Nickel mining in the Black Earth Region. First blood
Nickel mining in the Black Earth Region. First blood

Video: Nickel mining in the Black Earth Region. First blood

Video: Nickel mining in the Black Earth Region. First blood
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The demands of the protesters local residents - a complete ban on the extraction of non-ferrous metals in the Chernozem region, as an alternative - the implementation of a program for the sustainable development of the Khoper region, attracting investment in agriculture and tourism.

The decision was signed by the government at the end of 2011, on May 22, 2012, the competition for the development of copper and nickel deposits was won by the Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company.

During this time, local residents have tried all peaceful and legal methods of reporting the demand to ban the mining of non-ferrous metals in the Khoper region, among which there are thousands of rallies that collect up to 85% of the population of certain cities, collecting tens of thousands of signatures, open hearings and independent scientific assessment, an attempt to declare a local referendum and getting a refusal. The activists were repeatedly subjected to reprisals (searches, criminal cases on false statements of the licensee company, dismissals).

In May of this year, events took on a dramatic turn. On May 13, 2013, participants in a peaceful protest camp in the Novokhopersky district at the Elansky field were brutally beaten, who opposed violations of the law when trying to start geological exploration.

People stood peacefully in front of the illegally erected fence. The security guards of the private security company "Patrol", hired by the licensee company, opened the gates, began to beat the activists, then grabbed 3 people, dragged them over the fence to the fenced area, pushing the rest of the activists and the police who tried to stop them. Having closed the gates, they collectively beat the activists behind the fence, throwing some of them over a two-meter metal sheet of the fence. Igor Zhitenev, ataman of the Cultural-National Autonomy of Novokhopersk, lost consciousness during the beating, he suffered a concussion, fractured ribs and a damaged jaw. The activists have knocked out teeth and broken noses.

The guards continued to beat people, using electric shocks and throwing bricks at people until the riot police arrived. About 10 local residents were seriously injured; no action was taken against the private security company.

Video and photo of the incident:

On May 11, a peaceful camp of activists began work at the Elanskoye field, who on the morning of May 12 stopped work on the installation of a five-kilometer fence with a concrete foundation. The camp began in the Novokhopersky district on the territory of the Elanskoye and Elkinskoye fields in connection with large-scale illegal work on agricultural land: attempts to install a capital fence and start capital construction, large-scale unauthorized felling of trees inside the fenced area and other violations. These illegal actions are constantly monitored by police patrols of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the Novokhopersk District and are not taking measures to prevent violations of the law.

On the morning of May 13, a hunger strike began in the city of Novokhopersk, Voronezh Region, against plans to start mining non-ferrous metals in the Chernozem region. It was started in the center of Novokhopersk by the Cossack Alexander Dolgopyatov.

At open hearings held in December 2012 at the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, with the participation of scientists from the RAS, RANS, Moscow State University and other organizations, a preliminary scientific assessment of the feasibility and possible consequences of the planned development of copper-nickel deposits in the Voronezh Region was presented. Biologists, hydrogeologists, lawyers and economists were very skeptical about the prospect of mining non-ferrous metals in the agrarian center of Russia, near the Khopersky State Reserve and the Khoper River, which is a key tributary of the Don. The main fears of scientists are the emergence of a depression funnel (lowering the level of groundwater) in an area with a diameter exceeding 50 km, the poisoning of all components of the environment with compounds of heavy metals, the destruction of the existing social order and the destruction of the traditional sphere of employment and life support - agriculture. The project for the development of the Elanskoye and Elkinskoye deposits is designed for 40 years, after which huge areas of black earth lands will be unsuitable for agriculture, there will be a shortage of clean fresh water, and the habitat of the Red Book and relic animals will be destroyed. According to the Institute of Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 98% of the population of the Novokhopresky District consider the project for the extraction of nickel and other metals in the Khoper region to be dangerous, while a third of the respondents are ready for radical measures to protect their land.

More details about the problem and the consequences -

Scientific evaluation -

Express your protest by signing the petition: link

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