NORTH EASTERN YAKUTIA GOLD MINERAL RAW MATERIAL BASE: ANALYSIS, EVALUATION AND PROSPECTS

Abstract

The paper presents a detailed review of ore and alluvial gold mineral raw material base of North East of Yakutia and estimates the economic efficiency of development of gold deposits not involved in the exploitation. Research methods: analysis and comparison, qualitative and quantitative features of the mineral raw material base of Yakutia, formed and replenished databases on a number of deposits of the region; methods of analogy, economic-statistical, methods of system analysis and decision support, evaluation of efficiency of development of deposits. The article provides a detailed analysis of the distributed and undistributed fund of ore and placer gold deposits and shows that the level of the distributed fund is quite high. It is noted that there are certain reserves of a promising and developed gold raw material base in the North-East of Yakutia. The authors identify factors that reduce the efficiency of development of the mineral resource base of gold in the North-East of Yakutia: territorial separation, location in areas with weak or absent infrastructure, availability, for the most part, of small and medium-sized stocks at high levels. The article shows that objects of ore and placer gold due to the complexity of geological and industrial types of objects have increased operating and capital costs and infrastructure limitations. This article presents the authors' developed set of geotechnological and economic measures that can increase the efficiency of the exploited deposits, involve in the development of small and medium-sized gold ore objects. The article provides the calculations which show that the mineral raw material base of ore and placer gold of the North-Aast of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) is sufficient to maintain the annual metal production at more than 20 tons per year, and the raw material potential of this region enhances to increase this level for a long time with appropriate investments in geological exploration. The assessment of economic efficiency confirms that the introduction of gold ore and placer deposits in the North-East of Yakutia to the economic circulation generates substantial income to investors and create new jobs.