ORE-BEARING CAPACITY OF THE SEREDNIA SECTION OF THE MEZHYRICHNE TITANIUM ORE DEPOSIT

Abstract

The geological structure of the Serednia section of the Mezhyrichne titanium ore deposit includes crystalline basement rocks, their weathering crust, as well as continental and marine deposits of various ages belonging to the Mesozoic and Cenozoic. These comprise Lower Cretaceous continental formations of the Irshansk Suite, Upper Cretaceous coastal-marine deposits of the Moshno-Rudnyanska Suite, and glacial, fluvioglacial, and alluvial formations of the Quaternary system. The useful mineral of the Serednia section is ilmenite, significant concentrations of which have been identified in the weathering crust of crystalline basement rocks, as well as in continental and coastal-marine Cretaceous deposits. The maximum ilmenite content in rocks is as follows (kg/m³): in the weathering crust – 265.6; in formations of the Irshansk Suite, particularly in deluvial gravel-pebble sandy kaolins – 461.6, in alluvial redeposited kaolins – 426.9, in alluvial polymictic sands – 356.7; in the sandy-siliceous horizon of the Moshno-Rudnyanska Suite – 244.6; in glacial formations – 20.2. The productive deposits are represented by continental formations of the Irshansk Suite, formed through erosion and redeposition of the weathering crust, within which erosional paleovalleys developed. Lithologically, the productive deposits are represented by redeposited kaolins, gravel-pebble sandy kaolins, and polymictic kaolinitic sands. Based on borehole coordinates, their descriptions, and sampling results, the spatial distribution of ilmenite content has been studied in the weathering crust, deposits of the Irshansk and Moshno-Rudnyanska Suites, in the productive layer, as well as in overburden rocks. It has been established that the thickness of ilmenite-bearing formations and the average ilmenite content in them, within the weathering crust and Lower Cretaceous continental formations, generally exhibit a mosaic distribution with distinct local zones of elevated values. The direction and strength of correlation relationships between key parameters of ilmenite-bearing formations have been analyzed: basal relief, roof relief, deposit thickness, and average ilmenite content. The obtained results refine the understanding of spatial variability of ore-bearing capacity within stratigraphically diverse and genetically heterogeneous formations of the Serednia section, and emphasize the necessity of detailed investigation of the ore-bearing potential of the weathering crust within the area.