Large technogenic emerald deposit discovered in Russia's Sverdlovsk region - Natural Resources Ministry

YEKATERINBURG. Nov 26 (Interfax) - A technogenic deposit in the Sverdlovsk region with reserves of 2.9 tonnes of emeralds has been added to the state balance sheet, the Natural Resources Ministry told Interfax.

"The Mariinsky deposit has been added to the state balance sheet under the management of JSC Mariinsky mine, and consists of waste dumps of substandard ores from the Aul and Malyshev deposits," the ministry said.

In addition to emeralds, the deposit contains 156.6 kg of alexandrite, 436.3 kg of phenakite, 1.2 tonnes of chrysoberyl, and 155.2 tonnes of gem-grade beryl.

The reserves of the Malyshev deposit also include 819 tonnes of beryl and 26.3 tonnes of emerald raw materials, the ministry said.

The reserves of the Malyshev and Aul deposits serve as the raw material base for the Mariinsky mine.

In 2022, the subsidiary of the state corporation Rostec, RT-Capital LLC, acquired 100% of JSC Mariinsky Mine. Previously, the sole shareholder of the mine was JSC Kaliningrad Amber Combine, also owned by Rostec.

A comprehensive geological and economic evaluation of the Malyshev emerald-beryl deposit was completed in the fall of the same year. Before this, the last operational calculation of reserves based on geological exploration data was conducted in 1992. The reserves of emeralds listed on the state balance sheet increased 30% and those of beryllium oxide 10%. The maximum projected mining capacity was raised to 450,000 tonnes of ore per year.