Minerals and the world around us 3. Properties of minerals. Brief description of the main minerals

1. Think and write down which of your needs are satisfied by minerals.

Our car runs on gasoline, which is made from oil, we cook food on a stove that runs on gas, to make a barbecue in the country, you need coal, dishes are made of clay

2. Practical work “Exploring mineral resources.”

Purpose of the work: identify minerals and establish their properties.

Equipment: mineral samples provided by the teacher; atlas-determinant “From earth to sky.”

Progress of work (according to textbook assignments).

  1. Consider a sample of a mineral. Based on the illustrations in the textbook, determine its name.
  2. Establish and write down in your workbook the properties of the mineral: solid or liquid, color, transparent or opaque, dense or loose. Find out from your teacher whether this is a fossil fuel or not.
  3. Think about where this mineral is used. What properties is its use based on?

Fill out the table.

Evaluation of the work performed (whether the goal was achieved): goal achieved

Presentation: Tell the class about the results of the work, listen to other messages. Discuss collectively what features can be used to distinguish the minerals you have studied.

3. The Questioner Ant wants to know how minerals are used. Mark the “+” sign in the appropriate column. Do this first with a simple pencil.

4. The teacher asked Seryozha to talk about minerals. But he could only say one sentence about each. Guess what minerals he meant. Write their names in the boxes.

5. Show with arrows which photographs show a quarry, mine, or drilling rig.

6. Our Parrot, a lover of secrets and riddles, has come up with a task for you. There is a treasure hidden in an old mine. Find the path to the treasure and mark it with an arrow. Start your journey with the elevator.

The path is indicated in the figure by a thin blue line.

7. According to the instructions in the textbook, find out in the local history museum what minerals are mined in your area. Write down their names

limestone, oil, sand

8. Here you can write down the outline of your message about the mineral or basic information about it.

1. Name of the mineral
2. Where is it mined?
3 Properties of minerals
4. Using it in economic activities

Aluminum ore - bauxite

The well-known metal aluminum does not occur in nature in its pure form. It is extracted from aluminum ores - minerals containing various compounds of this substance. The most famous and widely mined aluminum ore is called bauxite.

In our country, bauxite is mined in the Urals, Siberia, the Baikal region and the Kola Peninsula. There are also bauxite deposits in Hungary, Central and Southern Africa, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, France and India.

After special processing, pure aluminum is released from bauxite. It is a very light weight silver-white metal. It is easy to forge, conducts heat and electricity well, and, unlike most metals, is practically resistant to corrosion.

Due to its properties, aluminum is very widely used in industry. It is used to make dishes (pots, pans, trays, spoons and forks), aluminum foil for baking and packaging, wires, pipes, it is used in the production of microcircuits, paint is made from aluminum, as well as frames for scooters and bicycles, airplane fuselages and much more. other .

Use the recording when speaking in class. Listen and evaluate the messages of other guys.

Purpose of the lesson: To reveal the role of minerals in human activity and show the need for their careful use.

Lesson objectives:

Educational:

  • Familiarize yourself with the variety of minerals and some of their properties, methods of their extraction;
  • Organize schoolchildren’s research into the basic properties of minerals;
  • Show them important role in the country's economy.

Developmental task:

  • Development of the ability to analyze and build hypotheses, conclusions, and evidence based on analysis.
  • Develop skills in drawing up diagrams and tables.

Educational:

  • Show the need to protect mineral resources;
  • Maintain awareness of the involvement of each student in the result of joint learning activities.
  • Foster tolerance.

Lesson type: subject

Lesson form: research lesson.

Form of organization educational activities: individual – group , frontal.

Methods: partial search, research.

Terms and concepts: minerals, geologists, deposits, quarry, mine.

Equipment: multimedia projector, screen, hammer, fossil collection, glass, nail, glass of water, white paper, magnifying glasses.

Didactic materials: teacher presentation, rocks, instruction card for studying the properties of minerals.

Lesson progress

Stage 1. Organizational moment. Psychological mood.

Look at each other, with your eyes, wish your friend a good working mood for the entire lesson. Now look at me. I also wish you all an interesting lesson.

Stage 2. Motivation and goal setting.

Look at our Earth. The nature of our Earth is rich and diverse. Some riches are on the surface of the Earth, others are hidden deep in the Earth. (slides 1, 2, 3).

What cunning secrets
Common items melt:
Minerals sparkle in the salt shaker!
Snowflakes are crystals!
The foil that hid the candy -
The metal is the same as in rockets.
Simple clay conceals it,
Sister of sapphire and ruby!
And if you trip over a stone,
Don't think that the cobblestone is to blame,
And here is omnipotent nature
They gave you a breed!

What kind of riches and secrets do you think we will talk about today?

Read the topic of the lesson. "Minerals" (slide 4).

What problems do we need to uncover on this topic? What questions should we ask ourselves?

(What minerals do we know? Where are they located? How do people use them in their lives? How should minerals be protected? How are they mined?)

What problem do we pose in class? ( Why do minerals play a big role in human life?) (slide 5).

Why do we need to know this?

How will we find out the unknown about minerals? How will we work? ( working in groups).

Stage 3. Planning to find a solution.

You are placed in groups of 5 people.

What is the first step for coordinated work in groups to be taken in order to find answers to all the questions posed? ( distribute roles in the group: organizer, secretary, informants).

Stage 4. Implementation of the plan.

Frontal work.

Study. What are “minerals” and “fossils” (slide6).

Now work in a group and try to define “Minerals”.

(“Minerals” are natural resources that people extract from the depths of the earth and its surface and use). (slide7).

If we know what minerals are, then in order to know how to use them, where to apply them, what else do you think we should know about them? (properties). (slide8).

Each mineral has some property. Now we will identify these properties - examine them and enter them into a table. Envelope No. 1.

Properties of minerals.

Oil (slide9). Study. Show the teacher experiments and fill out the table. Conclusion (slide 10).

Coal.

Explore according to plan (slide 11).

Plan for studying the properties of coal.

1. Examine a sample of coal. Determine its color. Does it have shine?

2. Place the piece in water. Does he float on its surface or sink?

3. Run your fingernail over the rock.

  • If a trace remains, then the rock is soft;
  • If you can scratch it with a nail, then it is hard;
  • If there is no nail mark, then it is very hard.

4. Coal is hard, but suppose it is brittle. Prove it! Find a way to prove it.

5. Where is it used and based on what properties?

Compare these two minerals using the table.

Plan for studying the properties of granite (slide 12).

1. Examine a piece of granite through a magnifying glass. Determine what color and what it is made of? Think about what fruit it looks like and why is it called granite?

2. Determine whether water is lighter or heavier?

3. Compare the hardness of granite and the hardness of coal, leaving scratches on it with a fingernail or nail.

4. Make sure granite is especially durable. Run granite and charcoal across the glass. What will leave a mark or scratch on the glass (charcoal or granite)?

Conclusion from the table about granite.

Let's compare coal and granite in the table.

Fizminutka (slide 13).

They walked and walked along the path,
We found a lot of stones.
We sat down, collected ourselves and moved on.
Along the path, along the path
Jump on the left leg
And along the same path
We jump on the right leg.
We'll run along the path and reach the lawn.
On the lawn, on the lawn
We'll jump like bunnies.
Stop! Let's rest a little!
And we’ll go to work again!”

We continue to work. We still have a lot to learn.

So, knowing the properties of minerals, what can we now learn? ( where is it used and how is it mined)

Stage 5. Work according to the textbook. From 49-50. Appendix: Envelope No. 2. (see at the end of the article)

Who do you think geologists are?

Now each group will be geologists - scouts. You go on exploration and in a few minutes tell us about the methods of mining. The textbook will help you with this envelope No. 2.

Each geological group has its own task. You will begin your story with the words: “We are geologists just returned from an expedition...” There is also additional information to help with your text. Use it.

Before the stories, let's work with the concepts: (slide 14).

Geologists are people who study and search for minerals.

Deposits are places where minerals lie in the depths of the earth and on its surface.

Mines are deep wells.

(Children read prepared messages) (slide 15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22).

Now, based on your stories, we will draw up a small diagram - a “spider” (slide 23).

Why do people need minerals and where do they use them?

Guys, two ovals have not been studied. To study them, let's listen to the messages. (Children talk about salt and natural gas) (slide24,25,26,27).

Stage 6. Careful use.

Can our economy manage without natural resources?

Minerals are the source of our life.

Tell me, what will happen if minerals disappear from our Earth?

What should a person do to make good use of the wealth of underground storehouses?

Stage 7. Conclusion (slide 28,29).

Minerals are the treasure of our Earth. Therefore, like any other treasure, they need to be protected and protected. The mineral reserves on Earth are not endless. It is necessary to properly and carefully treat underground wealth that cannot be restored. How will you and I carefully use these riches?

Stage 8. Reflection (slide 30).

What tasks were set at the beginning of the lesson?

Do you think we coped with the task in class?

What helped us in our work?

What discoveries did you make for yourself?

Stage 9 Job evaluation.

Group assessment.

Stage 1 Homework (slide 31)

Raise your hand if you wanted to learn more about minerals after the lesson and prepare a report.

There are many more minerals on earth. So I suggest you prepare a message about the mineral resources of the Novosibirsk region.

If someone finds it difficult, then I suggest to those children to prepare a message about any mineral.

Application to the lesson. Envelopes.

Task for group 1. Coal.

Coal is called hard coal because it is hard and for a long time considered a stone. But in fact, coal was formed from ancient plants. But then people came and saw these deposits. Coal is mined in two ways: open - mining in a quarry, and closed - mining in mines.

A quarry is an open pit.

A mine is a deep well.

Coal is one of the most essential minerals. He heats the house, gives his human friend medicine. Without coal it is impossible to smelt metal or cook food. They also make perfumes and various fragrant syrups from it. .

Group assignment 2. Oil.

Our country is very rich in oil. Until now, scientists have not come to a consensus on how I was formed. Many argue that over hundreds of millions of years, the substances that once made up algae, fish and crustaceans turned into oil. It is now impossible to survive without oil in the modern world. More than a thousand substances are made from this oily brownish liquid. For example, the purest gasoline for aviation and lubricating oils for cars. Petroleum is used to produce perfumes, medicines, photographic films, and plastics that can be used to build houses and make cars.

In order to extract oil, drilling rigs are built and deep wells are drilled.

Task for group 3. Iron ore.

For a long time, people have been looking for deposits of ores containing various metals. Iron, cast iron, and steel are smelted from ferrous metal ores. And from non-ferrous metal ores - aluminum, copper, zinc, lead. As a rule, products are made not from pure metals, but from alloys. There are so many metal objects around us: scissors, spoons, pots, buckets... and machine tools in factories, planes and cars, trains on rails, and the rails themselves. All this is made of metals! And the metals are obtained from ores mined in nature.

Assignment to group 4. Construction materials. Sand, clay, limestone.

Sand is a loose rock consisting of tiny particles. This is a product of the destruction of hard rocks. Indispensable in glass production and road construction.

Clay is a widely used building material. Brick is made from clay. They also make beautiful porcelain and earthenware dishes. Clay is formed as a result of the weathering of various rocks. In water it gets wet, becomes viscous, plastic.

Limestone lies in the ground in huge layers. An ordinary stone of white or gray color. Sometimes entire mountains are made of it. Used in construction. They write on the blackboard with chalk. The walls are whitewashed. Used in the construction of houses.

Natural resources are stored in the bowels of the Earth - minerals that have great value for a person. With their help, people solve almost all their economic needs: build, heat premises, travel by transport, and create many useful household items. Let's find out the names and properties of minerals, without which life would not be so convenient and comfortable.

Fossil fuels

Fossils that can be used to produce heat and energy are called combustibles. These include natural gas and oil.

Rice. 1. Oil production

It is difficult to imagine modern life without fossil fuels, because using their energy we heat rooms in the cold season, cook food, and drive cars.

Also flammable natural substances include peat, shale, brown and hard coal, and anthracite.

Ore minerals

Ore or metal fossils are among the first to be explored by ancient man. It is impossible to imagine industry without metal, because in every home, every person there is sure to be a metal object.

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Depending on their properties and area of ​​application, all metals are divided into several main groups:

  • black - this is iron and all its alloys - used in construction various equipment, ships, planes, cars;
  • colored - aluminum, copper, nickel and many others - are actively used in astronautics, electrical engineering, aircraft construction, and various precision instruments;
  • noble - silver, gold, platinum, palladium - have a unique property - they do not enter into chemical reactions, moreover, they have high value as precious metals from which jewelry is made;

Rice. 2. Gold is a noble metal

  • radioactive - uranium, plutonium, radium and others are capable of emitting radiation without outside help.

Non-metallic minerals

Non-metallic or non-metallic fossils are soft and hard groups of rocks and minerals. Today, more than a hundred such natural compounds are known, and all of them have found their application in various economic and industrial sectors.

Let's consider brief description properties of non-metallic minerals:

  • mining raw materials - asbestos, limestone, mica - rocks without which it is impossible to imagine the construction industry;
  • chemical raw materials - apatite, sulfur, potassium salts - used in the chemical industry, in the production of mineral fertilizers, ceramics, rubber;
  • building materials - marble, gypsum - used in a wide variety of areas;
  • semiprecious stones - emeralds, rubies, topazes - have beautiful appearance, are used to create jewelry.

Rice. 3. Diamond is the hardest mineral on Earth

Almost all deposits of useful substances are gradually depleted. If people do not learn to carefully and rationally use natural resources, our offspring may be left without such valuable raw materials.

  • 2.3. Increased anthropogenic impacts and their consequences in countries with different types of socio-economic systems
  • Topic 3. NATURAL CONDITIONS AND RESOURCES AS A FACTOR OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. MINERALS
  • 2.1. Natural conditions and resources. Classification. Their economic essence
  • 3.2. The role of natural conditions and resources in the development and distribution of productive forces
  • 3.3. Minerals
  • 3.3.1. General characteristics and classification of minerals
  • 3.3.2. Minerals of the Republic of Belarus
  • Topic 4. ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES
  • 4.1. Essence, functions, tasks of economic assessment of natural resources
  • 4.2. Theoretical foundations and methods of economic assessment of natural resources
  • 4.2.1. Cost and rent concepts of economic valuation of natural resources
  • 4.2.2. Taking into account the time factor in the economic assessment of natural resources
  • 4.2.3. Other approaches to economic valuation of natural resources
  • Topic 5. ECONOMIC SYSTEM AND ENVIRONMENT: RELATIONSHIP AND CONTRADICTIONS
  • 5.1 Laws and principles of ecology
  • 5.2. Basic equation of material balance
  • 5.3. Criteria for sustainable development. Weak and strong resistance. Main indicators of sustainable development
  • 6.1. basic methods of economic assessment of environmental protection measures and the environment
  • 6.2. Methods for assessing damage from environmental pollution
  • 6.3. Indicators of effectiveness of environmental protection measures
  • 6.4. Consideration of time, risk and uncertainty factors
  • 6.4.1. Taking into account the time factor when justifying environmental decisions
  • 6.4.2. Risk and Uncertainty Analysis
  • 6.5. The concept of social efficiency of environmental costs and the social effect of environmental protection measures
  • 7.1. Economic functions of the environment and alternative uses
  • 7.2. Two types of environmental production costs. Environmental costs
  • 7.3. Economic damage from pollution and environmental degradation
  • 7.4. Model for optimal use of the environment
  • 7.5. Transformation surface and efficient allocation of resources between economic and environmental goals
  • Topic 8. THEORY OF EXTERNAL EFFECTS IN ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS
  • 8.1. Concept, causes and classification of external effects
  • 8.3. Internalization of externalities from the perspective of property rights. Coase theorem
  • Topic 9. ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY AS A PUBLIC GOOD
  • 9.1. pure private and pure public goods
  • 9.2. demand for a public good. free rider problem
  • 9.3. Determination of effective environmental quality
  • 9.3.2. Cost-benefit analysis
  • 9.3.3. Economic assessment of environmental quality
  • 9.3.4. Lindahl solution (combination of public and private solutions)
  • 9.3.5. Mechanisms of public choice. Arrow's impossibility theorem
  • Topic 10. MACROECONOMIC ASPECTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMICS
  • 10.1. Environmental and natural resource factors in the system of macroeconomic indicators
  • 10.2. Integrated System of National Accounts (SNA)
  • 10.3. Sectoral structure of environmental pollution. Key indicators of environmental intensity and environmental friendliness of production
  • Topic 11. BASIC PRINCIPLES AND INSTRUMENTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY
  • 11.1. Goals and principles of modern environmental policy
  • 11.2. criteria for choosing environmental policy instruments. Moral condemnation.
  • 11.3 Composition of administrative and control instruments for direct environmental and economic regulation
  • 11.4. Instruments of indirect environmental and economic regulation
  • Topic 12. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION AND ITS REGULATION
  • 12.1. Environmental monitoring. Environmental monitoring. Main indicators of the degree of environmental pollution
  • 12.2. Municipal solid waste management
  • 12.4. regulation of emissions caused by industrial accidents and natural disasters
  • 12.5. regulation of contaminants in consumer products
  • 12.6. National environmental monitoring system of the Republic of Belarus
  • Topic 13. ECONOMICS OF RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY IN AN INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT
  • 13.1. Ecological systems in the spatial dimension
  • 13.2. the contribution of the environment to the country's international competitiveness. relationship between environmental and trade policies
  • 13.3. transboundary environmental pollution and the main instruments for its regulation
  • 13.4. Global environmental problems and the main tools for solving them
  • Topic 14. Nature management and conservation in the Republic of Belarus
  • 14.1 Organizational structures for environmental management of the Republic of Belarus
  • 14.2 Legal regulation of environmental protection in the Republic of Belarus
  • 14.3 Formation of a system of paid environmental management in Belarus and its effectiveness
  • Figure 14.2 – System of paid environmental management in the Republic of Belarus
  • 14.3.1 Environmental tax (Chapter 19 of the Special Part of the Tax Code of the Republic of Belarus)
  • The objects of environmental taxation are:
  • The following objects of taxation are not recognized as environmental tax:
  • Table 14.1 – Environmental tax rates for emissions of pollutants into the air, (rubles)
  • 14.3.2 Tax on the extraction (withdrawal) of natural resources (Chapter 20 of the Special Part of the Tax Code of the Republic of Belarus)
  • 14.3.3 Land tax (Chapter 18 of the Special Part of the Tax Code of the Republic of Belarus)
  • Objects of taxation are land plots located on the territory of the Republic of Belarus, located:
  • 14.3.4. Recycling fee for vehicles.
  • The types and categories of vehicles in respect of which the recycling fee is paid are determined in accordance with the appendix to the Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus dated 02/04/2014 N 64 “On the recycling fee for vehicles”.
  • The object of taxation is a vehicle:
  • The main regulatory legal acts governing payment are:
  • 14.3.5. Collection from suppliers
  • Tax base - the cost of procurement (purchase) volume, determined on the basis of procurement (purchase) prices. It is established by decisions of the regional and Minsk city Councils of Deputies in an amount not exceeding 5%.
  • The main regulatory legal act regulating payment is the Tax Code, Chapter 33.
  • 14.3 Main disadvantages of the current system of paid environmental management
  • LITERATURE
  • R p =

    [ (Z − C) a − Kpriv . ]p

    where B – recoverable reserves in terms of final products;

    T is the period of use of reserves;

    Z – closing costs for a given region (or for the country as a whole) for final products (under certain conditions, the functions of closing costs can be performed by world prices);

    C – estimated current operating costs per unit of final product;

    α – factor taking into account the time factor, including the estimated life of the field being assessed (calculated using a special formula);

    Kpriv – upcoming capital investments associated with exploration, development, processing of a unit of annual final product, taking into account the time factor (that is, estimates given to the year).

    Economic Assessment Issues natural resources will be discussed in more detail later.

    Natural resource potential is the most important part of the country’s national wealth. According to the assessment of scientists from the Institute of Geography of the USSR Academy of Sciences, carried out in the 70s, the share of Belarus in the total natural resource potential

    The USSR accounted for 1.2%, which significantly exceeded its share in the total area of ​​the country - 0.9%. This excess is due to better provision of land resources (above the world average), more favorable climatic conditions, sufficient water and forest resources. At the same time, there is a relatively low concentration of mineral resources, especially fuel and energy resources, on the territory of Belarus.

    The natural resource potential of the country and its individual regions changes in the process of environmental management, which is due, on the one hand, to depletion individual species natural resources due to their exhaustibility and irrational use. On the other hand, scientific and technological progress opens up the possibility of involving new types of natural resources in the national economic turnover and expanding the country's raw materials and fuel and energy base.

    3.3. Minerals

    3.3.1. General characteristics and classification of minerals

    All fossils (solid, liquid and gaseous) and geothermal energy are concentrated in the upper layers earth's crust. Numerical estimate of average content chemical elements in the bowels of the Earth, various types rocks are produced using clarke of this substance(expressed as a percentage, g/t, etc.).

    Clarks of elements– a system of averaged contents characterizing the prevalence of chemical elements in a large geochemical system

    system (in the earth's crust, lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, on the Earth as a whole or in space). Expressed in mass, volume, atomic percentage (%), ppm (‰), parts per million (g/t) or in relation to the content of one of the most common elements, such as silicon.

    More than 99% of the mass of the earth's crust is made up of clarke of the following elements: oxygen - 47%; silicon – 29.6; aluminum – 8.05; iron – 4.65; calcium – 2.96; sodium – 2.50; potassium – 2.5; magnesium – 1.87%. Knowledge of clarks is important when searching for and industrially assessing mineral deposits.

    Minerals(mineral raw materials) is usually called a natural mineral formation of the earth's crust of inorganic and organic origin, which can be used in the national economy.

    Rock deposits that are enriched in one or more minerals (regardless of their practical value) are simply called

    mineral (geological) deposits . Those of them who represent

    natural accumulations of minerals, in terms of quantity, quality and conditions of occurrence, suitable for industrial and other economic use, are called mineral deposits. Mine-

    local accumulations with small reserves or low-grade ores (which makes development economically unfeasible) are usually considered as ore occurrences. If mining techniques are improved and useful components are extracted, ore occurrences may become industrial deposits.

    Minerals, depending on the area of ​​economic use, are divided into the following groups:

    fuel and energy(oil, natural gas, fossil coal, oil shale, peat, uranium ores);

    ore, which is the raw material basis for ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy (iron and manganese ores, chromites, bauxites, copper, nickel, tungsten, molybdenum, tin, precious metal ores, etc.);

    mining chemical raw materials (phosphorites, apatites, tableware, potassium

    And magnesium salts, sulfur and its compounds, barite, boron salts, bromine and iodine-containing solutions);

    natural (mineral) building materials and non-metallic

    minerals, as well as ornamental, technical and precious stones (marble, granite, jasper, agate, rock crystal, garnet, corundum, diamond, etc.);

    hydromineral(underground fresh and mineralized waters). Quantitative assessment of mineral resources is expressed by reserves

    mineral resources identified and explored. The amount of explored reserves varies depending on the size of mining,

    penalties for exploration (increase in proven reserves), as well as from the development of geological knowledge about the structure of the earth’s crust.

    Geological exploration data makes it possible to calculate the volume of minerals, and when multiplying the volume by density, determine the reserves of minerals in weight terms. When calculating reserves of liquid and gaseous minerals, in addition to the volumetric method, the method of calculation based on inflows in wells is used. For some mineral deposits, the amount of reserves of valuable components they contain is calculated, for example, reserves of metals in ores. Mineral reserves in the bowels of the earth are measured in cubic meters (building materials, flammable gases, etc.), in tons (oil, coal, ore), in kilograms (precious metals), in carats (diamonds).

    Based on the degree of reliability of reserve determination, they are divided into categories. In the CIS countries, as in the former USSR, there is a classification divided into four categories: A, B, C1 and C2.

    Category A reserves are the most explored, with precisely defined boundaries of occurrence and are fully prepared for production. Category B includes previously explored mineral reserves with approximately defined occurrence boundaries. Category C1 includes those explored in general outline deposits with reserves estimated using extrapolation of geological data. Category C2 includes promising reserves identified outside the explored parts of the deposits. As a rule, data on mineral reserves of categories A and B are used in the development of current plans and forecasts for the development of the national economy. The remaining categories of reserves (C1 and C2) are taken into account when substantiating long-term forecasts and planning geological exploration work.

    Mineral reserves are also divided according to their suitability for use in the national economy. on balance sheet and off-balance sheet. Balance reserves include those reserves that are expedient to be developed at the current level of technology and economics; off-balance sheet - reserves that cannot be effectively used with the existing technology. There is also a category of forecast - geological reserves, approximately estimated as possible.

    The most important principle of economic evaluation of mineral resources is compliance with national economic interests when choosing the optimal option for using resources. Here, it is assumed, first of all, their comprehensive development, maximum reduction of losses during extraction and processing, and compliance with environmental protection measures.

    3.3.2. Minerals of the Republic of Belarus

    Geological research, intensively carried out in the post-war years, refuted the previously existing idea of ​​​​Belarus as a country poor in mineral resources. Currently, almost 5 thousand deposits have been identified and explored in its depths, representing about 30 types of mineral raw materials. The most important minerals, the extraction of which has the most significant impact on the country's economy, are potash and rock salts, oil, peat, building materials and raw materials for their production, underground fresh and mineral waters.

    Belarus' fuel mineral resources include oil, petroleum gases, peat, brown coal and oil shale.

    A total of 52 oil fields have been taken into account, of which about 30 are being exploited, and the rest are classified as being explored or mothballed. In accordance with the quantitative assessment of oil content, the initial recoverable oil resources are estimated at 338.3 million tons, the residual reserves of industrial categories A+B+C1 at 67.6 million tons and 8.4 billion m3 of associated gas. The availability of proven oil reserves at the level of annual production (about 2.0 million tons) is approximately 35 years. The national economy's needs for oil are increasing (in 2010 to 15.0 million tons) and current production volumes can cover them only by 10–15%.

    Peat resources significantly depleted due to intensive use in previous stages economic development Belarus. If the total predicted peat resources are estimated at 3.0 billion tons, then only 240 million tons are suitable for industrial extraction. The remaining reserves are located within environmental protection zones or are part of the land fund. The annual production of fuel peat is about 4–5 million tons and approximately the same amount of peat is extracted for the needs of agriculture, which provides the needs for approximately 20–25 years.

    Brown coals have been identified in the territory of Belarusian Polesie, the predicted reserves are 1350.8 million tons. The three most studied deposits are Zhitkovichskoye, Brinevskoye and Tonezhskoye with total reserves of 150.0 million tons. A project has been developed for the construction of the Zhitkovichsky open-pit mine with a capacity of 2 million tons of coal per year. In the future, brown coal can be a real source of energy and local household fuel, and can also be used as a raw material for certain chemical industries.

    Oil shale deposits in the south of Belarus they form a large shale basin with an area of ​​more than 20 thousand km2. Forecast reserves (up to a depth of 600 m) are estimated at 11 billion tons; the Lyubanskoye and Turovskoye fields have been preliminary studied. Oil shale is considered as a potential resource

    resource base for the development of energy, the chemical industry and the production of building materials.

    Mining chemical raw materials are represented by potassium and rock salts, phosphorites, and mineralized brines. Potassium salts are of the greatest national economic importance, the industrial reserves of which in two explored deposits (Starobinsky and Petrikovsky) amount to 6.9 billion tons, and predicted - over 80 billion tons. The Starobinsky deposit is being developed, on the basis of which four mining departments of the Belaruskali Production Association operate. The prospects for the Petrikovskoye deposit are associated with the introduction of a highly profitable technology for producing potassium concentrate from salts with a high content of magnesium chloride.

    Rock salt reserves are estimated to be practically inexhaustible. Only at three explored deposits (Mozyr, Davydov and Starobin) they exceed 22 billion tons. The Mozyr deposit is being exploited, on the basis of which a salt plant operates with an annual production volume of about 400 thousand tons of salt, and supplies of edible salt for export are expanding. Rock salt can also be used as a raw material for the production of soda ash.

    On the territory of Belarus there are two phosphorite-bearing basin: Sozhsky - in the east and Pripyatsky - in the south. The Sozh basin includes two previously explored fields: Mstislavlskoye and Lobkovichskoye (forecast reserves are estimated at 30 million tons), as well as a number of promising areas. Within the Pripyat phosphorite-bearing basin, the Brest phosphorite-bearing region has been identified (forecast reserves of phosphorus anhydride are 52.9 million tons). It is necessary to search for phosphorite deposits with more favorable conditions and higher quality of ore.

    The territory of Belarus is promising for ores of ferrous and non-ferrous metals. Two iron ore deposits have been discovered (Okolovskoye and Novoselkovskoye) with total reserves in category A+B+C1 - 340 million tons and forecast - 1.5 billion tons, their use will largely be determined by the solution to the fuel and energy problem in the country. Swamp iron ores are found almost everywhere, more than 300 deposits are known, until the 60s. XIX century local metallurgical enterprises worked for them. Currently, bog iron ores serve as raw materials for the production of mineral paints. In the sedimentary rocks of the Pripyat trough, deposits of davsanite ores were discovered (Zaozernoye deposit), promising as raw materials for the production of alumina and soda ash. A deposit of rare earth-beryllium ores has been discovered in the crystalline basement rocks of Belarus.

    Belarus has a fairly powerful mineral resource base for the production of building materials. The most significant reserves of cement-

    raw materials, dolomite, chalk, building and facing stones, clays for the production of coarse ceramics and light aggregates, silicate and construction sands, sand-gravel and other materials. At the same time, there is a shortage of glass sands and clays for the production of high-quality bricks.

    Research and involvement in the exploitation of mineral groundwater is expanding. 58 mineral water sources have been explored with total reserves of 14,320.8 m3 per day, and 50 sources are being developed. Mineral waters are used for the purposes of sanatorium-resort treatment, and are also sold through the retail chain as mineral medicinal and table waters.

    Belarus is rich in mineral brines, the reserves of which within the Pripyat trough are estimated at 1830 km3, they contain 680109 tons of mineral matter. Highly mineralized brines (the rock is called “Belarusite”) can serve as a raw material base for the production of iodine, bromine, potassium, magnesium and many other elements. The project “Industrial brines of the Pripyat Trough” has been developed, the implementation of which will make it possible to annually obtain about 160 tons of bromine and 1.2 tons of iodine. The search for new deposits of ferrous and non-ferrous metal ores, diamonds, gold, amber and other types of minerals on the territory of Belarus is also promising.