Based on the results of the first Russia—Africa Summit and Economic Forum, priority areas of economic cooperation, according to which concrete results can be achieved in the coming years, were identified. These are modern and high-tech mining and processing of minerals, geological exploration, energy (including renewable energy sources), infrastructure development (specifically the construction of railways and housing), agriculture, digital technology, medicine, science and education. Cooperation between Russian universities and African countries occupies a special place. Currently implemented by the Sergo Ordzhonikidze Russian State University for Geological Prospecting (MGRI), the scientific and educational initiative for the development of the mineral resource base of Uganda, presented in June 2019 to the country’s President Yoweri Museveni, is the basis for International cooperation between Russian universities in the East African region.

For the southern regions of Uganda, the metallogenic value of the regional arc belt of dikes of the main and ultrabasic composition was considered. It is shown that it is part of the arc sector of a large central-type structure with a diameter of about 700 km. It had a long development in the Riphean sequence of tectono-magmatic activation. This structure was formed over 1,37 billion years ago and reformed approximately 1 billion years ago and at the end of the Riphean sequence (0,5—0,6 billion years ago).This structure includes all major deposits of Sn, W, Na, Nb, Ni, REE and Au in Burundi, Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. In Uganda, the Sn, W and rare metals fields are controlled by small intrusions of granite with an age of 1 billion years and crossing nodes of radial faults, which are the central-type structures of small order that are included in the central part of the allocated megastructure. Materials in the relationship of ore-grade gold mineralisation with the crossing nodes of large arc, radial and overfault-shift faults are given.

On the Tazovsko-Zapolyarny licence block (Tazovsky district of Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District), according to the materials of the seismic survey (3D) in sand-clay sediments of Middle Jurassic age U2 , the channel elements, which lie at different depths and have a submeridional extension, are identified. The purpose of this work was to study the spatial position of the identified channel elements (paleochannels) and to construct them using the Petrel (Schlumberger) program. The paleochannel building technique is described in the Petrel program. Based on the obtained modelling data, the locations of increased reservoir thicknesses in the areas of paleochannels development were specified and the areas of new prospecting wells were planned. As a result of the seismic data (3D) processing, three systems of paleochannels located on different hypsometric marks and associated with the U_2-2, U_2-3 and U_2-4 beds were allocated. On the basis of the correlation of the well sections of the U₂ bed, the clay bulkheads between the assumed beds are allocated, and the U_2-2, U_2-3 and U_2-4 beds are marked in the section. The structural modelling of the U₂ bed was carried out using all available information and the Schlumberger Petrel software complex. Using the «Lithology» property (takes the values «collector»–0, «collector»–1), the 3D models of paleochannels have been created separately for the U_2-2, U_2-3 and U_2-4 beds. The newly created models of paleochannels have been introduced into the total volume of the U₂ bed. 

The results of the author’s and general works of domestic and foreign geologists, who studied the location of the largest gold deposits in fault zones, characterised by the structure of ore-bearing zones and the concentration of reserves of ores and gold of different scale in them, are presented. The main reasons for such differences are considered. The longest faults on our planet are regional shifts. They are continuously traced for hundreds (up to 1,400) of kilometres along the boundaries of gold-bearing belts and provinces. However, gold ore deposits are located in their zones at extremely limited (point) intervals not exceeding 3—5 km. They are always enclosed between ancient transverse or oblique-oriented fractures of deep, most likely mantle, formation and penetration. In all mineralised faults, gold ore bodies are localised in various geological and structural traps, which are considered in the article and are reflected in the plans and sections. The crossing nodes of regional shifts, as well as overfaults and faults of transverse faults (and dislocations), act as the main promising objects in the deposits search and exploration. Obviously, such nodes should be considered as direct signs of the possible evidence of gold ores. The internal structure of the world leader, gold-bearing Muruntaussky (North-East) local shift (Uzbekistan), studied in detail by the author and other geologists, is given as an example.

In this work, the object studied is the terrigenous and carbonate rocks of the Kursov’s assise of the Nepsk horizon of the Botuobinsk facies zone of the Mirnin outshot of the north-eastern part of the Nepsk-Botuobinsk anteclise. In recent years, in the course of active geological exploration work in the region, high quality core material appeared. This material was studied at the macro and micro levels, which made it possible to obtain new data on the material composition. Based on the detailed lithological description and petrographic core study, for the first time, the author gives a description and justification of the division of the Kursov’s assise into three lithological packs: low clay sand, middle carbonate clay and high carbonate clay sand. The lithological properties of the studied section reflect the characteristics of the Vendian deposition of sediments in the south of the Siberian paleocontinent. The accumulation of sandstones of the Kursov’s assise was facilitated by the weathering of magmatic rock of acidic and medium composition; the destruction products that came from the north-western part to the south-eastern part of the NepskBotuobinsk anteclise in the modern plan. In the upper-section of the Kursov’s assise, the gradual increase in the maturity of terrigenous rocks, which is associated with the duration of their transportation and repeated redeposition, is observed. The carbonate microbial formations of the middle pack of the Kursov’s assise are the first witnesses to life in the Vendian paleobasin. Their characteristic feature is the magnesia impurity.

In the presented work, the differences of mechanisms of the formation of the Lower Gotterivian deposits are considered based on the results of lithological-petrophysical studies of core samples on 5 wells of Leushin’s (approx. 150 samples) and Vikulov’s (approx. 150 samples) assises. The area covered by the studies is located on the border of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug and Sverdlovsk region. The differences in the mechanisms of the formation of the Vikulov’s and Leushin’s assises with the use of core macrodescription data, biofacies, granulometric, petrographic and X-ray structure analyses are considered and compared. The Lower Cretaceous deposits of the studied area are represented by alternating aleurolites and argillites with rare interbeds of sandstones. The granulometrical factors most commonly used for the interpretation of sedimentation environments, the median grain size (Md), the average grain size (Xcp), the sort factor (S0), the asymmetry factor (As) and the excesses (Ex), reflecting the main characteristics of the grains distribution, are considered. According to the granulometric analysis, bar graphs of the distribution of mass fractions in percent by fractions were built and analysed. For genetic interpretation, the CM Passega diagram, construction of which is based on the mechanism of particle transfer and directly depends on the flow dynamics, was used. Conclusions about the conditions of the deposits formation are made. The reservoir properties of detrital rocks are often influenced by many of the factors discussed above: the median grain size, sorting of the detrital part, composition, amount and type of cement, compaction processes, recrystallisation, bore-hole mining and authigenic mineral formation. Based on the studies carried out, the influence of various factors on reservoir properties was analysed.

The results of studies of hydrocarbon systems of the Eastern and Central Ciscaucasia are shown. The research area covers part of the Scythian platform, namely, the northern side of the Terek-Caspian foredeep, the north-eastern part of the East Kuban depression, the Tersko-Kum depression and the Stavropol arch. Based on the results of the work and basin modelling of hydrocarbons generation, emigration and accumulation processes, the reconstruction of the history of oil and gas formation and oil and gas accumulation in the sedimentary cover of the region was completed. The basin modelling of hydrocarbon formation processes in Central and Eastern Ciscaucasia was carried out using the PetroMod (Schlumberger) program complex. The obtained results made it possible to determine the dynamics of organic substance transformation processes, evolution of oil and gas formation zones, time and expected paths of hydrocarbon migration and phase composition and degree of hydrocarbon saturation of the section. The model reliability was corrected by comparing the values of benchmarks (modern reservoir temperatures measured in wells, with their calculated values obtained as a result of modelling). The location of possible foci of hydrocarbon generation in the sedimentary cover, the migration paths, the phase composition of hydrocarbons, the intensity of hydrocarbon saturation within individual tectonic zones and structures were determined. It has been established that the main foci of hydrocarbon generation in the southern part of the studied region are located in the Chechen depression (Tersko-Caspian deep), on the platform part–in the zone of the Manych deep and Nogai stage.

Assessing the phase composition of the fluid in a well based analysis of the frequencies of the radial resonance modes excited by acoustic noise in the inflow zone is a promising method for interpreting the results of passive noise metering. Machine learning makes it possible to take into account many factors affecting the spectrum of the measured signal, extracting from them exactly those factors associated with a change in phase composition. In order to build the best model, machine learning approaches such as linear regression with different variants of regularisation, Bayesian regression, neural net, methods of supporting vectors, decision tree, random forest and gradient boosting are considered. Data sets for training and testing the algorithm were obtained on the basis of scenarios calculated using a two-dimensional mathematical model with the different values of the bed parameters and ratio of volume fractions of the well filling fluids. The effect on the assessment accuracy of the phase composition of various factors, including the presence of acoustic device housing, the foreign noise in the signal and the shape of the signal spectrum, was checked. It is shown that in the absence of data distortion, it is possible to build models that provide an absolute error in the assessment of the phase composition about 1% after the zone of fluid inflow and about 5% in the zone before the inflow.

Production of uranium by the method of bore-hole mining (BHM) is carried out from productive water-bearing formations represented by sands of various sizes. The beds are opened by the process well drilling using bentonite clay mud. This is accompanied by colmatation of the near-filter zone (NFZ) rocks. The performed studies showed the need for the complete removal of clay mud from the NFZ at the stage of well construction. It is shown that this can be done by the methods of interval-by-interval filter development or by the collapse of the productive horizon sands when NFZ after-filter washing with technical water. Laboratory tests on the chemical resistance of bentonite sleeves to the acid solutions action were carried out. Geological and process conditions for the use of bentonite sleeves for waterproofing the bore-hole annulus of process BHM wells were defined.

The coastal territories of the Red River, passing through the city of Hanoi (the capital of Vietnam), are developed very dynamically by different types of construction, sand extraction from the river bed and its banks, pumping of water, creation of ponds and agriculture. But these activities are only possible in areas protected against annual floods with a dam. However, in recent years, the intensity of lateral erosion of the river and associated suffocation and landslide processes has become rapidly increasing in both flood and dry seasons. Deformations capture natural river banks and the dam body. The authors analysed the causes and identified mechanisms of these processes taking into account variable climatic, tectonic, hydrological, geological and hydrogeological conditions complicated by economic activities in the coastal zone. The article provides calculations of the stability of banks in different conditions (during and after the flood), which confirms theoretical ideas about the mechanism of the process and coincide with the observations. The greatest contribution to the banks destruction is the variability of the internal friction angle of the sands entering the section of the coastal territory.