Report on the “The present and future of geology, mineralogy and energy resources on the ‘near, yet distant’ Kurils and Kamchatka” Open Seminar
2013/05/18
On May 18, 2013 at the Hokkaido University Museum, an open seminar entitled “The present and future of geology, mineralogy and energy resources on the ‘near, yet distant’ Kurils and Kamchatka” was given. The speaker was Emeritus Professor Hiroharu Matsueda, organizer of the Kamchatka section for this Eighth Museum Exhibition and an original promoter of our Global COE program.
Professor Matsueda explained the distribution and current situation regarding extraction of rare metals and other natural resources in the Kurils and Kamchatka from the mineralogical perspective. He particularly emphasized the circulation of water due to volcanic activity, which precipitates the formation of heavy metal strata and is crucial for the region’s geology. In particular Kamchatka today has almost 30 active volcanoes and operates geothermal power plants, while the investigations of a team from Hokkaido University in the region confirmed the presence and the potential for extraction of deposits of gold, platinum and indium.
Despite the terrible weather, with over 70 people in attendance every seat was full. With this talk, the seminar series held in connection with the Eighth Museum Exhibition on “Unknown Kamchatka and Kuril Islands- Russian images of the borderland” comes to a close. The Exhibition at the Museum will run until the 26 May and is free to view, please pop along and take a look.
Professor Matsueda explained the distribution and current situation regarding extraction of rare metals and other natural resources in the Kurils and Kamchatka from the mineralogical perspective. He particularly emphasized the circulation of water due to volcanic activity, which precipitates the formation of heavy metal strata and is crucial for the region’s geology. In particular Kamchatka today has almost 30 active volcanoes and operates geothermal power plants, while the investigations of a team from Hokkaido University in the region confirmed the presence and the potential for extraction of deposits of gold, platinum and indium.
Despite the terrible weather, with over 70 people in attendance every seat was full. With this talk, the seminar series held in connection with the Eighth Museum Exhibition on “Unknown Kamchatka and Kuril Islands- Russian images of the borderland” comes to a close. The Exhibition at the Museum will run until the 26 May and is free to view, please pop along and take a look.
