STRUCTURAL AND LITHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF THE ILMENITE-BEARING STRATA OF THE KATERYNIVSKE DEPOSIT

Abstract

The article presents the general geological characteristics of the Katerynivske ilmenite deposit, which is located within the Volyn titanium region (north-eastern part of the Ukrainian shield). With the use of modern means of information support, the ore characteristics of the Katerynivske deposit were investigated. During the geological development of the territory, a spatially combined ore-bearing system was formed within the boundaries of the Katerynivske deposit, which is composed of formations of different ages and genetics and collectively has a significant ore-bearing potential. In the structure of the productive deposit, eluvial and fluvial terrigenous formations make up about 50%. In the composition of fluvial terrigenous formations, Mesozoic-Cenozoic Lower Cretaceous-Miocene formations make up 15%; Miocene-Pliocene – no more than 1%; Neogene-Lower Quaternary alluvial – 60%, alluvial-lacustrine – about 2%; breeds of lower-middle Quaternary age – 2%; mid-Quaternary subtidal sands – 25% of their volume. In the weathering crust, the ilmenite content is 16.7 – 376 kg/m³; only in some areas with the most uniform content of ilmenite, its average content is about 80 kg/ m3. The distribution of the average content of ilmenite in the weathering crust is 16.7 – 376 kg/m³, in the ore layer of the sedimentary part of the lateral deposit – 2.6 – 640.3 kg/m3 (average – 63.7 kg/m3). In addition to ilmenite, the following minerals are present in small quantities: leucoxene, limonite, apatite, marcasite, titano-magnetite, siderite, garnets, staurolite, rutile, zircon, tourmaline, marcasite.Sands with a conditional content of ilmenite both in section and in the area of the deposit are characterized by significant heterogeneity.These are fine-medium-grained, often clayey (clay component content 6.4 – 30%, sometimes up to 50%). Ilmenite is fine-medium- grained: 56% of its grains have a size of 0.8 – 0.14 mm, 12 – 18% – more than 0.071 mm, 1.0 – 2.6% less than 0.071 mm.