and magnesium stay in about 18,000,000 tonnes. In Lake Inder (central Asia) there is 30,000 tonnes. Asbestos: This mineral was extracted in an Asbestos mine near Sverdlovsk in the Urals from 1889. The fiber is found in Peridotite, as in Quebec and Rhodesia. Other deposits exist in Altai Sayan. The Ural reserves are about 17,500,000 tonnes of fiber with more than 0.7 mm in length, so adequate for internal requirements. The USSR is in second place for production of these mineral with a yield of 100,000 tonnes. Talc and Steatite: deposits of these minerals exist in the Urals in great quantity. Magnesium: Apart from the sources of borax, there are also pure magnesium deposits in Sverdlovsk and Chelyabinsk, with production of 800,000 tonnes. Halite (rock salt): The extractions of these element are in Solikamsk in the Urals. Common salt: This is recovered from the Aral Sea. Precious Stones and Gems: The Urals have many sources of these, including beryllium, amethyst, topaz, malachite, alejandrie, zirconium, etc. The Mir Mine in Mirny, Sakha Republic was the largest (by area) open pit diamond mine in the world till closure in 2012. Mercury: Important sources are in the Urals Mountains. Mirabilite: Sources are in the Kara-Bogaz gulf. Coal The existence of coal, estimated at 400,000,000,000 tonnes, was about a quarter of the Asian total, or half of the European reserves. The principal coal mining valleys and basins are: Kuznetsk Basin Irkutsk Valley Minusinsk Basin Kirguiz Steppe Valleys (Karaganda Basin) Sakhalin Island (Alexandrovsk Valley) Maritime Provinces Tunguska Basin Bureisk Valley During the interwar years, major production was in the Kuznetsk Basin; the Carboniferous Basin of Irkutsk extends joining at Transiberian railway, in 480 km, and the Maritime province near the Vladivostok area. Petrol Northern Sakhalin island holds large quantities of petrol. The ownership of these reserves is an ongoing concern between the Japanese and Russian governments. Other sources are found off the coast of Kamchatka and Ohkostk, the rest of Siberia is not currently seen as rich in Petroleum. With the exception of petrol pits in Central Asia and the Urals. These last (referring to the Turkestan zone) are an extension of the Caucasian petrol zone and the mentioned Ural petrol sources. Gold Gold is often found in Siberia; currently the principal mining districts are in the Patom Highlands (Olekma-Vitim region of the Lena Valley). During the period 1910-1914, the Siberian gold mines extracted an