V. A. Stepanov, A. V. Melnikov

Metallogeny of gold in the Amur River section of the Baikal-Amur Mainline zone of influence

Abstract. The paper analyzes the history of discovering and developing gold ore deposits and placers of the Amur River region since its annexation to Russia in 1858. From 1868 until the Baikal-Amur Mainline construction, gold was mined mainly from placers. The end of the 20th century marked the significant depletion of placers. An increase in the gold mining level required identifying and operating gold ore deposits. The beginning of the Baikal-Amur Railway construction substantially expedited this process. The influence of the Baikal-Amur Mainline construction on developing the Amur Region infrastructure and intensifying geological exploration for ore gold led to identify new gold ore deposits (Pokrovsk, Pioneer, Bam, Solovyovsk, etc.) and reassess the already known ones (Berezit, Malomyr, Albyn, etc.). The gold ore deposits operation resulted in a considerable rise in the total gold production in Amur Region. The Baikal-Amur Mainline construction produced new data on the geological and structural position, and age of gold ore deposits, which identified the Amur River gold-bearing province in Amur Region. There were established patterns of placing metallogenic zones, ore-placer clusters, gold ore deposits, and placers in the province.

Keywords: Baikal-Amur Mainline, gold deposit, placer, ore-placer cluster, metallogenic zone, Amur River Province