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Mining in Russia |
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Mining is a major sector of the Russian economy and provides
important items for national export. Mineral resources are diverse,
abundant, and generally well developed. Russia has large reserves of
energy-bearing minerals, including petroleum, coal, and natural gas.
For many years it extracted enough of the minerals to meet domestic
demands, provide for nations in its economic sphere, and export to
industrial nations of the West in return for needed hard currency.
Production of energy fuels declined in the early 1990s, however, in
part because existing fields were being depleted and Russia lacked
funds necessary to develop new deposits, many of which were located
in inaccessible areas of Siberia. Oil production fell by 11 percent
in 1991 and by about 15 percent in 1992; coal output declined by
about 15 percent over the same years; natural gas production
decreased only slightly. Annual production in the early 1990s
included petroleum (2.87 billion barrels); coal (337 million metric
tons); and natural gas (640 million cu m/22.6 billion cu ft), in
which Russia ranked as the world's leading producer.
As with other extractive industries in Russia-namely logging and mining-fossil-fuel production shifted eastward during the Soviet period. The primary oil fields lie in western Siberia, which accounted for about half of total Soviet production, and the Urals-Volga region, which accounted for one-third of total Soviet production. Other important oil fields are located in the North Caucasus and the northern part of Sakhalin Island. The main sources of natural gas are found in close proximity to the main sources of oil-in western Siberia, the Urals-Volga region, and the North Caucasus. The leading areas of hard-coal production are the Kuznetsk Basin in western Siberia and the Pechora Basin in northeastern European Russia. The Kansk-Achinsk Basin in Siberia and the Moscow Basin are the leading areas of lignite, or brown coal, extraction. Lesser coal mines are scattered throughout Siberia, where huge reserves of coal remain largely untapped, such as the Tunguska Basin, which covers much of central Siberia. Russia is a major exporter of iron ore (12 million metric tons in 1990), with most production occurring in the Kursk Magnetic Anomaly of south central Russia. Russia is also a notable exporter of copper (168,000 metric tons in 1990) and nickel (127,000 metric tons in 1990). Copper and nickel ores are mined primarily in the Urals, although sizable deposits of nickel are also located in the Kola Peninsula near Murmansk. The country is one of the world's leading producers of gold, which is mined in the Urals, western Siberia, and eastern Siberia in the valley of the Lena River. Russia is also a major diamond producer; much of the country's diamond extraction takes place in the republic of Sakha (Yokutia) in northeastern Siberia. Bauxite deposits are located primarily in the Urals and northwest European Russia near Saint Petersburg. Lesser deposits are found in western Siberia near Kemerovo and in the far eastern region near the mouth of the Amur River. Tin is mined in northeastern Siberia, and lead and zinc are mined in Siberia and the far eastern region. Manganese deposits are located in the Urals, western Siberia, and the far eastern region. |