Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment Protection in the Sakhalin Region, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Russia:

A. V. Romanov, Minister
A. S. Chibisov, First Deputy Minister

Technical Oil and Gas Institute, Sakhalin State University, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Russia:
V. A. Мelkiy, Director, Head of the Chair of Geology and Oil and Gas Technology, Doctor of Technical Sciences, vamelkiy@mail.ru
A. A. Verkhoturov, Senior Lecturer, Chair of Geology and Oil and Gas Technology

Mineral resources are the framework for production agglomeration with a view to satisfying material needs of the local population. In the Sakhalin Region, more than 35 types of minerals are known and under mining. In the Island of Sakhalin, out 80 discovered hydrocarbon deposits, the majority is located in the northwest and 16 deposits occur on the Sea of Okhotsk shelf. Since the launch of hydrocarbon production on the Sakhalin shelf 16 years ago, the gross regional product per capita has grown 80 times. By the beginning of 2016, balance coal reserves are registered in 27 fi elds. Coal production rate increasingly grows. Coal production output in 2016 made 6.96 Mt, which is the absolute maximum for the whole history of the industry. Commercial reserves of peat are concentrated in the Islands of Sakhalin, Kunashir and Zeleny. The overall area of peat spread is estimated as 387.6 thou ha. Regarding metals, the Sakhalin Region produces gold. The balance sheet for gold in the Sakhalin Region contains 19 placers. Ferrous metals occur in the shore and underwater coastal placers at the Kuril Islands. The reason for rare metal exploration activities was the discovery of the unique germanium and rhenium mineralization in the Sakhalin Region. Geological exploration of (Sn, Mo), Re, In, Ge may yield positive results in the Kuril Islands. Improvement of mineral processing and industrial conversion technologies will allow for profitable mining and beneficiation of previously neglected minerals in the Sakhalin Region in the nearest future.

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