Ecological Systems and Devices Annotation << Back THE MINING-TECHNICAL CONDITIONS AND ECOLOGICAL PECULIARITIES OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF ORE DEPOSITS IN PERMAFROST ZONE OF RUSSIA Yu.P. Galchenko, E.D. Yakusheva The development of mineral resources of the North is a problem that has occupied and will continue to occupy an important place in the development of the economy of our country. In this zone the reserves of valuable ores Au, Ag, Pt, Sn, W, Mo, Cu, Zn, Pb, diamonds, rare earths, optical quartz, coal, iron are concentrated. The results of the analysis of mining and geological conditions of 122 non-ferrous metal deposits show that more than 60 % of ore reserves are concentrated in lowpower deposits up to three meters. There are a number of geological, biological and geographical features that require the search for non-standard technological, environmental, economic and organizational solutions in determining the ways of development of deposits in the cryolithozone. The consequence of the specifi c distribution of deposits on the territory called «permafrost zone» is a signifi cant distance of each of them from the Railways, sea or river ports. The process of technogenic destruction of the lithosphere in obtaining the necessary minerals generates an extensive system of various impacts on the abiota and biota of ecosystems of natural-territorial complexes, within which mining enterprises are located. Technogenic impacts cause oppression and loss of the most sensitive species, which also disrupts the structural diversity of ecosystems, modifying the combinations of species adapted to self-support in sustainable communities. As a result of the use of the most common methods of anthropogenic invasion of the lithosphere, in order to extract mineral resources, its huge areas are moving into a new quality state. There are extensive deformation zones affecting the mined rock mass up to the earth’s surface. The secondary environmental impact of waste rock dumps in underground mining is manifested in the continued chemical pollution of the environment after the end of mining due to natural leaching of chemically active minerals (most often sulfides or chlorides). The time of existence of this technogenic factor is limited and is determined in each case by the mineral composition of rocks and their properties. It is possible to increase the level of production, to preserve the unique nature of the North while reducing unprofi table enterprises in the market conditions only through the introduction of development systems that can signifi cantly reduce losses and dilution of valuable ores in their production while increasing the productivity of enterprises and environmental safety of the geotechnologies used in General. These requirements can be met only on the basis of geotechnologies that provide for maximum utilization of solid waste of mining and processing industry in the developed space in combination with the use of the cryolithozone temperature resource. Keywords: resources of the North; ore deposits; analysis; conditions of development; environmental features; biota; geotechnologies; ecotons; self-recovery of phytocenosis. DOI: 10.25791/esip.10.2018.211 Contacts: E-mail: schtrek33@mail.ru, E-mail: yakusheva-ed@mail.ru Pp. 48-54.