Geology and geochemistry of ore deposits

The Head of the Chair, Professor V.I.Starostin

The Chair trains students in the field of geology and exploration of mineral deposits. Undergraduate students are provided with profound fundamental knowledge and practical skills in two areas of specialization: "Geology and Geochemistry of Mineral Deposits" and "Economic Geology".

The Chair has laboratories of ore microscopy, investigations of fluid inclusions, heavy mineral concentrate analysis, petrophysical investigations, hydrothermal modeling, economic geology. The Chair is responsible for students" field practice in methods of drilling in the Crimea.

The Chair"s staff provides students specializing in all geological specialties with the course of lectures on "Geology of Mineral Deposits" as well as about 40 specialized courses, including "Modelling of Ore Deposits", "Statistical Analysis of Ore Sampling Data", "Fundamentals of Mining Geometry", "Commercial Types of Ore Deposits", "Economics of Mineral Deposits", "Investigations of Fluid Inclusions in Minerals", etc.

Students in the Laboratory of Ore Microscopy

Deposits of gold (Siberia) and rare metals (Transbaikal and Far East regions) have been investigated. Particular attention was paid to massive sulfide ore, copper, zinc and lead deposits in volcanic complexes of the Caucasus, southern Urals and Rudnyi Altai. Pioneer prognostic-metallogenic maps of Rudnyi Altai compiled have promoted the discovery of the largest Tishinsk lead-zinc deposit in Rudnyi Altai. The phenomenon of hidden mineralogical-geochemical zonality related to the regular compositional variation of ore-forming minerals within ore deposits and reflecting the evolution of physicochemical conditions of ore deposition and metamorphism, has been established. Deposits of construction materials (Moscow region) and crystal raw materials in Russia (Aldan and Irtysh regions) and Kazakhstan have also been studied.

A new fundamental line of investigations into fluid inclusions has been created. Another new line of the study of geological structures (structural-petrophysical analysis) has been developed on the basis of experimentally detected regularity in the interrelation between physicomechanical properties and structure of solid bodies. Ores and minerals from deposits of different genetic and formation types are investigated in the Laboratory of Ore Microscopy equipped with X-ray microprobe systems. This has made it possible to discover a large number of new minerals and identify mineral concentrators of several rare metals.

Associate Professor A.A.Burmistrov in the Laboratory of Petrophysical Investigations

For its 50-year history the Chair has trained more than 1000 scientists, about 100 of which got their Ph.D. Specialists from Afghanistan, Bulgaria, China, Egypt, Hungary, Poland, China, India, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Mexico, Mongolia, Nepal, South Korea, Tunis and Vietnam have been trained in the field of geology and geochemistry of ore deposits.

Recently a number of new text-books have been published by members of the Chair, including "Mineral Deposits in the World Ocean" (V.V.Avdonin et al., 2000), "Structures of Ore Fields and Deposits" (V.I.Starostin, A.L.Degachev, Zh.V.Seminsky, 2002), "Evaluation of Mineral Deposits" (A.L.Dergachev, J.Hill, L.D.Kazachenko, 2000).