ASSESSMENT OF SEISMIC HAZARD AROUND THE FILIZCHAY PYRITE POLYMETAL DEPOSIT

Abstract

In Azerbaijan, much attention is paid to the exploitation of mineral deposits in the non-oil sector. The Filizchay deposit, considered one of the largest deposits in Europe in terms of ore reserves and is very  rich in base metal reserves throughout the world, is one of the largest projects that the AzerGold organization preparing for operation. The Filizchay deposit is located in the Zagatala-Balakan seismogenic zone. The article analyzes the seismicity of this zone and considers the assessment of seismic hazard around the field. As the analysis showed, the Filizchay pyrite-polymetallic deposit is located in one of the most seismically active regions of Azerbaijan. Such strong earthquakes as the Zagatala earthquake on May 7, 2012, the Balaken earthquake on October 14, 2012, and the Zagatala earthquake on June 5, 2018 have repeatedly occurred here. In addition, it should be noted that this field is affected not only by local earthquakes, but also by strong earthquakes located in neighboring regions. Such as the Oguz earthquake of 2015 and the Gabala earthquakes of 2014. All of the above earthquakes were characterized by an intensity of 7 points at the source and 5-6 points in the territory of the Filizchay field. As can be seen from the seismic activity maps, the Zagatala-Balakan zone is characterized by activity values of 1.6-2.0. Analysis of the depth distribution of hypocenters within the study region showed that the bulk of earthquakes are concentrated at a depth of 2-25 km.