THE QUATERNARY PERIGLACIAL ALLUVIUM OF THE KAMA RIVER BASIN AS A POLYCOMPONENT RAW MATERIAL (SAND AND GRAVEL, GOLD, PGE, DIAMONDS

Quaternary alluvium of the Kama drainage basin is a multi-component mineral deposit that contains construction materials (sands and gravels) and accessory components, such as gold, diamonds, platinum. During the Quaternary the region formed a part of a vast periglacial zone. It was distinguished by a number of special features, including a specific structural position (close to the platform/folded mountains boundary); differentiated neotectonic movements of considerable range complicated by salt tectonics; highly diversified composition of source rocks; limited influence of the main centers of ice spreading. By the Quaternary, valleys of the Kama and its tributaries were already fully developed geomorphic systems with a series and Neogene terraces. Most of the rivers were not directly fed on glacial meltwater. The periglacial alluvium of the Kama is well sorted and represents a valuable construction material. Besides, it contains gold, platinum and precious minerals which were supplied to the Quaternary fluvial deposits through a series of intermediate hosts – terrigenous rocks of Tertiary and Mesozoic age. Another source of gold and platinum could be fault zones attributable to at the Meso-Cenozoic stage of tectonic and magmatic processes reactivation on the East European Plain. The most efficient way to develop fluvial sand and gravel deposits in the Kama drainage basin is to recover separately gravel and sand (specially sorted), and then - to extract collective concentrate of precious minerals (gold, platinum and other placer-forming components).