It was in early 70-ies of the century passed when a brigade of geologists came to our village with rucksacks, field glasses and photo cameras over their shoulders. They laid tents under the tall Lombardy poplars on the bank of the mountainous river in the vicinities of Navgarzan. All days long they were picking up various stones and minerals, writing down something in their pads, crossing through map-cases. We liked when of evenings they made a bonfire and sang songs accompanied by the guitar in different languages. For us, teenagers, all these things were exotic and unusual. When they were asked “What are you searching in our mountains?” - the wonderful people answered: “Gold, silver, wolfram, plumb, marble, ruby, sapphire”. We didn’t understand many things, admiring them, we cherished our naive infantile dreams: “When I grow up I will be by all means a geologist, I shall seek for gold just like them…” Later on the words from their favorite song came home to me: “With nature you should be together, whatever may be the weather - bear it in mind, geologist, you are brother of sun and wind”.
But I am sorry to say, my destiny led me in another direction, I became a journalist. Though the sense of respect and amiability towards geologists never deserted me. I collected interesting materials about their life. But for the last 15 years I have never ran across any serious article dwelling on this topic. As if there are no geologists at all. They seem to have been completely forgotten. Don’t they deserve attention on the part of MM and public circles, in general?
Tajikistan is the country where mountains cover 93% of the territory. To our great luck they are very rich in mineral resources. Due to geologists a part of them was extracted and explored. But a very minor part. But even this minor part afforded to build new enterprises, to equip remote villages with amenities and facilities, there appeared new settlements, kindergartens, schools, dispensaries. To put it briefly, life improved radically, modus vivendi itself was changed. Today we memorize with gratitude the names of Russian scientists-geologists of the XIX-XX-th centuries - F. Bogoslovsky, N. Severtsev, I. Meshketov, V. Veber, V. Akimov and hundreds of others who made a worthy contribution into the formation and development of the Tajik geology. Owing to them in the 30-ies of the century passed there were performed geological-tapping jobs and discovered big deposits of polymetallic ores in Altyntopkan and Kuryksay, bismuth in the vicinities of Adrasman settlement, fluorite in Navgarzan settlement. In Northern Tajikistan Kairakkoom geological-tapping expedition formed in 1975 discovered many deposits of building materials and agroindustrial stuffs. There were glass and molding sands of Kurganchi, highly qualitative dolomites for glass production of Beshkan, gyps of Kyzyl-pilyal, mineral dyes of Kamyshbashy, clays for ceramic plates manufactured in Ambargaz, Isfara deposit of clays. The members of the expedition found and assessed about score and a half potential structures containing natural gas. According to their data and general geological prerequisites the prospects of the Tajik oil-gas part of the Ferghana Valley are evaluated fairly highly. In Shurob geologists were searching coal. The mine opened near the town may be functioning over 50 years under the project capacity. In the viloyat there is a deposit of strontium ores (for Isfara MMP on the base of Ganzhak deposit), iron ores are extracted and processed on the base of Chokadambulak deposit being mostly perspective in the light of the new data on auriferous veins.
Hydrogeologists made geological-ameliorative surveys watching subsoil waters balance. 39 big deposits of underground waters are tapped and successfully exploited in the national economy of Sughd viloyat. In a word, for 65 years of their existence Tajik geologists did a lot of work.
At the beginning of 1992 the staff of two expeditions only - Kairakkoom and Central Asian - consisted of 1092 people. At the beginning of 2003 only 264 persons remained; herewith out of 192 specialists-geologists (1992) only 17 work at present. Of course, it is attributed to economy hardships, political instability in the country which told upon all the branches. But why do human resources disappear when the republic set out on the way of stabilization in all streamlines? Experts put it to inadequate funding from the budget, low and non-rhythmical wages. Quoting the chief geologist of Kairakkoom complex geological-tapping expedition (KCYTE) Pyotr Mekin, average month salary of engineering staff makes up 35-40 somoni. And really, who would agree to leave a family and go on durable business-trip for such meager money? Solely for the current year only 164 thousand somoni are meted out from the budget for KCYTE.
- We shall be glad, - says Tursunboy Sharifboyev, Merited geologist of Tajikistan, chief of the geological section, - if we have, at least, this assigned sum for the development of the branch. As for prognostications on basic mineral resources in Northern Tajikistan, they are not too promising. Now tapping jobs started on Boyarbek and Tootly-Koodook gold-silver deposits. In Western Kanimansar additional tapping of plumb-silver ores is performed, in Chokadambulak iron ore deposit is examined anew, in Tootly-Koodook exploratory tapping of aluminum stuffs is made. Now in the middle part of the Zarafshon river basin and on the terrains of tail repositories and rock dumps (they Syr-Darya basin) geological-economic explorations and cartography in range 1:100 000 are carried into effect.
- Regretfully, the jobs commenced are completely or partially conserved today. The reasons are ones and the same - inadequate financing, non-availability of modern technologies and highly qualified specialists. - But man lives with hopes! - Pyotr Alexandrovich Mekin assures optimistically. - We are glad of gradual accrual of an economic and financial potential of our state. Contacts with former partners from CIS countries and far abroad are adjusted. We hope for constructive, mutually profitable cooperation with foreign investors. The issue on tapping new deposits will have risen. We, veterans of geology, are disturbed with the problem of human resources.
And here we have to consent with them: very soon we shall confront the problem in question; whom to commission? Who can be authorized? Where to train highly qualified specialists in geology? The geological-tapping special secondary school in Dushanbe and the geological department under Central Asian polytechnic school (now Chkalovsk mining-metallurgic college) are liquidated. One geology faculty in TSNU (Tajik State National University) is unable to provide all Tajikistan with geologists and engineers. Where should we search those ones who would be worthy brothers of sun and wind?