OREANDA-NEWS. The project for further exploration of one of the world’s largest uranium ore provinces has been carried out since 2012. As a result, geologists plan to reveal new formations with high uranium content. Discovering of new deposits will make it possible to provide Priargunsky Industrial Mining and Chemical Union with commercially viable uranium reserves for many years ahead.

The project funding will amount to 1 billion rubles. Federal State Unitary Enterprise All-Russian Scientific-Research Institute of Mineral Resources named after N.M. Fedorovsky acts in the capacity of the principal contractor of the project. These works have involved the participation of leading scientific-research and industrial organizations, including Institute of Geology of Ore Deposits of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IGEM RAS), Federal State Unitary Geology Enterprise Urangeologorazvedka (FSUGE Urangeo), Baikal Branch Sosnovgeology, JSC Research-and-Production Center Geoneftegaz, LLC NPP VIRG-Rudgeofizika, JSC Rusburmash and Federal State Unitary Geology Enterprise Chitageologorazvedka.

Under the Kaldera project, forecasting has been completed thus far. Following its results, four prospective sites totalling approximately 100 sq.km with resource potential of not less than 80,000 tons of uranium have been identified. In 2015, it is planned to obtain licenses for geological study of this territory, with subsequent discovery and exploration activities.

It is noteworthy that this project has become possible due to front-edge domestically developed technologies applied, as well as state-of-the-art techniques for forecasting and prospecting ‘hidden’ and minimized uranium mineralization.

Looking back, the first deposit, Streltsovskoye Deposit, located in the ore field under the same name, was discovered by Geological Exploration Crew No.324 of the Sosnovskaya Expedition of the First Chief Directorate of the Ministry of Geology in the southeastern part of the Trans-Baikal Territory in 1963. In mid-1966, detailed exploration of the central and western sites was conducted, Krasny Kamen Deposit was discovered and reserves of Tulukuevskoye Deposit were prospected. In 1968, Priargunsky Industrial Mining and Chemical Union was founded to develop deposits within the Streltsovskoye Ore Field. Overall, 20 uranium deposits were discovered and explored within the Streltsovskoye Ore Field, of which 15 are commercial deposits. During the whole period of PIMCU’s operation, 144,000 tons of uranium was mined in the Streltsovskoye Ore Field.