503 
on the northeastern and western coasts of Kamchatka. In Kamchatka, 
Sakhalin, and the Kurles there are large reserves of titaniferous mag- 
netite beach sand deposits (titanium and iron ore) considered suffi- 
cient to warrant the foundation of a metallurgical complex utilizing 
local sources of power, where possible, such as tidal and geothermal. 
As additional justification for locating a metallurgical complex in this 
area, Soviet analysts indicate that by the time the underwater mineral 
bearing sand deposits are exhausted down to a depth of 20 meters, 
‘“‘there is no doubt that techniques will have been evolved for raising 
raw materials (manganese nodules) for the production of iron, copper, 
cobalt, etc., from the bed of the Pacific Ocean.”’® 
Underwater alluvial deposits of gold have been discovered in Tinkan 
Bay (the deposit is about two kilometers across) and of tin ore in 
the area of Khuntazeyev and Sayaukhu Bays and other bays in the 
Sea of Japan.’ Deposits of cassiterite (tin ore) in the Sea of Japan 
extend along the coast in three bands: one along the beach and 
the other two on the shelf, the first at depths of 5 to 7 meters, 
the second at depths of 15 to 17 meters. In addition, deposits of 
phosphorites have been found on the coastal shelf of the Sea of 
Japan. Sands containing a large percentage of rare metals and lying 
at a depth of 40 meters have been found in the Kurile Islands, on 
the bottom of Prostor Gulf near the island of Iturup. 
Rich placer deposits of cassiterite lie on the bottom of Vankina 
Bay on the Lapteve Sea in the Arctic Ocean where the barge Gornyak 
is being used in the extraction of this ore. This barge, which has 
ore-concentrating equipment and a huge crane capable of lifting 
multi-ton trucks, is part of a flotilla of vessels frozen into 2 meters 
of ice to form a year round mining complex. In addition to the 
Gornyak, this motionless fleet includes two steamers, a tanker, a float- 
ing warehouse, the small boat Sever, and the Malyutka described 
as a submarine hydraulic dredger. One of the steamers, Petrozavodsk, 
formerly provided European ocean passenger service for several dozen 
years. The tanker Mordovshchikov holds fuel for the tractors, all- 
terrain vehicles and trucks and the concentrating plant’s diesel engines. 
While the first mining operation in the Arctic Ocean was in place 
and occupied for the winter, 1974-75, mineral recovery shut down 
in the fall of 1974 and was not scheduled to begin again until spring. 
The neighboring Selyakhskaya Bay, the Cape Svyatoy Nos area, the 
Proliv Dmitriya Lapteva Strait, and the southern part of Bol’shoy 
Lyakhovskiy Island are also rich in tin. 
The Soviets have determined the following minimum content of 
metals and minerals for profitable recovery offshore: (a) tin in non- 
freezing areas of the sea, 100 grams per ton of sand, and in freezing 
areas, 200 to 300 grams; (b) iron in magnetite and titano-magnetite 
placer deposits, 10 percent (c) conventional ilmenite-rutile-zircon 
placer deposits, 35 grams per cubic meter of sand. Using the above 
grade limits, the following metals and minerals could be profitably 
recovered from the U.S.S.R.’s continental shelves: ilmenite, rutile, 
zircon, titano-magnetite and magnetite, cassiterite, wolframite, gold, 
diamonds, phosphorite, and other useful minerals. 
§ Vasilchikov, N. V. Gornyi Zhurnal, n. 9, 1974, p. 10. English translation in Mining Magazine, 
January 1975, pp. 75-76. 
7 Mikhailov, op. cit.,, p. 108. 
