Kamchatka platinum deposit matches Alaska's

The indigenous Koryak people called this place Levtyrinyvayam, meaning "there is something in the creek." That something was a modest-looking grey metal, unusually heavy, but lacking the instant allure of the gold that could be found elsewhere in the region. Soviet geologists would later confirm that it was platinum, and the deposit became the first in the Russian Far East's Koryak region to be developed after the break-up of the USSR.

Today KoryakGeoldobycha, KGD, boasts more than a decade of placer mining at this site near the village of Korf, with 45 metric tons of platinum produced and an estimated 15-20 more tons on the way. Few foreigners have visited, not least because of the deposit's remote location. This August the Alaska Miners Association took a group of 13 to Korf at the invitation of KGD.

Koryakia lies to the north of the Kamchatka Peninsula, across the Bering Sea from Alaska. The weekly Magadan Airlines flight from Anchorage arrives at the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky in the south, and Korf can be reached on another domestic Russian flight. Anyone going to work at or visiting the various placer platinum sites in the area must travel the half hour or so from Korf in the Russian Far East's workhorse, the twin-turbine Mi-8 transport helicopter with a capacity of up to 24 people.

Visitors see similarities to Aleutians

Korf, a former fishing village on a narrow spit, reminded the Alaskan visitors of the Aleutian Islands. At this outpost on the edge of nowhere, where the ramshackle houses are connected by a maze of bulky central heating pipes at roof-level, the 1,300 residents cultivate flourishing vegetable gardens and paint their fences a cheerful shade of green or pink. Some older members of the U.S. group were World War II veterans, who immediately recognized, much to their amazement, that the fences were made from interlocking steel landing mats provided by the United States during the Lend Lease program for the purpose of constructing an airstrip.

KGD began placer platinum mining here shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. The lode platinum mineralization occurs in a body of dunite, an ultramafic, igneous rock. In total there are around 50 platinum-bearing massifs of the Ural-Alaska type in the Koryak and Kamchatka regions. "The potential of this belt, which stretches for about 1,000 kilometers, is still unknown," said Eugene Sidorov, a platinum expert with the Russian Academy of Science.

Company will assess hard rock sources

KGD's next exploration goal is to further assess hard rock sources of the placer platinum that has been mined. One zone of hard rock platinum mineralization has already been tested with trenching and drilling. Levtyrinyvayam is one of five associated deposits in the district with the same hard rock source.

These Ural-Alaska complexes are so named because Russia's Ural mountains were the main source of the world's platinum in the 19th century, but U.S. Geological Survey work in the 1940s and a series of doctoral dissertations from Harvard, Columbia and other U.S. universities originally described the geology in detail, mainly in Alaska's southeastern panhandle. The best-known and so far most economical platinum deposit in Alaska is Goodnews Bay, in the southwest of the state, which produced 22 metric tons of platinum in the 20th century, all from placer sources, and is geologically nearly identical to the Koryak deposit.

Based on fossil evidence, much of western Alaska originated on the eastern Asian continental margin and was sutured onto the rest of Alaska about 150 million years ago.

In more recent times the Alaska Peninsula and Aleutian Islands share the same volcanic arc succession as the Kurile-Kamchatka region of the Russian Far East.

Large nugget found in June

KGD primarily recovers platinum in the mineralogical form of isoferroplatinum, but all of the remaining platinum group elements - iridium, osmium, palladium, rhodium and ruthenium - are recovered as byproducts as well.

Most of the platinum is in the form of fines or coarse, tiny pieces of isoferroplatinum no more than 30 millimeters in diameter.

So it was a big surprise when one of the washing plants caught a whopping 1.2-kilogram nugget in June.

The incalculably rare lump of metal fits snugly in the palm of a hand.

The AMA group was able to touch, view, weigh and photograph it, as it was still being kept in a locked shed at the mine, surrounded by a fence, where the final product is handled.

The big nugget will go to the Russian government, and possibly into a museum.

"I have seen larger platinum nuggets from the Urals, twice that size, in the Armory at the Kremlin, but platinum placers are rare," said Julian Misiewicz, exploration manager for South Africa-based major Gold Fields' Europe and Central Asia region, who joined the Alaskans on their visit. "This is a very efficient operation with first-class equipment. It seems to be very disciplined. The tailings are stacked nicely and neatly, the water is clean, the settling ponds are well-managed and the mine isn't overloaded with people."

The mine's usual product is sorted into 15-kilogram bags, about the size of a deflated soccer ball, each worth approximately U.S. $450,000. Employees go through a security screening process before they can work with the washed platinum. Platinum is considered a strategic resource in Russia and a bill declassifying information about platinum group metals was only passed by the Russian Duma in 2003.

Borrell: nugget trap would work

Allowing Alaskans to see the platinum mine could bring benefits. Steve Borell, executive director of the AMA, had some advice on catching larger nuggets. "They're going to have to look at a nugget trap. Alaska miners have been doing that for a long time," he said. "Probably the best alternative is to do something right on the end of the sluice box, for example a big knife blade that comes up, catches the flow and brings it back down. They could also install metal detectors."

KGD uses two different types of washing plants, depending on the type of rock being processed. One is a large rotating tube called a trommel, which catches the platinum fines at Levtyrinyvayam. The undersized material that passes through the screen in the trommel goes to the sluice box, where it flows across a series of riffles. At another site called Ledyanoy, a short helicopter ride away, a rocker box is used for removal of larger rocks before the remaining material goes to a sluice box. An estimated 94-96 percent of the platinum is successfully recovered. The average grade is 0.28 grams per cubic metre.

Most of the mining here takes place in summer, with up to 500 people working at the peak of the season. Between December and February a skeleton team of 30 remains. In Korf, the modern, comfortable KGD office building contrasts sharply with the surrounding homes. Company officials gave a technical presentation to the AMA group after the visit to the mine sites.

Acoustic waves used for settling

The highlight came at the end, when KGD introduced marine scientist Sergei Bakharev, who has developed an experimental system of acoustic devices for use at the mine's settlement ponds.

The devices are placed on the surface of the pond and under the water, and under the impact of carefully timed acoustic waves, the clay and silt particles suspended in the pond waters concentrate into larger groups. No chemicals are involved in the process. "Tiny particles of clay are most dangerous for salmon eggs because they cover the fish eggs and gills," Bakharev said. "We connect these tiny particles to larger particles and they settle to the bottom." Birds can safely land on the settlement ponds, according to Bakharev.

The platinum placer mine is the first place in the country where this experiment is being conducted. The Alaskans were excited not only because of the implications for mines, but also the possibility of attracting or deterring fish with the acoustic waves - specifically, fisheries management.

KGD preferred to emphasize the company's concern for the environment. "All our environmental activities are focused on the preservation of salmon," said Venyamin Zaitsev, one of the company's senior geologists. "Before any exploration or mining can take place we approve the boundaries and arrange public hearings. We listen to people's opinions and take them into account, and strictly abide by the boundaries."

KGD's operations can vie with the Amur Artel's Kondyor deposit in the Russian Far East's Khabarovsk region for the title of world's largest platinum placer mine. Both mines have consistently produced about 3 metric tons of platinum annually. Production from the once-rich Urals deposits has dwindled in recent years, but may increase in the future if companies decide to go for the finer-grained platinum that remains there.

The various taxes applied to Russian mining companies are rather high, but a proportion of the 6.5-percent flat rate that is applied to platinum eventually returns to KGD. Out of this tax, 40 percent goes to the Russian federal budget and 60 percent goes to the Koryakia budget. The Koryak legislature gives some of this - up to $1 million per year - to KGD to finance exploration. KGD's total exploration budget for this year is $3.5 million.

The AMA visit to Russia could not have been organized without the expertise of Tom Bundtzen, a Fairbanks geologist who has developed numerous contacts in the Russian Far East since his first visit in 1989. Last year the AMA toured Canadian diamond mines, and another spectacular destination is being sought for next year - offers welcome.