughout Russia. Most of the quartz-feldspathic raw materials for Russia are mined in Karelia.
Used in porcelain, electroporcelain, abrasive and glass industries. Quartz and feldspar are obtained from pegmatites.
Kyanite is a mineral from which aluminum and its alloys are obtained, as well as highly refractory products.
Sulfur pyrite is used in the pulp and paper industry and in the production of sulfuric acid. The largest deposits are Hautavaara and Parandovskoye.

Garnet is a hard mineral from which polished powder is made for the wood, leather and glass industries.

Shungite rocks

Unique rocks containing black carbonaceous material shungite and other minerals of metamorphic origin. Shungite was named after a deposit that was discovered in the 19th century in the village of Shunga.
Large deposits are also located on the northwestern coast of Lake Onega, in Zaonezhye, and in the territory from Kondopoga to Medvezhyegorsk. Shungite is used as an ornamental stone, in the production of black paint in the paint and varnish industry, in the production of concrete products in construction, in life and painting.

Stone building materials
These include granites, quartzites, marbles, diabases and others - one of the main riches of Karelia. Karelia is considered a natural storehouse of stone and building materials.
Granite has become widely used as a building and facing stone.
Quartzite has the same function as granite. Artistic and decorative stone
Marble is widely used in construction as an artistic and decorative stone; waste is actively used in metallurgy.
Diabase is a valuable facing material for buildings, monuments and a valuable material for the stone foundry industry.
In Karelia there are also precious, semi-precious and ornamental stones: amethyst, almandine garnet, chalcedony, moonstone, sunstone.

Talc-chlorite shales
They are used as fillers in the production of pesticides. Potted stones can successfully replace relatively expensive talc in the production of dusts.

Common mineral resources in the Republic of Karelia:

Siltstones, mudstones
- igneous and metamorphic rocks
pebbles, gravel, boulders
- clays
- diatomite, tripolite, opoka
- dolomites
- limestones
- quartzite
- facing stones
- sands
- sandstones
- sand-gravel, gravel-sand, boulder-gravel-sand, boulder-block rocks
- sapropel
- slates

Loams
- peat
- granite
- marble
- shungite
- Shoksha porphyry

The whole variety of Karelian minerals suggests that Karelia is a very rich region. Proper use natural resources will ensure sustainable economic situation republics on the world stage.