Mineralogical tourism is a new and entertaining area of ​​tourist activity in the Altai Territory, which allows not only to see the natural attractions of the region, but also to visit well-known mineral deposits, where in practice you can learn how minerals are mined and processed, as well as touch the history of mining ore development of Altai.

For residents and guests of the region who have decided to try on themselves what mineralogical tourism is, tours of various durations and categories of difficulty have been developed and conducted. The mineralogical tour can be carried out as a weekend tour with a visit to several deposits and a rich excursion program. Tour agencies of the region also offer multi-day mineralogical tours with visits to both discovered deposits of solid minerals and adits and mines (tours with elements of speleotourism). At present, mineralogical tourism is widely developed in the southwestern part of the Altai Territory in the historically established region of mining and stone cutting - Gornaya Kolyvan.

Tourist facilities

Revnevskoe jasper deposit. Located 7 km southeast of the Lazurka village at the eastern peak of Mount Revnyukha. The field was discovered in 1789. It is famous for its "brocade" and "green-wavy" varieties of jasper. Jasper in appearance is a greenish-gray banded breed. The green tint of jasper is associated with the presence in its composition of "green minerals" - chlorite, epidote and actinolite. The width of the stripes is varied. The stripes are white, dark green and sometimes yellowish green. The stone is easily polished to a mirror surface, it has a very beautiful pattern. Despite the fact that jasper is very hard, it is at the same time fragile and does not tolerate impacts. Nevertheless, this ornamental stone was used to make the "Queen of Vases" - the largest vase kept in the Hermitage.

Beloretskoye quartzite deposit. Located in the Zmeinogorsk region near the town of Sychevoy. It is a deposit of decorative quartzite. Quartzites have a fine-grained and fine-grained structure, varied in color from white to red. The extremely fine dissemination of sulphides gives the rock a special beauty, which gives beautiful play of colors on polished surfaces. The Beloretskoye deposit was discovered in 1784. Industrial development began in the early years of the 19th century. In those days, vases, handles for walking sticks, and tabletops were made from brown-red quartzite. Completing the design of products at the Peterhof Lapidary Factory. At the beginning of the XX century. The highly artistic belorechit products made at the Faberge factory were in great demand.

Lazurskoe polymetallic ore deposit. It is located 15 km east of the town of Zmeinogorsk. The mine is located on the ridge of the left bank of the river. Goltsovki. From 1762 to 1874, 1.2 tons of silver, 357 tons of lead, 2929 tons of copper were mined at the deposit.

Goltsovskoe jasper deposit. It is located on the right bank of the Goltsovka River, 3 km north of the village of Goltsovsky. There are blue, gray, gray-green jaspers.

Korgon jasper deposit. Located on the banks of the river. Korgon (left tributary of the Charysh), 9 km from its mouth: pink and pinkish-gray quartz porphyry, red porphyry, treelike, penny, kulichkovy, gray-violet and wax jasper.

Museums of stone and stone-cutting business in the Altai Territory

Kolyvan stone-cutting plant named after I.I. Polzunova (Kolyvan village) is the only industrial monument in Russia, which is more than 200 years old. Products made by master stone-cutters at the end of the 18th - first half of the 19th centuries created the world fame of Russia. Kolyvan vases can be found in London, Paris, Vienna, Chicago, Moscow, and the true decoration of the Hermitage is the "Queen of Vases".

Museum of the history of stone-cutting in Altai (Kolyvan village). Here is a collection of rare items by Kolyvan masters. The museum operates in the building of a drawing school (1876), which worked at a grinding factory and trained qualified personnel for it. The museum presents a collection of stones from the Altai bowels, samples of processed stones. The main part of the exposition is devoted to the history of the Kolyvan grinding factory, the art of stone processing and the "Queen of Vases". In the halls of the museum there are items that belonged to the factory workers (pottery, a hand mill, clothes, photographs), products of the Kolyvan stone cutters (cameo "Rodomysl" 1839, mosaic panels, vases, bowls, a copy of "Queen of Vases" 1:10).

Museum of the History of the Development of Mining in Altai named after A.N. Demidova (Zmeinogorsk). The museum was founded in 1827. It is located in a building-monument of architecture and history of the first half of the 19th century, associated with the activities of P.K. Frolov. The museum contains exhibits that reveal the history of mining in Altai, the formation of a cabinet district, the development of technical thought and culture in Altai. The "Open Air Museum" is decorated: exhibits of modern mining equipment, the Entrance Tower of the Zmeinogorsky Fortress