¹Russian Geological Society, Moscow

²Karpinsky Russian Geological Institute, St. Petersburg

Dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the Central Aerogeological Expedition of the Committee for Geological Affairs under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR (1944–1949) – the All-Union Aerogeological Trust (VAGT) of the Ministry of Geology of the USSR (1949–1972) – All-Union aerogeological RPA "Aerogeologiya" (1972–1980) – PGA “Aerogeologiya” (1980–1991) – FSUR&PE/JSC “Aerogeologiya” (1991–2020) Data are analyzed on the demand for mid-level specialists for geological study of the territory of Russia and on the state of their training in accordance with programs of the secondary specialized education. Ways to change the trend for declining the interest in geological specialties and to stabilize the number of specialists working in the geological industry have been proposed.

Key words: geological survey, education of specialists.

Federal State Budgetary Institution "Central Research Institute of Geological Prospecting for Base and Precious Metals" (FSBI "TSNIGRI"), Moscow

The updated edition of the Methodological Recommendations shows the possibilities of application of quantitatively assessed features of native gold in the course of forecasting and prospecting work. The main characteristics of native gold are described and illustrated. Information is provided on traditional and modern analytical techniques for studying gold in field and laboratory conditions, including multiple structural etching. A uniform terminology is recommended to ensure continuity in the studying of gold and comparison of data from different researchers.

Key words: native gold, typomorphic features, internal structure, trace elements, ore formation types, methodology, recommendations, geological exploration.

¹Federal State Budgetary Institution «All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Mineral Raw Materials named after N. M. Fedorovsky» (FSBI «VIMS»), Moscow

¹Federal State Budgetary Institution «Institute of Mineralogy, Geochemistry and Crystal Chemistry of Rare Elements» (FSBI «IMGRE»), Moscow

Various models of formation of highly mineralized rare metal-bearing waters, possible sources of their contained lithium, and mechanisms of its accumulation in the hydromineral raw materials are considered. The main criteria of searching for the lithium-bearing hydromineral raw materials are generalized and formulated. A preliminary geological-genetic model is proposed for the lithium accumulation in the hydromineral raw materials.

Key words:lithium, hydromineral raw materials, highly mineralized rare metal-bearing waters, lithium-bearing brines, hypothesis, formation, prospecting criteria, geological-genetic model.

Federal State Budgetary Institution "Central Research Institute of Geological Prospecting for Base and Precious Metals" (FSBI "TSNIGRI"), Moscow

The features of native gold from weathering crust are considered. It is demonstrated how the features obtained in combination with studying the weathering crust composition make it possible to identify the type of the primary gold mineralization and to facilitate effective interpretation of the prospecting results.

Key words: typomorphism of native gold, gold-bearing weathering crust, gold mineralization, veinlet-disseminated gold-sulfide mineralization, gold-quartz mineralization.

FSBIS Institute of Geology and Environmental Management, FEB RAS, Blagoveshchensk

Results of geochemical analysis for rare elements are present for coals of the Seam V-VI in the southeastern portion of the Ogodzha deposit. The concentration coefficients demonstrate low contents of almost all rare and dispersed elements in the sampled section of the coal seam. The pair correlation and projection of variable values of the chemical elements onto the factor plane allow one to distinguish at least two groups of elements: the first group, Nd, Pr, Ce, La, Gd, Sm, Tb, Dy, Y, Ho, Er, Eu, Tm, Yb, Lu, and Pb, and the second group, Be, Rb, Mo, Cr, Ge, Co, Sc, V, Nb, U, Th, Cs, Sn, Li, Hf, Ga, and Zr. The grouping of rare elements according to the geochemical correlations suggests the presence of two separate metallogenic sources. The prospects for discovery of commercial-grade contents of rare elements in coals of the Ogodzha deposit remain quite high.

Key words:Ogodzha deposit, coal, geochemical correlations, concentration coefficient, pairwise correlation, base metals, rare elements, sedimentary basin, microcomponents, folds.