The landforms associated with industrial placer gold mining in Siberia

Abstract

Industrial placer gold mining creates specific montane relief shapes. The character of these landforms is influenced by the mining technology used, the management of the site and mining area, the organization of the work and the subsequent measures after the termination of mining. Available classifications of known landforms can also be partially applied to shapes created during placer gold mining. Field research was conducted on gold-bearing fields in the upper courses of the Indigirka and Kolyma rivers. Drawn and photographic documentation of sample landforms was obtained, and their dimensions were ascertained, or their genesis was observed. The landforms found often differ in character and size from shapes known from other raw material mining and industrial gold panning sites. The mining landforms created during the industrial panning of gold in Siberia are documented by drawings according to the facts found during the field research. The text presents their basic differences from the hitherto known landforms.