Secondary kaolins of the devon of THE Voronezh anteclise by the example of the kozynka deposit

Abstract

Secondary kaolins are developed in the Upper Devonian sediments formed due to erosion of the weathering crust on Precambrian crystalline rocks of the southern part of the Voronezh anteclise. Here, in the erosion-tectonic depression, the Mamon sand-kaolinic stratum (PCT) was formed, in which the kaolins are interbedded with quartz, including kaolin, sand, i.e. it is a complex mineral raw materials. The thickness is developed on the territory of about 28,000 km2, has a capacity from 10 to the first hundred meters. On the river valleys, it lies near the surface of the day, on the seaweeds, the thickness of the overlapping rocks reaches 200 m. The PKT is composed of rocks of continental, transitional and marine groups of facies. The former are proluvial-deluvial, proluvial, alluvial formations of various granulo-metric composition, rapidly changing both in plan and in section, and containing layers of secondary kaolins. Transitional and marine sediments appear in the eastern part of the field of development of the sequence and contain organogenic limestones. The sandy part of the cut contains glass, molding, building materials. If clay impurities are present, enriched kaolin can be obtained. With a shallow bedding of the strata, it can be developed in an open way, in cases of high stripping capacity – with a hydro-well. According to the composition of rocks, their thicknesses, depths of occurrence, the Western, Central and Eastern sections are identified. The greatest prospects for finding deposits are associated with the Central site, where the saturation of kaolins is greatest, and in river valleys they lie near the surface of the day. The authors singled out the Mamon ore zone for the development of ceramic clays.