"Forbidden zone" - so read the signs installed at the entrance to the roads leading to the most picturesque place in the Khabarovsk Territory - the Konder mountain range. The ban was established by the authorities of the region, since strategic, large-scale reserves of platinum and platinoids are located on the territory of the ridge.
Conder is located near the settlements of the Ayano-Maisky district of the Khabarovsk Territory. The nearest village of Dzhigda is only 75 km away, the village of Nelkan is 100 km away from the facility. But only geologists, miners and workers who extract platinum ore from mines located on the territory of the ring-shaped mountain are allowed to visit the massif.
Until the early 2000s, the volcanically active area was considered inaccessible; magmatic intrusions often occurred here, which is why the area adjacent to the massif is dotted with hilly formations.
After the discovery of the world's largest deposit of platinum and an endemic mineral called conderite, work began here on the laying of unloading roads, along which ore is being transported to this day. And in 2014, in order to service the field, the Urgalan airport was built near Konder. But this did not make the picturesque area accessible to tourists; air traffic is open only to scientists and workers.
The massif is formed by alkaline-ultrabasic rocks, which rose from the bowels of the earth in a molten state and solidified in the upper layers. The incandescent mass flowed out in rather calm streams, so the clay layers were lifted, as a result of which a low round ridge was formed.
The diameter of the geological object on the outside is about 8 km. The height ranges from 1.2 to 1.4 km. In the north of the ring mountain there is a rupture of the rim. Through it, the Konder River flows from the central core, which is a tributary of the Uorgalan.
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The convex edging has diorite inclusions; the depressed central core is lined with a layer of dunite. There are large numbers of gabbroids, kosvites, pegmatites, and cabronatites. All types of mineral deposits have fairly well-defined boundaries. Therefore, the extraction and distribution of rocks occurring in the Konder is very efficient.
This makes the mountain range a "gold mine" for the mining industry. Now the amur miners' artel is engaged in the development. There is no talk of finishing work at the field yet.
Perhaps someday the ore reserves will run out, the mountain will become a popular landmark in Russia, if its shape is not changed and its integrity is broken.