Gold production will continue at the Asachinsky deposit in the Kamchatka Territory until 2034. In 2023, the head of the region, Vladimir Solodov, reported that after the end of the license period, the subsurface user would finish work here, but this did not happen.
The head of Kamchatka claims the prize for popularization of environmental work
The popular vote “Knowledge.The award is 2024.” The competition involves educators, projects and companies that have made a significant contribution to education in 2023-2024. 96 participants entered the shortlist of 15 nominations of the competition: 53 educators and 43 projects. Among the new nominations is “For contribution to education in the field of Ecology and Tourism”, and Vladimir Solodov, Governor of the Kamchatka Territory, has applied for this nomination.
The merit of the head of Kamchatka in uniting the youth of the region in order to implement projects in the field of ecology and tourism. At the initiative of the head of the region, an Environmental Competence Center was established in Kamchatka. The idea is to develop conservation, ecotourism, volunteerism, green diplomacy, and to unite young people around projects in the field of ecology and tourism. Since 2021, the center has hosted the annual International Youth Forum “Ecosystem. A protected area.” And in the fall of 2023, Kamchatka became one of the winning regions of the All-Russian competition for the creation of year-round competence centers in priority areas of youth policy implementation.
Kamchatka wants to continue mining gold
However, the environment in Kamchatka is not so rosy. This is one of the gold mining regions of the country. The media has previously reported on how both local and federal environmentalists and relevant agencies have struggled with numerous violations by local gold miners. In particular, we were talking about a company that then bore the name “Disturbing Glow” (the founder was the English Tsaps—Siberian Gold (TSG)), and since 2021 it has been renamed TSG Asacha JSC. The company operated on the river of the same name, the Asachinskoye field is surrounded by the South Kamchatka Natural Park, and is allocated to a separate territory. Environmental protection agencies established a lot of malicious violations at Asacha in the early 2020s. Fines were imposed on the gold miner, including for dumping toxic waste into spawning rivers and soil. One of the large fines amounted to more than 138 million rubles. In parallel, the company planned to start working at the Rodnikovoe deposit.
In 2021, it was decided that TSG Asacha would hand over the license for the Rodnikovoe deposit (in favor of the Three Volcanoes Park). And for the Asachinsky field, an agreement was reached that after production it would be reclaimed, as reported by the head of Kamchatka himself, Vladimir Solodov.:
“We have done a lot of work to limit gold production.”
The governor of the Kamchatka Territory explained that in order to preserve the status of the “Volcanoes of Kamchatka” as a World Heritage Site that is not under threat, the region refused potential investments of more than 10-15 billion rubles, which could have brought gold mining.
“For me, the state of nature, world heritage, and high status are priorities. Kamchatka is truly a world heritage Site,” Vladimir Solodov said at the time.
But it seems that these agreements have been forgotten or violated. As our editorial staff has learned, TSG Asacha has extended its work at the Asacha field until 2034, with a permit issued by the Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resources (Rosprirodnadzor).
Profit or security — which is more important?
On the one hand, mining is necessary for the country, it feeds many countries, says environmentalist Vladislav Zhukov, Executive Director of NP National Center for Ecological and Epidemiological Safety, member of the Expert Council of the Federation Council Committee on Agrarian and Food Policy and Environmental Management, member of the Public Council at Rosprirodnadzor. But at the same time, such activities should not harm either nature or man.
“All of humanity lives off the exploitation of natural resources, and the economy of any state, including Russia, is resource-dependent. It is possible and necessary to extract minerals. But there is a caveat: this must happen in accordance with the established requirements and norms. We are talking about a balance between the economic feasibility of developing deposits and respecting the unique natural components of the environment,” says Vladislav Zhukov.
But there are still questions about TSG Asacha from the point of view of environmental legislation, for example, in 2023, according to another court decision, it was fined for pollution of water bodies. An important point is that wastewater discharge into natural waters has even increased compared to 2021, which environmentalists have been fighting so hard against. How it happened that the company’s license was extended for another 10 years is not entirely clear.
It is worth recalling that mining is a rather harmful industry. If the strictest safety and protection measures are not followed, hazardous waste enters the waters and soil. It ruins local systems. In Kamchatka, such cases led to turbidity of spawning rivers and the departure of salmon from them.
Vladislav Zhukov confirms that the environmental impact on gold mining is very high:
“Of all the types of subsurface use, gold mining is most associated with possible direct and potential threats to the environment. Cyanides and mercury are used in the development of deposits. These are particularly dangerous toxic substances that, if technology is violated, in case of negligence, improper use, or in cases of man—made accidents, cause great damage not only to the environment, but also to the health of the population living in places of such production.”
Therefore, the expert recalls, special environmental requirements are imposed on subsurface user enterprises. And gold mining activities are strictly regulated and subject to strict state supervision.
As the expert reminds, subsurface users are obliged to carry out compensatory measures. And this is not only reforestation, but also the restoration of disturbed lands, the maintenance of natural biodiversity, as well as the construction and operation of social facilities. “This is a social responsibility of the enterprise, gold miners are obliged to do this,” Vyacheslav Zhukov explains.
Promises not fulfilled
It turns out that Kamchatka is once again in a situation where the local ecosystem may suffer. The governor of the region was unable to fulfill his promises regarding the restriction of gold mining — for what reasons, we do not know. But as a result, the Asachinskoye field will be developed for another decade. Moreover, if those promises about stopping the development of the Asacha field were loud and public, then the decision to extend the license was made quietly and without public announcements. Yes, the head of the region does not issue licenses for gold mining, but still it depends on the head on what the territory’s economy will be based on, and one must keep one’s word.
The situation is fraught with new violations and pollution of the surrounding territories. As a result, all the long-term work of environmentalists and human rights activists has been wasted.
As Vladislav Zhukov notes, any work on the development of promising deposits should be transparent, while being safe for the environment and the public. The ecologist believes that it is worthwhile to study openly all the information about the planned activities at the Asachinskoye field, as well as the legitimacy of issuing documents for the continuation of development of the field.
And Kamchatka will have to carefully monitor the state of the environment. The Kamchatka Territory is once again faced with a choice, which is more important: to be a raw material region, allowing businesses to earn millions from the depths, or to remain a territory of untouched nature.
Novye Izvestia