The main tasks of non-ferrous metallurgy enterprises are the extraction and enrichment of metals, as well as their processing, production of rolled products and alloys. This industry plays a very noticeable role in the Russian economy. Our country ranks among the first in the world in terms of the number of deposits of non-ferrous metals.
Main sub-sectors
- Arkhangelsk region;
- Irkutsk region;
- Krasnoyarsk region.
The Leningrad region and Karelia are potentially diamondiferous.
The most productive are the Russian non-ferrous metallurgy enterprises of this group, which develop diamonds in primary deposits. Alluvial mining is carried out mainly by small enterprises.
Silver mining industry
The geography of non-ferrous metallurgy in this sub-industry is very, very wide. Silver deposits are being developed in our country in more than 20 regions. Our country ranks first in the world in the extraction of this noble metal. The leading one is the Dukat deposit in the Magadan region.
Platinum mining
Most of this metal in Russia is mined in the Urals. There is also a lot of platinum in the Baikal region, Taimyr and the Kola Peninsula. Karelia and the Voronezh region are promising in this regard.
Despite the rather difficult economic conditions, the ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy of Russia is a developing and promising industry. In any case, the majority of enterprises in this group remain profitable. The state also pays a lot of attention to metallurgical companies.
Non-ferrous metallurgy includes the extraction, beneficiation of non-ferrous metal ores and smelting of non-ferrous metals and their alloys.
Russia has a powerful non-ferrous metallurgy, the distinctive feature of which is development based on its own resources. Based on their physical properties and purpose, non-ferrous metals can be divided into heavy (copper, lead, zinc, tin, nickel) and light (aluminum, titanium, magnesium). Based on this division, a distinction is made between the metallurgy of light metals and the metallurgy of heavy metals.
Several main bases of non-ferrous metallurgy have been formed on the territory of Russia. Their differences in specialization are explained by the dissimilarity in the geography of light metals (aluminum, titanium-magnesium industry) and heavy metals (copper, lead-zinc, tin, nickel-cobalt industries).
The location of non-ferrous metallurgy enterprises depends on many economic and natural conditions, especially on the raw material factor. In addition to raw materials, the fuel and energy factor plays a significant role.
The production of heavy non-ferrous metals, due to the low energy demand, is confined to the areas of raw material extraction for reserves, mining and enrichment of copper ores.
The reserves of copper and nickel ores in Russia are still sufficient not only to satisfy domestic needs, but also for export needs. However, if new deposits are not discovered and developed, a crisis situation may soon arise with the production of the corresponding metals, as well as platinoids. This is largely due to the fact that the rich copper-nickel ores of Norilsk, which provide 70% of copper production and 90% of nickel production in the country, are being depleted; about half of the copper ore mining capacity in the Urals, which provided up to 20% of copper, has been eliminated. The supply of copper concentrates from Mongolia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan is decreasing, so the search and exploration of copper and nickel ores remains an important task.
Significant reserves of copper and copper-nickel ores are available in Siberia. In addition to the well-known copper-nickel ore deposits in the lower reaches of the Yenisei - Norilsk, Talnakh, Oktyabrsky - there is another copper ore deposit - Udokanskoye - located in the north-east of the Chita region. It is the largest in terms of reserves in the Russian Federation and the third in terms of reserves in the world (more than 1.2 billion tons of ore with a copper content of 18-20 million tons). However, this deposit is characterized by complex mining and geological development conditions that require the development of special mining technology; in addition, the quality of the ore is such that its processing also requires the development of special technology.
An important place in the production of copper, nickel and other non-ferrous metals belongs to Norilsk Nickel, which is a world leader in the production of non-ferrous and precious metals (copper, nickel, cobalt, gold, silver, selenium, rhodium, palladium, platinum, osmium, iridium, ruthenium, tellurium, etc.). Norilsk Nickel provides 1/5 of the world market demand for nickel and cobalt, 40% of the world production of platinum metals.
The lead-zinc industry as a whole gravitates towards areas where polymetallic ores are distributed. Such deposits include Sadonskoye (North Caucasus), Salairskoye (Western Siberia), Nerchinskoye (Eastern Siberia) and Dalnegorskoye (Far East). The centers of the Nickel-Cobalt industry are the cities of Norilsk (Eastern Siberia), Nickel and Monchegorsk (Northern economic region).
Extraction of lead and zinc ores from the bowels of Russia covers only 25 and 43% of Russia's domestic consumption. The supply of Russian industry with these metals depends mainly on Kazakhstan, since the Russian Federation does not have its own lead factories. There are enough zinc factories in Russia; in Siberia there is the Belovsky Zinc Plant.
In Siberia there are explored deposits of lead-zinc ores. In terms of reserves, the Gorevskoye, Ozernoye and Kholodnenskoye fields are distinguished, which are assessed as promising, but have not yet been developed, since this requires significant funds and time.
An increase in lead production in Russia is envisaged through the expansion of capacities based on technical reconstruction and the introduction of advanced technology at the Dalpolimetal PA lead plant. It is also planned to organize production here for processing secondary lead and expand the Verkhneivensky secondary lead plant.
The production of light metals requires a large amount of energy. Therefore, the concentration of enterprises smelting light metals near sources of cheap energy is the most important principle for their location.
The raw materials for aluminum production are bauxites from the North-Western region (the city of Boksitogorsk), the Urals (the city of Severouralsk), nephelines from the Kola Peninsula (the city of Kirovsk) and the south of Siberia (the city of Goryachegorsk). From this aluminum raw material, aluminum oxide - alumina - is isolated in mining areas. Smelting aluminum metal from it requires a lot of electricity. Therefore, aluminum smelters are built near large power plants, mainly hydroelectric power stations (Bratskaya, Krasnoyarsk, etc.).
Russia has a powerful aluminum industry (90% of CIS production) and fully covers the domestic demand for aluminum, and also exports it in significant quantities. Currently, Russia ranks second in the world in the production of primary aluminum after the United States.
The production of primary aluminum in Russia is carried out by 11 plants, with 80% of the output coming from five large Siberian plants: Bratsk, Krasnoyarsk, Sayan, Irkutsk and Novokuznetsk. This industry is one of the most stable in the Russian economy in terms of volume dynamics. The crisis of the 90s had little effect on the production volumes of primary aluminum compared to enterprises in other branches of non-ferrous metallurgy, but significantly changed the structure of its consumption: if previously the main consumers of aluminum industry products were military-industrial complex enterprises (52%), now the bulk of the production aluminum is exported.
The main raw material for the production of primary aluminum is alumina. Its production is material-intensive, so it is produced in places where bauxite and nepheline ores are mined. Most Russian bauxites are inferior in quality to their foreign counterparts. Today, 55 bauxite deposits are known in Russia, but only 10 of them are actively developed.
About 50% of aluminum is produced from our own ore and alumina, the rest is imported from Ukraine, Kazakhstan and foreign countries. Currently, aluminum smelters receive raw materials from Australia, France, Greece, India and other countries.
The development of a high-quality raw material base for the aluminum industry remains an important problem, for which the necessary prerequisites exist (primarily, the development of bauxite in Komi, the use of nepheline concentrates in the processing of nepheline-apatite ores of the Khibiny, improvement of bauxite mining technology at the North Ural mine).
There are also reserves of aluminum raw materials in Siberia: Kiya-Shaltyrsky nephelines in the Kemerovo region, Goryachegorsk nephelines and Chadobetsky bauxites in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, Boksonsky bauxites in Buryatia. However, these deposits are usually characterized by low quality raw materials, small reserves and location in undeveloped and inaccessible areas.
The titanium-magnesium industry is located primarily in the Urals, both in areas of raw material extraction (Berezniki magnesium plant) and in areas of cheap energy (Ust-Kamenogorsk titanium-magnesium plant). The final stage of titanium-magnesium metallurgy - processing of metals and their alloys - is most often located in areas of consumption of finished products .
Currently, not a single titanium deposit is being developed in Russia. Until now, 96% of Russia's need for titanium production has been met by supplies of titanium concentrates from Ukraine. We operate the Bereznikovsky titanium-magnesium plant and the Klyuchevsky ferroalloy plant in the Urals. Ukraine also supplies titanium pigment, which is not produced in our country.
Russia has the necessary conditions for establishing its own production of titanium and zirconium, since the explored reserves of these raw materials in Russia are sufficient (loparite and nepheline-apatite ores of the Kola Peninsula, Yaregskoye deposit in Komi, placers in Western and Eastern Siberia). In Siberia, titanomagnetite ore deposits can be used for titanium production, for example, Krichininskoye in the Chita region.
The mineral resource base created to date in terms of the volume of explored reserves is able to meet Russia's need for titanium products in the future, but, at the same time, it should be taken into account that the possibility of satisfying Russia's need for titanium through its associated extraction at existing enterprises is excluded. Of the created reserve fund of deposits, those that are feasible for priority development in terms of the degree of preparedness are Yaregskoye in Komi, Medvedevskoye in the Chelyabinsk region and Tuganskoye in the Tomsk region.
In the near future, our country can meet its needs for tin, tungsten and molybdenum from its own resources, however, most of the explored deposits are characterized by low quality ores. Therefore, it is necessary to search for new deposits, but we must not forget about the existing reserves: quickly move to underground mining of tungsten and molybdenum at the Primorsky Mining and Processing Plant, increase production capacity at the tin deposits of the Solnechny Mining and Processing Plant in the Far East.
The main tin deposit in Siberia is Sherlovaya Mountain in the Chita region. The main deposits of tungsten and molybdenum in Siberia are Dzhidinskoye in Buryatia, Davendinskoye in Zhireken and Orlovskoye in the Chita region.
Ural.
Ferrous metallurgy. It is based on its iron ore resources; there is not enough coal - it is brought from the Kuznetsk basin. The metal is used at the largest enterprises in the Urals (they produce tanks, tractors, agricultural machinery, equipment for resource extraction) and is supplied to the central regions of the country (the European part). centers: Chelyabinsk, Magnitogorsk, Asha, Chusovoy, Serov, Nizhny Tagil, Kyshtym.
Non-ferrous metallurgy.
Copper ore smelting (Karabash, Kamensk-Uralsk, Verkhnyaya Pyshma, Kirovograd, Revda, Krasnouralsk), aluminum smelting (Krasnoturinsk, Yekaterinburg), nickel - Orsk, lead, zinc - Chelyabinsk. Color metallurgy is based on its resources. The smelted metals are used at local machine-building enterprises.
European Center. Ferrous metallurgy is mainly of the conversion type (scrap metal is smelted in Elektrostal, Vyksa, Moscow, Orel), full-cycle, the largest plants in Tula, Stary Oskol, Lipetsk operate on imported raw materials - coal from Siberia, Donbass, the Komi Republic; iron ores are brought from the Kursk magnetic anomaly (our own).
Non-ferrous metallurgy - copper ores are smelted in Moscow.
All products of metallurgical enterprises are used in the central regions for the manufacture of machine-building complex products (combines, cars, buses, wagons, railway electric locomotives, diesel locomotives, trolleybuses, river and sea vessels, etc.)
European North. Ferrous metallurgy in Cherepovets is one of the largest Russian iron smelting enterprises, working on imported raw materials.
The metal is sent to the central regions, to the European North and to St. Petersburg for mechanical engineering and marine shipbuilding. Particle metallurgy in St. Petersburg.
Non-ferrous metallurgy operates on its own raw materials. Aluminum is smelted in Nadvoitsy, Kandalaksha, Volkhov, Boksitogorsk; copper - Veliky Novgorod, Monchegorsk, nickel - Mochegorsk. Melted ores are sent to machine-building plants in the central and southern regions of Russia.
Siberia.
Ferrous metallurgy - Belovo. Non-ferrous metallurgy. Specializing in the smelting of aluminum ores - Bratsk, Krasnoyarsk, Sayanogorsk, Achinsk, Belovo, Shelekhov - use their own resources and cheap energy from hydroelectric power stations. Lead and zinc are smelted in Novokuznetsk, copper and nickel in Norilsk. All enterprises use local raw materials; smelted metals are exported to enterprises in the Urals and central regions.
Far East - a metallurgical base is being formed. This area mainly contains mining and processing plants. Mined: tin, lead, zinc, gold. Lead and zinc are smelted in Dalnegorsk, and iron ore is smelted in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. Products are exported to China, Japan, South Korea and the European part of Russia.
It produces 40 million tons of various metals.
This is primarily aluminum (17 million tons). The aluminum industry is represented by two geographically separated production units:
1st - the production of alumina (Al oxide) gravitates towards countries that mine bauxite;
2nd - aluminum production is close to sources of cheap electricity, mainly in developed countries. The main countries for bauxite mining are Australia, Guinea, Jamaica, Russia, Brazil; for alumina production - Australia, Russia, USA, Jamaica; for aluminum production - USA, Japan, Russia, Canada, Germany. In all these countries, production is carried out in areas of large hydroelectric or thermal power plants.
Copper production: Copper ores typically contain little of this metal.
Most of the copper ore reserves are concentrated in Chile, the USA, and Zambia.
Copper refining requires a large amount of electricity, so part of the blister copper is exported to developed countries.
The largest producers of refined copper: USA, Russia, Japan and Germany.
Lead production:
The leaders in lead ore production are: Russia, Australia, the USA, Canada, followed by Peru and Mexico. Large lead producers: USA, Russia, Western European countries.
Metallurgy and the environment: The development of metallurgy is accompanied by an increase in the content of iron, lead, tin, copper, mercury, arsenic and other metals in the environment, which poses a real threat to human health.
In terms of the degree of “harmfulness”, metallurgical enterprises are one of the dirtiest industries.
19. Chemical resources of the world.
Production in the chemical industry is characterized by a high degree of technological complexity, so the principles of their location are quite diverse.
The production of potash fertilizers is focused on the places of extraction of raw materials, which is associated with the easy solubility of raw materials and its possible losses during transportation. For the same reason, soda production also focuses on deposits of table salt. And the production of phosphate fertilizers, as a rule, is located in the ports of highly developed countries, where it is convenient to deliver raw materials (phosphorites) by sea. In the CIS countries, the production of these fertilizers is focused mainly on agricultural areas, since the raw materials are high-quality apatites or phosphorites from the Kara-Tau deposit. When using phosphorites from other deposits, production is focused on the areas where raw materials are mined. In some countries (Ukraine, France, Great Britain) that use phosphorus-containing ore for ferrous metallurgy, production is focused on ferrous metallurgy areas producing Thomas slag.
The production of nitrogen fertilizers has more complex placement principles. In extremely rare cases, natural saltpeter is used as a raw material: Chilean, Norwegian and Indian. In general, the location of the production of nitrogen fertilizers is associated with the production of cheap ammonia, which is formed during the coking of coal, therefore plants producing nitrogen fertilizers are tied to metallurgical bases. Often, the production of nitrogen fertilizers is focused on oil refining and petrochemical centers, which also supply cheap ammonia. Currently, the geography of production of nitrogen-containing products is changing due to the development of pipeline transport and the construction of ammonia pipelines, which makes it possible to deliver cheap ammonia to areas of existing chemical production, most often military.
The production of synthetic rubber, as a rule, is oriented towards oil and gas processing enterprises, which is associated with the possibility of producing cheap alcohol. In some countries, this production is tied to large automotive manufacturing centers. In those countries that are pioneers in the production of synthetic rubber, some enterprises are located in specialized agricultural areas (in Russia - Yaroslavl, Efremov, in France - Clermont-Ferrand, in Ukraine - Bila Tserkva), which is due to the initial receipt of raw materials from agricultural products; in some countries (Russia, Canada, Sweden), production is located in forest chemical centers that simultaneously produce wood alcohol.
The production of plastics and chemical fibers is quite labor intensive and also requires a continuous supply of raw materials, therefore it is located in oil port centers or in cities with oil and gas pipelines.
The production of “light” chemicals is focused on the abundance of labor resources, while pharmaceutical and cosmetic production require highly qualified labor, so they have not even developed in all highly developed countries.
In the modern production of basic chemical goods, especially mineral fertilizers, the CIS countries, the USA, and China stand out. Among European countries, a fairly large production of fertilizers, especially potash and nitrogen, is represented in Germany, phosphate fertilizers - in France, which uses phosphorites from Tunisia and Algeria as raw materials; in America, Canada stands out for its particularly large production of potash fertilizers, ranking first in the world in the production of potash fertilizers. salts
In recent years, the geography of chemical fiber production has changed significantly, with a noticeable shift towards East and South-East Asia. China, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan and Thailand account for over 33% of global production.
