XPLORE GLOBAL geologists Dr James Barnet and Benedikt Steiner bring the geology and resource potential of one of Earth’s final remaining frontiers, remote East Siberia, to the attention of European geologists and resource prospectors with two review papers published in January 2021 in Geology Today.
These review papers represent the products of a comprehensive review of publically available literature over the past 12 years, with most of this literature published in obscure Russian publications, in Russian language, and challenging to obtain in the UK. Although geological investigations in this region have long been hampered by thick permafrost, a lack of infrastructure, vast tracts of barren uninhabited rough terrain, and political challenges, the rocks in this region provide evidence of a diverse and complicated geological history spanning >1.6 billion years.
Such a varied geological history has resulted in the formation of significant associated economic precious metal, industrial mineral and hydrocarbon resources across the “Siberian Platform” and adjacent orogenic ranges, although these are largely underexplored and underexploited. However, the development of modern mining and hydrocarbon exploration methods, increasing efficiency at a lower cost, could elevate the Siberian Platform to the forefront of mineral and hydrocarbon exploration in the future.
The full journal issues can be accessed here: Geology Today: Vol 37, No 1 (wiley.com)
For the PDF version of the accepted manuscript, please click the article titles below.
References:
Barnet, J.S.K. and Steiner, B.M. 2021. Unravelling the complex geological evolution of one of Earth’s final remaining frontiers: East Siberia. Geology Today, 37(1), 13–18.
Steiner, B.M. and Barnet, J.S.K. 2021. Resource potential of one of Earth’s final remaining frontiers: the Siberian Platform. Geology Today, 37(1), 19–23.