PearceiteDucat Mine, Ducat ore field, Omsukchan, Ducat District, Kolyma River Basin, Magadanskaya Oblast', Far-Eastern Region, Russia
Photo: Brent Thorne Latitude: 62°33'N
Longitude: 155°45'E
Russia's largest silver deposit, discovered in 1965 and identified as a precious metals deposit in 1967. It comprises some 30 ore bodies that occur as breccia in fault zones and as veins in a 35 sq/km (13.5 sq. mile) area. The ore bodies are fault-controlled and are as much as 1,500 meters (4,920 feet) long and average 3.2 meters (10.5 feet) wide, as was delineated by drilling and underground development to 600 meters (1,970 feet).
The mine was closed in 1995, but is currently being rebuilt through foreign investment. It has the potential to be one of the world's largest lowest cost silver mines, with anticipated production (at full capacity) of 15 Moz silver. Pan American Silver's original 70% interest in the operation has been diluted to 20% following the formation of a joint stock company, Polimetall. This follows irregularities between the ownership of mill assets and mining licenses between KasKol and Pan American. Pan American no longer has any capital obligations to the project and retains a 20% non equity sharing of the operation. Produciton is now anticpated to begin towards the end of 2001 under the management of a new Russian-Canadian company called Serebro Magadana. This holding company is currently 51% owned by Serebro Dukat, a subsidiary of Canada 's Pan American Silver, and 49% by Dukat, a joint venture between Russia 's Kaskol and Polimetall.
Dukat has proven and probable reserves estimated at 10.55 Mt grading at 755 g/t silver (228 Moz contained silver equivalent). The Dukat mine hosts approximately 90% of Russia 's silver reserves. Under the new management, Dukat now plans to produce 16 Moz silver per year, with silver being refined in Russia and not overseas, as Pan American intended.
Mineral List
53 entries listed. 40 valid minerals.
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References
- Filimonova, L.G., and Chugaev, A.V. (2006): Chronology of Hydrothermal and Magmatic Activity in the Dukat Gold–Silver Ore Field. Geology of Ore Deposits 48(6), 489-498.
- Filimonova, L.G., and Trubkin, N.V. (2008): Micro- and Nanoparticles of Zincite and Native Zinc from Disseminated Mineralization of Metasomatic Rocks in the Dukat Ore Field. Geology of Ore Deposits 50(2), 135-144.
- http://imcg.wr.usgs.gov/usbmak/mej4.html. [Link dead. Feb 2012]
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