The “treasure mountain” is rich in platinum, gold and other precious metal minerals, the result of billions of years of geological movement and erosion.

According to Siberiantimes, the Kondyor massif contains many precious metals. About 4 tons of platinum are extracted here every year.

The Kondyor massif is located in the remote Russian region of Khabarovsk, 600 kilometers southwest of the Sea of Okhotsk and 570 kilometers southeast of Yakutsk. This geological structure has a diameter of 8 km and a height of 600 m, almost 7 times larger than a meteorite crater in Arizona, USA.

The Kondyor massif in a NASA satellite image. (Photo: Siberian Times).

Seen from above, the Kondyor massif looks like an ancient volcano or a remnant caused by a meteorite impact. However, experts say the cause of the massif’s special shape is molten magma of volcanic rock that crystallized underground more than a billion years ago, forming a perfect circle.

The massifs suffer from long-term soil erosion. Harder than the surrounding soil, the Kondyor massif is the upper surface edge of a column of rock slowly deepening into the earth’s crust and the remains of a partially eroded dome. A stream flows from the center of the massif, replenished with water from melted snow at the edge. Many smaller streams start from the edge and supply water to the Kondyor River on the northern face.

These springs contain deposits of platinum in the form of crystals, beads and ingots, as well as gold and many other precious minerals. Some crystals are very sharp while many others have rounded edges. In particular, the Kondyor massif is home to many extremely rare and best quality gold plated platinum crystals in the world. The amount of platinum mined here annually is up to 4 tons. Therefore, the Kondyor massif is also known as “treasure mountain”.

Therefore, small streams radiating from the edge contain deposits of platinum in the form of crystals, ingots and grains, along with many other precious metals such as gold and gemstones. They are considered the “best ever found” in the world. Notably, this treasure mountain also contains a special mineral only found in this location, called Konderite, a mixture of copper, platinum, rhodium, lead and sulfur.

According to Siberiantimes, plutonium mining in the Kondyor massif began in 1984. Platinum crystals from this massif also first appeared at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show, USA in 1993. Normally, about 4 are mined here tons of platinum every year.