A working meeting was held between the Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Republic of Kalmykia – Minister of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Mr. Ochir Dzhambinov, and the Director General of the Karpinsky Institute Mr. Pavel Khimchenk

At the meeting, the parties noted the great importance of resuming additional geological exploration and mapping at 1:200,000 scale and larger of Kalmykia after an almost 30-year break. The work will be supported by of the Federal Agency of Mineral Resources.
Currently, Kalmykia is one of the least studied and promising regions of Russia. Only 2 to 8% of hydrocarbon reserves are explored in the republic; the area as a whole is not completely covered by medium- and large-scale geological maps; there are still “blank spots”.
The parties discussed the prospects for drawing up a fundamental basis for a systemic geological study of Kalmykia and forecasting mineral deposits, as well as performing a regional basin analysis for developing the mineral resource base of both the region and the country as a whole.
Based on the geological research, the compiled maps will display distribution patterns of mineral deposits in Kalmykia, criteria for their forecasting, and also localize promising areas for various types of minerals: groundwater, various types of non-metallic raw materials, hydrocarbons, mineral salts, rare earths, and other minerals. Experts will also prepare recommendations for prospecting in localized promising areas.