Everyone who has had the opportunity to see the underground mines of the Amur Region cannot help but to admire them. This region can boast more than fifty different kinds of minerals and raw materials. These mineral deposits provide a reliable source for the successful development of the territory's energy, metal, chemical, and construction industries.
Specialists believe that gold is the most important resource of the Amur region. The Amur region's gold flake resources are unequaled in Russia. Many mines are located in developed areas and do not require huge amounts of capital. The mining of reef gold guarantees a brilliant prospect. The northern part of the region is the most rich in gold. Already in the near future there is the possibility to begin extracting the noble metals from the deposits located in the basins of the Malomyr and Berezitovy Streams. Other deposits are located in the Tynda area following along the Baikal-Amur railway line, and also near the old Kirov mine, which is forty five kilometers from the Bolshoy Never station of the Trans-Siberian railway.
The region has a very large source of coal and brown coal. The coal is 2.2 to 2.8 times cheaper than in the neighboring Russian regions of Khabarovsk, Vladivostok and Yakutsk. Today, more than ninety well known black coal deposits exist. The deposit that provides the best prospects for exploitation is in Ogodja, which is located in the Baikal-Amur railway zone. According to research, the deposit has more than one billion tons of precious energy sources. The coal of the Ogodja region is of very high quality and usefulness, which is obtained using the "open method" of mining. Detailed investigation of six brown coal deposits revealed 3.3 billion tons. Three of these deposits, located in Raichikhinsk, Arkhara-Boguchan, and Erkovtsi areas are actively exploited. Among other things of practical interest is the exploitation of deposits which are located fifty kilometers north-west of Svobodny. The amount of coal contained there has been estimated at 1,740 million tons. Deposited in this region is coal that is easily formed into bricks and can be used for the production of high quality chemical products.
There is great potential for the development of the ore deposits located near the Garr River. It's resources have been estimated at 389 million tons and the average iron content of the ore is estimated at 37.1 percent. The possibility of using ore for the production of black metal is being studied.
In the north-west of the region, fifteen kilometers from the railway, the prospects are open for titanium in the Bolshoy Sayim deposit. This titanium ore is made up of 8.3 to 9.0 percent titanium peroxide. From this metal it is possible to extract vanadium, iron and apatite.
One has every reason to assume that the reservoirs contain a large amount of oil and gas. Scientists have much hope for the possibilities presented by the extensive plains both at the lower end of the Zeya and Bureya rivers and at the Upper Zeya Depression It has been agreed that the Zeya-Bureya cavities contain 137 to 140 million tons of fuel. Scientists believe that this cavity is a part of a region rich in oil and gas, a region which is also occupied by China, who actively exploits the resources.
Confidence in the promising future for the oil industry inspires hope. For, this information shows that the cavities meet with the well-known oil-gas continental shelf in the Okhotsk Sea. Now, drilling and excavation has already begun.
In the area, deposits for building materials such as: clay, sand, gravel, limestone, quartz, and precious and semi-precious stones can be found everywhere. The use of chemical raw material for meat production, along with the production of minerals for dyes and other products brings outstanding results. The prospects for the exploitation of kaolin and zeolite is also very promising.
Most of the region has yet to be studied, but today scientists have already discovered platinum, tungsten, molybdenum, and other elements that are rarely found. The time has come for these hidden treasures to serve the people.