Exploration for ore reserves at Kirjavalakhti area in the Sortavala District is carried out by Tsentralnoye Geological Production Association of Rosgeo company. Specialists from the Mineral Resources Department of the Institute of Geology KarRC RAS work together with colleagues from Moscow to study and document the boreholes.

– As the demand for natural graphite in the global economy of minerals is growing, identification of promising deposits of high quality graphite is becoming highly relevant," says Head of Department, Dr. Sci. in Geology and Mineralogy Vladimir Shchiptsov.

According to the scientist, the "pencil" mineral of the past is now being reborn due to the high demand for spherical graphite and natural anodes, turning into a 21st century industrial mineral.

Graphite has high electrical conductivity, polarizability and reduced thermal conductivity. These qualities make it a versatile material for high-tech applications. Graphite is a key component of refractory equipment used in the production of steel, high-capacity anodes for lithium-ion batteries, a source of graphene. In combination with cobalt and lithium, graphite is used to create batteries for electric cars, which is the reason for the surge of interest in this mineral in recent years.

Vladimir Shchiptsov prepared an overview of graphite ore districts of the Baltic Shield, including those in Norway, Sweden, and Finland. The expert claims that according to some criteria the territory of Fennoscandia can be regarded as the main mineral resource base for the European Union in this respect. The scientist also notes that the potential of the eastern part of the Fennoscandinavian Shield - the Karelian-Kola region - must not be overlooked.

Thus, crystalline graphite occurrences in the Ladoga area have been known since the 18th century. Graphite quarries were concentrated near Sortavala and Pitkäranta. For example, the Kimamäki graphite occurrence was situated 13 km away from Sortavala. In some years up to 20-30 tons of graphite-bearing slates were quarried there: "Goldsmiths willingly bought them in St. Petersburg to make melting pots, factory owners - to cover tar paper roofing, and Finnish industrialists - to make firebricks".

In the second half of the 20th century, graphite occurrences were discovered in the Ladoga mobile zone and the North Karelian formation. In the 1990s, scientists from the Institute of Geology KarRC RAS actively participated in a project of the Karelian Integrated Geological Survey Expedition for the study of the Ihala ore field. This includes, in particular, the Ihala deposit (Ihala III) and several occurrences of easily-to-enrich ores with flake graphite. For various reasons, the exploration of the deposit has not been completed, but scientists estimate its reserves of the mineral to be over 20 million tons.


Vesti Karelia program story about the activities at Kirjavalahti area in the Ladoga area

The methods widely used in the studies of flake graphite include electron microscopy SEM, X-ray diffractometry XRD, Raman spectroscopy and others, which makes it possible to assess graphite to ensure it meets higher quality requirements.

– Karelian graphite is ranked high. We possess raw material reserves of this mineral. In the Ladoga area, for example, there are about 30 sites that can be evaluated. The Kirjavalahti ore field includes 3 potential occurrences, the Ihala area has 11 deposits and occurrences. Karelia also harbors objects promising for graphite, such as the Hizovaara structure in the north and the paragneissic complexes of the Belomorian mobile belt in the Chupa area. Due to the growing demand for graphite, it would be important to assess the entire Karelian-Kola Province, - Vladimir Shchiptsov summarized.