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Tajikistan declares large reserves of ilmenite, monazite and zircon

Business Materials 3 May 2018 12:44 (UTC +04:00)

Baku, Azerbaijan, May 3

By Fikret Dolukhanov – Trend:

Large reserves of monazite, ilmenite and zircon have been discovered in the area of ​​loose titanium manifestation, located in the east of Tajikistan, the press service of the Central Geology Administration under the Government of Tajikistan said on May 3.

According to the statement, preliminary results were obtained by Tajik geologists during prospecting and evaluation work on the Bashgumbez useful minerals area.

The exploration and evaluation work in Bashgumbez, located in the Murgab district of Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region, has been conducted by the Pamir Geo-exploration Expedition (PGE) since 2016.

According to chief geologist of the PGE department Rahim Ramazonov, corresponding work was carried out on this area in 1955, which resulted with the following minerals being declared: monazite - 159.4-239.4 g/m3, zircon - 13.5-138 g/m3 and ilmenite – 115-889 g/m3. About 113,000 tons of monazite resources were estimated.

Ramazanov noted that exploration and evaluation work in the first section of the Bashgumbez titanium area began in 2016, and is to be completed by 2021.

According to chief geologist, the results of the two-year mineralogical analysis show the following content of useful minerals: ilmenite – 43-86 percent (an average of 65.08 percent), monazite – 13-56 percent (an average of 34 percent); zircon – 45-100 percent (an average of 94.15 percent).

“We can make a preliminary conclusion about encouraging results,” he says.

Ramazonov emphasizes that the data obtained at Bashgumbez is preliminary, whereas the final results will be obtained based on results of the exploration and evaluation work.

Ilmenite (titaniferous iron ore) is a valuable ore used for the production of titanium and its derivatives.

Monazite is an ore of rare-earth elements and thorium and is radioactive due to the content of thorium and uranium.

Zircon is a high-quality gem, a natural stone, which is often called the “younger brother” of a diamond for its characteristics. The name of the stone came is dereived from the German Zirkon, which, in turn, has in its origins a Persian “zargun”, which means “golden”, the name given to the stone because of its attractive honey color.

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