Preface.

Geographic scheme of the Dalnegorsk Didtrict

Dalnegorsk is familiar to practically any mineral collector. Dalnegorsk, or former Tetyukhe, ore district is located in Primorie, Russian Far East. It is known for more than one hundred years and deserved a glory, first of all, due to its outstanding collecting minerals. Co-existence of skarn and various boron-rich hydrothermal mineralization and extensive oxidation zone in the ore bodies are principal factors of mineral variety in these deposits. Presence of numerous cavities stimulated growth of the outstanding mineral species. Dalnegorsk is an important source of large perfect crystals and effective druses. It is one of the most principal suppliers of the collection-quality mineral specimens in Russia. This material is abundant, and the share of the high-quality lumps is very significant. The Dalnegorsk deposits produced world's best specimens of ilvaite, datolite, pyrrhotite, and numerous outstanding lumps of galena, sphalerite, arsenopyrite, fluorite, danburite, hedenbergite, and manganaxinite. There were multiple findings of chalcopyrite, aurichalcite, sepiolite, and many other minerals. From time to time, such lumps are being found today. The fairy-tale morphological variety of Dalnegorsk calcite and amazing world of pseudomorphs deserve description in special books...

Main open pit at the Central field of the Borosilikatnoye deposit. Photo: A.Bokov

This book aims to provide a description of the Dalnegorsk deposits to the collectors, and it does not pretend to become a solid fundamental monograph, which deserves to be written in the future. The authors briefly highlighted various aspects of geology, mineralogy, and genesis of the polymetallic and boron deposits. In more detail, they described the most famous minerals of these deposits. This work contains information about particular deposits of the Dalnegorsk ore district, which became famous due to findings of particular minerals. This would be of unquestionable interest to the serious collectors. Significant attention was paid to the richest morphology of the mineral individuals and aggregates and to their relationships because Dalnegorsk is one of the most suitable targets to study the mineral ontogenesis. This issue contains many illustrative photographs of the lumps, which characterize a mineral variety of the Dalnegorsk deposits. Unfortunately, the limited volume of this almanac did not allow to include a wider range of photographic illustrations. If this book answers your possible questions about Dalnegorsk, in general, and its most interesting aspects, in particular, our editorial board would achieve its task.

Dr. Igor V. Pekov, Editor

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