Dr. Alexander Antonov
B2Gold Corporation
Dr. Antonov has been a regional manager/consultant of Canadian mining companies Teck Corp / Central Asian Gold Corporation; Bema Gold, B2Gold over last 20 years. Before moving to Canada after the breakup of the Soviet Union he was the Head of Precious Metals department of Central Asian institute of Geology and Mineral Resources in Tashkent. In 1987 he received a degree of Doctor of Science in Moscow institute of Precious and Non-ferrous metals (TSNIGRI), in 1992 – academic rank of Professor. In 2014 he was elected as a foreign member (Academician) of Kazakh Academy of Mineral Resources. He is an active member of the Society for Geology Applied to Mineral Deposits (SGA), a regular participant of the International Geological Congresses since 1984, Minex Forums in Moscow, PDAC Forums in Toronto.
Dr Antonov is an author of more than 100 publications devoted to geology and metallogeny of precious and non-ferrous metals in different regions including Russia, Central Asia, Central and South-Eastern Europe. Along with conducting theoretical investigation he is using and promoting innovative Canadian exploration technologies.
Mining potential of main European silver belt
Most of the ore districts of Central and South-Eastern Europe are parts of the metallogenic belt of north-western trend formerly named as Main European Silver Belt (MESB). Silver makes up a substantial value along with lead, zinc, copper, uranium, gold in ores of the deposits within MESB. Many deposits of the belt have seen mining activities beginning with the Middle Ages (Germany, Czech Republic), sometimes antiquity (Greece, Macedonia, Bulgaria) up to the modern times.
Flanks of the deposits as well as stockpiles of previous mining can be of interest for economic extraction of valuable components. Some constraints are connected with the protection of the environment and historical heritage.
South-Eastern part of MESB (Serbia, Macedonia) is less explored and more promising for new discoveries. Operating mining complexes require additional reserves with higher grades of copper, lead, zinc, silver to be commercially attractive. Innovative Canadian exploration technologies can help to achieve this.