Deposit: "Chayskoye"
Location: Russian Federation, Republic of Buryatia, Severobaikalsky district
Area: no information
Minerals: nickel, copper, cobalt
Reserves: nickel - 627.7 thousand tons
copper - 193.5 thousand tons
cobalt - 2.69 thousand tons
The Chaysky massif is located on the northwestern slope of the Verkhneangarsky ridge, 90 km northeast of the northern tip of Lake Baikal. This is the southwestern part of the Nameless Pluto, separated by a right-lateral strike-slip fault. The Chaysky massif itself is 1.5 × 5.0 km in size and forms a watershed in the Chaya - Ogiendo interfluve.
The length of body No. 3,950 m, thickness varies from 10 to 120 m, on average 35–40 m. The body was traced to a depth of 350–400 m, its fall is sub-vertical with a turn to the lower part to the northwest.
The resources of metals in ore body No. 3 are: nickel 143.5 thousand tons (average sod. 0.53%), cobalt 6, 48 thousand tons (average sod. 0.02%), copper 49, 19 thousand tons t (avg. sod. 0, 18%).
Orebody No. 2 is located on the gentle slope of the river valley. Chaya and is covered from the surface by a cover of loose sediments (2-4 m) and can be mined in an open way with a stripping ratio when mining the body to a depth of 300 - 350 m -1. No. 3. Its length is about 500 m, its thickness fluctuates and averages 20-25 m. To a depth it was traced at 200-250 m.
The resources of metals in ore body No. 2 are: nickel 62.56 thousand tons, cobalt 2, 61 thousand tons, copper 17, 96 thousand tons, with avg. sod. respectively: 0.47%, 0.02%, 0.13%.
The ore bodies are uneven in thickness, the boundaries are indistinct and determined by the cut-off nickel content of 0.3%.
The main industrial minerals are pentlandite and chalcopyrite, to a lesser extent pyrite and pyrrhotite.
The ores of the Chaiskoye deposit are characterized by a predominance of Ni over Cu, the most nickel-rich ores (Ni / Cu up to 12.5) are characteristic of orthopyroxenites with rich disseminated mineralization and ore blastomylonites. The content of Co and Ag in ores is determined by the amount of pentlandite in them.
The ores of the Chayskoye deposit are complex, along with the main components, they contain selenium up to 3.9 g / t, tellurium up to 1.3 g / t, palladium up to 0.05 g / t, platinum up to 0.06 g / t, gold, up to 0.3 g / t, silver up to 3.6 g / t and rhodium -0.04 g / t.
Technological studies of 5 samples taken from ore bodies 2 and 3 showed their good dressability by conventional flotation methods (7430). Rich solid ores can be subjected to direct metallurgical processing.
Prospects for an increase in reserves are associated with the possibility of identifying high-grade ores in the deep horizons of ore bodies 2 and 3 and in the eastern continuation of ore body No. 2.
The predicted resources of the P2 category of metals in the author's version of previous researchers are: nickel - 627, 7 thousand tons, copper - 193, 5 thousand tons, cobalt - 2.69 thousand tons at avg. contents, respectively (0.516%, 0.16%, 0.022%).