Nickel mining is a threat to the Chernozem and Khopyor regions

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

The price of 1 ton of humus today ranges from 7 to 11 thousand rubles, and the cost of 385,000 tons of vermicompost will be about 2, 7 - 4, 0 billion rubles.

The outflow and pollution of surface and ground waters will also negatively affect agricultural enterprises in the region. Direct damage will be done far beyond the estimated 700 hectares of arable land removal zone. LLC "Mednogorsk copper-sulfuric plant", owned by OJSC "Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company" is already causing serious criminal damage to fertile soils in the Novokhopyorsk district of the Voronezh region, removing black soils and making them a road (!) And chemical sedimentation tanks - there are witnesses to this among local residents.

Due to the fact that on April 15, 2014, the Russian Foreign Ministry made a comment in connection with the sharp aggravation of the situation in the South-East of Ukraine:

It is a crime to fight with your people, who are in favor of ensuring legal rights,

citizens of Russia - the indigenous inhabitants of the Voronezh and adjacent regions appealed to the leadership of Russia:

In our rear, enemy agents of the UMMC (OJSC Ural Mining and Metallurgical Company) have settled down, muddy the waters in the literal and figurative sense, creating an explosive, tense social situation in the border Voronezh region.

They have influence on local officials of different levels, and they, in turn, intimidate local residents with layoffs, UMMC chop officers beat local residents (as it was on 05/13/13, 11/18/13) - and at this time news is broadcasted on Voronezh TV channels and radio stations, in which UMMC promises mountains of gold, and the opinion of the majority of local residents, who reasonably oppose the mining of non-ferrous metals in Prikhopyorie (of which the absolute majority), have no access to the media! Also, the ugmk carries out a raider seizure of land (the village of Yolka) owned by residents, and does not allow legal owners there, and also builds chemical sedimentation tanks and a road from Chernozem (!) - there are witnesses from among the local residents:

Recall that for more than two years now, mass protests of the local population have been continuing against the decision to develop the Elansky and Elkinsky copper-nickel deposits located in the southeast of the Voronezh region.

In Novokhopersk, Borisoglebsk, Uryupinsk, Voronezh itself, thousands of rallies are held, gathering up to 85% of local residents in small towns. In just two years of protests, more than 60 rallies and public events have taken place.

According to a survey of the population of the Novokhopersk District, conducted by the Institute of Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences in October 2012, 98% of residents consider the project harmful, and a third of citizens are ready to break the law in the fight against this production.

Since the start of work on the sites, the confrontation with the local population has intensified: on the very first day of the appearance of the drilling rig on the field on February 8, 2013, there was a clash between eco-activists and the management of Voronezhgeologiya LLC.

A serious incident was the beating of eco-activists by representatives of the Patrol private security company hired to guard the fields, which took place on May 13, 2013. As a result, Igor Zhitenev, the ataman of the Novokhopersk Cossack autonomy, was severely injured and spent a month in hospital treatment. The incident became the reason for the aggravation of the confrontation: on the same night there were new clashes, hundreds of local residents surrounded the base of geologists. The conflict was settled by the efforts of the police and riot police.

On June 22, 2013, a mass rally took place near the Elansky site, after which more than 3 thousand people went to the geological prospecting territory, broke the illegally installed fence. At that moment, equipment was set on fire at the sites. As a result of the incident, the company suffered losses of about 50 million rubles, none of the workers, geologists or guards was injured.

At present, a public council is working on the basis of the Voronezh Regional Duma on issues related to the development plans of the Elasnkoye and Elkinskoye fields. The Council became a platform for broadcasting the official position on this situation, a large number of supporters of field development were introduced into it, the number of representatives of local residents and independent scientists was limited. The agenda is based on the speeches of specialists working on contracts paid by UMMC.

In the federal and regional media, more publications are constantly appearing containing false information about the opponents of the project; printed materials containing disinformation about the protesters are being distributed in the mining areas.