Academicians and corresponding members of the RAS, heads of companies in the mineral sector, as well as professors, teachers, and students of specialized universities, took part in a meeting of the oldest of the existing mineralogical societies in the world.
It is no coincidence that the venue of the conference, which took place from 5 to 8 October, was Mining University. Back in 1869, the headquarters of the RMI, at the initiative of its President, Grand Duke Nikolai Romanovsky, Duke of Leuchtenberg, and the director of the Mining Institute, Gregory Helmersen, were moved to the building of this institution of higher learning. All the geological collections gathered by that time by the members of the organization - Russian and foreign scientists of international renown - were also moved there.
Today, the Mineralogical Society has over 1200 full members; its 17 scientific commissions are engaged in active studies, and more than 40 conferences a year are organized under its auspices. But, of course, the main event is the general congress of delegates. In 2021, representatives of 16 regional branches, from Petrozavodsk to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, came to participate in it.
The extensive scientific program included a wide range of issues facing the Earth sciences, including environmental management and preservation of the diversity of monuments of the historical heritage of mankind. Among the main areas of interest are mineralogy and conditions of formation of deposits of strategic mineral raw materials; problems of applied (technological and environmental) mineralogy and geochemistry; minerals as indicators of petro- and ore genesis and new methods of their identification; modern research in the field of study of gemstone and gemology.
“Mineralogy lies at the heart of mineral mapping, prediction, prospecting, and exploration. In today’s changing research priorities, it continues to be at the center of the geological science cycle. It is also relevant in solving problems of mineral resource development, in evaluating the quality of raw materials, and in predicting new types of minerals. Nevertheless, we need to expand the range of scientific problems that fall within the sphere of public interest,” said at the opening ceremony of the forum Yuri Marin, RMI President, corresponding member of the RAS, professor at Mining University.
He drew attention to the fact that many problems of nanotechnology are to a large extent mineralogical problems as well. The latest achievements in solid-state physics are specialized research in nanoscale formations with new structures and with new properties. In addition, science becomes essential also due to the increasing acuteness of environmental problems. In particular, the development of recommendations on the use of various sorbents that absorb and neutralize toxins in the environment is in great demand today.
The solemn part of the 13th Congress of the Mineralogical Society ended with the presentation of diplomas to the winners of the 2020 contests as well as to the discoverers. In the last 5 years, 454 minerals were discovered in the world, 149 of which were discovered by domestic researchers (32.8%), which is a truly outstanding result.
In addition to the sessions, the congress discussed plans for the organization’s activities in the coming years, held regular elections of the President, the Academic Council, and the Auditing Committee. Delegates who were not able to participate in the congress in person were provided with the opportunity to observe it online. For this purpose, a live broadcast was organized, which was joined by about half a thousand people.