In late July and early August 2024, employees of the Polish Geological Institute-NRI, Dr Rafał Sikora, M.Sc. Radomir Pachytel and M.Sc. Adam Kozłowski, conducted reconnaissance work to identify a new study area and prepare next year's geological expedition to search for critical raw materials in Mongolia.

Exploration of one of the mountain valleys. On the horizon, the outline of the ridges of the Gobi Altai is visible (photo by R. Pachytel)

This is the next iteration of the critical raw materials exploration project carried out in cooperation with the Mongolian Geological Survey. This time, an area located on the south-western outskirts of Khangay has been selected for field exploration. It is located northeast of Taishir town on the Zavkhan River in the Gobi-Altai Aimag.

The work conducted consisted of a preliminary geological and topographical reconnaissance of the area in terms of the possibility of carrying out the planned surveys, their logistics and the provisioning of the camp, together with pilot geochemical analyses of the rocks in-situ using the pXRF method. Thanks to pre-emptive action, experts from the Institute were able to familiarise themselves with the rock inventory including the different varieties of Permian granites whose outcrops dominate the mountain landscape, but also the accompanying rhyolite and basalt intrusions and Proterozoic crystalline and metasedimentary shield rocks.

In-situ rock chemistry measurements using the XRF method (photo by A. Kozłowski)

Tertiary (Neogene) basalt flows are also prominent in the geological landscape of the area, along the edge of the mountains. On the other hand, the exposures with their characteristic hexagonal columns known as Kharandaa Khad (Pencil Rocks) located in the valley of the Zavkhan River, in the immediate vicinity of the Taishir town, are one of Mongolia's best-known geotourist attractions.

Kharandaa Khad (Pencil Rocks) located in the valley of the Zavkhan River near Taishir town (photo by R. Sikora)

The expedition to Mongolia was an opportunity to visit and hold discussions with representatives of the Mongolian Geological Survey, the Mongolian Academy of Sciences and local authorities. Following the fieldwork, as in previous years, our geologists were invited to a meeting with the Ambassador of the Republic of Poland in Ulaanbaatar Krzysztof Boyko, during which they shared the experience gained in this new area of research.