Geologists of the Ocean Exploration Party of the Polar Marine Exploration Expedition JSC (PMGE, a subsidiary of Rosgeologia JSC) discovered two new hydrothermal ore fields of deep-sea polymetallic sulfides, called Coral and Molodezhnoye, at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.

Samples of sulfide polymetallic ore with a total weight of about 150 kg were lifted aboard the Professor Logachev scientific research vessel from the Korallovoye hydrothermal field from a depth of more than 3,500 m.

“The task of this expedition is to search for ores in the most interesting and promising southern cluster of the Russian exploration region (RRR), where deep rocks of the Earth’s upper mantle extend to the bottom surface and the largest deposits of polymetallic sulfides can be discovered,” said PMGRE Managing Director Dmitry Kaminsky. "Earlier in this part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, 3 large ore occurrences have already been discovered. The new discoveries of Rosgeology will increase the resource potential of the southern RRR cluster and will be crucial for planning further research and subsequent field development.”

At the first stage of research in December 2019, Professor Logachev conducted a methodical search for geophysical anomalies of the natural electric field that occur during the oxidation of sulfide ores and are an important search feature. The search technique was developed by PMGRE specialists, and measurements in the bottom part of the water column were carried out using a special deep-sea apparatus MAK-1M, created by Yuzhmorgeologiya JSC. As a result of many days of research, two large promising areas were identified, located not far from each other.

At the next stage, promising zones were investigated using deep-sea television equipment. An extensive dome-shaped uplift was discovered with active "black smokers" - pipe formations up to 1.5 m high, emitting hot suspended ore substance in the form of black "smokes", as well as numerous remains of inactive pipes and sulfide ore outlets. After that, with the help of a rock dredge, numerous ore samples were hoisted aboard the vessel: rich massive copper ores and numerous vein-disseminated ores.

The expedition's immediate plans include detailed testing of open ore fields using a telegraph, studying samples of polymetallic ore on a ship and in stationary laboratories, and constructing geological maps.

Background

The R / V Professor Logachev arrived in the offshore operations area in December 2019 and began studying the geological structure of the ocean floor section - 18 blocks of the Russian exploration area with a total area of ​​about 1800 km2.

The purpose of the expedition is to complete a set of geological and geophysical studies to identify promising ore occurrences of deep-sea polymetallic sulfides in the axial zone of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge as part of the first 6-year stage of a contract with the International Seabed Authority concluded by the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Russian Federation in 2012 for 15 years.

Previously, PMGE geologists examined 82 of the 100 blocks of the PPP, within which 12 ore objects with predicted resources of 104.8 million tons of copper-zinc and copper-pyrite ore specialization were identified and studied. According to geologists, the ore of these objects contains 3,949.5 thousand tons of copper, 738.4 thousand tons of zinc, 119 tons of gold and 1,679.7 tons of silver.

Within the southern PPP cluster, which includes 36 blocks, the Ashadze ore cluster was opened in 2003, the Semenov ore cluster in 2007, and the Irinovskoye ore field in 2011.

In accordance with the contract, after identifying priority areas for detailed exploration, as well as performing a full geological analysis of the actual materials for all 100 blocks of the RRR-GPS, in September 2020 it will be necessary to justify the choice of 50 blocks most promising for sulfide ore, and reasonably abandon the 50 least promising.

KeyFacts Energy Industry Directory: ROSGEO