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Geology of mineral resources

Sand and gravel, dolomite, clay, gypsum, limestone, quartz sand, peat, and other mineral deposits are valuable resources of sedimentary rock succession of Latvia. Considerable amounts of these resources are present in Latvia, but they need to be used rationally and sustainably. Geologists of the University of Latvia for decades have tradition to carry out mineral research in cooperation with material science specialists and companies of mineral mining and building material manufacturing. These traditions are continued by the scientific staff and students of the Geology Department. The research has been focused on the link between the dolomite structure and mechanical strength, the influence of the Devonian and Jurassic climate on the conditions of quartz sand formation, the impact of ancient underwater slump processes and glacial deformations on the quality of the Devonian clays. Research provides new knowledge about the sedimentary environments of valuable deposits, their diagenetic changes, the distribution of various types of minerals, useful and non-useful compounds. Geophysical methods are successfully used in the research of peat deposits. The deeply embedded crystalline basement of Latvia contains rich iron ores and it is prospective to other ore resources, that have been studied very incompletely yet. Newly established studies of the basement involve geophysical methods and core analyses of previous wells. The studies of the basement are important in the context of critical resources in the European Union. In research and student training geologists of the University of Latvia cooperate with the Faculty of Chemistry of the University of Latvia, Faculty of Material Science and Applied Chemistry of the Riga Technical university, SIA "Lode", SIA "Knauf", SIA "Schwenk Latvija", SIA "Saulkalne S", SIA "DSG Karjeri" and other companies. The staff of the Department of the University of Latvia are the authors of monographs on mineral resources of Latvia.

Important publications

Rundāns, M., Sperberga, I., Sedmale, G., Stinkulis, G. 2013. Effect of sintering process and additives on the properties of cordierite based ceramics. IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering, 47, 012012.

Segliņš, V., Stinkule, A., Stinkulis, Ģ. 2013. Derīgie izrakteņi Latvijā. LU Akadēmiskais apgāds, 184 lpp.

Sperberga, I., Sedmale, G., Stinkulis, G., Zeila, K., Ulme, D. 2011. Comparative study of illite clay and illite-based geopolymer products. IOP Conf. Series: Materials Science and Engineering, Vol. 18, 222027.

Stinkule, A., Stinkulis, Ģ. 2015. Latvijas devona dolomīti. Daugavpils Universitātes Akadēmiskais apgāds „Saule“, 80 lpp.

Stinkule, A., Stinkulis, Ģ. 2017. Latvijas kvarca smiltis. LU Akadēmiskais apgāds, 77 lpp.

           
Master's students of geology study the distribution of useful components and non-useful admixtures in the Jurassic quartz sand in vicinity of Dzelda.
Description of the geological succession of dolomites in the Kalnciems quarry.
Students and researchers of the Department of Geology describe and measure the shape and structure of yellow-gray very fine-grained clay lenticular bodies in the Liepa clay deposit.
The quality of dolomites is largely determined by the strength of contacts among the dolomite crystals. This parameter can be well-recognised and described in polished specimens and thin sections.
A rare mineral, celestite, has grown among the gypsum crystals in the Devonian fibrous gypsum layers. Such fine details of mineral structure and composition can be studied, measured and photographed in thin-sections –rock films, only 0.02-0.03 mm thick, glued to glass plates. Thin-sections are produced in the Rocks Research Laboratory of the Faculty of Geography and Earth Sciences, University of Latvia.