INRTU Siberian School of Geosciences Successfully Completes Gold Exploration in Yakutia’s Oymyakonsky District

The Siberian School of Geosciences (SSG) has successfully finished the field phase of gold exploration in the Oymyakonsky District of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), one of the coldest places in the world. At the project sites the team used technologies developed at SSG under the Priority 2030 federal academic leadership program. Now students and faculty members are processing geological samples. Later, the samples will be sent to the School’s chemical-analytical laboratory.

According to Ivan Goryachev, Head of the Department of Ore Geology, the fieldwork brought together 14 students. Among them were future geologists, geophysicists, and specialists in geophysical information systems and IT.

“We worked according to a technical plan. We conducted lithogeochemical surveys at scales of 1:25,000 and 1:10,000, ran UAV magnetic, radiometric and gamma-spectrometric surveys, did UAV LiDAR scanning, and walked several geological routes. We used technologies the institute had already tested at other sites, like UAV surveying. The samples were sent to the chemical-analytical laboratory. The commissioning company will get ready results, reports and recommendations, and will use them to plan further exploration and development of the deposits,” said Ivan Goryachev.

Third-year geophysics student Savely Masarnovsky shared his impressions of the expedition. He has already done fieldwork in Transbaikal and the Bodaibo district of Irkutsk Region.

“Our team spent two months in Yakutia. What I remember most is how your inner rhythm changes: the day is built around work in the field, and the evening is spent at camp by the fire. We got used to the new routine quickly. For me, this trip was a deep dive into geophysics. It was my first time doing magnetic surveying, and I also got to go on unique geological routes and work with geochemistry – all of it helps you see the full picture of what lies underground. As a geophysicist, I need to understand other exploration methods too. Thanks to the SSG, I have been able to learn my profession from within since my very first days of study. Right now I’m preparing the samples we brought back from Yakutia for analysis. After other expeditions, it was similar: I also sieved lithogeochemical samples and crushed hand specimens on jaw crushers,” said Savely Masarnovsky.

Photos provided by Ivan Goryachev and Savely Masarnovsky