Exploring The Majestic Kondyor Massif: Unveiling The Geological Wonders Of Eastern Siberia

The Kondyor Massif is a perfectly circular geological formation in Eastern Siberia, Russia, roughly 600 km west-to-southwest of Okhotsk, or some 570 km south-east of Yakutsk. From space it looks like an impact crater or the caldera of an extinct volcano, but Kondyor Massif is neither. It is what geologists refer to as an “intrusion”.

An intrusion forms when molten magma of igneous rock crystallizes below the surface of the earth, and is slowly pushed up through the earth’s mantle, a process that can take millions of years. As the rock slowly cools into a solid, the different parts of the magma crystallize into minerals. Because the magma solidify underground before they reach the surface of the crust, they are also called “plutons”, in honor of the Roman god Pluto, the king of the underworld.

Kondyor Massif is about 10 kilometers in diameter with ridges reaching to an height up to 600 meters. A small river, fed by rainwater collecting within the raised rim flows out of the massif through a cut in the rim. Kondyor Massif is unique not just because of its unusual structure, but for the mineral veins within it – gold, silver, platinum and lots of other rare minerals.

Kondyor Massif is an important source of platinum and is the site of a massive platinum mine. Mining started here in 1984, and till 2011 the Kondyor mine has produced about 85 tons of platinum. Another remarkable and very unusual mineralogical feature of the deposit is the presence of coarse crystals of platinum-iron alloy, coated with gold. The Kondor Massif even has its own special mineral known as Konderite, a mixture of copper, platinum, rhodium, lead, and sulfur.

Mining sands for platinum near Kondyor Massif.

Workers’ settlement near the mine.

Related Posts

Kevin Hart will be the on-court emcee for Sunday’s NBA All-Star tournament in San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Kevin Hart will be on the court at the NBA All-Star Game. The comedian and actor will be the master of ceremonies for the All-Star Game,…

Read more

Diminutive Kevin Hart’s teenage son towers over him in vacation photos

Kevin Hart’s son has apparently been going through a growth spurt and the actor is just catching on. The funny man, 45, who is vacationing with his family in an unknown, exotic…

Read more

Selena Gomez mysteriously unfollows best friend Theresa Marie after fans ‘spot the singer’s pal out for dinner with fiancé Benny Blanco’

Selena Gomez has mysteriously unfollowed her best friend Theresa Marie on Instagram.  An eagle-eyed fan took to Twitter as they pointed out that Theresa was missing from the singer’s followers, however she still…

Read more

Selena Gomez’s relationship with Benny Blanco under fire after fans spot ‘desperate’ behavior

When you’re a celebrity it’s difficult to say anything about your relationship without getting intense backlash from the public. And almost no other high-profile couple knows this better than Selena Gomez and Benny…

Read more

Lil Wayne reopens Super Bowl wound and vows to turn down any offers after Kendrick Lamar snub

Lil Wayne has promised to never do the Super Bowl halftime show after the NFL passed him over for Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans. Wayne, a native of the Louisiana city, believed he would be given…

Read more

No ceilings, just touchdowns! Rock the new Lil Wayne x Mitchell & Ness NFL collab all season long

If you’ve ever rocked out to Lil Wayne, you probably know the iconic lyric ‘I gave birth to your style,’ and that couldn’t be truer with the rapper’s new exclusive…

Read more

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *