Mining Conditions at Man-Made Gold Placers in Yakutia’s Arctic Zone

The article focuses on placer gold mining as an important factor of social and economic development in the Far Eastern Arctic Zone of Russia. The structure of unmined placer reserves and man-made placers in the permafrost area is examined as these objects are an important source of minerals in the region. The authors point at the expediency of stage-wise evaluation of geological and geotechnical potential of the unmined and man-made placer reserves to develop a resource-saving technology for mining identified clusters. The authors also discuss the approaches applicable in additional exploration and production management at such placers to transfer them to a category of the investment-attractive mineral sources. The database of the mining-altered areas in the Ust-Yana district is collected, the maps of such areas are drawn, and the mining conditions at some of the specified placers are discussed.