History of the First Ore Prospecting Expedition of 1491 in the Arctic Zone of the Russian State

Abstract

In the Middle Ages, the Russian state, formed around Moscow, was in dire need of metals. However, only comparatively poor quality swamp iron was mined on the territory of the Russian principalities. There were no deposits of copper, silver, gold, or any other nonferrous metals, and all these metals had to be purchased abroad, paying mainly in furs. At the same time, the supply of metals was constantly threat-ened by bans from Western countries. In the 15th century, during the reign of Ivan III, under the influence and with the active help of his wife Sophia Palaeologue, the Muscovite state was strengthened and developed, which required more and more financial resources. The development of artillery created a need for large quantities of copper. There was an urgent need for own metal deposits, the search for which began in the vast northern Novgorod lands, annexed to the Moscow state. In 1491, the first state ore prospecting expedition was sent to the Pechora River basin, with the participation of ore explorers from Western Europe, which discovered copper and silver ores on the Tsilma River. The Tsilemskoye deposit was the first developed ore deposit in the history of the Russian state. The first copper smelter was built here. Therefore, 1491 is considered to be the beginning of the mining and metallurgical industry in the Russian state. This expedition marked the beginning of prospecting, exploration and mining in the newly annexed lands of the Urals and Siberia, where new ore deposits were later found, which served to create the mineral resource base of Russia.

Keywords

• arctic zone
• non-ferrous metals
• ivan iii
• ore prospecting expedition
• tsilemskoye deposit