Scientific and technological principles of the complex use of serpentinite of the Karmaninskoe deposit

Despite its widespread magnesium-containing deposits, Uzbekistan is still importing the major part of magnesium-containing raw materials used. In a market economy, it is extremely urgent for Uzbekistan to establish the supply of magnesium compounds to meet the demand of the domestic market using the reserves of its local deposits. The composition and properties of serpentinites of the Karmaninskoe deposit were studied using a set of physicochemical analysismethods. It has been established for the first time that the main rock-forming minerals for these serpentinites are antigorite (60 %), nepouite (22 %), talc (15 %), and additional franklinite (2 %), magnesite, and magnetite (an ore mineral), with microinclusions of chromite (0.5–1 %). The sample analysis results indicate that calcination of these minerals causes the separation of impurities with the exhaust gases. It has been shown that the mass fraction of magnesium oxide in the initial serpentinites was approximately 30 %. Their solubility was established depending on the particle size and properties of the solvents used. It has been found that acid treatment may be effectively used to decompose the magnesium-silicate bonds in those samples that had been previously considered thermally stable even at 800 °C. The studies of serpentinites of the Karmaninskoe deposit have therefore confirmed their applicability not only in the original form for making heat-resistant ceramics and heat-insulating building materials, but also as a raw material for obtaining magnesium chlorate, used as a defoliant for pre-harvesting removal of cotton leaves in mechanized cotton harvesting.

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